Bob called me tonight to let me know he was packing it in. He didn’t quit — his bike did.

It had rained again today and when it had quit, Bob was moving his bike when he noticed something was wrong with his rear wheel. He looked close and found it was way out-of-round. One spoke was broken and the wheel needed to be trued. There was a hostel nearby just for bike campers called Perry’s.

Bob called and a woman answered, who turned out to be Perry. She asked where Bob was. He told her and she said she could pick him and the bike up in 15 minutes. He was surprised, but asked if she could pick him up in 30 minutes because he had just started to pack! She was there in 30 minutes.

Perry took him to a bike shop and the guy there said it would cost $250 to get his bike back in shape to ride. Bob knew then the ride was over; he had only paid $200 for the entire bike back in Florida. The guy at the bike shop said he would buy the frame for $150. Bob thought about it for a micro-second and said, “Sold!”

Bob told me he had put up with as much rain as he could and to get back almost what he paid for his bike, “It was a no brainer.”

He also said he was SO impressed with the people at Perry’s and the way they treated him. They are really great people and he appreciated all their hospitality and help.

Bob called his son in Houston and he will drive over tonight, stay the night with him and they’ll drive back to Houston today.

Bob has no regrets. He said he got in 800 miles and knows he could have finished the ride and will probably try it again. He will hang out in Houston with his son and just enjoy.

Bob is a class guy I would be proud to ride with anywhere, anytime.

Thanks, Bob!

I’m going to work this next week on filling-in some details of our ride together, complete with the photos and videos I brought back with me. I hope you’ll enjoy the visuals. Thanks for ‘riding along’ with us — and with Bob — and all of your encouragement and support. It meant a lot to both of us.

Until my next update,
Chuck