Current odometer reading: 1,444 miles
Current total of donations received: $5,146
Amount needed to reach goal: $44,854
# of weeks on the road: 6
States left to cycle: 3
Michelle will arrive in Albuquerque, NM, today or tomorrow. This leg of the journey is proving to be the most challenging so far, with temperatures hovering in the teens and 20s, and long stretches of desolate and sometimes icy road. Right after the roads were cleared following a snowstorm in Tucumcari, NM, Michelle successfully tackled a 60-mile sprint into no-man's land to the next stop at Santa Rosa, NM. The dreaded "Nine-Mile Hill" outside of Albuquerque and the mountains of Flagstaff still await!
Michelle continues to be thrilled and amazed at the new friends she has met along Route 66 who have opened their hearts and homes to her, offering lodging, meals, donations and moral support.
Highlights of the last two weeks:(Oklahoma border to Albuquerque, NM)
~As Michelle entered Oklahoma at twilight, new friends Ron and Coleen Yockey drove 30 miles from their home on Monkey Island so she wouldn’t have to cycle the dark and windy road into Afton alone. After treating Michelle to a great dinner and stories of Ron’s travels along Route 66, they spoiled her with her own private guest house. The next day Ron and Coleen kindly drove Michelle 30 miles back to 
where they picked her up, and she set out on the road again. (Michelle has a strict rule: For safety reasons, occasionally she will accept a ride, but only if she is returned to the exact spot where she was picked up. No cheating allowed!)(Ron and Coleen in front of their guest house. Click all photos to enlarge.)
~In Arcadia, OK, Michelle met Jim Ross, author of several books and maps on Route 66. Jim knows Route 66 like the back of his hand, and provides Michelle with daily route assistance.
(Route 66 photograher Shellee Graham and author Jim Ross.)
~After battling 50-mile winds in Weatherford, OK, Michelle was relieved to see her long-time friend and route2outmartcancer posse member Traci Bidinger. Traci flew in from Maryland to lend a hand, and drove 14 mph for hours on dark country roads so that Michelle could reach the Texas border.
By the end of the second day of Traci’s visit, somehow the Mustang rental car was smashed to smithereens (No injuries; Traci blames it on the blind spot!), and Mustang 
Sally was relegated to a mini van shipped in from Oklahoma City. In another first of this journey, Michelle’s bag got a ride in a police car. (Below: Bob gets a ride)
~After maneuvering the hills of Texas with broken gears on the bike (yes, there are hills in Texas!) Michelle landed in a giant rest stop in Groom, TX. As she looked for a place on the grass to pitch her tent, she ran into a “Watch for snakes” sign that made her rethink this strategy! A firm avoider of anything creepy, crawly or slithering, Michelle pitched her tent on the concrete as close to the front door as she could get!
~In Groom, TX, Michelle had her first flat on the bob. She discovered that the bike pump wouldn’t work on the bob, but Ron, a rest stop worker, helped her change the tire and Tony, from the Texas Department of Transportation, filled it with air. (What is the bob? The bob, formally known as Yak Bob, is the trailer that Michelle has hitched to her bike.)
~As Michelle was assessing the gear situation in a campground outside of Amarillo, the calvary arrived in the form of a stretch limo (complete with longhorns), dispatched by Becky Ransom at the Big Texan! Michelle, the bike and the bob were whisked to the hotel to regroup—and find a bike store. 
(Above Left: Ron, finest cowboy in Texas, drove Michelle and the bob to the hotel. Left: Becky Ransom and the Big Texan Band.)
~After walking nine miles to the Amarillo airport on Thanksgiving morning, Michelle got a lift the last half mile by Southwest Airlines employee Gene Jolly who happened to be working Michelle’s flight. Gene arranged for an announcement on the flight about Michelle’s mission. (Gene Jolly and Michelle at the airport.)
~Michelle flew to Costa Mesa, CA, to surprise her brother John on Thanksgiving and present him with a big Texan hat!
~On Nov. 29, as Michelle waited out a snowstorm in Tucumcari, NM, she received news that John’s fifth surgery was a success! In a six-hour surgery, doctors successfully removed a tumor and infection in his cheekbone.
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