The Great Phone Caper

Sometimes I wonder why Becky lets me out without a leash.

Yesterday I took off from our Albuquerque hotel for a late-morning ride. It was a beautiful day, and as I started I watched the last few stragglers from the Balloon Fiesta float gracefully over the city.

I had to negotiate the center of town, so I needed my directions handy. Since I use my phone for navigation, I decided to simply rest it on my lap.

After about three miles I needed directions. I looked down and…no phone. And I had no idea where I’d last seen it.

So I re-traced a few blocks, hoping I’d get lucky. Then I asked a guy if I could borrow his phone so I could call Becky. We managed to find each other and we tried the “Find My i-phone” app. And there it was—a little blue dot showing my phone’s location.

So off went Becky in search of that little blue dot.

She tracked it to a specific car in a parking lot. When two attractive young women approached the car, she asked if they had my phone. Suddenly neither spoke English, but when they drove away the blue dot began to move.

Rather than recording a license number and calling the police, Becky decided to begin an episode of “Law & Order Albuquerque.” She jumped in the car and tracked the two desperados for more than an hour through some questionable areas of town. Eventually the dot stopped again, so she dialed the number. An older-sounding female with a heavy Hispanic accent answered.

When Becky inquired about the phone, the lady said her husband had found it and she’d be happy to return it. With her address in hand and Monte as backup, Becky headed into a rundown trailer park. She encountered a woman with one leg and a convoluted story.

Long story short—for $20 and a book, we got the phone back.

All this time, I was sitting in downtown Albuquerque with no idea what was occurring. I couldn’t keep riding because I didn’t have directions and Becky’d have no way of finding me. And of course I imagined all sorts of horrible scenarios about what she was getting herself involved in.

So a couple of hours later Becky appeared with a big smile and my phone. And off I went to complete as much of my planned route as possible.

By the way, as a perfect end to the day—at the top of the nearly 1000-foot climb out of Albuquerque, as I stopped to enjoy the view and rest for a minute, one of my rear tires went flat.

I accepted the hissing sound as a sign that it was time to stop for the day.

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We stopped in at TWO WHEEL DRIVE bike shop Saturday afternoon to ask for some help adjusting my brakes. Mark, Derek, and Rusty were fascinated by my bike, and they did a great job of restoring my stopping power.

When Becky tried to pay them, they declined and gave her a great-looking t-shirt as well.

We encounter so many kind, generous people. If you ever need bike work done in Albuquerque, stop in at TWO WHEEL DRIVE and meet three of them.

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When we spoke at JOY JUNCTION Friday morning we met some families who are struggling. They reminded me that one reason we’re doing this is to help CONVOY OF HOPE feed hungry kids.

May I ask you to consider clicking the chain ring and making a donation?

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We begin today with 75 miles behind us. As things stand, this looks to be a week of steady biking. Looking at the profile, I’m thinking it’s time for Becky to break out her fancy new bike.