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 27
Day 29, Post 27: Drifter Jack's Hostel in Austin, TX, is worth looking up if you have the opportunity. I got here an hour ago and I'm quite enjoying the ambiance. So far, I've met an articulate guy from Boston who is trying to find an apartment in Austin and is currently going from hostel to hostel because he snores so loudly, and a Rhodesian who just came to the US from Australia where he was working before he decided to travel by car around the US for a year. ...One meets a lot of itinerant people when one is itinerant. Go figure.
Austin seems to deserve its reputation as a warm, welcoming and very groovy place. After about a 40 mile ride in from Johnson City, I went to REI for a new tire and front panniers as planned, and learned that my chain rings (the 3 rings that make up the crank where the pedals are) are so worn that replacing my chain and/or cassette would be a bad idea without replacing all of them. This is a problem because chain rings are not the kind of thing most bike shops have in stock. So here's the plan - I'll call ahead to a bike shop in New Orleans and see if they will order the parts for me so they can install them when I get to New Orleans and have a few days. And in the meantime I'll hope that my bike continues to perform well. Most likely, it will, especially because soon I'll be in flatter country. But that's a digression. The point is that the mechanic at REI was incredibly helpful, and so were the mechanics at the bigger shop he sent me to in the hopes they would have the right size chain rings in stock. They didn't but I loved the shop nonetheless (Bike Sports World, in case you're wondering).
I then solved the problem of where to sleep for the night. It's become very windy, so I didn't have any ambition to check out the local RV Park, and after realizing any number of generic motels were available, I wanted to find something more in the spirit of Austin. So I settled on Drifter Jack's. As long as I can stowe my stuff securely and get a decent nights sleep (I figure 75% odds I will), why not? By now you can tell I like to travel on the cheap, and I take some satisfaction in finding "good deals" (I can hear the contextual irony in that comment), so I'm rather pleased by the $23 price tag. But if I am kept up all night by snoring and party goers, I won't be so pleased tomorrow...
I'll be up early to start the process of biking out of Austin. According to Wikipedia, Austin is the fastest growing city in the United States and the second most populated capital city after Phoenix, Arizona. I find it's traffic second to Phoenix in its unpleasantness for bicycle travel, so I imagine the ride out of town will be stressful. But I'm eager to see what lies beyond.
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1636498987
Pic 1, An early morning shot on the way in to Austin from Johnson City.
Pic 2, The common room at Drifter Jack's.
Pic 3, The exterior of Drifter Jack's.
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
Southern Tier, Post 13
Day 14, Post 13: Today was the most spectacular ride of the entire trip so far, and that's saying a lot, given how beautiful the American southwest is. I started in Silver City, NM, and climbed almost 5000 feet over Emory Pass. I have done other big passes on my bike, most notably Carson and Wolf Creek passes in the Sierra and the Rockies. But those passes were on better grades and more trafficked roads. Emory Pass, in contrast, is incredibly windy, extraordinarily steep, and sparsely trafficked. And stunning. Although it's a climb that challenge any takers, its a thrilling ride, especially on the downhill side. Given the steep descent and constant curves, one gets to feeling pretty sporty. And that is a welcome relief - and a reward - given how hard it is to get to the top.
I learned over lunch in San Lorenzo what I am allergic to. It's Juniper, and it's a common affliction here at this time of year (well, earlier and earlier - this year it's been bad since January). A local pointed out a tree loaded with berry flowers and pollen, and as I cycled on, I could see how much Juniper there is. It's a very common tree, and there's no escaping its pollen.
Every day I seem to race the sun to complete my ride. Today I finished in Hillsboro, a charming town with few amenities that doesn't seem to have added a building since the 1940's. There are no billboards, no fast food restaurants and no gas marts. The only restaurant in town closes at 3 pm. Imagine my puzzlement - I expected a place to eat or a grocery, because it was almost warm enough to camp but I needed food. So I ended up at the only B&B (The Enchanted Villa - a traditional and large adobe home) where I was rescued by a very nice proprietor who agreed to cook me dinner as well as breakfast for a very modest price. So I am once again able to renew myself. I wonder what adventures lie ahead? Tomorrow I head to Las Cruces.
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1609113694
Aaron and Kimmy, westbound Southern Tier cyclists I met on the way up the pass.
A view from the top. Given that the Mexican border is probably less than 100 miles from here, you can get a sense of the elevation by the snow.
Marker on the pass.
Several shots of the landscape nearby.
Southern Tier, Post 12
Day 13, Post 12: Silver City is 45 miles NE of Lordsburg, NM. It's an attractive historic tourist town and ranching center that sits at the base of the Gila National Forest. The forest's terrain ranges from rugged mountains and deep canyons to mesas and semi-desert. Due to the extremely rugged terrain, the area is largely unspoiled. Lordsburg is at a lower elevation, and on the western side of the Continental Divide, while Silver City sits on the eastern side. Interestingly, parts of the Gila National Forest flow into the Gila River watershed that feeds the small towns and cotton fields of northeastern Arizona. On the other side of the divide (which meanders) it flows east. Maybe in a few days I'll understand better what the uses of the water are on that side of the watershed. Ranching for sure, and to feed the cities and industries of Las Cruces and Truth or Consequences, but I wonder what other agricultural uses it is put to. Did you know that 69% of the world's freshwater is committed to agriculture? Kind of makes one wonder about the "wisdom" of relaxing clean water standards. This is an economic as much as an environmental issue. If we reduce our supplies of usable fresh water, the livelihoods of people in rural areas become threatened.
I didn't sleep so well last night - I seem to be allergic to some kind of pollen that is ubiquitous right now in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico (something is blooming), and taking a benedryl at about 3 am didn't put me back to sleep; quite the contrary. So I was tired when I got out of bed. Well hell, I thought, 45 miles isn't so much. I knew I would be doing a lot of climbing but I didn't plan for the wind. It was coming out of west when I left Lordsburg and as the day progressed moved more to the north. It was strong - probably 20 miles an hour, and it was unrelenting. Mainly the road to Silver City heads northeast, with a few sections going straight east and more heading due north. The land is wide open, and there are few ways to find shelter from the elements, so wind, dust and sun are constant companions. Except for the long uphill climbs (maybe 15 miles straight out of the gate), I was fine heading east with a strong wind to my back. But going north the crosswind was almost unbearable. Many times I was blown off the road. I learned to lean into the wind but when I relaxed - even for a second - the wind would catch me and force me off the road again. Because it was unrelenting it was exhausting. Frankly, this was the hardest day of biking I can ever remember.
Although I am carrying camping equipment and have every intention of camping, I am finding it hard to time out my days so I can with set up camp before I lose light at 6:30 or so in the evening. Also, the combination of intense wind and cold desert nights dampens my enthusiasm. But the biggest factor is that the hotels are so cheap in this section of the south. Right now I'm sitting on a king bed in a warm room with a great shower for which I paid $42.47.
I may have figured out how to send pictures inside these posts. However, if the pics don't come through look for a second email.
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1607238971
More to come,
Michael
Southern Tier, Posts 9-11
Days 9-12, Posts 9-11: On my way to Tucson to visit my cousin Karen. Had a great visit and hospitality from a cousin (once removed?) in Phoenix. Rode into Phoenix yesterday from Wickenburg, about 69 miles to the NW. All is good - rain is long gone and the sun is intense. One thing about Phoenix that I knew already from experience but had forgotten - it is the most car dependent place I've ever been - and it may also be the worst city for biking in the US. Puts LA to shame -- maybe it's the unrelenting 3-4 lane roads with no bike lanes, nor sidewalks for that matter... in any case it's taking me a long time to get out of here today... but I am now in the southern outskirts....
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I think I'm now sitting in the only restaurant that isn't fast food in Coolidge, AZ, an old agricultural town that is also the site of the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. Predictably the restaurant is Mexican (which I like and have been eating regularly). Unfortunately, they don't serve alcohol, which normally doesn't bother me but on a cycling trip, ...OMG, that requires a great personal sacrifice. Or deep and patient acceptance, at least.
Somehow I got here after realizing about 10 miles south of Chandler that my rear tire had suddenly developed several serious aneurisms, as in scary looking bulges. Ironically I had already stopped at an REI in Tempe because I was thinking it might be a good idea to swap out my back tire - with no knowledge of how seriously right I was - only to learn they had little inventory because they were in the process of moving their store. So I decided I would get a new tire in Tucson instead. Bad choice. I considered turning back but navigating Phoenix again was definitely not appealing, so instead I decided to continue on and count on good luck. After all the tire was holding even though it looked scary. And so far so good - I made it this far, but after checking out the tire again after I stopped for the day - it would be a miracle to make it another 70 miles. And there are no bike shops nearby.
But there is a Walmart about a mile away. In the morning I will see if they stock 700cc x 35 tires - it seems unlikely, but anything is possible. Even at Walmart. If not, I'm not at all sure what my plan B will be... but I can assure you there will be one, even if I don't know what it is until after it happens...
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1600396277
Day 10, Post 9: So here's how Plan B worked. Walmart stocks tubes, but not tires, at least in Coolidge, AZ. So I was up shit creek, so to speak. And as once before in recent memory, a Good Samaritan came my rescue (shit creek always requires divine intervention, I suspect). The first time I was saved was last summer when my derailleur blew out about 70 miles out of Pittsburgh. My host in Pittsburgh was Kittie Verdolini, and she kindly drove 70 miles to retrieve me and my bike, and then delivered us both to an REI, where a great mechanic replaced my failed derailleur within 30 minutes. Today I was saved my by my host in Tucson, my cousin Karen MacCluskey, who drove 70 miles to pick me up (what is it about me, 70 miles and bike disasters?) Karen then kindly drove me to an REI in Tucson. I had new tires in about an hour (it took awhile to decide which pair was best for my purposes). For those of you who don't know, REI stands for Recreational Equipment Inc, a national chain for outdoor adventure gear. I go to REI when I can because I am a member - which means I get a 10% dividend beck per annum on purchases.
So I am now sitting in Karen's lovely apartment in Tucson, chilling after sitting in a hot tub. Karen is working right now, but when she returns we'll go out for a meal. Tomorrow Karen will drive me to Safford, AZ because she has business there (a resourceful musician, Karen does property insurance assessments as a day job). So by this time tomorrow, I will be back on the Southern Tier cycling route, about 2 days ride from the New Mexico border.
It's probably a good thing I had an unplanned day off from cycling. When I woke up this morning, my legs were letting me know they really needed a rest. And I'm noticing other tell tale signs – I've been starved all day, even though I'm eating (which makes me think I need to restore carbs) and I've been kinda lazy. In fact, I took a relaxing soak in an outdoor hot tub (a perk at Karen's complex). Boy, did that feel good! ...Quite the place to be at this time of year.
By the way, I didn't have a chance to mention how great it was to see my cousin Andrew (once removed or second, I don't know which - it's all relative anyway 🙃). He's got a really interesting job at ASU working with foreign students. It's fascinating how our current national trends are negatively affecting foreign students who chose to study here. Our numbers of foreign students are going down with a lot of foreign talent choosing to go to Canada, Australia and England instead. An unintended consequence is that we lose out on foreign talent for our own STEM based workforce for up to 3 years after a student graduates. We need to be careful - in higher education, "America First" might well make us "America Third or Fourth" (or last).
Look for a pic in another email. I'll try to get a selfie with me and Karen (who looks a lot like how I remember my Grandma Ruth). Pretty women, those MacCluskey's!
Day 11, Post 10: I woke up to a beautiful day in Tucson. Yesterday was uncharacteristically cloudy and windy. Today the air was calm, the sky was blue and the Tucson sun made its gentle warmth known immediately upon stepping out of the shade. Waking late after a fabulous dinner and late evening in downtown Tucson, my cousin Karen and I gathered together our belongings, and I hoisted my bike (with it's beautiful new tires) into her van. We set off for Safford, AZ, where Karen was going to drop me off (back on the ACA "Southern Tier" trail) and head to a home nearby to conduct a home insurance assessment. We set off in a whirlwind of chatter. I get teased for being a talker, but I don't think I can compete with my cousin Karen. I checked the news on my phone while Karen drove. OMG, "Obama wiretapped Trump Tower"! Well... you can imagine how much fun we had with this blatantly diversionary headline. We made up new headlines-- "Putin's semon found on Hillary's dress!" "Schumer secretly uses Mike Pences AOL account to send out Mike Pence's confidential emails!" Before we knew it we had driven around Mount Graham, which as it turns out, is a peak in the Pinalenos Range.
Curious about what we were looking at, we checked Wikipedia. These mountains are a "sky island" range that is typical of ranges isolated by desert valleys. The desert areas between the mountains prevent flora and fauna from traveling to or from nearby ecosystems. As a result, the mountain ecosystems are isolated, and distinct sub-species can develop. For example, The Mount Graham red squirrel is an isolated population of red squirrels and probably it's own sub-species. Safford, Arizona is one of two nearest towns to the Pinalenos.
I have been here for several hours, and have seen no squirrels. Maybe tomorrow....
Day 12, Post 11: I left Safford, AZ this morning at about 8 o'clock and cycled (mainly uphill) for for about 35 miles before stopping for lunch in a wonderfully funky town called Duncan. It's only about 7 miles from the New Mexico border, so I was in that lovely state soon after. I then cycled another 47 miles to the southeast, combating an increasingly intense southerly wind. It was cloudy and cool all day. I arrived in Lordsburg, NM just as the sun was setting, with the southerly wind now blowing at about 15 miles an hour, which would have pitching a tent quite tricky. So I found a motel on the outskirts of town for which I paid a cycling rate of $35. The towns on the Southern Tier route treat cyclists well, because I'm sure we help out economically. My room is clean and the hotel manager is wonderfully weird, so I have no complaints. I know I'll sleep well tonight.
Seems that Lordsburg has several interesting historical features. With a current population of just above 3000, Lordsburg opened the first municipal airport in the state of New Mexico. In 1927, Lordsburg was one of the stops on Charles Lindbergh's transcontinental "Spirit of Saint Louis" air tour. The other fact is not as positive - Lordsburg held as many as 1,500 Japanese Americans in a Japanese American-internment camp operated by the U.S. Army during World War II. On July 27, 1942, shortly after the Lordsburg Internment Camp was opened, Private First Class Clarence Burleson, a sentry at the facility, allegedly shot two Japanese American internees under questionable circumstances. One of the victims, Hirota Isomura, apparently died instantly. The other, Toshiro Kobata, died before dawn. After a military investigation and court-martial, Burleson was found to have lawfully killed the two men.
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1605849566
As usual, I'll send a second post with pics. I know they don't always go through (cell service can be dicey), but I'll do my best. Tonight I may send several batches of photos - I got a lot of good shots today....
More to come,
Michael
Southern Tier, Posts 1-8
The following posts were all written on the Southern Tier cycling route from San Diego, CA to Jacksonville, FL.
Southern Tier Cycling Tour, 2017
The famous Adventure Cycling Association (ACA) "Southern Tier Route" begins in San Diego and passes through Arizona and New Mexico along the US/Mexican border, across west Texas into Austin, then above Houston into Louisiana, across the coast of Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, and then east to Saint Augustine, FL. The route is approximately 2700 miles long. I expected the trip to take 70 to 80 days. Instead of St Augustine, I ended the tour in Jacksonville, where I took a train back to my home in New York City. The trip took 54 days.
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Day 0, Post 1, The Pacific Ocean is behind me. Photo courtesy of my wonderful host, John Tessmer. Tomorrow I begin riding the "Southern Tier" from San Diego to St Augustine, FL. Spent the afternoon restoring my bike after shipping it out here. Have a broken clasp on one of my Ortleib Panniers; otherwise a very smooth start!
Day 1, Post 2, This morning I biked down to Dog Beach on the far western end of San Diego where the San Diego river meets the ocean. This is the starting point for the "Southern Tier" route. From here there's only one direction to go on the route - east. And that's what I did. Tonight I'm in Alpine, California; a small touristy town in the mountains just east of San Diego. It's lovely and surprisingly chilly. I took a motel because there's nothing east of here for probably 40 or 50 miles and I was losing sunlight. I'm sure it will get warmer as I get out of the mountains. Not sure how far I'll get tomorrow, but no doubt it will be further than today. Today involved a lot of climbing, and I'm not in the shape I was a few months ago when I finished my last trip. Hopefully in a few days I'll have my cycling legs back. One last thing worth mentioning – it's extraordinarily green here. One would not know this is a desert, and one would not know that historically the San Diego area is extremely water stressed. But California has been having one hell of a rainy winter, and although the intensity of the rain is another attribute of climate change, it's still a welcome relief.
Day 2, Post 3, After a good nights sleep in a motel bed with temperatures outside dipping to high 30's, l left Alpine, Ca on a flawless sunshiny day to find myself climbing 4770 feet, mostly on old scenic highway 80. Damn! I am still getting my cycling legs back. The worst is over, though - tomorrow is almost all downhill and/or flat. Hope I can up my miles. Came into Jacumba, Ca about 3:30 with the nearest next choice for lodging well over 20 miles to the east. Since the sun sets at 5:30ish my days are short. Jacumba is right on the border - as close as I'll get until El Paso. I found a lodge with a sulphuric fed hot springs pool - and for $25 I was able to set my tent up in the backyard next to the pool. It's warmer here.... Then I soaked in the hot springs, showered and after a few beers and food will probably sleep deeply. The border fence sure looks like a wall - do we really need another one? It's kind of a WTF question.... do Americans even know that a fence was constructed while Bush was President? It works except for the tunnels underneath. Maybe Trump needs to build a basement along the border, not a wall?
Day 3, Post 4, You may recall that I slept in my tent last night. Well, it got pretty cold. In fact, this morning at breakfast I overheard a local saying that it hit 24° at his place. That would explain the ice on my tent from condensation, and my frozen biking shorts that I had hung out to dry after sitting in the hot springs. But the desert sun is as warming in its appearance as it is cold in its absence so I was almost ice free for packing an hour after sunrise. Love the desert - it creates extremes that are life threatening but quite pleasant at the same time. And then I was off. To my chagrin, I had to climb again after I left Jacumba Springs. Yet, once I reached the final peak after about an hour of climbing (it felt worse than it was) I had pleasant downhill ride that lasted for at least 20 miles. About 15 of those miles were on Interstate 8 - a section of freeway that one can cycle on legally because there's no other way through the pass out of the mountains into the valley. The shoulder was very wide and the road was about a 6% grade down the hill. Frankly, after all that climbing, it was well worth enduring freeway traffic on a wide shoulder to bike 15 miles in about a half an hour. At lunch I talked to Canadian Air Force pilots who were training/exercising at the local Naval Air Force facility in El Centro. Well I get it - it's not the time of year to be a flyer in Canada.... I saw some fabulous flying as I headed east into the Imperial Valley, where I ended up for the night at Brawley.
Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1591818544
Day 4, Post 5, There were no choices for either food or accommodation for over 80 miles today. Fortunately I had a long descent and a back wind. And that was a good thing, because I almost stayed over in Brawley since I can feel a cold coming on... I can't tell it's status right now, which might mean it passed even as I was pushing myself. I'll know when I wake up tomorrow... tonight I'm in Blythe, not far from the Arizona border. Lots of dune buggies around here. And enormous RV's. And a few Confederate flags. I'll let you draw the conclusions... I'm beat! Imagine I'll sleep well...
Day 5, Post 6, Odd things can happen on a bike ride. Yesterday toward the end of a long ride when I was pretty exhausted, I pulled off the road to ...well, give some fluids back to the earth. I found a telephone pole and leaned my bike against it. When I began to leave I realized I had parked in some deep clay-like mud. A lot of it, apparently, even though it was disguised to look dry. As I pushed my bike onto the road the wheels ground to a halt. Mud was in the fenders and oozing around the caliper breaks. I pushed harder, thinking the mud would drop off if I could get the wheels to turn. My logic worked to a point. I hopped on the bike and because I was losing sunlight fast I rode on in spite of a sense of heaviness and the sound of my wheels rubbing against ... something. If it was mud it would drop off as it dried, I reasoned. Which it did a little as I biked on, helped by an occasional kick at my front and back fenders as I rode. But I couldn't shake the sense of weight. The mud was off the fenders as far as I could see. I finally got to my destination, Blythe, a town situated in a pretty agricultural valley in SE California about 7 miles from the Colorado River and Arizona. There I found no fewer than 3 motels boasting $35 rooms and one at $40. Because of it's proximity to a restaurant I chose the $40 one. I had biked 86 miles and I didn't think I manage more than walk across the street to eat. But I wanted to take care of what was making my bike heavy... I asked the motel owner if I could use his hose. I said mud, and he said, "Oh yea, and here's a paint stick." I looked at him quizzically. "You have to dig it out. The hose won't be enough." Well, he was right. For about 30 minutes I alternated between hosing and scraping under my fenders. The right side, the left side, front tire, back tire. I couldn't believe the mud. It might as well have been cement. But finally the wheels recovered their easy spin. I lifted the bike. I had shed five pounds of weight at least.
This morning called for rain. By the late afternoon it was 80% probability for about an hour in the late afternoon. I thought about staying in Blythe. But Quartzsite in Arizona beckoned, at only 22 miles on the other side of a mountain range. I decided to go for it, thinking I could beat the rain. I started climbing. It was about 10 am. It started to rain, ahead of schedule. The wind starting blowing out of the southwest. I got to Quartzsite. Pretty town, I imagine, when it's dry, which is probably 363 days a year. But not today. It's evening and still raining. But this is not a complaint. I found another inexpensive motel room, my laundry is now clean and my feet are warm again and I'm thinking about how much I love Americana. There's an RV Park here I would have gone to, had I not been so wet (and cold) and in need of drying out. But the Stagecoach Inn is worth all of its $60. There is a restaurant attached that serves chicken fried steak as it's fancy dish (with mashed potatoes and corn), and beers (for a couple of bucks).
Last month my friend Carolyn and I both read "The Art of Travel" by Alain de Botton. One chapter was on the traveling addiction of Edward Hopper and his love for simple Americana eateries and motels. As I read I had an insight. I didn't need to feel ashamed of my heretofore inexplicable attraction to home-spun restaurants, middle century motels and RV Parks. It's not poor taste that leads me to appreciate this stuff so much. I am touched by nature's beauty and humankind's beautiful, funky and banal attempts to address our endless eternal struggle to make life livable, if not better. So I make no apologies. I like what I see around me, especially when I haven't seen it before. I would like to believe that underneath all the pain of the deteriorating quality of life in rural America (and its probably ineffective current scream for attention in our national political drama) is a quiet and eternal core of kindness, dignity and ingenuity. It's obvious that rural America is in decline, and will have to reinvent itself eventually in a new image. But first her inhabitants will have to realize that a "great" past won't return, that there won't be an "again" if there ever was one in the first place. For that's how life works. No matter how fertile our imaginings about the past might be, genuine reinvention is always about something new. And it rarely is comforting, especially in the beginning. But as a good Buddhist would say, "the only way out is through." And in the meantime, let's love all our all too human fragility.
Day 6, Post 7, In Wickenburg, AZ, about 50 miles out of Phoenix. Long day and I have little time to write tonight. I'm well, tired and enjoying myself. And really enjoying the Arizona countryside. And the culture, in an Edward Hopper kind of way. Funky, quaint and lots of snowbirds...
Just stopped in Harcouver, AZ at a bar and grill and RV Park for lunch. I'm eating a cheese quesadilla because I used the bathroom and there are signs all over saying no business, no bathroom. And I met the owner on the way in. Not a guy to mess with.
Day 8, Post 8: On my way to Tucson to visit my cousin Karen. Had a great visit and hospitality from a cousin (once removed?) in Phoenix. Rode into Phoenix yesterday from Wickenburg, about 69 miles to the NW. All is good - rain is long gone and the sun is intense. One thing about Phoenix that I knew already from experience but had forgotten - it is the most car dependent place I've ever been - and it may also be the worst city for biking in the US. Puts LA to shame -- maybe it's the unrelenting 3-4 lane roads with no bike lanes, nor sidewalks for that matter... in any case it's taking me a long time to get out of here today... but I am now in the southern outskirts....
More to come,
Michael