Southern Tier, Post 34
Day 36, Post 34: Lousiana! I passed through East Texas at Bob Weir, crossed the lazy meandering Sabine River into Louisiana and ended the day at Merryville, (so named because in the late 1800's it was easy to get liquor here (no longer, unfortunately), which earned the appellation of "that merry city". There's a museum here with a cabin, a stage, some tent spaces and a shower and bathroom, so some enterprising town folk have set it up for "cyclists only" camping and got it listed on the Adventure Cycling Association (ACA) Southern Tier map. It's a good thing too, there's no other place to stay for 50 more miles to the east and a good 25 to the west.
This area has more churches per square mile than any other place in the US. I had already noticed an increase in churches as I progressed through east Texas, but this is on another scale altogether. In a conversation with the couple who run the museum and cyclist only camping operation, I learned that the wife had been born into "Church of Christ" - the most doctrinaire of all - no music, no dancing, no movies - while her husband had been born into a Baptist household. Now, the Baptists are way too liberal for the Church of Christ folks. Add to that a constant desire to interpret things differently, resulting in lots of sub groups of sub groups - all of whom are fervent about their truth. Mix in the Pentecostals, (the other big church around here) and you have a lot of belief systems indeed. For pent up " belief relief" there are nondenominational churches, where the folks exhausted by theological doctrine can believe what they want - as long as they're worshipping Jesus, of course.
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1649300945
Pic 1, Morning shot leaving Kountze, TX
Pic 2, Need I say more?
Pic 3, The Sabine River, border of Texas and Louisiana.
Pic 4, Talking to our hosts (other cyclists camped here in addition to me) in Merryville, TX.
More to come,
Michael
Southern Tier, Post 33
Day 35, Post 33: A very rainy day. I woke up to a storm front that extended for several hundred miles above Houston and into the Gulf Coast. Along with it came severe thunderstorms, tornado warnings, and the threat of hail. I battened up my new shiny new panniers and headed off. I didn't expect not to get wet, but I hoped I might manage to stay comfortable even though I would be cycling in rain.
It's funny how things work out sometimes. I stopped three times to wait for a storm to pass. And two times I timed it right - while I was safely under shelter the hardest rain fell. Boy, when it rains hard in East Texas, it is as if the entire sky opens up and tries to empty out every last drop of water in it. The second time this happened to me I was eating lunch under a tin roofed car shelter. I couldn't believe the intensity of the rain, and I was so grateful I was not biking at that moment. I don't know what would have happened to me.
Eventually I made it just short of my intended destination Silsbee, and took a room in Kountze. Nice place, another budget motel, easy to find in the south. So I am sitting dry and warm in my room, full on a southern fried fish meal and several beers, with full confidence the storm will be gone when I awake and tomorrow will be a great day for biking.
On the way into Kountze I stopped at a general store in Honey Island. While I was there I got into a conversation with a local man of about my own age who offered up some information, "Take the main highway into town and stay at the Super Eight. You don't want to stay at the other place." I had already checked out the Relax Inn (the other place), so I asked him, "Are the prices any different?" He answered, "It doesn't matter, trust me, pay what Super Eight asks 'cause you don't want to stay at the other place." "Why", I asked. "You just don't want to be there, is all", was the reply. I thanked him for the information. But as I biked away, I decided to check out the Relax Inn first. I wondered if the owner was South Asian, and that might be what the man was trying to warm me about. Was it just a good old boy thinking I was another good old boy?
I was right. Not only did I get a great price, I am enjoying a clean and well kept place run by one of the many South Asian families that have purchased mom and pop motels all over America, where the family can live and they can buy into a ready made business.
Several friends have suggested that my experience in Texas probably wouldn't be so positive if I wasn't a white male. I have no doubt whatsoever they are right. As friendly as people are, it's also clear that they may not be so nice under that veil of hospitality if they are suspicious of you. Another friend (who is black) asked me if I saw any black people when I was in West Texas. To be honest, I don't think I did. But here in East Texas, yes, quite a few. I have passed a lot of farms run by African Americans. Granted, I am only a day away from the Louisiana border. But all the same, Texas seems to be as diverse in its demographic composition as it is in its geography. I am so glad I've had this small opportunity to get to know the place a bit better. I've spent over three weeks in Texas, and my sense of it will be forever expanded.
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1647545734
Pic 1, Downtown Cold Spring, TX.
Pic 2, Waiting out the rain.
Pic 3, Waiting out the rain, version 2.
Pic 4, The rain breaks. Turned out it was only momentary.
More to come,
Michael
Southern Tier, Day 32
Day 34, Post 32: "The outdoors is what you must pass through in order to get from your apartment into a taxicab", said Fran Lebowitz.
Well, with all due respect to Fran Lebowitz - who deserves it - her comment gets at something I've been thinking about for a long time. Last summer, and again this spring, as I cross the country on a bike, I am acutely aware of the ubiquity, intensity, and sheer volume of traffic on our highways. In rural areas the favored vehicles are wide body trucks, with minivans second, while sedans are less common. Alongside the road and on rougher terrains, 4 wheelers are common. In sandy areas, there are the equivalent dune buggies. And there are a countless variety of RV's, from fully equipped luxury buses to large, expandable homes on 4 wheels with a fifth wheel for stationary parking (known in the west as 5 wheelers). Everyday, when I am passed by a luxury bus (often larger than the largest school bus), I wonder about their square footage (SF). In the 1950's the average home in the US for a family of four was about 950 SF, now it's about 2400 SF. I'm sure the luxury buses are larger than 950 SF. There are 7 billion people in the earth. What will happen if they all try to live in a 2400 SF home? I'm not sure, but I do wonder if we would still have enough farmland to grow crops....
I think the American tendency to supersize everything is a manifestation of how insane - and out of touch with our environment - we have become. When I was passing through Glammis, CA, and the sand dune country east of San Diego, I was struck by the massive number of dune buggies everywhere in sight. On the highway I passed numerous large luxury RV buses, towing wide body pickups with a dune buggies sitting in the bed of the trucks. Rig after rig after rig... and each rig sporting three vehicles - all of which require gas - and all of which require its owner to sit on his butt while driving it.
Most of us spend our day going from the conditioned space of our vehicles to the conditioned space of our workplaces. On a long bicycle ride this is very apparent. It is a very, very rare thing to see someone walking, even in towns. In fact, the only place one sees people walking in any density is in the downtown areas of large cities. But mid-sized or small towns? Forget it. No one walks anywhere. Ever.
So how much time does the average person spend outside now? I'd wager very little. Of course there are occupational exceptions, such as farming, construction, etc. But the majority of us? We spend very little time in outdoor environments. So, not only have we grown soft because we sit to get everywhere, we have also become isolated from our environments because we are actually very rarely fully in them. Instead we are in a hermetically sealed spaces hurling along to something we always think is important enough that we have to go as fast as the law will allow. It's a sickness, really. But not one that we have the slightest desire to change.
After a day of rest, I made my way to Cold Spring, biking through long stretches of the Sam Houston National Forest. Sensational! I have several more days to enjoy more rugged country - Big Thicket National Preserve is also on the way, among other treats... Yet, as much as I've enjoyed Texas, I'm looking forward to bayou country, and eager to get there. You see? Even I'm in a hurry... it's in our DNA...
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1645926949
Pic 1, Downtown Richards, TX.
Pic 2, A field of Deer Pea Vetch (so I am told).
Pic 3, Just outside of Richards.
Pic 4, A controlled burn in Sam Houston National Forest.
Pic 5, East Texas Christ.
Pic 6, The small print reveals all.
More to come,
Michael
Southern Tier, Post 31
Day 33, Post 31:To be brief about it—proposed Henry James. A day of rest in Navasota, TX. I'm once again adding some new people to these Southern Tier posts. If you are reading this for the first time, please know this is one in a series of an ongoing posts about a cycling tour I am taking from San Diego to St Augustine, FL along the famed "Southern Tier" cycling route made popular by the Adventure Cycling Association. If you are you getting this message for the first time, please know you can always write me back and I'll happily take you off the email list if you don't want to receive these updates. You won't hurt my feelings, I promise! And, conversely if there are others you think might enjoy receiving these, please send me their email address and I will add them if they aren't already on the list.
Wikipedia tells me that, in 2005, the Texas Legislature named this city "The Blues Capital of Texas", in honor of the late Mance Lipscomb, a Navasota native and blues musician. He was known as a "Songster", a tradition that preceded and laid the groundwork for the blues. Apparently, Lipscomb knew more than 300 songs by memory.
I guess when I feel that a rest is truly earned I am good at making it an indulgence. It's mid-afternoon and I've only managed to walk 2 blocks in one direction for breakfast, and 3 blocks in the other for lunch. Later, I'll walk 2 blocks for dinner. Otherwise, I've been catching up on news (I like "enemy of the people" news outlets like NBC, CBS and CNN, and I'm certain it's all faked - but I'm a master at grasping alternative facts to create a reasonable reality entirely of my own making that you-know-who wouldn't like), reading and listening to music.
Tomorrow I plan on biking to Shepard, almost 80 miles to the east. The next stop after that is Sillabee, TX, where - if time allows - (I have 8 days to get to New Orleans) I will have the option to take a side trip to Port Arthur, close to the Gulf Coast. Either way, I think I'll have a chance to get a bit of a feel for bayou country. Then, on to New Orleans -- and a few days with my friend Carolyn. Mmmm, coffee with chicory, and so many other pleasures...
I heard from my cycling friend Phil about how he'd recovered from his pannier disappearance... He texted me last night from Shepard with the following message: "I got completely fitted out at the Brenham , Texas Walmart. I made a pannier out of a 24 can beer cooler and some zipties. Got a very basic bike kit... Tubes, wrenches, pump. And you should see me in my new leisure outfit. I got a snap button polyester cowboy short, some mostly polyester Lee's cowboy pants. Yee Ha! Most memorable line from last night's stay at Checkpoint Harley..." well we didn't kill no pigs last night but it wouldn't be no fun if you killed a pig every night, would it?"" ....No wonder I enjoyed traveling with him and his equally mirthful friend John. Godspeed, gentlemen!
More to come,
Michael
Pic 1, A shuttered business in Navasota, something seen in small town American everywhere.
Pic2, Sculpture of Mance Lipscomb.
Pic 3, One of the thriving businesses in town.
Southern Tier, Post 30
Day 32, Post 30: In an earlier post I mistakenly referred to Drifter Jack's in Austin as Diamond Jack's. I apologize for the error. And I'll add that if you like hostels you'll love the place if you are ever in Austin.
I left LaGrange, TX this morning after a great omelette and a short stack of pancakes. I rarely eat pancakes at home, but boy, do I enjoy them facing a day of riding! I have to say I'm finding some great restaurants in small town Texas - food seems to be a serious business all over Texas. And I have gained a new respect for Tex-Mex. It's so much more than one is exposed to up north. Forexample, last night I had some grilled catfish tacos that were excellent. I'm entering Cajun country now, so I have an entire new local gastronomy to experience...
After about 20 miles of cycling I was about ten miles out of Round Top. I didn't know what I was going to be cycling past, so I was surprised to fine myself in antique country in the first day of an antique festival. Round Top, a town of 90 permanent residents, seems to be the epicenter of what is one of the great antique, chatzke and crap acquisition capitals of the world. The traffic was intense and the road shoulder was terrible so I wasn't comfortable stopping. The opportunity to sell antiquities is so tempting that every ranch for a good ten miles after Round Top had a barn devoted to selling antiques, perhaps in the hopes that tourists would stop there thinking they had arrived in Round Top. But once you get there, Round Top is unmistakable - miles of tents, barns, and storage units devoted to selling anything and everything you could ever want to make your home as charming and cute as ever. You can even buy Texaco Gas Station signs to install in your yard. Or perhaps on that amazing cathedral ceiling you always longed for. You can also get full size sculptures of wooden buffalos, bulls, horses and mastodons...
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1642366853
Pic 1, An attractive and iconic Texan oak tree.
Pic 2, Doesn't everyone need one of these?
Pic 3, Field of Goldeneye and Texas Paintbrush.
Pic 4, What you see is what you get.
More to come,
Michael
Southern Tier, Post 29
Day 31, Post 29: Today started with a great ride through two parks on little traveled and lovely roads - Bastrop and Buescher State Parks. Really beautiful ride! I had been warned I would see forest scarred by a forest fire from four or five years back. I remember reading about an extreme drought in Texas a few years back. I learned yesterday this fire occurred toward the end of that drought. Since it broke, the rain has been record breaking in its intensity. This pattern of vacillating weather extremes conforms to what climate scientists tell us will happen - as the earth warms, weather of all kinds will become more extreme.
At least some of the locals here are thinking similarly. Yesterday the owners of the KOA (where I stayed) mentioned that very phenomenon in a conversation when I told them where I would be biking today. Imagine how climate change will affect business for campground owners in the future - it will become more and more like running a ski resort has been in the last decade. Maybe there will be snow, maybe there won't. For campground owners, maybe there will be extreme heat, maybe there won't. Maybe there will be extreme rain, maybe there won't. One thing is certain - our capacity to predict over time is going to become increasingly more difficult. And what will happen when the equation becomes, maybe we can grow food, and maybe we cannot?
In the meantime, central Texas is very beautiful indeed right now. In a general way, the landscape reminds me of the more verdant parts of the Midwest, such as northern Missouri or southern Wisconsin- but in July, not March. I cannot believe the intensity of the plant life at this time of year... or insects, for that matter. I watched a wasp crawl into a nest about six inches from where I had parked my front tire, and then noticed a beautiful butterfly perch on my bike seat for a few seconds.
I am fine, currently well-fed and content. I heard recently from fellow cyclists Phil and John, who are a day ahead of me. Phil had a pannier stolen - with his clothes, bike tools meds, and contact lenses in them. What a shame! Stories like that make me more vigilant. However, I haven't yet felt personally threatened, which I think speaks well of Texas in general. I would have guessed otherwise prior to coming. Just the idea of being in a "conceal and open carry" state made me nervous. (Frankly I am appalled that there are more handguns in the US than there are people.) Yet, most of the people I have met in Texas are friendly, courteous and genuinely caring. Fingers crossed I continue to have such good fortune.
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1639993891
Pic 1, The Colorado River in central Texas
Pic 2, Buescher State Park
Pic 3, An entire field of Goldeneye.
Pic 4, My campsite for the night.
More to come,
Michael
Southern Tier, Post 28
Day 30, Post 28: I'm once again adding some new people to these Southern Tier posts. If you are reading this for the first time, please know this is one in a series of an ongoing posts about a cycling tour I am taking from San Diego to St Augustine, FL along the famed "Southern Tier" cycling route made popular by the Adventure Cycling Association. If you are you getting this message for the first time, please know you can always write me back and I'll happily take you off the email list if you don't want to receive these updates. You won't hurt my feelings, I promise! And, conversely if there are others you think might enjoy receiving these, please send me their email address and I will add them if they aren't already on the list.
I noticed an article today from the Guardian that was pretty sobering. Some of it went like this: "Arctic warmth set to continue. The unprecedented heat that the Arctic experienced in 2016 is expected to continue this year as the world heads into “truly uncharted territory,” the World Meteorological Organization warned this week". It went on : "This past year’s warming was aided in part by the natural climate cycle known as El Niño. While El Niño is now waning, 2017 still looks like it will continue along a trajectory of shrinking sea ice and rising sea levels, due to the greenhouse gases driving climate change".
I've been wondering what will happen to the amazing countryside I've been biking through (in March the temperature gets into the 80's). So I did a little research. I found a study published in 2016 by the mildly evocatively named Risky Business, a venture led by, among others, former New York mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg and former Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson. The study itself — "Come Heat or High Water: Climate Risk in the Southeast U.S. and Texas" — operates within the bounds of accepted scientific consensus. The authors assume that climatology is an accurate science and don't question the reality of climate change. Instead, the economic and direct risks of things continuing just as they are is reviewed. For Texas, the news is grim: "While climate change likely will increase both summer and winter average temperatures, the impact in Texas will be most evident in the number of days of extreme heat each year. During the past 30 years, the typical Texan has experienced an average of 43 days per year of temperatures above 95°F. But by mid-century, that number is likely to reach up to 80 such days, and to reach up to 106 days per year by 2040-2059 — more extreme heat than any state besides Arizona experiences today."
This suggests to me that if you want to visit the Texan southwest, do it reasonably soon - because in a few decades it will be too dangerously hot for months at a time. I thought this same thing last summer as I biked through southern Utah and my bike computer registered 117 degrees. It's only a matter of decades before large portions of the American southwest will be a public health hazard to visit at certain times.
I'm staying in a KOA tonight in Bastrop, TX, about 30 miles SE of Austin. The owners spontaneously gave me a special rate on a cute cabin because I am biking the Southern Tier. I was delighted, of course. My biking day was short because as I was packing up this morning I snapped a stay on my back panniers. (I slept very well at Diamond Jack's by the way - all my bunk mates were very courteous). When the pannier failed, I headed over to the Austin REI and replaced yet another pair. It was an expensive fix, and took a few extra hours of my time, but rain was forecast and I wanted functionally waterproof panniers... besides, I wasn't going to get another chance to fix that problem until New Orleans. So now, both my front and back panniers are shiny new. That won't last long, of course. I already scuffed up the front pair on a barbed wire fence. Well, what the hell....
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1638005222
Pic 1, This banner was on a Baptist church in Austin.
Pic 2, interior of Vic's BBQ. Amazing food, the real deal!
Pic 3, Landscape shot east of Austin looking east. Austin seems like the divide between the west and the east. It's flat and humid on the east side, hilly and dry on the west.
Pic 4, Texas roadside in bloom.
More to come,
Michael
Southern Tier, Post 26
Day 28, Post 26: This morning's ride was stunning. From Kerrville I climbed a steep hill and found myself on 30 miles of local road winding through some of the most beautiful back country that I have ever seen. On every turn I found myself thanking the ACA (Adventure Cycling Association) in my mind for their insight by putting this road on the Southern Tier route. Some parts of Texas Hill Country that are as pleasant and beautiful as anywhere one would want to cycle, and I was in the thick of it. And because I happened to be alone this morning, there was only me, the fields, trees, birds, cows, bulls and small unassuming ranches, and no traffic whatsoever.
Later, after an exceptional lunch in Fredericksburg (turns out this town of 10,000 has two first rate competing Italian chefs), I found myself for about 40 miles in the kind of hill country I've been warned about. After each climb, just when I was at the point of deep exhaustion, there was another hill. I tried to give up all hope the hills would ever end. They do of course, but not until after Johnson City, TX, where I am currently housed in a pleasant dive of a motel. This is the kind of place that I like - working folks all around, a large family of South Asian owners, run down funky and seedy charm. The grandmother of the owner family must have had a stroke - she cannot form words, but she sure isn't shy - she talks up a storm with great enthusiasm, and everything she says is unintelligible. Weirdly, this kind of place makes me feel safe.
Tomorrow I hit Austin. I may need an extra day there - I plan to swap out at least one - if not both - of my tires, and replace my falling apart front panniers. If I'm lucky, I will also be able to visit with the brother of a very close family friend. And then it's off toward Houston. Central and Eastern southern Texas are as unknown to me as West Texas and the Hill Country was. I don't really know what the landscape will be like or what the feel of the towns will be... looking forward to finding out...
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1634953429
Pic 1, The road just after leaving Kerrville.
Pic 2, A bull grazing along the road.
Pic 3, Another shot of the road east of Kerrville after the sun had burned off the overcast.
Pic 4, Bluebonnets are the Texas state flower. They are everywhere!
More to come,
Michael
Southern Tier, Post 25
Day 27, Post 25: Ever heard of Kerrville, TX? I hadn't. It seems to be a reasonably large town, all things considered. West of it is Hunt, TX - a prosperous town surrounded by large ranches, which reminds me somewhat of the small towns in the coastal mountains of the South Bay in California. Odd to come on that from the west where the distances are so vast, traffic is so light, and amenities are so few.
We had our toughest hill yet starting out about 8 am this morning, straight up for about 3 miles at about a 10% grade. Because I wasn't exhausted yet, I rode it at the merry clip of about 3.5 mph. Guess how long it took me to get to the top? That's right, about 50 minutes of hard, hard work. Stopping seemed imprudent- how would I ever start again? So I persisted. The hills continued and then finally mellowed out for the day at the Guadalupe River. Unfortunately I was moving so fast and enjoying myself so much I failed to take enough pictures along the river basin as I approached and cycled past Hunt into Kerrville. It reminded me a lot of the Delaware River basin country in Pennsylvania. Isn't it annoying how we make comparisons wherever we go? Why can't each place be unique, since, in reality, it is.... ? Ok, there's nothing like the Guadalupe River Basin and it's beautiful!
I just worked out a plan for spending several days in New Orleans with my friend Carolyn in two weeks. Three blissful days wandering around New Orleans! It'll be magic! But first I have to get myself to Fredericksburg, then Austin and around Houston. The next ACA "Southern Tier" map doesn't even have an elevation profile. But first, eastern Texas. Then, swamps. And swampland is flat! Except for the alligators on the road.
Btw, my poet friend Rafael Gonzales pointed out that I should have called a county park I mentioned a few days ago "beloved" instead of "infamous." He's right, of course. And a family member mentioned to me a while back that I was mixing up its and it's. At the time I wrote this, but never found the right time to post it....
"All my life I have been surrounded by English teachers, an awful affliction for those who - like me - care a little about good grammar but not, ...well, enough. Precision is the expectation, and one is destined to disappoint. Digital spellcheck makes things worse. Even though I know the difference, my computer and/or phone occasionally gets "your" and "you're" wrong. I'm proud to say, however, that I almost always get my pronouns right - "I understand the distinction in use between "I" and "me", and I cringe when I hear "myself" used instead of "me", a very common mistake these days... But it's and its? Well, Thats another story. But for a moment let's assume I'm an it. If that were true, then it's its problem, is it not? And whoever thought of naming that famous San Francisco ice cream cookie sandwich an "it's it"? Or is it an "its it"? Explain that to me, English teachers".
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1632929572
Pic 1, Looking down at the hill I climbed first thing this morning. That's a 10% grade!
Pic 2, Hill country shrouded in fog - the way each morning seems to start.
Pic 3, The Guadalupe River.
More to come,
Michael
Southern Tier, Post 24
Day 26, Post 24: Texas Hill Country. I don't really know why only in the past few years I have become aware of the charm of this part of Texas. Historically, when I have thought of Texas, I've pictured mesquite, flat dusty plains, oil derricks, wealthy oilmen and more recently, tracks of fracking platforms. I'm sure that's all here too - especially east of Austin - but so far I've really enjoyed the open and vast desert mountains and canyons north of Big Ben, and the rustic and picturesque hill country west of Austin and Fredericksburg. In the east this hill country might well be called mountains, but here they are hills - steep, rugged, sparsely populated and supporting a rural and folksy population.
We had to climb four large hills today. As trepidatious as I was, I found it easier to cycle than going east through Pennsylvania hill country. Here it's hard, but you get it over with and you can rest for a bit on the long downhill rides. That said, my current Southern Tier cycling buddy Mike and I found a pleasant state campground a little early at a place called Lost Maples with electric, water and showers (showers are almost imperative for me) and set up for another lovely evening. Once again it was overcast starting out, and then gradually became sunny for yet another perfect late afternoon and evening. We met two guys who are being "sagged" by wives in small trailers while they do the Southern Tier tour, and they have invited us to join them for dinner. Looking forward to that. More hills tomorrow, but nothing quite as intense as today.
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1631505798
Pic 1, Campwood, TX, just starting out today.
Pic 2, Mid- morning, notice the overcast - seems typical
Pic 3, Landscape east of Campwood.
Pic 4, Landscape east of Campwood.
More to come!
Michael
Southern Tier, Post 23
Day 25, Post 23: I looked for Drive Ins as I cycled out of Brackettville this morning. I didn't see any, but I saw a few hardware stores. They sold brackets.
It was a mild day of cycling almost to Campwood, TX, where my cycling friend Mike and I found the infamous county campground called Wes Cooksey Park on the Nieces river.
It doesn't get light here until about 7:30 am, so packing up at 6:30 am in the dark (and short sleeve weather) is fun and unusual. And the sun is setting at 8-ish, which is very pleasant. But oddly, the past three mornings have had serious cloud cover that lasts well into the afternoon, and then it gets sunny and blissfully warm. Here, on the edge of the hill country I'm looking at the river and basking in the most pleasant, just right, breeze. Under the bridge not too far from me kids are shooting inner tubes down small rapids on the river. This country is like a mixture of West Texas desert country, the White Mountains, and the Ozark's. Earlier today I was thinking that had I grown up here I would be fiercely loyal to this beautiful hardscrabble countryside - I just don't think one could help it.
Tomorrow we begin cycling in serious hill country. A store owner told me it's more beautiful than here. Well, I thought, bring it on! The next big town is Fredericksburg, and then Austin after that. I hope to be in Austin by next weekend at the latest.
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1629898196
Pic 1, The entrance to the county run RV park where I am staying tonight.
Pic 2, The elevation profile for our ride tomorrow. Each horizontal line marks 500 feet of ascent.
Pic 3, My abode for tonight.
Pic 4, A view of the river taken near our picnic table.
More to come,
Michael
Southern Tier, Post 22
Day 24, Post 22: I'm in Brackettville, TX, a city in Kinney County, Texas, United States. The population is 1,876 and it is the county seat of Kinney County. According to Wikipedia, Brackettville is the drive-in movie capital of Texas. Maybe. I haven't seen any, though. Should I look? ...naw...
I just realized (to my surprise) that I took only a few photographs today. Odd. But then, the day started with overcast skies and from time to time would precipitate on us like a thin Irish mist. The landscape east of Del Rio is flat and full of low lying deciduous bushes. There are still quite a few washes named as rivers, but they are not only sand now, but also grass and trees. And it's green, but not the green of evergreens but rather the green of freshly budded trees. And butterflies are abundant, as are flies and mosquitoes. On that score, I'm sure this is only the beginning.
It seems that Phil and John got ahead of us today (they have some date pressure to get to Austin), so another cyclist named Mike (from a small town near Madison, WI) and I are going to tackle the hill country west of Austin together over the next 4 or 5 days. This country has a reputation among cycling enthusiasts, and people come from all over the world to experience it.
All the westbound cyclists we have encountered say this will be the most challenging part of the ride. I'm not at all surprised - I have experience with hill country in Kansas and Pennsylvania and cycling over hill after hill after hill can get very tough indeed. The simple logic of this is that one spends a far greater majority of ones day pedaling up, because the downward hills can be covered in so much less time. Therefore, after a while one feels like they are always going uphill.
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1627463638
Pic 1, My very peaceful and pleasant abode for the night.
Pic 2, The landscape
Pic 3, More landscape, near where we are camping.
Southern Tier, Post 21
Day 23, Post 21: What a day! I didn't sleep so well because of an intestinal problem. But we wanted to get in some miles before the heat of the day brought on the winds. Only problem was, it didn't work. The wind was blowing hard as we left Langtry at 7 am (in the dark since we are so far west in the central time zone and light doesn't hit until about 8 am). But we persisted anyway, and finally made it to Del Rio, a dusty and hot town SE of Langtry near the Rio Grande.
On the way while I was riding solo, I ran into several horsemen traveling from San Antonio to El Paso who are part of "veterans supporting veterans" on the the "Horseback Ride 'N' Ruck March Fund". Friendly and fun guys, and beautiful horses.
All of us opted to check ourselves into a Motel 6 for a real bed after many days of camping. I still have the intestinal issue but I'm hoping for a good nights sleep. Not sure what will happen tomorrow - I may need a rest day but I'll decide in the morning depending on how I feel and what my fellow riders are doing...
I always knew intellectually that TX was big - it's another thing to experience so many days of its open and endless countryside. Wow!
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1625928293
Pic 1, Veterans on horseback alongside the road.
Pic 2, the Pecos River
Pic 3, A gas station. This is what the wind can do.
Pic 4, Fair in Del Rio across the street from the Motel 6. Busy on a Friday night!
More to come,
Michael
Southern Tier, Post 20
Day 22, Post 20: A hard day of biking from Sanderson to Langtry. Lots of hills and a strong headwind all afternoon. Apparently the winds blow SE here up from the Gulf. We're in for more wind tomorrow. Still beautiful, although flatter.
This is the town of Judge Roy Bean and Lillie Langtry fame. Used to be a bustling place. No longer, but there is a library with Roy Bean memorabilia in it. And friendly people, same as everywhere else we've been in West Texas.
Camping at a community center in Langtry. Good thing too, the towns two small motels are full. Nowhere to buy food - but we thought ahead and just ate our own home cooked burritos. So good!
Have to be quick tonight - the wind is kicking up. I'm at the library using wifi because there's no cell service here.
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1624623168
Pic 1, My current traveling friends Phil and John from Vermont and Maine.
Pic 2, The landscape west of Langtry.
Pic 3, Another landscape shot. Stretches of land today were incredibly flat - at times the vista looked like the ocean.
Pic 4, Hill just before entering Langtry.
Pic 5, My abode at the community center.
More to come,
Michael
Southern Tier, Post 19
Day 21, Post 19: I read this today - "President Trump just announced that he's overturning the 2012 federal fuel efficiency standards". I find it appalling, especially as I travel through this beautiful country that really should not be taken for granted, that we have a President who needs to take 7th grade science, and is clearly in the pocket of the big money oil companies. I fear so deeply for our grandchildren, who will inherit a vastly overheated and overheating earth.
One of my current travel mates Phil does a simple experiment with his students. They enclose the same amount of air in a control tube and a research tube with the same heating conditions and add co2 to one of the tubes. The air in the tube where co2 has been introduced always becomes hotter. Introducing co2 to air reliably makes the temperature rise. This principle of physics has been understood for 150 years. And now we have a President and an EPA director who actually think that is not true? It's so deeply deeply frustrating, and so incredibly dangerous for us all.
Apart from my extreme irritation with these moronic perspectives, I am fine. I biked for about 55 miles into an easterly headwind today, which was tiring. Sanderson, TX is a dusty, beat up, appealing town that is a great example of rural America in decline. Maybe half the commercial buildings on the main drag are shuttered. Life is not easy here. In spite of that, the residents are friendly and helpful. Funny how hardship created resourceful and helpful people.
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1623020587
Pic 1, landscape east of Marathon, TX
Pic 2, Landscape near Sanderson, TX
Pic 3, Yucca in bloom
Pic 4, Endearing sign on a motel door in Sanderson (we stayed at a nearby RV park)
Southern Tier, Post 18
Day 20, Post 18: Another extraordinary day of cycling. Went from Marfa to Marathon, continuing through a vast desert with endless vistas of mountains, buttes and large, odd volcanic rock formations. We woke up to subzero desert temperatures and felt 80+ degree heat in the afternoon. The sun is down now, and darkness is descending. It will be very dark tonight, and the star gazing should be astonishing. The moon was full last night, which adds to the evening magic.
I have dropped out of the news cycle some, but everywhere I notice a microwave I wonder if we are being monitored by KellyAnn Conway.
Still traveling with the three fellow Southern Tier riders I met in Las Cruces. Today we met a Norwegian guy who might well join our pack. In time we will all go our separate ways, no doubt. But right now we are all getting along well, making the adventure that much more fun.
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1621139183
Pic 1, Alpine's spoof of Marfa's Art exhibit - a Prada display in the high desert
Pic 2, the approach to Marathon - it's in the distance
Pic 3, Bike camp and my humble abode for the night
Pic 4, the amazing desert
More to come,
Michael
Southern Tier, Post 17
Day 19, Post 17: A day off from cycling in Marfa, TX. It's a good thing too - I was bushed and needed some down time. There's a US post office in Marfa but no UPS or Fed Ex. I haven't used my laptop in this trip at all, so I took a plunge and decided to send it back via the USPS. One thing about Marfa during the Marfa Myth festival (I got the festival name wrong in yesterday's post) and Spring Break and the annual retreat of locals from Austin to somewhere further away during South by Southwest is that there are way too many people needing stuff and too few around provide it. I've never seen somewhere so far from anywhere be so full of people from everywhere. So it took me 90 minutes to pack my computer and mail it at the post office. If I needed bubble wrap - wait in line. If I needed strapping tape - another wait in line. I have no reason why so many people from Marfa needed passports today, but the one clerk working at the USPS had to process 7 of them during my waits. And then entrusting my computer to the US mail? Well, I was queazy about it, but off went my laptop. It'll be interesting to see if it arrives. Why my uneasiness? Well, twice last year I sent a check from Manhattan to Brooklyn and each time the letter took 60 days to arrive. I sent the computer priority mail though, so I'll know if my beloved computer arrived home safely in a week or so. Or not.
I didn't mention that I, and the 3 fellow cyclists I am currently traveling with, got ourselves a suite at the local hotel that featured a bedroom, walk in closet, walk in shower and bath, 2 toilets, 3 sinks, a dining room, a kitchenette and a living room. And because we talked the establishment down we only paid about $85 each. Beyond my budget, but it was fun. Tonight, to round off our stay, we'll stay at El Cosmico, a local RV park, for $16. Now, that's more like it! Seriously though, experiencing a range of accommodations are one of the many things that make an adventure like this so much fun.
Tomorrow we'll ride through Alpine and on to Marathon, TX. In theory, cyclists sometimes rent a car for the day in Alpine to see Big Bend but because of spring break, no cars are available. A cycling detour to Big Ben would be - at minimum- a rushed 4 day trip. So instead I am promising myself a return trip. Southwest Texas is quite remarkable, and deserves more time....
Pic 1, County Seat on the main drag in Marfa.
More to come,
Michael
Southern Tier, Post 16
Day 18, Post 16: Wonderful and exhausting day. Cycled uphill almost all day against moderately tough winds. I'm now in Marfa, TX - an arty, pretentious and monied town. Quite the scene, given it's in the middle of Texas ranch country. I'm still biking with two guys from the east coast and another cyclist from Madison, WI. We are all going to St Augustine, and it's fun having others to cycle with (even though I also quite enjoy cycling solo as well). Time will tell if we continue to travel together or not, but for now it's ok. Right now I'm sitting in a bar at the St George hotel in the center of town where the 4 of us are taking a break from camping and are splitting the cost of a room. It's a suite, in fact, and the hotel let us have it at almost half price because they knew they wouldn't rent it otherwise. The town is CRAZY. Between an annual festival called Marfa Magic and spring break (I guess this town is popular with University of Texas students) and the fact that there is nothing else around for hundreds of miles, it's a madhouse.
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1618006311
Pic 1, on the way to Marfa one can find this art installation. Some people seem to take it literally and admire the shoes. I think it's a clever ironic criticism of consumer society.
Pic 2, a good example of the landscape I am now going through. The open space is almost stupefying.
Pic 3, I woke up to 32 degrees and strong winds. A tough way to start the day but it was beautiful nonetheless.
More to come,
Michael
Southern Tier, Post 15
Day 17, Post 16: Something about Texas. We made it another 72 or so miles to Van Horn, tracing deeper southeast and the direct on the Rio Grande, and then direct east. We're definitely in the south now. These towns feel far away - there's lots of space between them, and lots of interesting land. For some of the day I could see across the Rio Grande valley into the mountains of Mexico. The sense of space is awe inspiring and I know this is only the beginning. Last summer - to my surprise- I really enjoyed crossing lonely and sparse Nevada on a bike. Maybe I'll feel similarly about Texas. Time will tell. But I can tell you that so far I like the laid back towns, the easiness of the people and there sense of humor - at least in public contexts. The proprietor of the Sunset RV Park in Van Horn wouldn't accept change when I tried to give him nickels and dimes for quarters for the washing machine. He thought having more change would be ridiculous. The waitress in the nearby "steak and bar" restaurant told me I had I have a beautiful smile (I think she's flirting, which is certainly a pleasure after a long day of bike riding ....doesn't help I have a few beers in me). In any case, so far my impressions are positive, which doesn't fit my stereotype, to be honest. Not at all.
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1615678225
I'm sending some pics that I think reveal a bit of the landscape.
Pic 1, Mexico across the Rio Grande and sunset in Van Horn, TX
Pic 2, A typical wash marker for feet flooded when it rains, the Talc factory west of Van Horn and more mountains to the south in Texas.
Im loving having friends to travel with, and I also enjoy getting some solitude biking during the day. Life is sweet.
More to come,
Michael
Southern Tier, Post 14
Day 16, Post 15: Hi, all - a day when writing isn't so easy. This will be short. I'm sitting in a tent right now, out of a mild dust storm after an evening of near perfect weather. Im in Fort Baker, near the Rio Grande, about 60 miles SE of El Paso. Open, dry, hot country. Reminds me of Paris, TX, the movie.
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1613794249
Pic 1, A piñon nut vender. Did you know that most of our piñon nuts come from China and some people are allergic to them? I didn't. The North American variety has to be cultivated by hand since they only grow wild. We were able to buy some. Yum! More protein than red meat and loaded with vitamins and minerals.
Pic 2, Phil, the biologist, fixing a flat in his recumbent bike.
Pic 3, All that is left of the town of Acala, TX
Pic 4, My abode before it got windy.
More to come,
Michael