FROM DAVE Q ON the Road --

5/29/98:

I'm in San Luis Obispo[SLO],[210 miles North of L.A.], heading north tomorrow, Monday, June 1, for San Jose, arriving Wed. Nite at latest by 5pm, for an NMSS support group meeting. Making good time, Santa Cruz by June 8, Berkeley 12, then up the coast. Portland around June 19, Seattle June 25, Vancouver July 1. All tentative of course, very so.

Great trip so far. Passed out 25 copies of my MS/Diet/Lifestyle today at Unity church. Feeling super. 250 miles in 6 days, 41 miles a day, this with today as a rest day.

Reason: My bike hit the freeway at 55MPH!!! Fortunately, I was inside the pickup, the BikeE improperly positioned, hastily, in rear, against side. Fairing caught the wind, blew it out pickup, landed in middle of crowded freeway. We went back, good Samaritan had took it to side. One day later, + $78, It's still got a bent handlebar, yet the new deraileur is better than the old one, improvement I would not have made but the crash!!! I learned a valuable  lesson twice, SLOW DOWN!!!! In L.A., I got used to moving/thinking too fast!!!!

I'm lucky, I have improved BikeE, got of cheap, staying at Unity new friend's house because hostel hat CAT!!!![I'm allergic] Was comped[free] into hostel by owner!!! SLO is GREAT!!!

Mucho coincidences[there are no coincidences]. I was late to SLO, late to Trader Joe's, passed by, then back. Woman was also late, saw my sign MS BIKE98, Calgary or bust, Need place to stay ahead[Thanks to Carl for sign idea!!!! Got donations.$40 so far, no place to stay]. Laid $20 on me, turned to go, then I asked " Do you know anyone with MS?"

She said "Me, I was diagnosed 2 weeks ago". We talked for 15 minutes, I gave her MS/Diet, she asked my name, when I said Dave Q, she said she knew and followed my web site!!!! She had tried to email, but a problem[2cowherd had problem for a short period one day, Ashton  had same problem, persisted via the forum, got me]. She gave me the fateful pickup truck ride, which was over an unsafe Questa pass I was concerned about, legal but 0-8' shoulder, I'd seen it from bus last trip. I obviously didn't make it out of SLO.

9/23/98:

Just to update most of the people I've stayed with or visited on MS Bike 98. MS Bike 98 has been very successful. I'm having so much fun that I'm planning to continue circling North America in 1999. I'll get a portable PC, digital camera, and cell phone, in November, should be in Palo Alto ie Silicon Valley area.

I'm in Grants Pass, Oregon. Just biked 101 miles, then 56 over 4 almost 2000' passes to get here. Next two days, 200 miles, one higher pass. An MS talk on Saturday morn, I must make. Peter will be there, the person I've helped from "Can't transfer from bed to wheelchair", to in three months since I saw him on the way north, he's doing perhaps 20% better.

The highlight of the trip so far has to be the Penticton Ironman Triathalon, which I did the 2.4 mile swim, and 112 mile bike of. I'm training for Ironman 99, doing an average of a 1/2 triathalon a day. Swam today, yet not enough time for a 2.4 mile swim.

31 Oct 1998

It's getting cold!!!! Glad I'm nearly back to L.A. In Santa Maria, just south of San Luis Obispo, North of Santa Barbara. Unity retreat at Asilomar conference center in Pacific Grove, Monterey area, was highlight of trip so far. Met good folks from all over the west in Unity Churches. I backtracked to Unity Auburn for a healing symposium there, now going south again at 68 miles/day[this last week!!!] One last Unity Church visit Sunday in Santa Maria.

On the way to Auburn, I got a flat tire going over the Martinez bridge from Antioch to Sacramento. I camped overnight there, light from a CHP car was not enough to fix the flat. In the morning, a woman Vivian, who never picked up a hitchhiker before, stopped her SUV for me.

Vivian was hesitant, but I looked for real, a bicyclist broken down. It helped to show her the article the previous day about my bike trip in the SF Chronicle, that convinced her!!! Great timing, as the picture/info was taken 15 days prior. Lemons into lemonade, I got a ride to a bike shop in the same complex as my stop at Sacramento Unity for Wednesday night service. The shop even carried my BikeE, only one in town!!! My place to stay was 5 blocks away.

Vivian and I had a lot in common, much to talk about, spirituality, health, natural lifestyle, ... Things have been going that way, lots of "Random" contacts that turn out great. Of course I've had my share of bike problems, MS symptoms on a regular basis, yet I find if I focus on health, get 50+ miles a day in, I'm energetic and my MS symptoms are low.

Who knows what next year will bring. For now, I need to gather more resources for next year's trip, if any. I'll need money to get a cell phone, portable computer, digital camera, ... My plans are very tentative, yet it looks like leaving sometime in the spring on another western trip, more focused on researching "Solutions" for a column by same name, with MS Natural Recovery secondary, + One Unity church event a week, many service clubs.

But who knows? A computer job in this y2k year might be in order to save money for later years trip.