What a Difference a Day Makes

Day 12, April 13, 2011, What a Difference A Day Makes

REST DAY!!!  No route just some sight seeing around Del Rio on Rocket.

Best Moment – Touring on a different kind of cycle – one powered by gasoline was really a good way to spend the day.

Worst Moment – No worst moment.

Neita and I toured Del Rio on Rocket.  There is supposed to be a winery in the town, but we never found it.  We went to Lake Amistad and some of the outlook points.  It sort of reminds me of Lake Mead. At the Visitor’s Center, there was a display about the uses of the water stored.  For example did you know that it takes two gallons of water to produce just one tomato, or that it takes 2600 gallons of water just to make one steak?  We walked to the Mexican Border on the middle of the dam.

 US & Mexican Border on Amistad Dam

Looking into Mexico

Had dinner at a good ole boy kind of place the Texas version of Cripple Creek.  Interesting.

There’s lots of bass fishing going on here.  It seems to be the major industry.

I’ve rethought the best and worst moment from yesterday.  The worst moment was when I discovered that my flag had blown off and I didn’t know how far back it did, so decided not to recover some of the hard won miles. And the best moment was when Neita told me that she had seen my flag by the road and turned around to recover it.

Day 11, Why am I Doing This?

Day 11, April 12, 2011, Why am I Doing This?

Route from Sanderson to Del Rio, TX (Three Rivers RV Park)

Rode 110.9 miles averaged 10.4

 Bottom Line of bike computer showing trip distance of 110.91 miles

Bottom line of bike computer showing average speed of 10.4 mph

This wind sucks, it really, really sucks.  What should have been a great downhill ride to Del Rio turned into a battle against the head wind.  I had to pedal really hard to get to 10 mph on a 3% down hill grade.  There has to be something wrong.  Maybe the brakes are on?  No, it was just the 25 – 35 mph winds coming from the east/southeast.

I wasn’t in much of a mood to stop for photos.  But then there wasn’t a lot to photograph either.  I didn’t take the route through Langtry to see the Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center – that would have been another two miles and while part would have been downhill, half would have been straight uphill.

I didn’t even stop to take a photo of the beautiful crossing of the Pecos River and it was really quite stunning.  The emerald green water was flowing through an amazing canyon.

Outside of Sanderson is where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid robbed their last train.  There is a historical marker indicating the spot.  One can easily imagine how it all took place.  

Baxter's Curve Train Robbery Marker. 

Best Moment – Definitely, the best moment was arriving at the campground, having a cold beer, a warm shower and a great dinner waiting for me.  Thank you Neita.

Worst Moment – The worst moment was most of the day while the wind was blowing – wait that was all day long.

Listened to Sea of Glory – about a U.S. expedition to chart the Antarctic, the islands of the Pacific and the northwest coast of the US in 1839, and also got a good start on Jack London’s Sea Wolf.  Twelve hours is a long time.

While on the ride, I ate a banana, an orange, a granola bar, a bag of chips, a package of gel shots, a ham sandwich, three Milano cookies, a package of Grandma’s peanut butter cookies, and a Payday candy bar.  I drank two gallons of water; a can of Coke and a bottle of sports drink and was still famished and thirsty when I got to Ruby. I also had breakfast and a really great dinner.

Just wanted to let you all  know that I really appreciate your comments and well wishes!  Thank everyone. 

Day 10, Windmills and Wide Open Spaces

Day 10! April 11, 2011, Windmills and Wide Open Spaces

Route from Ft Stockton to Sanderson, TX Canyons RV Park

I rode 64.4 miles and averaged 15.3 mph today, making my total for the trip so far 800!  Tomorrow is the first century of the ride.  Wish me luck.

Best Moment – Having Neita and Duncan join me at the roadside picnic table for lunch.  I was just finishing lunch, when I saw Ruby heading down the hill toward me and waved it down.  Neita pulled in ad stopped for lunch there as well.

Worst Moment – The worst moment again had to be the night.  The winds were so strong and gusty after dinner that I thought they could topple Ruby.   They certainly made her rock and roll.  Today’s winds were lighter, and fortunately for me tail winds.

Suzanne, the personable owner of the RV park told us that they have had no measurable rain in Sanderson since last July – no wonder that there is such danger of wildfires.

Just felt that you should know that one of the main sources of our information about the wildfires in Ft Davis and Alpine was the NPR station from Marpha.  Support our National Public Radio.  They provide a service that is above any that the regular networks and news channels do.

Todays route took me through a stunning part of Texas range and cattle land.  Views were as expansive as any I’ve seen.  This was coupled with windmills all over which I feel certain were used to bring up water for the cattle ranches.  I saw incredible ranches and lots of cattle.

Finished listening to Schulz and Peanuts.  What a humble, creative and Christian man Charles Schulz was – the book was a good story of his life and how the Peanuts characters changed over the 50 years of the strip.

Change of Plans

Day 9, April 10, 2011, A Change of Plans

Well, remember how I mentioned that the dust storms turned the blue sky tan?  Late yesterday, I was informed that the reason for the color of the sky wasn’t dust storms, as I had thought but a wildfire burning out of control near Fort Davis.  The hot dry windy conditions are perfect conditions for Texas wildfires.  A Google search provided information from the NPR radio station nearby that highway 118 was closed and getting to Ft Davis (the first town) and then Alpine was impossible.

HIGHWAY 118 !?!? Closed???  How would we get to Alpine?  How would we get to Sanderson or Del Rio or the rest of the route?  After studying the map and researching Texas Law, I found that it IS lawful to bicycle on the interstate highways although it is discouraged.  And if we went to Ft. Stockton we could get to Alpine tomorrow after all without much change in mileage.

This meant that there was another day of interstate riding – thank goodness for wide shoulders and relatively light traffic.  We are staying in Ft Stockton instead of Alpine.

Total miles covered on the alternative route were 86.8, with an average of 17 mph.

Best moment – I had a tailwind most of the day and the winds aren’t as severe as they have been.  Hopefully the folks in Ft Davis and Alpine will be able to get by without further property loss or loss of life.

Worst moment – The worst moment had to be last night with the train tracks that were about 10 feet from Ruby, the never ceasing winds, the times I was sure I could smell the wildfires, and the bogey men I knew were there to get us. I don’t think that I have ever felt less safe than behind the abandoned Kent Mercantile. The store still had potato chips and other merchandise on their shelves but had been abandoned for an accumulation of an entire trashcan of garbage.

First flat tire, second flat tire – I knew it had to happen sooner or later and today about an hour into the ride the front tire was flat.  Though the touring tires are different and more difficult to remove, than the road tires, I was still able to change the tube in about 20 minutes.  Then as I was coming into Ft. Stockton, the front tire was flat again.  I know I should have changed the tire earlier, but now have two new tires – I had been riding on the original REI ones.

Just finished reading The Devils Are All Here about the mortgage crisis.  It is really infuriating to think that much of our current financial crisis could have been avoided with better oversight of many of those lending and the kinds of loans that were being approved.   Just started reading Bonheoffer – a true story about a German military officer and theologian who was involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler.

Still listening to Schulz and Peanuts.

Windy West Texas

Day 8, April 9, 2011 Windy West Texas

Route went from Sierra Blanca’s wonderful Vista RV Park to the Exclusive RV Resort in Kent TX.

Total mileage was 71.7 with an average mph of 14.2.

Worst Moment - Okay this wind is really getting annoying – most of the time it was a tail or a cross wind and the wind spawned dust turns the sky to tan.  Tomorrow, according to the weather forecast, it looks like I’ve head winds of 25 – 30 mph.  (goodie!)

Best Moment – Someone left a smiley face on the pavement. I'm still smiling every day and can't quite believe that I'm actually getting to do this ride.

Today, I headed east across basically flat, wind swept west Texas.  It looks like the major (probably only) industry is talc.  There were two talc plants within 20 miles of each other.  We crossed into Central Time – so since leaving Phoenix, we’ve had to set our watches back two hours.

The sign said that there was RV parking behind Kent Mercantile.  The map said that the restrooms were available only when the Mercantile was open.  This means that there are no restrooms since the Mercantile is permanently closed and the RV parking is the most sketch of the trip.   It is even closer to the train tracks than last night and there are no other campers - we're in the west Texas desert alone.  I think I’m owing Neita big time for this one.

Listening to a biography called Schulz and Peanuts.  Not real far into it, but an interesting fact is that Charles Schulz had applied to be an illustrator for Disney and was rejected.  Also, most of the characters are from his life.  Snoopy was the name dog that Schulz’s mom said they should call their next dog as she was dying from cervical cancer.

Leaving El Paso

 Day 7, April 8, 2011 – Leaving El Paso

Route from Mission RV Park in El Paso TX to Vista RV Park in Sierra Blanca, TX

83.6 miles averaged 14.2 mph.

Today’s tour was initially through a beautiful agricultural valley. You could see farmers working the fields plowing to make ready for whatever crops will be planted.  Looks like there may have been some cotton and alfalfa before.

I drafted Ron & Zoe on their tandem for a bit.  They are part of the San Diego to St. Augustine, FL tour being run by Adventure Cycling Association.  Do any of you think that I could get Neita to do that?  (Probably not!!)  They mostly camp and stay in hostels.  Tonight they are staying in a church in Ft Hancock and don’t even get showers. I did hear that they had amazing food.

One of the most conspicuous things about this part of the ride is the powerful presence of the Border Patrol.  You can see their vehicles sitting on the bluffs above the valley, on the frontage roads and even at the checkpoint just west of Sierra Blanca where they questioned everyone about their citizenship.  The agent looked a little skeptical when he saw me, on a bicycle, without any gear, and claiming that I had just ridden from El Paso and was on my way to Maine.

After leaving the Rio Grande River valley, I climbed about 1000 feet to Sierra Blanca TX.  Like so many small towns in this part of Texas, prosperity that helped build some very interesting buildings has long left the area.  Now many of the structures and even the towns themselves are sadly abandoned.

The campground in Sierra Blanca, is situated with the railroad tracks just to the north and the freeway just to the south. I don’t imagine that it will be a very quiet night. A fascinating tidbit about Sierra Blanca was the town where the Second Continental Railroad met.

Neita & Duncan by the Second Continental Railroad marker

Best Moment – The winds that were forecasted didn’t materialize until very late in the day.  This was especially good because for most of the past few days, the winds have presented a bit of a challenge.

Worst Moment – Had to be saying goodbye to Ron.  Neita’s brother was immensely helpful on the early days of the trip getting things into a bit of a routine and giving Neita encouragement in piloting this monster motorhome.

Listened to Scarecrow – a thriller about a serial killer with extraordinary computer hacking skills operating out of Phoenix.

Tomorrow I head back to the hills and dry camp in Kent, Texas.  I’m not sure that there is good cell or internet service there, so if I don’t blog tomorrow, that is probably the reason.

Pecan Groves, Vineyards, and Billy the Kid

Day 6, April 7, 2011 - Pecan Groves, Vineyards and Billy the Kid

Route from Hacienda RV Park in Las Cruces NM to Mission RV Park in El Paso TX

Today’s route was 63.55 miles and averaged 13.7 mph. There were lots of winds and depending on the direction they were either head, cross or tail winds.  Overall it was an awesome day for riding – not too much elevation gain or loss and decent temperatures of the mid 80’s. I didn’t get on the road this morning until 9 – felt good to have a more leisurely start time.

Best Moment – Around noon at Starbucks, I met another eastbound group of cyclists.  It is awesome to think about the instant comradeship that forms instantly with cyclists on this kind of trek.

Worst Moment – The city traffic through El Paso was quite a challenge.  For some reason not many of the streets throughout the city have bike lanes ☹.

What a historic area this is.  The building that displayed this sign is where Billy the Kid was tried, this is where the Gadsen Purchase was signed. La Mesilla has a wonderful historic town square.

The trail went through an incredibly rich agricultural area sporting pecan groves and vineyards.  Unfortunately all three wineries were closed for tasting today.  Should have been here one day later.

Somewhere I crossed into The Lone Star state, but the border wasn’t marked at all – probably because of the real back roads that I’m traveling.  So not only did I get into a new state, but also am on the first new trail map of trip.

Listened for traffic, the birds, and the sounds of the road.

One of my followers said she couldn't find my link to Livestrong.  In case you are also looking for it, here it is http://grassroots2011.livestrong.org/billsbigride197