Day 17 Oct. 1, 2008

From Western Stars Motel at Nara Visa to Tucumcari, NM. When I woke up this morning, the front wheel of my bike was flat. There were no businesses in Nara Visa except the motel, so we drove to Tucumcari, and after 3 tries we found a tire shop that could help me. The spare wheel I have was too large, and the brakes had to be adjusted. I tried with no success to adjust them myself, so the mechanic did it for me.

Yesterday, Pam had secured a room at the Travelodge Motel on Route 66/Tucumcari Blvd for today. We had breakfast at the Kix Restaurant (Get your Kix on Rte 66), where we met a couple who were driving the complete Rte. 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica, in a late 60’s Mustang. Lew Toulmin is a travel columnist for the “Montgomery Sentinal” and has written a book called, The Most Traveled Man on Earth. His wife, Susan, is accompanying him and takes notes as they travel. Their home is Silver Springs, MD. We exchanged stories and took pictures of each other. He gave me his Rte.66 Cap, a fantastic cap with the entire Rte. 66 on it.

I rode my bicycle around Tucumcari for 4 hours to make up for the 40 miles I did not ride today. On the western edge of town I met up with Jim Voss again, who is on his way to Santa Rosa. We stood at the junction of Rte 66 and Hwy 40, having a conversation, when Lew & Susan drove up in their Mustang. I introduced them to Jim who was gaga over the Mustang. He said it was one of the______ cars ever and he loved it. Toulmin’s were on their way to the air show at the local airport. The air show was a pretty big deal locally. It seemed everyone we talked to was going, but Pam and I didn’t have the time or energy. Jim and I went our separate ways; he rode off to Santa Rosa and I continued to do my make up ride. I returned to the motel at 2:20 pm.

Antonio from Liberal, KS called this evening and we had a nice conversation. He was happy to hear of a possible radio interview scheduled for 8:30 pm Saturday. Von Martin, a fellow Trinidadian, owns a radio station out East. He promised me a little more exposure regarding the ride.