Life On A B-I7

Day 15

Globe Arizona to Safford Arizona (The Salsa Trail)

The new tires are working great. Last night when I pulled into the spot where I planned to pitch my tent, I noticed I was picking up “goat heads” on my tires. Goat Heads are small, but very destructive little balls of thorns. I quickly altered course and found a different spot. You will recall that I had the tires mounted to the wheels without using tubes, I’m now running “tubeless.” The trick with tubeless is the sealant they put inside the tires. As I was pulling the Goat Heads out of my tires, I noticed some very small bubbles after a Goat Head was removed, that is the sealant at work filling the puncture left behind. Very impressive. My tires are still inflated this morning and ready to go on their 76 mile ride from Globe to Safford.

Today was the third day in a row of either high mileage or lots of climbing. It’s one thing to do this level of effort occasionally, but day-in, day-out becomes a challenge in itself. I finished today really in fine shape. I was the first one to the grocery stop at the end of the day, that was my goal because I was the cook tonight and responsible for shopping. When I finished shopping, five other riders were waiting outside the store to help me carry the groceries to the campground.

I knocked dinner out of the park tonight. I cooked the same meal I did last time, only with a slight variation. Instead of onion in the sauté, I used yellow and orange peppers, and I added a pound of Italian Sausage to the pot this time along with the pound of hamburger. So far, I’m the only person that has cooked a meal “from scratch” with the exception of Trail Boss. Last night she fixed “Thanksgiving Dinner.” We had mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, and sliced ham.

Tomorrow we will cross the Arizona, New Mexico state line and we will officially be in our third state. I am looking forward to a photo of myself standing on the continental divide. (That should be the day after tomorrow) I did get two photos today. The selfie camera on the phone is not broken, so I held it backwards to snap a landscape shot, and I also took my first official selfie of the trip

I’m very tired, having logged a long day, cooked dinner, and also done laundry. Tomorrow will be another 76 mile day crossing into New Mexico

Miles: 76

Vertical: 2,000

Day 16

Get out of Arizona day

Today turned out to be the toughest day yet. The route took us into New Mexico and covered another 76 miles. There was significant climbing which was unexpected. I don’t spend a lot of time studying the maps the day before each ride, so it was a bit of a surprise to me that we actually had the same amount of climbing as yesterday. Stringing these days together one after the other is a challenge. To make things easier we decided to eat at a restaurant instead of cooking in camp. We all met at a restaurant in Lordsburg at 6:30pm (7:30 Mountain) so it was a long day.

I started the day late because I cooked dinner and breakfast, which always makes the cook the last one out of camp. After breakfast was finished and I was all packed, I rode back four miles to a Walmart to buy a camera. The shopping trip in the wrong direction and the breakfast made me almost two hours late getting getting started on the route this morning. I managed to pass two people along the way, arriving at the restaurant 15 minutes before our reservation. I had to put the hammer down for the last 19 miles.

One of our crew dropped out last night. He made his announcement at dinner. He picked up the dinner check for everyone and then announced he was leaving the tour. These are hard days, there isn’t a lot of time for sight-seeing. You need to keep your head down and pedal to make it each day to the day’s end-destination and still have time to set up camp and cook. It’s not for everyone. As we were leaving the restaurant, I told the Trail Boss I was going across the street to the Econo Lodge for the night. She asked me if I was leaving the tour! She was partly serious. I think the announcement caught her off-guard. I told her that wild horses couldn’t drag me off the tour! I knew I was making the right call to get a bed for the night because during dinner there was mention of mesquites at the KOA.

Today will be tough again, but it’s worth it, Every time a lizard scurries out of the brush at the side the road and runs along side my bike for 10 feet of so before ducking back into the brush, it makes me smile. I had a butterfly chase me for about 30 feet darting about in front of me. (I was going up hill.) Near sunset, I heard a coyote, and the sound of birds was amazing. I have never heard anything like it.

I did stop and read one historical marker yesterday, I was a convenient place to stop and grab some water. I was shocked at how disturbing it was. It is true that history is written by the victors, not the vanquished. But the inscription in front of me read like such a good white man, bad Indian story that it had to be taken with a huge grain of salt. Human history is complicated. Attempts to summarize it on a road marker are fraught with all sorts of danger. It’s probably better to leave the road side markers to explanations of geology. Most people (but not all) find geology less controversial.

Today we cross the Continental Divide and will be climbing 4,000 feet in just over 50 miles. Lordsburg is a 4,250 feet elevation, which means we will be climbing to an elevation over 8,000 feet. I really hope I can figure out the camera so I can get a shot of me with my bike at the Continental Divide.

Miles: 76

Vertical: 2,000

Day 17

Lordsburg New Mexica to Silver City New Mexico

Another grueling day. Climbing 4,000 feet was tougher than it sounds. I dragged my heels all day. I was not the last one into camp, but almost! Tomorrow is a day of rest and it is sorely needed, at least for me. Today I crossed the Continental Divide and I’m now hanging out in a bar in Silver City. Very tired, but not too tired to have a beer. The beer I’m having is a “Smart Blonde”, brewed by the Little Toad Creek Brewery. (Drinking a beer named “Smart Blonde” doesn’t necessarily mean any attribute implied by the name will be granted to the drinker…)

Speaking of smart blondes, I picked up a very pretty (and smart) blonde on the road today. She wanted a ride all the way to Florida, but I said I would take her to Silver City. Your probably wondering how you can pick-up someone when you are on a bike tour, you have to be very observant. She didn’t mind riding in front of the handle bars, which I appreciated because that meant she could keep an eye out for road debris and warn me when we were approaching something that should be avoided. She was very quiet. I ignored the fact that her beautiful blonde locks were in reality “plugs.” When I dropped her in Silver City, I asked her for her name. All she said was “Barbie’s Little Sister.” That made sense, she was only 4 inches tall and she had a perfect figure, I should have guessed her name right from the git-go.

I did finally arrive in Silver City at 4:30. I spent 8 hours on the road and traveled a whopping 44 miles. The hills were killer.

Miles: 44

Vertical: 4,000

Day 18

This is our rest day. It came at a perfect time. I was exhausted from the last four days of climbing and mileage. We have three more days in the mountains then we will have put the climbing behind us and we will be into a completely different experience.

I took my bike in to a shop here in Silver City for a tune-up. I took it to “Hike and Bike” and they are a very helpful bunch. Today is dedicated to relaxing, catching up on my posts, and figuring out how to get photos off my new camera so I can get them into my iPad and my iPhone. I’m also looking forward to a little thrift shopping, just for fun, and a good dinner tonight with of course a few beers to accompany it. Tomorrow we have a 50 mile day with another 3,500 to 4,000 feet of climbing. The day after that we will be going over Emery Pass. The pass tops out at 8,300 elevation and change. Coming down from Emery Pass is a 5,000 foot descent, that will be a lot of fun. The Davidson loves to roll down hill.

The last fews days I have been pondering the lines of a poem about birds. You have a lot of time to think while you are cycling. It started when I pulled over and saw three birds circling overhead about 200 feet in the air. It was a hot afternoon and they were using the air currents to keep themselves aloft with the bare minimum of effort on their part. It was truly elegant to behold. I’m going to close this post by sharing the poem with you, I finished it last night while sitting at the “Little Toad Creek” brewery.

Day 19

Silver City New Mexico to Membres New Mexico

Today I had to make a difficult choice. Take the high road, or take the low road. There were two different routes to the town of Membres available to us. One, the high route, included a lot of climbing and crossing the Continental Divide two more times. The other route was only half as long with less than half the climbing. I chose the low route. I feel a bit like a cheater. There are eight of us now. Four went high and four went low. I’m just going to have to come back and do the high route some time. It would be fun to incorporate, the Gila Cliff Dwellings into that too. That would be a nice two or three day tour.

By taking the low route, I did pass through the area where one of the largest open pit mines in the world is currently in operation. I stopped for a good bit of time at the observation turn-out and read all the signs on display there. The signs explained the history of the mine, ownership, and innovations in mining that have taken place in the last 100 years. The pit was bigger than you can possibly imagine, bigger than I had imagined anyway. The giant electric shovel that loads 2-1/2 tons of rock in a single scoop looked like a tiny speck on the side of the pit where they were excavating. I didn’t take any photos. Open pit mining creates a huge scar on the land. Even after reclamation, you can still see that mining operations have clearly taken place.

At the end of the ride, I stopped in to a small grocery store/restaurant. I wanted to buy a six pack of beer to have and share with the beer drinkers in the group. There was a man in front of me buying some simple groceries using food stamps, nothing too healthy. He also had an item that didn’t qualify for food stamps. The lady in the store rang it all up. He tried to hand her money for the non-covered item, she said, “that’s ok, I got it.” It made me think about charity. We all need to take care of those we know or those we meet that are less fortunate than we are, but we also need to take care of those who have no one looking out for them. As I rode away from the store I saw a political sticker about the greatness of America. It was difficult for me to relate that sentiment to real caring in Washington D. C. Caring about the people living in this remote valley, and other valleys like it.

I stopped along the way today to write a few lines of a poem. I got in to camp so early today I might have an opportunity to work on it some more before I retire for the night. Tomorrow we ride over Emery Pass. We will reach the highest point of the tour, approximately 8,500 feet elevation.

Miles: 24

Vertical: 1,000

Day 20

Membres to somewhere else in New Mexico

6:00am. Last night it rained and it was difficult to sleep. The lightening and thunder were epic. I don’t know if that is common for this part of the country, but it was extremely uncommon for me. Even inside the tent, I could see the display that Mother Nature was putting on was spectacular in its ferocity and its beauty. I stayed in the tent and appreciated it vicariously, mostly dry.

Fortunately, it stopped raining by 7:00am so I was able to pack all my gear without getting myself or my gear any wetter. We stayed at the Mountain Mist RV Park in Membres. Our camp host Mickey was a dear. She fixed us breakfast and was just the sweetest person you could want to meet. I would like to go back to the Membres valley. There is a lot of beauty there, and a lot to see and do, particularly the Gila Cliff Dwellings. You could easily spend three days cycling the valley and surrounding areas. The RV park is the cleanest I’ve seen yet, very warm and inviting. Mickey even put new bottles of body wash and shampoo in the showers for us. That is a first on the trip. Those items haven’t been provided, until last night.

We started out the day with an 18 mile climb up to Emory Pass. The route was simply climbing with no relief. I had to stop once to let my heart rate come down. It was an average 6% grade with stretches of 10% thrown in for good measure. At the top, the view of the surrounding valley to the South was spectacular. The decent from the top was thrilling, the second most exciting descent I have ever done. The first being the Maui Downhill, which starts at the top of Mt. Haleakala and goes all the way to the ocean, 26 miles if I recall correctly. This descent was on the order of 17 miles with the first 7 being the most thrilling.

This area of New Mexico was the ancestral home of the Chiricahua Apache. They believed that everything on the land was their’s for the taking. That included all things natural and all things man-made. They fought a protracted struggle during the “Indian Wars” and were finally made “Prisoners Of War” and moved to Florida. The climate there was unhealthy for them and many died. They were then moved to Oklahoma. Eventually they were allowed to move back to their ancestral homes and live with other Apache Indians already established on reservations there. Some stayed in Oklahoma and homesteaded, some returned to New Mexico.

I reached the town of Hillsboro, about 18 miles below the summit of Emory Pass at just after 2pm. There was a cafe there that stayed open until 2, the owner was just closing. I asked if I and my riding companion could get some food and she let us in. We both ordered the “Hillsboro Hot Dog,” which turned out to be a Southwest style hot dog. Green chili peppers, bacon, tomatoes, and lots of other good stuff. It really was sort of a take on a Chicago style hot dog. It was wonderful. It was also perfectly timed because for dinner our group was planning a light meal due to a lack of groceries available in this rather more remote section of New Mexico.

Miles: 60

Vertical: Too much

We topped out at 8,229 feet, the highest elevation on the tour.

Day 21

Somewhere in New Mexico to Las Cruces New Mexico

Today we reached Las Cruces. Our route took us more or less straight South. The head wind that we expected was minimal. It was another 60 mile day. I scooted out of camp ahead of everyone else for the first time. It was a pleasant morning and I made good time. About 10 miles in I encountered my first dog chase. I was followed by a little white guy, he did not appear to serious so I just pedaled faster and put him in my rear view mirror. About 10 miles later I encountered my second dog chase of the trip. One of my companions warned me in this part of New Mexico I would see dogs off leash in small towns, and he was right. This fellow, a bigger black dog, looked serious. I stopped pedaling and talked to him and he lost interest in twenty yards or so. Neither of these dogs were truly vicious, and I hope I don’t encounter one that is.

Head wind was not a factor today, but the morning’s ride took us through fog for about ten miles. It was really unexpected. It was a dense fog and it reminded me of Seattle. We finally came out of it just a couple of miles outside of Hatch, our designated lunch stop. Hatch is noted for being the chili capital of the world, and indeed, it probably is. I spent the morning cycling through chili fields. There were many little shops selling Southwest art and fresh roasted chilis. They roast them on the spot for you. The smell was delightful. I ate lunch at Sparky’s. Sparky’s claims to server the best green chili burger in the world. So I had to try one to see of the claim had merit. It did. The burger was very good, one of the best I have every had. Of course, everything you don’t cook when you are on tour tastes good, so I might be a bit jaded in that respect. But suffice it to say, if I end up at some point within 100 miles of Hatch, I will go back to Sparky’s.

Most of the afternoon was spent following the Rio Grande River. It is a majestic, slow moving, muddy red beast. At one point near Las Cruces, I saw a couple and their dog in the middle of the river running along splashing in the muddy water. At that point at least it was not very deep, because it was a small dog and it did not seem to have any trouble running in the water. I think when it rains the river can fill up quickly. The afternoon was spent crossing many dry washes that flowed into the river.

Since today was our first day with no real mountain climbing, I decided to celebrate by buying beer for the crew. We are now eight, seven plus our leader. I bought two 6-packs of Bud and a bag of ice. I’ll get back to that in a second. (Yes, I bought Bud. There are some people in our crew that have not yet had their taste spoiled by IPAs.) Try carrying 4 panniers, a handle bar bag, two large stuff bags on the rear rack AND two 6-packs and a bag of ice. I had to carry all of this 5 miles to camp, the last mile was up hill. I made it, and the beer tasted good, I would say very good in fact.

I noticed when camp was set up tonight that a lot of people are now placing rocks and other items around their tent stakes. My practice of doing that is catching on. That is of course to make the stakes visible so people don’t trip over them - which I did all the time before I started that practice.

Miles: 60

Vertical: A few rollers.

Day 22

Get out of New Mexico day

6:06am Today marks the 1/3 completion point of the tour. At the end of the day we will be in El Paso, Texas. Getting through Texas is going to take some time, it’s a big state. The ride today will be a bit shorter distance, but negotiating the big city will slow things down just a bit. I’m on deck to cook tonight, so tonight’s post will likely be a bit shorter than normal.

So far I have enjoyed New Mexico the most. Perhaps because I’m now more accustomed to riding. There is a certain charm to New Mexico that I just didn’t feel in California or Arizona. I can’t be too critical of California or Arizona, they were beautiful, but I showed up not completely ready for mountain riding. That fact made the days longer and more heads-down than they should have been. There are some challenging climbs in both states. If you want to do the Southern Tier (and I recommend it) it pays to train for hills before arriving at the start of the ride. In all fairness to ACA, they made that perfectly clear. My life this past summer didn’t make it easy to focus on serious hill training. It should be noted however, that I am not a climber to begin with. Some people have a knack for climbing, I’m not one of them. All of that considered, I would not have traded my summer experience for extra training.

One of the cultural experiences that has come out of this journey so far is a fascination with the Apache Indians and their history. Of course there isn’t time to do a lot of reading, especially with the writing that I am trying to accomplish, but I think that once this journey comes to a conclusion I will take the opportunity to learn more about the Apaches. I do believe that I will come back to New Mexico at some point to experience that cultural history in more depth.

Just outside Las Cruces is the small town of Mesilla. It’s a bit of a tourist trap, but I still enjoined passing through. Church was just letting out. The church faces the town square, a real town square. The buildings are very old and the architecture Mexican. This town belonged to Mexico before it became part of America, and it shows. You could spend a fun day here just experience the food and shops selling local art and crafts. The old court house on the square is where Billy The Kid was convicted and sentenced to hang. Bicycle touring does not give you time to stop in a town and really soak up the atmosphere, but it does give you a very good preview of places worth returning to.

I’m staying in an old hotel in downtown El Paso that has been converted to a Hostel. Besides our group, there is a man that has just finished the Continental Divide Trail, an overland motorcyclist, a nice woman from Germany, and a young woman that has just accepted a position with the Park Service. Thirty feet down the street is a walk-down bar call “Dillinger’s.” I’m sitting there now having a Manhattan, possibly chased by a Bud, who knows. My taste in beer seems to be changing of late. Lighter brews seem to hit the spot a little better. They have photos of John Dillinger on the wall. I’m not sure what the connection between Dillinger and El Paso is, I thought he was an Indiana boy, be that as it may, the photos of John Dillinger look a lot like John Travolta.

God almighty these bar stools are hard. Could it be the 55 miles today? After many miles of travel by bicycle across three states, I finally have acquired a cyclist’s worst nightmare, a bit of chafing. This too shall pass, but you would think this would have occurred 100 miles out, not 800.

Tonight was my turn to cook. Cooks have to shop as well as cook. Tonight’s grocery stop was 4 miles before the Hostel. Everyone was waiting at the grocery store for me but I was no where in sight… I got a text from Trail Boss, “where are you?” I had over-shot the grocery store by more than 4 miles. Please don’t ask me how a semi-intelligent person can make such a bone-headed mistake, but I am here as living proof that it’s not that hard, if your bone-headed. I confessed my error and everyone at the grocery store came up with a “Plan B.” I’ll be the cook tomorrow night. When I realized my mistake I put in the address of the Hostel and to my surprise, I discovered that I was just two blocks away. This particular mistake had a happy ending. The dinner that I didn’t fix was very good too.

I have a new best friend at “Dillinger’s.” He wanted a dollar and i bought him a Budweiser instead. I guess I’m an “enabler.”

Miles: 55

Vertical: We are out of the mountains.

A third of the tour is complete. Entered Texas.

Day 23

West Texas

Today we faced a steady head wind, it turned out we were only doing 55 miles, not the 70 that I had expected. (I don’t always pay close attention in map meetings. I’m good at some details, poor at others. I call it selective cognitive dissonance.) I ate lunch in a small town at a Mexican restaurant called “Lucy’s. I had two tacos, chips and salsa, and an orange soda for $5. The food was excellent, and the salsa was hot! I ate every last bit of it! My tongue was burning. The last 15 miles I got into a pace line with one other rider. We are heading thru mostly flat country now. Being in a pace line didn’t seem to help very much, The wind was hitting us between head on and 45 degrees right. There was no shoulder on the road, so the person behind couldn’t really sit on the left side of the leader’s wheel.

I knocked dinner out of the park (again). The little Mexican grocery where I stopped to shop had everything I needed and the owner was a joy to talk to. It turns out he has vacationed in Washington so we had a lot to talk about and many laughs. He had everything we needed in his store except Starbucks coffee. I’m kidding there, actually I didn’t expect Starbucks. For coffee I had to go with instant NesCafe. The best part was the home made tortillas he sold, and the excellent chorizo. I picked out some tomatoes from his produce and he told me I couldn’t have them. He took them from me and went into the back. A minute later he came out with nicer ones!

We stayed at a community church with a kitchen. That always makes food prep much easier, rather than having to cook over small camp stoves (we carry three). I made Spanish rice, white rice, chorizo, hot pinto beans, hot refried beans, a sauté of poblano, onion, and jalapeño, fresh tomatoes, fresh cilantro, and of course the excellent tortillas. I got a couple of votes for best meal so far!

It’s not late at all, but I’m tired, so I’m going to bed. I have a great story from the bar in El Paso, but I’m too tired to write about it now. Hopefully tomorrow night I’ll be able to get to that story.

The next two days will be 74 and 75 mile days, respectively. Wind optional.

Miles: 55

Steady head wind all day.

Day 24

West Texas

Today we covered 75 miles. The first 40 were generally up hill. It was railroad grade stuff or slightly more, but for what seemed like more than half the 40 miles we dealt with the grade, the wind, or both. I stopped to eat a chili dog at mile 40, the only stop with food on the route. It’s a good thing I stopped, because the next 25 miles was more of the same. The last 10 miles of the route was on I-10 and I was pushing dusk hard when I got off I-10 and arrived in Van Horn, our destination for the day. I’m now in the Central Time Zone and have traveled over 1,000 miles.

I plan to write about why I’m doing this trip before I reach St. Augustine. Perhaps I’ll take up that bit of house keeping on my next day of rest, which mercifully is tomorrow. Today will be another 75 miles with 2/3 of it general climbing. I started about an hour behind everyone else because I was the cook. I also wanted to do some writing, and I was just generally poking around. I was fortunate to catch the leaders of the pack at the grocery store in Van Horn. If I had waited any longer to start in the morning, I would have been riding after sunset which is not a really sharp idea.

I’d like to say a few words about equipment. You can find photos on Instagram (@badkins65). Up front, I have a classic randonneur bag. It’s a great idea, but the fit is a bit off. It’s too close to the handle bars, so it prevents me from placing my hands on the top of the bar comfortably. That’s actually a big deal when you are on tour. The bag has a short future in my life once this tour is over. I love it and I hate it. It does a fair job of holding my maps, but they still get wet in a down-pour. Inside the map case on the top, I carry the tapestry book mark that Emma gave me last summer when she returned from her trip to Turkey. I love looking down at that. The first 1,000 miles of this tour I found myself looking at it quite a bit.

In the back I have two panniers, and all the “sleeping” gear, tent and accessories. It feels like too much in the back, but it all seems to work. When one of our company dropped off the tour a week ago, I inherited the large cook pot he was carrying. The only way I could manage that little gem was to strap it onto the back of the bike, it’s too big to fit in my panniers. I don’t have the gigantic oversized panniers that some are hauling. At first I was a little annoyed about carrying the thing, it’s not exactly aesthetically pleasing to the eye. It makes me look like Jed Clampett heading out to California after finding oil on his land in Texas. All that aside, I have grown quite fond of it. It turns out to be very useful. Today I carried a loaf of bread and my lunch in it. Probably the best feature though is it’s ability to hold 12 cans of beer, with ice!

Since yesterday was such a hard day, I had to stay focused on the work and didn’t spend as much time looking for photo opportunities as I usually do. I did have a pleasing experience with a train. As I was rolling along with tracks on my left, I heard a short whistle from an oncoming train. There was no intersection so I assumed the whistle was a simple greeting intended for me. As the train went by I raised my arm and gave the Engineer a big wave. I got another whistle in return. That was pretty cool. The Engineer was sending me a personalized greeting. Simple things on the road can make your day. That one certainly did.

Miles: 74

Vertical: I wasn’t expecting vertical today, the rollers kicked my ass.

One of my favorite photos so far.

Day 25

West Texas

Today we covered 75 miles. For me, it was the toughest day yet. I lost the odometer off my bike hauling beer ice on the handle bars a few towns back. We were “off the map” meaning for today’s ride we were not following the published ACA route. An improv of sorts. I believe we will be back on the map tomorrow. The distance and the terrain and my lack of spatial orientation (miles covered, miles to go) were messing with my head. The terrain was beautiful, but wicked. We were traveling through “High Texas Desert.” We climbed up to an elevation of 4,500 feet, over basically a distance of 65 miles. It was a gradual climb, probably only 1 or 2% grade, but the miles at grade took a toll. The last 10 miles were a gradual downhill with rollers. The town fathers of Marfa sadistically put a big “Welcome to Marfa” billboard, 5 miles out of town. It made you think the town was just over the next roller, which of course it was not, another head game to deal with. I did not deal with all the head games well today. I’d like to just say that covering 75 miles on a bike is not normally a big deal. I’ve done 150 in one day, the trick is these bikes are loaded, and each day they seem to get a little bit heavier. Yesterday all me tent gear was wet, adding literally a couple of pounds to the load, and I was carrying extra water since there were no services for the entire 75 miles. Extra water adds several pounds of weight. I don’t know exactly how much the bike weighs, but I’m guessing it is north of 80 pounds total.

The day started out with the discovery of the largest caterpillar I have ever seen. It was green, about 3 inches long, and it was happily sitting on one of my panniers. I took a photo which is of course posted to Instagram (@badkins65). The Van Horn RV park has one of the most useful weather stations I have ever seen. The accuracy is uncanny, in fact I would say the accuracy is near perfect. It consisted of a large sign with a rock hanging on a rope, the rock was about 2 feet in diameter. The sign read:

If the rock is wet… it’s raining

If the rock is swaying… it’s windy

If the rock is hot… it’s sunny

If the rock is cool… it’s overcast

If the rock is white… it’s snowing

If the rock is blue… it’s cold!

If the rock is gone… TORNADO

Along the route today, I saw a Prada store. I’m not exactly sure why there is a Prada store in the middle of the High Texas Desert. There was a plaque next to it that probably would have explained the purpose. I took it as high irony and humor combined, and of course took a photo. One of our company was standing along-side the building. I should note there were actual shoes and purses inside the building, the whole thing was built to look like a glass showcase. If you look carefully at the photo, you will see my reflection. Entertainment comes cheap when you’re on the road.

Miles: 75

Vertical: Guessing 1,500 to 2,000

Marfa is a very cool town.

Day 26

A well deserved day of rest. I’ll be in Austin Texas in 10 days!

Today we are at the El Cosmico Campground. This is the coolest place ever. I don’t see a lot of big RV’s here. It’s like the “Anti-RV Park” of all time. They specialize in renting space for tent campers, they also have available an assortment of ready made camping experiences. They have bell tents, rectangular tents, yurts, and classic/antique travel trailers (permanently installed). There are a lot of people here speaking languages other then English and Mexican. This place has got to be world famous. They have a nice outdoor kitchen and the “wash house” is outdoors. Pure charm. The pathways are lighted at night and the wash house has a huge red neon “TEXAS” sign so you can find it easily in the dark. The whole thing is just cool kitsch from start to finish.

Here’s what I plan to do on my day of rest:

• Clean my water bottles
• Clean my bike
• Tighten all the screws on the bike
• Adjust the right hood
• Dry out all my gear
• Do laundry
• Write a bit, read a bit
• Have a big steak dinner at the Saint George Hotel
• Get a door stop at the local hardware

Sadly, sometime in the last couple of days I lost Barbie’s Little Sister (BLS). I guess she got tired of of being my scout and bailed. Too bad too, because just after she decided to bail on me, Trail Boss found a “Ken” doll for her along side the road. I think they would have hit it off, he was extremely buff. I was going to introduce the two and let them both ride with me to Austin, but BLS decided to bail on me a bit too soon. Her loss.

For the record, I spend most of my free time setting up my camp, taking my camp down, eating and sleeping, and of course writing this blog. But when I’m not doing one of those things, which is pretty rare, I’m reading a book that I picked up in Silver City. The book is “A Coney Island Of The Mind,” poems by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. It’s pretty weird stuff. This is one of his earlier collections of poetry. A lot of people described him at the time as a “beat poet,” he denied that definition, but I would say, looking back, that he most likely was. His poetry is good for me. As a hack poet, novice non-poet, I find his verse inspiring both in its obtuseness, as well as its visceral reality. Lawrence was the owner of the famous City Lights bookstore in San Francisco.

Yesterday’s long ride had its challenges, I wrote about that in the previous post, but there was an added element of frustration. My extra water was contaminated and I couldn’t drink it. I carry three water bottles in cages plus three extra water bladders each holding about 60 ounces of water. Yesterday I was running with one extra bladder. When it came time to refill the water bottles from the bladder. I discovered the water in the bladder was bad. My fault for not cleaning the bladder in the morning and filling it with fresh water. I drank some of it and started to feel uncomfortable so I did the remainder of the ride dry, about 30 miles. Fortunately it wasn’t too hot yesterday.

The kick-stand on my bike is a bit too short, so I need to pick up a door stop at the hardware store so I can use it to adjust the height of the leg. This becomes a issue particularly when trying to use the kick stand on uneven ground. I really need a two-legged kick stand. This is an example of a small thing that can get into your head when you are on the road. Inconsequential, but seriously important.

Tonight I’m going to have a big steak dinner at the Saint George Hotel along with a Manhattan and an IPA.

A look back

This incident goes back to my overnight in El Paso. I was having a couple of drinks in Dillinger’s Bar. I was sitting with no one around me and writing in my journal. A young fellow sat down next to me and asked me what I was writing. He was a good looking fellow, strong, probably late 20’s. I told him I was writing a bit of this and that, some poetry, some notes about my day. I mentioned I was on a cross-country cycling tour. He became very interested at that point. He wanted to see what I was writing, so I showed him my poem about birds. He read it intently and then remarked that his generation was not doing enough to save the planet. He called himself a “Millennial” That struck me as a remarkably open statement. We kept on chatting, he wanted to know all about the cycling tour. He asked me how old I was (he had a reason for asking, which I shall reveal shortly). I told him I was 65. I thought he was going to fall off his stool. He could not get over that.

After a bit more conversation ensued about the tour, I found out the real reason he was so impressed with my age and the endurance aspect of this tour. He told me the story about how his Uncle, an El Paso police officer was killed in the line of duty. On a routine traffic stop, the motorist pulled out a semi-automatic weapon and shot his Uncle 15 times as he was approaching the car. Damien, that was my new friend’s name, was devastated telling me the story. I could tell he loved his Uncle very much. He told me his Uncle’s badge number was 4928. Damien wanted to run 49.28 miles in honor of his Uncle. I thought that was amazing. We spent a bit more time talking about his Uncle and endurance events. He suddenly got up and fetched his posse, four women that he was in the bar with. He brought them over to were I was sitting and introduced my to all of them. At that point he insisted that I go through all the details of the tour so they could hear all about it. Damien was very cool, and after I answered all their questions, he took a photo of us. It was a remarkable evening, that came literally out of nowhere.

Day 27

Texas is big

The hot tub last night at El Cosmico was divine. It was wood fired and the perfect temperature. It was so nice I stayed up much later than I probably should have…

That was last night…

While I was sleeping, the temperature dropped 50 degrees. By 3am a wind came up that was slapping the rain fly on the tent so loudly it was difficult to sleep. When I finally crawled out of the tent at 7am, it was 36 degrees and a very cold wind was blowing out of the North. I was told later in the day that up in the Pan Handle the temperature had dropped to 28 degrees and the winds were 60mph. I estimated in Marfa a more or less steady 20mph with gusts up to 35mph. I started the day cold before even getting on the bike. I was experiencing what Texans call a “Blue Norther.”

I made the first 20 miles of the day’s 60, but it was a struggle. I was barely making headway and had been blown off the shoulder of the road four times. I had just been blown off again, and was calculating the odds of getting back on the bike and making it 100 yards before another gust blew me off the road, when a pickup truck pulled over. Out jumped one of my tour companions. I knew instantly I was getting a ride. The thought of turning down the offer didn’t even enter my head. Rick threw the bike in the back of his new Ford F-150 and we covered the next 10 miles to the town of Alpine in comfort.

Things seemed a bit calmer in Alpine. We still had 30 miles to go before reaching our destination for the day. Fortunately the wind was less harsh here. We were actually on the other side of a small range of mountains that separates Marfa from Alpine. I was able to make the next 30 miles at something like a normal pace, but I was cold as hell. Once you get chilled on the bike, it’s game over until you get off the bike.

The RV park where we are staying has an outdoor plaza with a covered patio and large stone fireplace. We’ve eaten and had our map meeting and I’m sitting in front of a nice fire, feeling almost human again.

We get to do it all over again tomorrow…

Miles: 60

Possibly the coldest day I have experienced on a bike.

Day 28

Still in Texas

Clouds came in last night! It’s going to be much more civilized today. I’m in a coffee shop in Marathon. Great place. I’m warming up with an egg sandwich, fruit cup, and coffee before the day’s ride. Tonight we are staying in a Budget Inn. Shower and a hot meal that we don’t cook on mini-camp stoves. The goal today is 56 miles. Trail Boss mentioned last night in map meeting that it was mostly down hill. I’m finding that a bit hard to believe. We shall see.

Time to get to it…

Much to my surprise, it was a near perfect day. I was able to do the “big-little dance” most of the day. That is where you leave the rear cassette on one of the smaller rings, and just shift the front chain ring from high to low. (I have two chain rings up front.) It’s efficient and simple, and makes the ride more enjoyable. My kit today was just what I needed as well. I wore long pants, a long sleeved base layer, a shirt, a puffy vest and a light rain jacket. It sounds like a lot, but in windy conditions you need extra layers. The rain jacket came in handy because it did actually rain lightly for about thirty minutes mid-afternoon. I covered the 56 miles in 5-1/2 hours, including stops to rest occasionally and to eat lunch. I felt good about that timing. That’s an overall average of 10mph, with a fully loaded touring bike, that’s pretty good, at least for me. I left an hour behind everyone else because I had “second breakfast” in a coffee shop. About twenty miles out I passed two people, at mile 25 I passed another.

Trail Boss was right, we did descend about a thousand feet in the course of the 56 miles that we covered. With only modest climbing involved, that means you are covering a lot of flat ground.

We all agreed to meet for dinner at 7pm at a nearby restaurant. I got to town at 4:15pm so I had lots of time before dinner. I got cleaned up and went across the street to a little bar with one of my companions. There were two people in the bar, the owner and one of his regulars. We sat down and watched the ALCS Game 1 preview show before going to dinner. I told the owner I’d be back after dinner. I did drop in after dinner for one more beer and watched three innings of the game. The population of the bar had grown to four by this time. Everyone in the bar was rooting for the Astros. I guess that’s not surprising. The owner was very nice. When I did finally leave, he walked me to the door, we were like old friends. Of course if I ever got back to Sanderson, I’ll go see him, but the town does not have a lot to offer. It’s a living ghost town really.The economy here does not offer a lot of opportunities for people.

We have a couple of 60 miles days the next two days.

Miles: 56

Day 29

Just assume from here on out that I’m in Texas

Today was a rolling 60 mile day to Langtry. That is the town where the famous Judge Roy Bean held court. I’m very tired tonight, we have another 60 mile day tomorrow, then a 75 mile day after that. I’m cooking on the 75 mile day. I’m going to crawl into the tent and try and get some good sleep.

Day 30

I feel like I got some good rest last nigh. We camped in the lot adjacent to the Community Center building in Langtry. This is a very small town. I don’t know what people do here for a living, but I suspect that most of the employment is connected to the Visitor’s Center and Judge Roy Bean Museum. The legend of Judge Roy Bean lives on in this town. The museum and visitor’s center was built and is managed by the Texas Department of Transportation. I overheard one lady say they get 40,000 visitors a year. It is a very nice facility. Much nicer in fact than you would expect to encounter in a town this size.

Last night after dinner I took a walk down to the Rio Grande river. I could not see any water, likely because I could not get close enough. Here the river flows through a very large canyon. On the Mexico side, the canyon wall must be 100 feet high. On the U.S. side the canyon wall is something less, but still significant. The entire landscape speaks of a mighty river that literally is no more. There are a lot of trees and vegetation in the bottom of the canyon, so it seems likely that water still flows here, I suspect mostly underground.

After a nice chat with our Community Center host this morning, our host came to unlock the building so we could use the rest rooms, I learned that the river does flow here. It flows right along the Mexico side of the canyon. She confirmed that the river is much smaller here than it was back in Judge Roy Bean’s day. I shared with our host my theory that Texans pronounce the “o” and the end of words like an “a” so they can tell who the “outsiders” are. She laughed and agreed with me. She is from Missouri and she married a native Texan. She told me that occasionally when she pronounces a word incorrectly, using “o” instead of “a”, her husband laughs at her and tells her that her “yankee is showing.”

I’m going to take it easy today and try to conserve some energy for tomorrow. Tonight we will be in Del RIo. It is a fairly large town and I need to try and find a new bicycle seat. I never thought a B17 would fail me, but it has become so misshapen that it is now uncomfortable. Time to pack up and head out for the day.

Drink before you’re thirsty, eat before your hungry, shift before you have to…

That’s my motto. I left Langtry and forgot to fill up my water bottles. The first town was 30 miles away. The mornings are a bit easier to negotiate without water than the afternoons, and this morning was on the cool side. When I reached the next town 30 miles down the road, I bought a chocolate milk, a 24oz Dr Pepper, and two bottles of water. That fixed me up and got me through the rest of the day. Shortly after I pulled into the town, a dozen (Harley Davidson) bikers rolled in. They were all from a vintage Harley club in Austin. They were riding bikes that were all pre-1970’s era. They were fun to talk to, every one was a mechanic, several were doing repairs to their bike at the stop. I left and they passed me several miles down the road, roaring by in a group. I waved, I don’t think any waved back. I do get waves from the bikers on BMWs from time to time.

Yesterday the Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to two researchers doing work in the field poverty, specifically how to alleviate poverty. It was refreshing to me to see this award. Perhaps the four decades trend of selfishly accruing wealth at the top, also know as “Share Value” economics, is coming to an end. It may be too much to ask, but perhaps the science of Economics is growing a soul. It needs to.

I can’t say enough about today. The weather was perfect for cycling. Not too hot, the terrain very civilized. Some days are good days, and some days are bad days. You just have to power through the bad days. The good days like today make the entire experience absolutely worth doing, by an order of magnitude. Today I rode just how I like!

Eight miles out of Del Rio I passed a drive-thru “beer barn.” I have never seen such a thing before! Of course I pulled over and drove through. For my selection I had a Modelo Especial. I also stopped at a liqueur store and picked up a bottle of Crown. I might add I am enjoying that as I write this post.

Tomorrow is a 75 mile day. It will be challenging, but I’m sure it will not be without reward. Tomorrow we enter what is referred to as the “Texas hill country.” Things will probably get a bit more challenging. We will be in the hill country until we reach Austin.

Miles: 61

A truly marvelous day of riding.

Day 31

It’s Wednesday morning. I’m writing this post the next morning because I was in no shape last night to write. Everything I might have said last night would have been negative, or at least less than positive. So I saved the days reflection to the next morning. Here’s what I would have written last night, had I not been exhausted…

One of my companions said, “exhaustion makes cowards of us all.” I laughed when he said that, not because it’s funny, but because of how true it is. You really need to check your emotions at the door when you are exhausted. Some days you have it, and some days you don’t. Today I did not have the physical or mental strength to pull off a fully loaded 75 mile day with anything near my normal grace and charm. (This is where I would normally insert the laughing emoticon due to my use of the terms “grace” and “charm.”) I made it, that’s about all I can say. I will feel much better in the morning.

It’s been two tough days. I did not take a single photo today, the first day that has happened since leaving San Diego. That’s speaks volumes about how the day went. There has been some dissension in the camp over food. We have a vegetarian, one a vegan, and a companion that is highly allergic to many common food ingredients. Then there is the rest, half plus one, that likes to eat hearty. I won’t go in to details about what “hearty” means, but suffice it to say “deconstructed” is not always “hearty.” I see signs after the last two days that we are going to pull things together, we’ll see how it goes. It’s a good group of people. The group has a lot of strengths taken as a whole, but everyone, hearty and non-hearty alike, is going to need to make compromises. One of the compromises that I need to make is I need to give up my “one pot” cooking style. “C’est la vie.” Meals is really about the only challenge we face as a group, so as one companion commented, “it’s a tiny cycling problem.” I got a good chuckle out of that. Tiny in the abstract, sometimes big in the moment.

I arrived in camp at 6:30pm and immediately began setting up the cook kitchen. I didn’t unpack or change clothes due to my late arrival. The meal turned out well. I think the hearty and non-hearty alike enjoyed it… for the most part. We are now officially in the Hill Country of Texas. Tomorrow we will see lots of rollers and a fair number should be the type of rollers that you have to gear down to climb. We shall see. My mental attitude is much better this morning, I expect a good day.

Miles: 75

Entering the Hill Country. Some very challenging terrain today.

Day 32

I had fun taking photos today. The day started out by passing the “Dam Store.” I had to have a photo. When Kelsey and Audrey were little we took them to Grand Coulee Dam. They must have been about 9 and 12 years old. When we pulled in to town, I said, “look, there’s the Dam Visitor’s Center.” I laughed because of course I never spoke like that in front of them. After that it was “the Dam grocery store, the Dam gas station, the Dam cafe,” and on-and-on it went. I laughed every time, they were a bit subdued about the whole thing. Audrey and Kelsey remember that to this day. The photo I took this morning is priceless. It reminds me of those times. The photo of the truck with the smoker out in front of the cow catcher takes BBQ to a completely new level.

Today found us in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. We had to go over three very large hills, the were very challenging. After the first hill, I wasn’t sure if I could make it over the next two. Your mind likes to play with you and plant little seeds of doubt. I did make it over the next two, they were difficult but the trick is to keep pedaling. That sounds stupid, but that’s how it works.The feeling of accomplishment at the end of a day like today is wonderful. For those of you familiar with Seattle hills, each one of these is like cycling from the Nickerson Street Tavern to the top of Queen Ann Hill three times. There where rollers for several miles and a descent after each hill. So it was like doing the Queen Ann climb about nine times, with a nice challenging interlude between each set of three climbs. I know you think I’m crazy, but I’m really not exaggerating. Welcome to the Texas Hill Country.

After the first hill I reached a stretch of rollers that went for three or four miles. Towards the end of the rollers a County Sheriff drove past me going the other way. I heard him slow down and I figured that was not good. I was the only thing on the road. I heard him turn around and head back my way and I knew he was coming after me, I just couldn’t figure out why. He pulled over about 100 yards in front of me, got out of his rig, and stood with hands on hips waiting for me. I pulled up and said “good afternoon Sheriff.” He looked at me and said, “are you all right?” I breathed a sigh of relief, I wasn’t going to get a ride in his vehicle - although that might have been preferred to the next two hills I hadn’t yet discovered. He told me “people in these parts have a tendency to not mind their own business. A car passed you going up the hill and called dispatch saying ‘there’s an old man on the road that looks like he’s struggling and probably shouldn’t be out there.’” That made me smile. I told him I was struggling, but that was because the damn hill was so steep. (Maybe that Dam hill, either way.) We had a good laugh. That’s when I learned about the next two hills. He described them to me in lurid detail. I told him where I was going to be at the end of the day and he asked me if I had a tent. He obviously didn’t think I was going to make it. (That was amusing too.) Before he left me and drove off, I explained to him that there were three of my party behind me on the route, and the motorist must have been referring to one of them. I don’t think he believed me because he got in his rig and drove off without investigating any further. I was a bit downcast. His driving away made me the old man by default.

In this part of the country people drive fast and they don’t slow down for animals in the road, there is a lot of road kill along side the road. A lot. Every truck out here has a “cow catcher” on the front. You even see cars with cow catchers. I saw four cars today with cow catchers. I try and make an effort to wave at people whenever it’s safe to take a hand off the handle bars. Most people wave back. Everyone is very friendly. A car pulled over to chat with one of our company. He told her that he was planning to do this ride tomorrow on his road bike. He told her he could not believe we were out her doing these hills on fully loaded touring bikes. I can’t believe it either really.

Miles: 42

Three hills that will test you. Tomorrow is the half-way mark.

Day 33

Lost Maples Recreation Area to Ingram

Morning. I’m not expecting today’s ride to be as difficult except for the fact that the first hill out of the gate is nick-named “the widow maker.” The notes for this section of the ride say that the grade is 14%. For you Seattleites, If you will recall the road that went from the south end of Southcenter Parkway up to SeaTac, that was a 17% grade. I was never able to make it to the top of that hill, even with an unloaded bike. I suspect I will be doing some walking this morning. Last night we camped in a State Recreation Area. We are sheltered on all four sides by hills, consequently there was no cell service. Surprisingly, that was only the second time so far on this trip where I have not had service. Breakfast is calling.

14% Grade. 1/2 mile long. I made it!

After topping out on that hill, it was mostly rollers for the next 20 miles, gradually becoming rolling flats. The last 16 miles of the day was mostly flat and a welcome relief. I haven’t looked at the grades for tomorrow, I’m just going to be surprised when the day hits me.

I found a bike shop in Austin that will take me in on Monday and give me new tires and a tune-up, no questions asked. I called both REI stores and neither one would take me in on Monday or Tuesday. I guess I’m not shocked by that. Doing business with small bike shops usually works out best all the way around.

The days are beginning to wear on me. I need a couple days of rest. The Hill Country of Texas is every bit as challenging as the mountains of Arizona and New Mexico.

Miles: 52

Last 16 miles today was a breeze.

Day 34

Ingram to Lady Bird Johnson Recreation Area (Fredericksburg)

I suppose this is as good a time as any to talk about why I’m doing this. The short answer is I’m not entirely sure. That is to say, there is no single reason. It is incredible what can happen when you get an idea in your head. Let it grow for awhile and all of a sudden you find yourself with the motivation to do something epic. Never mind that it may take a lifetime. In my case, that was how it happened. When I was 22 years old, I wasn’t ready to become a productive member of the workforce (arguably that has never happened, but that is certainly another story) so I got on a bicycle instead. I rode from Seattle to San Francisco. That was as far as I could get before I ran out of money. That sealed the deal for me. I decided that some day I would cycle the entire West Coast. Over the years, that grew into, “why not cycle across the entire United States?”

So here I am, cycling across the entire United States, at least I have made it to the half-way point. I realize there are no guarantees in life, that includes having even started this trip, and of course finishing this trip. I’m glad I’m here, I’m having a blast, it is the experience of a lifetime, second only to helping raise three beautiful and talented daughters. Will I do this again? Probably not. Certainly not the same route. Not because this route is not beautiful, but because there are so many beautiful places to see in this country. There is nothing quite like seeing the country from the seat of a bicycle.

I hinted that there may be more than one reason why I’m doing this, and indeed there is. It is certainly an accomplishment to attempt a trip this epic in nature. I believe “bragging rights” is a good way to describe that. Certainly it is an accomplishment to be proud of. The older you are I think the more right you have to be proud, It is also a test of one’s physical and mental toughness. Honestly though, I think it is a lot more about mental toughness than it is about physical toughness. The bicycle is the most efficient form of human powered transportation ever invented, and likely ever to be invented. (There will be periodic improvements, like Roloff Hubs, but nothing dramatically different in nature than the basic idea of a bicycle.) It doesn’t really matter what shape you are in, if you are not mentally determined, you likely won’t be able to complete a trip of this nature. But why is a trip like this important? Honestly, I don’t know.

Other reasons? Why yes indeed there are other reasons. The thrill of the ride. Cruising down a mountain pass at breakneck speed after spending 2 hours straining every muscle from your shoulders to your ankles to get to the top. Drifting at 16 miles per hour across an open flat expanse of wilderness. Your pedals spinning almost effortlessly. Of course having a nice bike that allows for that helps a lot, but any bike really will do. The freedom of air in your face, the wind at your back, your sense of smell taking in the essence of your surroundings. It is an experience that I wish everyone could enjoy, even if it is for just a short distance. Anyone that has ridden a bicycle knows what I’m talking about. In this particular case, it is just a matter of doing it day-in and day-out, until you get enough, but once you start it’s not possible to get enough. That is what is so contagious about the experience. I knew it when I was 22, I rediscovered it at 65. It is something I will take with me and will be a part of me for the rest of my life.

That’s probably enough explanation. There are other reasons, but the last one worth mentioning right now is the fact that riding a bicycle is a magical experience. Pure joy. I want to be able to go for a bike ride when I am 90 years old.

A last word about bikes (for now). Bill Davidson knows how to build a bicycle. This bike is a thoroughbred race horse. It wants to go. It hauls ass on the flats and it goes faster down hill than I care to think about. It handles like a sports car, even when it is loaded. Without a load it is a dream machine. All of this, and beautiful too.

Miles: 38

A beautiful 20 mile stretch of back roads.

Day 35

Lady Bird Johnson Recreation Area to Pedernales Falls State park

I’m up early today, I can’t sleep for some reason. The cooking rotation has been swapped around a bit due to our extra day in Austin. I’m cooking tonight. Don’t know what will be served yet, I will need to consult with my cooking partner this morning after breakfast. If I am reading the map correctly, it looks like we will be doing about 52 miles today. The general elevation is down as we work our way out of Hill Country. I do expect some climbing today based on the elevation profile shown on our maps. Google says 800 feet up and 1,500 feet down, but It Google is plotting a different route than we are taking, The route we are on is more rural, so it is likely to have more climbing involved - that’s just the way it seems to work. We will be passing North of Luckenbach. An interesting town that we won’t see. It’s claimed that the first airplane was flown here, ahead of the Wright brothers. The possible home of outlaw country music, it is also the subject of the famous Jennings and Nelsons song “Luckenbach Texas (Back to the Basics of Love).” The towns folk purportedly dislike the song because it has nothing to do with Luckenbach.

Google was wrong, there was more climbing than descending. After we entered the park where we are staying it was three miles to the camp site. We will have a heads of a climb to get out of here in the morning. It’s between 40 and 50 miles to Austin. Looking forward to being there.

The dinner was great, again. Got lots of complements. I sautéed peppers, onions, poblanos, and jalapeños, with salt, pepper, and some smoked paprika. I fried SPAM in olive oil and the vegetable sauté went on top along with barbecue sauce. It was very good. My partner boiled some sweet potatoes and we had those with some sour cream. It was a very good dinner. Tomorrow for breakfast I am fixing French toast. That will be the first time we have had that on this trip. I’m hoping it will be a success. Like a dumb-ass, I burned my hand cooking the SPAM. It’s not serious.

I cant’ wait to get to Austin.

Miles: 52

Still in the Hill Country

What is SPAM? “Special Processed American Meat.” (Great for bicycle trips.)

Day 36

Pedernales Falls State park to Austin

It has been several years since I have been to Austin. I love that city. I’m looking forward to arriving there at the end of the day today.

It was several years ago that I attended a Perl conference at the University of Texas, Austin. It was a week-long affair. My plan was to rent a bicycle instead of a car. I did not tell the company travel office of my plans. I figured that if they rejected that expense for any reason, I would just pay for it out of my own pocket. Having a bike for a week to get around Austin would be worth the investment. UTA is on the north side of town, I stayed on the southwest side of town, about 10 miles from campus. It was June and it was hot. But it was also a lot of fun. When I returned to work, the travel office had a lot of questions for me about the rental. They told me “your the first person to rent a bicycle instead of a car on company travel.” I guess that is something to be a little bit proud about, since Boeing is such a big company.

I remember the music, the food trucks, the restaurants, Austin has it all. It should be a good stay!

I’m up early again. It’s still dark out and I’m just sort of puttering around (writing this post) and getting ready to start the day. I’m looking forward to making French Toast for this motley crew.

Miles: About 50

Day 37

Austin Texas - Rest Day #1

Last night I went looking for a good hearty meal. I more-or-less stumbled into Perry’s Steakhouse. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I say a 32oz pork dinner on the menu. The server explained to me that it is famous throughout Austin, and only served on Sundays. I thought the whole notion was preposterous, but when it came to the table, I realized immediately that the server wasn’t kidding, this is a one of a kind meal. Of course there was no way of eating a 32oz pork chop. I’ll likely be working on that for two more days. The best part, is that it tasted divine. It was the best pork chop I have ever eaten, or likely ever will. They smoke if for 14 hours before finishing it for the table. I can’t describe the flavor, I would like to know exactly how they prepare their rub. Obviously there was no room for desert, but it was a “dinner”, so desert was included. Just an incomparable meal. One that will not be forgotten.

The day today was strictly reserved for tourist activity while I rested from the previous 36 days of effort. First up was the Texas State Capital building. It is big as you would expect, but it was also elegant as well as daunting. The first thing you will likely notice is the Texas “Star.” It’s everywhere. Texas is very proud of its heritage as a “Republic”, whatever that means. If you look closely at all the door hinges in the building, you will notice that all of them are custom made and carry the “Texas Star” as part of their design. The rotunda was beautiful, and you can access it from three different levels, each containing offices and conference rooms, as well as the legislative chambers. The best part of the tour was my conversation with one of the Capital Guards, a former Texas Ranger. We had a great conversation. It turns out he has been to Seattle. Surprisingly, many of the people I meet and chat with have been to Seattle. Maybe I should not be surprised by that, but I always am. My Texas Ranger friend gave me a list of all the things in and around Austin that I should see and do. Unfortunately there won’t be time for all of that. The one recommendation I did have time for was his suggestion for barbecue. He told me to go to “Stubbs” for BBQ.

After visiting the Texas Capital building, I went to the LBJ Presidential Library. I’m really glad I went there. LBJ was a great President and a good leader. His involvement in Vietnam was his undoing, unfortunately. What he did for Americans might well be the biggest accomplishment of any President - ever. His “Great Society” has never been matched, and is in stark contrast to today’s “every man for himself” political ethic. LBJ where are you? In fairness, much of the Great Society was came from JFK, but LBJ made it happen, he picked up the gauntlet after Kennedy’s passing and took it across the finish line.

Following the advice of my Ranger friend, I went to Stubbs BBQ for dinner. It was very good, the portions were more than I could handle. Now I have more left overs. (Not a bad thing.) That is the same Stubbs that sells BBQ sauce nation-wide. I would not suggest that Stubbs is the best BBQ in Austin, I suspect not, but my Ranger friend was a big man, I think the large portions served there are right up his alley. I won’t have time to find the best BBQ in Austin, that might take a very long time!

Austin has a “Paramount” theatre much like Seattle’s, only a bit smaller perhaps. It so happens that Bill Bryson was delivering a lecture there this very evening. I decided to attend. He is very entertaining and funny. He’s a good story teller. You would naturally expect that from a writer with his skill. He was stumping for his new book. If I could carry an unlimited amount of weight, I would pick up a copy and read it on my way to Florida, but that will have to wait.

My first day of rest is over.

Day 38

Austin Texas - Rest Day #2

Today was a total down day. I slept in, tinkered around with my gear and then went downstairs for a breakfast in the hotel cafe. I added Perry’s Pork leftovers to my eggs. The pork was not the same cold as it was Sunday night, but it was still good. I doubt I will ever have another pork dinner quit like the one I had Sunday night at Perry’s. If you go to Austin and you are there on a Sunday night, you have to go to Perry’s.

I moved to a boutique hotel today for the next two nights. The East Austin Hotel. It reminds me of the Pineapple Hotel on Seattle’s Queen Ann Hill, only cooler. The price is reasonable. This is a really sweet place. The Driskill Hotel in downtown Austin is possibly the nicest place I have ever stayed. The room was luxurious. Twelve foot ceilings in the room where I stayed. It was impressive. Before checking out, I spent about an hour looking at the art work in the hotel. All of the hallways on each floor had original paintings hanging about every five feet. It was fun to look at all the styles and techniques. Every style and technique that I am familiar with was represented in the collection. There must have been several hundred paintings hanging in the hotel’s hallways. Someone had a lot of fun curating the hotel’s collection. Some of the paintings date back to the early 19th Century.

Before dinner I got a haircut. I’ve never gotten a cut this short, so it’s probably a good thing no one can see me right now. (I’m trying not to look at myself.) The bicycle helmet is going to be much more comfortable now, at least for two or three weeks. I can see why a lot of men prefer to wear their hair short, it is very comfortable.

A nice dinner at the East Austin Hotel, a hamburger made from ground beef, and of course ground beef brisket, consumed while watching the first few innings of Game One between Houston and Washington. I couldn’t stay awake long enough to watch the enter game. I’ll try and get a bit deeper into the game tomorrow night.

For a week I’ve had a poem about road kill rattling around in my head. The amount of road kill you see on a daily basis in Texas is beyond what you would imagine. It came out in a rush Monday morning and I wrote it down, it’s called “The Road.” Sometimes I sit down and a poem comes out. Most of the time it rattles around for a few days or longer. This is just like the problem solving technique I employed when I used to work as a software developer. I’m still solving problems in the same way, the problems are just different now. Instead of devising an algorithm, I’m devising a poem.

My second day of rest is over.

Day 39

Austin Texas - Rest Day #3

I spent a good part of the morning hanging out at Mello Johnny’s Bike Shop and Cafe. My bike is getting a new chain, tune-up, new tires, and a new seat. This is a cool place. My bike will likely be here all day, but I do need to leave the cafe at some point and go to REI to pick up some additional gear for the remainder of the trip.

Why additional gear?

I have left the tour behind. I’m going to complete the remainder of the journey to Florida solo.

I couldn’t stay with the group any longer several reasons. I enjoyed the experience and the people were great, I will miss them. Probably the best way to explain this is to say that the group was just too dissimilar in terms of food preferences. We had hearty eaters (as I have described earlier) and those that I refer to as not-so-hearty. Specifically we had vegetarian, vegan, and also food allergies that we had to take into consideration with every meal. This meant cooking “deconstructed, mix-and-match” dinners. My preference is hearty one-pot, spiced/flavorful dishes. Of course that doesn’t work under these circumstances. I finally decided a few days out of Austin that I would be better off, and happier, just trying to cook for myself.

That’s not the only reason I decided to leave the tour. The structured routine required to get a group of people moving in the morning and settled every night became too much for my looser style of travel. If you look at the top of the page, you’ll see my tag line is “I ride just how I like.” It turns out that is an important factor for me. I need time to stop during the day and write if the spirit moves me. I can’t be on a schedule every day. I want time to write and paint. I haven’t had time to break out the paints that I am carrying around with me. (I’m not a painter, but I want the time to play around with them.) As far as the food goes, if I see a cafe or restaurant that looks good (there are many along the way) I want the freedom to stop and enjoy them if I don’t feel like cooking for myself.

All of this probably makes me a solo tourist, or at the very least, a tourist that functions better in a small close-knit group of friends with similar taste and interests. One of my goals (it did not start out to be a goal of this trip) is to do an epic solo tour. It turns out now that I will accomplish two goals, an epic cross-country tour and an epic solo tour. I’m planning to reach St. Augustine two days behind the group. The ACA won’t let me rejoin even if I catch up to them. I probably won’t anyway.

I’m going to try and watch some Game Two tonight, and if all goes well, I’ll be on the road again tomorrow morning.

My third day of rest is over. Austin is a great town to have a little rest.