Friday, April 16, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Blog 4/15/10--Another Day, Another State
from the lobby of the Best Western Motel in Wiggins, MS.
Another beautiful day here. 50 this morning, 80 this afternoon, a stray cloud once in a while, and of course, a SE wind that started out light in the morning and became pretty strong by lunchtime--gusting between 15 and 25 or 30 mph all afternoon. Still, with all the blue sky and mild temperatures, should I complain? My shoes have barely gotten once wet the whole trip! Of course I shouldn't whine about the wind, but I do anyway. We've done the only thing we can--moved up our starting time in the mornings to as soon as it's light enough to be seen in order to get in as many miles as possible before the wind comes up.
As we rode back thru Franklinton, LA from our motel this morning to get back on the route, we noticed something we apparently missed yesterday since the wind was blowing pretty hard when we got there--a really, really bad odor, which our noses connected with fertilizer--or fecal matter, one or the other. We deduced it was coming from a large factory just north of downtown since it permeated the entire area. The factory said Cargil on it, so I now have another reason to dislike huge factory-farm enterprises.
But the odor did hasten our exit from an otherwise nice, friendly town, and our route once again eschewed the larger, more direct highways in order to send us down barely used country roads--most of which had great pavement despite their very rural nature. I suspect some of them exist only to aid in the loggers' decimation of the forests, pine trees apparently being the only thing the very sandy soil in southern Louisiana and Mississippi will support.
After 25 miles, we came to Bogalusa. I expected a pretty, old southern town with a bunch of ante-bellum mansions. Maybe they are there somewhere, but we didn't see them. Instead we saw an enormous factory which I decided was a paper-pulp manufacturing facility. It didn't smell all that good either, and I'm afraid that lingering odor followed our noses right to the state line just east of town.
Mississippi road commissions seem not to believe in road shoulders, which makes us glad our route again got us off the main highways as much as possible and on to deserted side roads. I suspect that in all today we did an extra 25 miles zigging and zagging one way or another to stay off main highways as much as possible.
We ended up in Wiggins, MS, a town of around 10,000 right on US 49. It's actually north of our route about 5 miles, and in order to get here, we rode the five miles on US 49, which is practically a freeway but is graced with shoulders. We'll be headed back south on it at daybreak tomorow morning with a goal of making it to the Gulf of Mexico at Dauphin Island, tho we may cut it short at Bayou Le Batre. We ought to be taking a ferry across Mobile Bay and biking through Pennsacola FL Saturday.
So far, Mississippi is running very close to Louisiana in the dogs-giving-chase department, and one of our commenters asks our techniques for dealing with them. In general, the best approach is to ride as silently as possible whenever canine critters might be around in order to be as far down the road as possible when they realize the game's afoot. If we have a good enough head start, lots of them give up right away or only chase half-heartedly, or at worst, we tire them out before they catch up to us. After that, we rely on a big, loud, bass voice--mine!! The louder and lower the voice, the better. I also do my best to be closer to the dogs than Kathy since I'm bigger and louder and hopefully more scary. It's all worked so far, and a good thing too, since the next plan is rapid and fervent prayer! Happily, we've had no problems in the much dreaded dog-chasing-and-it's-steeply-uphill category. Presumably those dogs have already become fat and lazy munching on other bicylists! Kathy thinks we ought to use the dogs as sprint-interval workouts, and I'm not surprised since she always beats me in those anyway, she doesn't have to be faster than the dog--just faster than me!! Besides, I find it's hard to sprint and yell really loud and pray simultaneously.
A final few words today about our legs. The first couple of weeks they felt pretty bad--such a huge increase in mileage, all that climbing, etc. But whether they've adapted of we've gotten used to it, or the pain generators are all worn out, the legs don't hurt so much anymore (the end of the mountains and Texas Hill Country may have something to do with it too). But what we do find is that any time we try to accelerate very hard--from a dog or a stop light with cars behind us, for example, we get an immediate burning--what cyclists everywhere refer to as the lactic-acid burn. It aches like crazy for a couple of seconds but then goes away. Other than that, our legs feel okay in the morning and get pretty darn tired somewhere around 50 or 60 miles every day. I guess maybe we shouldn't be too surprised about that.
Doug
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Blog 4/14/10--Lessons
From the Liberty Inn, Franklinton, LA, via Droid
Repetition is the key to learning, they say. We, were reminded of a couple of lessons along our 90ish mile slog from beautiful St. Francisville to Franklinton today.
First, those, gals we caught up with yesterday really do have it good. We stopped at a grocery store 15 miles into the ride to buy some food for the day, and when we came out, their support van/trailer was set up in the parking lot with a table full of goodies all set up--for them but not for us, I divined from the way their support crew eyed us scroungers.
Second lesson--Dad isn't always right. He assured me, the other day, that Louisiana is flat as can be. Not true in these parts. We rode across the Tunica hills, or at least, some of them, for at least forty miles. They aren't all that steep or long, and they're puny compared to Texas hill country, but they are most definitely out there and create lots of additional work, especially with our ubiquitous headwind. But the forests do make a dandy windbreak sometimes--except where they've been clearcut, which is often the case. This is serious lumbering country. They do replant, but saplings just don't block much breeze.
We lucked into a bicycling dentist when we got to Franklinton, Rob Brown, who told us the name of the Tunica hills and added that we've not seen the last of them. Rob pointed us to the best motel and yet another great Mexican restaurant too. And he told us that Louisiana just enacted a law requiring motorists to give cyclists at least three feet of clearance when passing. I hereby challenge my own bickering Michigan legislature to do likewise. Fat chance...
The last lesson of the day is the most important by far. Our route took us through what I have to say is the poorest town of the entire trip, Tangipahoa. Even tho no dogs--or people--threatened us at all, our initial emotional response was to be scared and want to get outa town ASAP. But the lesson was to remember that there is no real corelation between poverty and our personal safety as cyclists passing thru. In fact, that kind of fear is, IMHO, the result of propaganda slickly--and slyly--fed to us by the government and especially the mass media in order to foster a generally fearful and therefore malleable populace that will cowtow when told what to do and, when to do it. Better to believe in the basic goodness and brotherly love of one's fellow man, especially where, as here, churches easily outnumber bars 10, even 20 to 1. Come to think of it, there wasn't a bar in that town.
Doug.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Blog 4/13/10 Hanging Out In St. Francisville
From the St. Francisville, LA public Library:
This is an unbelievably beautiful little--and old--town on the Mississippi River. Apparently we timed things just right bacause the azaleas are in full bloom, and they are three weeks late this year, I'm told. Enormous bushes of bright pink and red blooms everywhere one looks. All the trees are completely leafed out, lots of rose 'bushes' (some should be called 'trees' they're so big) around, and big, beautiful live oaks with spanish moss hanging all over them--some of the gnarliest and coolest trees I've ever seen, with branches splitting off the trunk fifteen or twenty feet off the ground, curving down to touch the earth, then twisting back up into the sky. While there must be prettier places than this, I can't recall seeing any just now.
There's an ante-bellum Grace Episcopal Church that, together with its grounds/cemetary, simply has to be seen to be believed. I'm not a religious fellow, but between the exterior of the building, the stained glass, the greenery, the flowers and some of the most entertaining tombstones ever, well, it's pretty awe inspiring.
All in all, the town is so pretty we decided to spend our fourth rest day of the trip here. Besides, we actually accomplished one of our goals here--we caught up with a women-only fully supported tour that left San Diego a week ahead of us. We've been hearing about them all along, and have been getting input about how far ahead of us they are. Yesterday afternoon, the gal at a convenience store told us they were only two hours ahead, so we knew then we had them in our sights! We checked out of our motel this morning to spend today at the B & B where half of them are staying--right in the middle of town, so Kathy has the chance to talk to some biking-oriented women instead of putting up with me 24/7. Apparently these women are quite pampered, at least by our standards. A van/trailer hauls their stuff and they have a chef who cooks their meals! They also have a term they use--EFI. Some are EFI people and some of them aren't. Kathy & I are EFI people because we have no way to bail out early on any given day, so, like some of them, we are doing Every Fu..... Inch!!
Speaking of B & Bs, I just have to take a minute to compare the two we've stayed at on the trip. Check Point Harley was a group of bunkhouses on a ranch in Texas--wide open spaces, cows mooing to you, donkeys braying, pigs oinking, acres to roam, and Harley-Davidson bedspreads--along with Ernie, as all-around wonderful guy as I ever met. The St Francisville B & B is a big old wooden frameed southern mansion with extra rooms built on the back, giant oaks, spanish moss, azaleas, swimming pool and beautiful antiques everywhere you look. The two could hardly be more different, yet both are busting with hospitality and it's hard to say which we enjoy more.
In the fauna department, two critters bear mentioning. Armadillos. They aren't well-equipped to deal with cars, and seem to come out about the same as turtles. I figured we'd be done with them at the Texas/Louisiana border, but they're still with us half way across the state. And skunks. There are lots of them here--or at least there were. Just about as many dead skunks as dead squirells--and that's a lot. Also, I thought we'd be done with cactuses by now, but prickly pears are still with us as are lots of yuccas. So we have both western and eastern plant life here, and though we're past the Thicket National Preserve, the woods are still so thick I'd be afraid that if I ventured in I might never find my way out.
A final note about the people here. They are the friendliest yet, and that's really saying something. Almost everyone is friendly, but people here take their time and want to know all about the trip. One man told us of a study that found that while Louisiana may be one of the pooorest states, it ranks highest of all in hapiness of its residents. And right now, that includes the two of us! Maybe that incredible sweet-tea they drink has something to do with it.
Doug
Monday, April 12, 2010
Blog 4/12/10 Zowee!
Quite a day today, far different than we had planned, even tho our plans were pretty loose.
I called the city clerk for Melville, the town by the ferry we weren't sure was working. She said the ferry was fixed, but only ran from four to nine pm. Since it was only a fifty mile ride to get there, it looked like an easy day--until we learned the first eight miles on the other side aren't paved! We thought long and hard about trying it anyway, but finally decided that out running dogs would be tough on dirt.
So we set out on the 35 mile trip north to the closest bridge over the Atchafalaya River at Simmesport. Since we had seventy miles in by then and it's more than forty more to the next motels in St Francisville, we decided to hole up in the only motel in Simmesport, along with another couple we happened upon outside town. The motel was a strange looking place, also housing a pizza joint and a U-Haul franchise. We checked in, but shortly thereafter we checked back out. To say that neither AAA nor Good Houskeeping would bestow their seal of approval on the place is a bit of an understatement. For sure the cockroaches and several other species, of bugs DID approve. Our options were limited, and so was the daylight. We time-trialed as best as two seriously overtrained tourists with forty plus pound bikes could the forty miles to St Francisville, where we got to take a real ferry ride across the Mississippi.
We got to see a lovely sunset over the river, and what little we saw of the town looks stunningly beautiful. We will explore tomorrow, but by the time we found a motel it was pitch black and we were two nervous, cranky cyclists. No restaurants nearby, so we talked the hostess into letting us raid the breakfast bar early.
We rode 114 miles, starting at 8:00 am and ending at 8:00 pm. But there was so much time wasted along the way that we still averaged close to 17 mph even with our now-dependable headwind.
A couple of parting thoughts today about dogs--occasioned by the fact that we have been chased by more dogs in about 300 miles of Louisiana than the rest of the trip combined. There's one rule that never fails--only houses that appear to have nothing much worth protecting house dogs that chase. The more squalid the place, the scarier the dog. Some big dogs keep little dogs around whose job it is to alert the sleeping, big, scary dog of our approach in time for Thor to regain consciousness and give chase. Over the years it is perfectly clear that the deep south--that is, the southeast US, is by far the worst for dogs. At least we get a little sprinting practice, and in this part of the world, no hills pop up to slow us down and make us easy pickings for Fido.
Very satisfying to get across the Mississippi today, an epic ride with some great roads and beautiful scenery, but this particular ride still has a few bugs to get worked out of it.
Doug
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Blog 4/11/10 Horsin' Around
From the computer in the front office of the Ville Platte, LA Best Western:
Yet another totally beautiful day; hard to imagine a nicer day, unless the wind would be so kind as to visit our backsides! Fat chance of that!! At least it wasn't too strong today. 50 degrees this morning when we left DeRidder and 75 when we arrived at Ville Platte 80 very flat miles later. Nary a cloud to be seen. We started mostly in woods, but before long we climbed up a few feet, then crossed a river and entered...rice paddy country! Acres and acres of artificially flooded very flat land. Any doubts concerning the crop were quickly erased by the names of the farms.
Which reminds me of something I've meant to mention for a couple of days--egrets!! In the last three days we've seen more egrets than ion the remainder of our lives! They especially like the rice fields, but we've seen hundreds of them lots of other places. We also saw dozens of black birds today the general size and shape of egrets hanging out in rice paddies. Juvenile egrets? I have no idea. We also saw hundreds of great big thistle plants with purple blooms. Kathy should post a picture of one. Much more impressive than any thistle I've seen up north, and they are so numerous it seems to me they ought to be the state flower. Some are four feet tall!
Our route took us through two small towns, Oberlin and Mamoa, and combned with Ville Platte one thing that is patently obvious is that Louisiana is a much poorer state than Texas. This isn't so clear in the country, where the farms look about the same (though Ponderosa-sized estates are few and far between here), but the towns look much older and much poorer. We've also entered the land of Piggly Wiggly grocery stores, a great name, and Kathy should have posted a picture of our first stop at one for lunch today. Our new approach to eating on the road--in the absence of a passable restaurant--is to eschew convenience stores if possible and hit the largest grocery we can find.
Some of the roads here also reflect less money being available for highway maintenance, and we did about 10 of our 80 miles today on roads we both hope to forget as soon as possible--not because of the traffic (nil), but because the pavement delivered jackhammer-like blows to our arms and butts every four or five feet. Still, most pavement has been quite nice so far.
A big dilemma awaits us tomorrow. We have to cross two big rivers soon, the Mississippi and the Atychafalaya. The Mississippi crossing is on the route at a ferry at St Francisville--no problem there. But our route crosses the other one via a bridge at Simisport, but this takes us about 50 miles out of the way. The alternative is another ferry crossing much more in line with the route at Melville, LA, but it's not clear if the ferry there is operating!!! Even the city police I called this afternoon aren't sure, and the Louisiana Dept of Transportation website is none too clear either. We have to figure it out in the morning. It will make a day's difference in our ride whether we have to ride up to Simisport then head to St Francisville the next day, or can take the ferry at Melville. Stay tuned...
As we approached Ville Platte this afternoon (a Sunday) we came upon a field with at least a hundred pickup truck/horse trailer combinations parked together but only a few people and horses milling about. Then about a mile later we caught up with at most a dozen people on horseback riding right down the middle of the road. Around the next corner we found the explanation--a great big party, or hoe-down, or hootenanny, or whatever the right term is, in another field. Apparently everyone drove their horses to one farm, then rode their horses to the party on down the road!!
We got lucky for dinner tonight. This is the heart of Cajun country--not exactly the best diet for vegetarians, but just as last night we lucked into a great Thai restaurant, tonight we have a dandy Mexican joint right next door. This blog is definitely Margarita-influenced!!
Doug
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Blog 4/10/10--The good, the bad & the ugly
The good: dinner, the weather (but not the wind), some of the roads, and finally--after two weeks in Texas--making it to Louisiana. But there was an awful lot to like about Texas, including some great roads, great food and warn, caring people. We'll be back.
The bad: too much convenience store food, some of the pavement, how my butt is feeling after too many hours and too many days in the saddle, and how my legs feel towards the end of the ride each day lately.
The ugly: 30 miles on the shoulder of US 90 and cross wind when there aren't enough trees to block it.
We spent a lot of the day in or near the Big Thicket National Preserve, an aptly named area where the trees and bushes are thicker than anything I've ever seen. Apparently various sorts of ne'er do wells have hidden therein over the years, but to do so, at least in April they'd have, to put up with gnats, a zillion gnats, and most likely skeeters and several other of Mother Nature's mistakes. The moment we'd stop they'd commence the attack. The only relief was to keep riding.
Bluebonnets made a bit of a reprise today, which was nice, and there are some pink and red flowering bushes that put lilacs and forcythias to shame.
Our location tonight is DeRidder, which appears to be largely a company town for Boise South paper products. It possesses a nice courthouse and, in a town of 5000, a terrific Thai restaurant right next to our motel. To say we were ready for a GOOD, sit down, healthy meal understates matters rather substantially. Way too many of our calories have been from convenience stores lately.
We have learned that if energy and attitude allow, it pays to look at most, if not all, the motels in the towns we frequent. Today the third try was the charm. The first left Kathy queazy, the second was pricey and only near a steakhouse. Often we can tell within a few seconds of walking in the door--the proprietor's demeanor tells plenty.
We are two or three days from the Mississippi River, another big milestone, and the weather forecast is great for blue sky if not tailwind.
Doug
Friday, April 9, 2010
Blog 4/9/10--Into the Woods
Another day of changes, lots of changes. Also a beautiful day, and a beautiful day for riding. We woke up to FROST!! But a gorgeous morning regardless and our host Ernie pitched our bikes in the back of his retro Dodge truck and drove us back to the cafe that was closed last night but served us a dandy breakfast while Ernie regaled us with more stories. We hit the road a bit late and wearing nearly every stitch of bicycle clothing we have. Two hours later I was down to shorts and a jersey!
Before long we entered Sam Houston National Forest, where the terrain flattened some more and we rode thru deep forest then across big, beautiful Lake Conroe.
After coming out the other side at New Waverly we realized most of the wildflowers we've been awed by this past week had disappeared. No more bluebonnets or Indian paintbrushes. Not many more farms either, we were in the woods, and the map told us we were barely above sea level. The roads became almost pan-flat and logging trucks appeared in droves, though the drivers, were very polite. Along the way we crossed our first bayou, and we don't get to Louisiana until tomorrow!
I was again reduced to eating meat, a BLT, for lunch in Coldspring before we spent the afternoon in scrubby pine woods all the way to Kountze, where we ended up eating a pretty good convenience store pizza before plopping on the bed in the Super 8 motel--where I discovered I left a pair of my biking shorts at Ernies Check Point Harley B & B!!! One pair for the rest of the trip.
We rode 110 miles today, and made decent time. Flat ground makes a big difference, and plenty of trees help a lot with the wind too. We are close to 2000 miles now, and hope that flat ground will make the last 1000+ miles a bit easier. Tailwind would be nice, too, but I have come to believe that's too much to ask.
Doug and the Droid
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Blog 4/8/10--Ernie!!
Yet another beautiful day. A cold front came thru last night, which meant it only got up to 65 degrees! Also meant a totally blue sky and a big north--cross/head wind. The wild flowers become denser, more varied and brighter by the day too. We learned the orange ones are Indian Paintbrush, and also saw vetch and alysum for the first time today.
My plan this morning was to ride to Navasota, and frankly that 70 miles would have been enough what with unending, if gentler, hills and the wind, but Kathy talked me into riding another 20 miles to a B & B a mile outside tiny Richards, TX.
We decided to check out the only cafe in town--and learned they only serve dinner on weekends!! But the nice ladies in the attached convenience store said they'd made us a sandwich, so we knew we wouldn't starve.
So we rode a mile down a side road to the B & B, the name of which gives away its Target customer base--Check Point Harley! I could easily use a page to describe this totally unique place, but I'm on the Droid. It's part of a farm/ranch, one which raises cattle, like most of them here. Smack in the middle of the hayfield, Ernie (retired armed forces man) and his wife have built four " bunkhouses" with little 11 x 11 rooms, three rooms per bunkhouse. Showers are in another building, and toilets in yet another. Ernie's wife says to watch for coyotes, June bugs and bobcats if we need to go pee at night! More on Ernie in a minute.
First, about dinner. I ate a grilled cheese sandwich, a simple green salad, Doritos, V-8 juice, peanut butter & crackers, chocolate milk, oreos and a big can of Fosters lager, all at the convenience store, then bikes back to our Home on the Range.
We sat on the bunkhouse porch and soon were greeted by Miss Kitty--see the picture. Shortly thereafter the proprietor, Ernie, came over. What a guy. He says he gets far more bicyclists than motorcyclists, and talks nonstop. He is going to put in bike repair facilities. He is a veterinary asst 4 days a week and raises cattle, helps local farmers with problem cattle, runs the B & B, puts on concerts on the property buys and sells property and who knows what else in his spare time. He sleeps 5 hours a day, but looks to be my age. He also restores old trucks and tractors, and is obviously having the time of his life. I think I could learn a lot from Ernie.
Around 1780 miles done now, I think, and 110 hopefully flatter and less windy ones tomorrow.
Doug
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Blog 4/7/10--Ch-ch-ch-changes
From the Droid while lying atop the motel room bed at the Oak Motel in the very pretty little town of LaGrange, TX.
Kathy's sister-in-law dropped us off at the edge of Austin this morning, saving us from rush hour traffic which was really heavy and would have been awful to bike through. Thanks & happy birthday, Dee!
Both the terrain and the flora keeps right on changing. It's really, really green now and the wildflowers just get thicker and thicker. Kathy posted a picture or two but they can't begin to show the beauty, blue bonnets, reds, lavenders, yellows, oange and purple.
No more ranches, we see farms instead. Rolling terrain instead of brutal hills--except in the two state parks we rode through, Bastrop and Buescher, where the park roads had several abrupt and amazingly steep but thankfully short climbs so steep we were going 3 mph cranking the bikes as hard as we could!!!
Along the way we met some newlyweds riding the other way on a tandem recumbent bike which they said weighs 140 lbs loaded with their gear. I cannot imagine how they'll get that thing up the hills and mountains we've just come through. Seems damn near impossible.
This little town, La Grange, has a great courthouse and a very nice town square, and right off the square, a one-man repair shop devoted to MGs and Triumphs with several beautiful old models on display. Quite a trip down memory lane for me since I had two MGs in high school, both of which were hunks of junk.
We had great, and I do mean great, Mexican food again tonight, and we head for Navasota tomorrow. About 1750 miles done.
One last thing. We learned why they use such good paper and ink on our maps--one of ours fell in the toilet!! Thankfully no disinfecting was required, and the map is none the worse for the experience.
Molly wants to know how to follow us, on a map. Here's a link to the Adventure Cycling map that shows our route. For more detail on towns, click on 'detail' to the right of each section.
http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/southerntier.cfm
Doug
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Blog 4/6/10-- A Little More Philosophy
From brother in law Don's computer tonight, at his place in Austin. We had a pretty easy day today, a recovery day by cross-country standards. Not quite 60 miles from Blanco to Austin. Hilly, but not as hilly, and about a third of the ride was tailwind, big tailwind. We're at 1683 miles now, and just got back from a little driving tour of downtown Austin with Don and his wife, Dee. Gorgeous state capital building, and 6th Street is a hoot.
Relative to yesterday's blog about whether we're having fun and whether the trip is harder than I thought, I have a few things to add. Every morning is fun. There hasn't been a day when I dreaded getting on the bike (though there have been a few climbs I've dreaded facing). We're fresh first thing in the day, even if it does take a while for our legs to wake up sometimes. We've had great weather, so early in the day it's cool and the wind is generally light. Every evening, we reflect on a great day of riding and get to bask in our accomplishments and talk about all we've seen. Every single mile we ride is brand new and often full of natural beauty and surprises. As bikers who have ridden several different routes around our home town dozens or hundreds of times, and even the DALMAC quad century I ride so often I don't need the map, the fun of having each and every day be all new is hard to overstate. And don't forget that we never have to cook, never do dishes, never have to take out the trash, shovel snow or mow the lawn.
Weigh all those positives against the negative of some hard miles, some hot weather, some headwind, and the balance obviously tips heavily toward the fin side. Really the only time that's hard is some of the afternoons--when we've already spent 6 hours on the bike and aren't there yet; when we've done 80 miles and still have 20 more to go. Well, we've ridden thousands and thousands of miles together and we know we can do those last 20 miles, too.
It's amazing to see how much the country has changed in the last two days, from total desert to very, very green spring--trees in full bloom, millions of Texas blue bonnets lining the roads and filling the fields, and lots of other flowers too. We've come down several thousands and feet in altitude, and also being closer to the Gulf of Mexico both seem to result in vastly increased humidity. We're done with real climbing now, though we have a few more hills. We hope to be done with this huge state in three more days and see what Louisiana has to offer.
Relative to yesterday's blog about whether we're having fun and whether the trip is harder than I thought, I have a few things to add. Every morning is fun. There hasn't been a day when I dreaded getting on the bike (though there have been a few climbs I've dreaded facing). We're fresh first thing in the day, even if it does take a while for our legs to wake up sometimes. We've had great weather, so early in the day it's cool and the wind is generally light. Every evening, we reflect on a great day of riding and get to bask in our accomplishments and talk about all we've seen. Every single mile we ride is brand new and often full of natural beauty and surprises. As bikers who have ridden several different routes around our home town dozens or hundreds of times, and even the DALMAC quad century I ride so often I don't need the map, the fun of having each and every day be all new is hard to overstate. And don't forget that we never have to cook, never do dishes, never have to take out the trash, shovel snow or mow the lawn.
Weigh all those positives against the negative of some hard miles, some hot weather, some headwind, and the balance obviously tips heavily toward the fin side. Really the only time that's hard is some of the afternoons--when we've already spent 6 hours on the bike and aren't there yet; when we've done 80 miles and still have 20 more to go. Well, we've ridden thousands and thousands of miles together and we know we can do those last 20 miles, too.
It's amazing to see how much the country has changed in the last two days, from total desert to very, very green spring--trees in full bloom, millions of Texas blue bonnets lining the roads and filling the fields, and lots of other flowers too. We've come down several thousands and feet in altitude, and also being closer to the Gulf of Mexico both seem to result in vastly increased humidity. We're done with real climbing now, though we have a few more hills. We hope to be done with this huge state in three more days and see what Louisiana has to offer.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Blog 4/5/2010--Ups and Downs
From the Blanco, TX library:
Not too many motels have computers for guests--they figure WiFi should be all their customers need, but who wants to carry a computer in a pannier/saddle bag? So now I go looking for libraries.
We spent the entire ride today riding the Texas Hill Country, where Lance Armstrong is famously supposed to have trained. One thing for sure, the area is aptly named. Upsies and downsies, unending, and STEEP!! Maybe we should have looked at the State map to see if there was a more major highway (which would have lesser gradients) than the empty side roads we rode, but we didn't. No doubt the scenery was much better the way we rode, but the result was screaming 40 mph descents and tough 4-5 mph climbs, over and over. Of our 60 miles today, about 40 was that kind of hilly. I'll tell you what--it really works you over, especially when most of it is into a cross-head wind and you've ridden 1600 miles--with several mountain passes--in the last three weeks. 60 miles was plenty today, and no doubt will be plenty tomorrow, when we have another 60 miles to Kathy's brother's house in Austin.
Once again, very beautiful terrain today, often with river or creek crossings at the bottom of the hills. Also lots more big, fancy ranches (with longhorn cattle, llamas, sheep and goats) and yet again, different wildflowers...fields full of purple ones, and very delicate pink and yellow ones at the side of the road. Like yesterday, it was overcast today. When the skies look like they did here this morning in Kalamazoo, we know it will rain any minute. But no rain at all here--just big gray clouds. The weather channel shows that the southeast wind impeding our progress is blowing up clouds (and humidity) from the Gulf of Mexico. It's also blowing in rain and thunderstorms east of us which should be long gone when we get there.
We rode through old downtown Kerrville on our way out this morning and the old town is really pretty, as is the old part of the next town we rode through, Comfort. The edges of most of these towns aren't too attractive at all, but the old storefronts and courthouses and mansions are very pretty. Still, I'd take one of these big ranches in a heartbeat!! Git me some little doggies, a Stetson an' a good hoss and I'd be all set...git on out and mend me some fences in the back 400 acres!
Zolton writes wondering if we're really having fun since many of our days sound like dammed hard work and he wonders if the trip is harder than we expected. No 'yes' or 'no' answers here. No question it's hard, and yes, I'd have to say it's harder than I had it made out to be, particularly the wind. We've had so little tailwind--really only two good days of it in three weeks. Most days it's a cross/headwind. As a result, our average speed is lower than I'd have predicted, which generally means about an hour or more extra in the saddle every day. Does this mean we're not having fun? No, it doesn't. We have fun every single day. Not all day--there's a lot of work too--but fun both on and off the bike every single day. Besides, work and fun are hardly mutually exclusive.
Kathy & I agree the trip would be entirely different--and maybe not fun--if we were doing it alone--that is, just one person. We see lots of these hardy souls on the road, and we have nothing but admiration for them. It certainly would be a good deal more transcendental and psychologically challenging doing it without my best friend and life partner. There have been days when each of us (me, for sure) would have cut the ride short if not for the carefully crafted encouragement of my soulmate. But the ride, and life, would also be a good deal different if I had no life partner too...
I have to pull out the hoary old cliche that life's a journey, not a destination. This trip's a journey. It's a tremendous undertaking we've got going here, physically the hardest thing I've ever done. But judging by all the other people we see along the route, it's hardly impossible. There are several variables and they make big differences--alone, in a group, camping or moteling, carrying your stuff or with a follow car, and most importantly--how long you take to do it.
Regardles of how you sort out these options, it's still like training for an event or going to school. You have to break the whole thing down into individual steps and take them one at a time--even when they are innumerable Texas hills!! I've only seen one guy so far who is clearly faster than we are when it comes to racing (though looks can be deceiving!!), but every one of the people we've seen riding the course are tough hombres and I've yet to see anyhone who seemed dour or unhappy to be out here.
The fact remains that we are our own bosses out here and we don't have to go any further than we want to--subject to having to stop where there are motels. West of the Rio Grande, this fact imposed real limitations, but now that we are out of the desert we'll have more choices. If we decide we need to rest more or do fewer days, that's what we'll do.
Without a doubt, my legs would appreciate several days off. They feel tired even though we both do every thing we know to take good care of them off the bike--massage, going for walks, stretching, etc. And while we have enough time built into our schedule to take days off from time to time, taking several days off isn't likely to get us back to Kalamazoo by May 1 or 2.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Blog--4/4/2010
On the Droid again, from Kerrville, TX. No cell phone service at all in Camp Wood, Tx.
When we crossed the Rio Grande at Del Rio two days ago
the lay of the land changed. We left the chihuanan desert, and tho the land sure isn't black dirt, it's kind of dirty, not just rock and dust. Trees and other green stuff appeared along with many more wildflowers.
From Del Rio, right on the Mexican border, we headed east and north thru Bracketville to Camp Wood thru more very sparsely inhabited territory. Besides more green we noticed two other changes--the tar & gravel pavement became much rougher and nearly all the land is fenced-in ranches. We rode about 85 miles with lots of strong crosswind and were pretty tired afterwards. Food choices were limited, and it was the first time we had no Mexican food choices, and saw no Mexican faces either.
We deviated from the prescribed route today, successfully avoiding four Sharp, steep climbs. Even so, we entered the famous and beautiful Texas Hill Country. State Route 39, west of Kerrville, is one of the most beautiful roads we have ever seen, following the Guadalupe River and past one stunningly beautiful ranch/estate after another. We saw bighorn sheep and giant turtles by the river and despite a good deal more crosswind arrived in Kerrville a good deal fresher than we expected.
We are about half way done now, and expect to be in Austin in two days. We have now completed all the big climbs on the route, but still have lots of short climbs in the hill country. Louisiana, MS, AL, &FL are much flatter, which our legs would certainly approve of.
Blog 4/3/2010--Changes
80 miles today, 50 tough ones, 30 not too bad ones. Another nice day, but a SE wind and around 1500 feet of climbing made the day challenging, along with a big change in pavement quality.
By crossing thro
Friday, April 2, 2010
Blog-- More from 4/2/10
Sent the other 4/2 entry prematurely--again--darn Droid.
Kathy will post pictures of Judge Roy Bean's place, right on the Rio Grande, and a picture of the Pecos River that cannot possibly do justice to the beauty of the place, but for sure the highlight of the day was the ride. Never knew a tar & gravel road surface could be so nice. Huge shoulders on US 90 and again very little traffic. We made great time, riding ten miles more than our hard day two days ago in an hour and a half less time with a lot less fatigue.
All in all, it was a pretty good payback for all that suffering earlier this week, tho I think we are owed several more. Maybe Kathy will let me go trolling for virgins...
Blog 4/2/10--Yee Ha
I give my word that no virgins were sacrificed, but somehow the Chihuahuan desert gods were appeased overnight. The wind came around 180 degrees and blew us 120 miles along US 90 to the thriving metropolis of Del Rio today, where I am reclined on my hotel bed tapping on the Droid and digesting more excellent Mexican food.
But breakfast and brunch were both at convenience stores, and the lunch menu at the only restaurant in Comstock, TX was a trifle limited. The result--vegetarianism yielded to the need for serious caloric intake--I ate Bacon, twice, and it was good, though I'm not ready to make flesh consumption a regular thing by any means.
Kathy will
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Blog 4/1/2010--Rest day 3
From the computer in the Sanderson, TX library:
It may be April Fool's Day, but no fooling, we're resting. Yesterday's blog explains why. After three hard, long, hot, windy, hilly days, I, for one, cried 'Uncle.' In theory, the wind is supposed to be strongly out of the east--in our face--today anyway, but so far--1:00 pm, it's not all that strong. Tomorrow the weatherman is talking about 30 mph tailwinds--maybe more. He doesn't seem too good at predicting the wind around here though, so we can only hope he's got it right for tomorrow. We hope it's just enough wind to really blow us down the road but not so much it's scary/unrideable. There's just not much to break the wind here in the desert--like a tree or a bush once in a while. In fact, part of the difficulty yesterday was a near total lack of shade the entire 55 miles from Marathon to Sanderson. Combined with the altitude and wind, water evaporated out of me faster than I could replace it.
So today is a recovery day. If I had a coach, for once he'd approve of what I'm doing. Eat and drink a lot, stretch, maybe some self-massage, clean/lube the bikes and check the tires for cuts, go for some nice walks to let the leg muscles do something other than go in circles. I've found I need to use a lot more hand/body lotion here due to the dry weather, and while I hardly ever use lip balm at home, here a half-a-dozen applications each day isn't enough. Sometimes smiles hurt.
Three or four times a day we have conversations with other travelers. Some are cyclists on the same route as we are, but quite a few are motorcyclists--lots of vacationing H-D and Gold Wing riders along the way. They are generally a happy, chatty bunch, often smokers/overweight, all of whom are amazed/awed at what we are doing. But we still share a kindred spirit since we're all on two wheels and exposed to the elements. We roomed next to a couple on a Gold Wing last night and the guy was chagrinned to find a big nail sticking out of his tire. He pulled it out and was surprised to find no leak--the nail went in at an angle. But he was still convinced the tire has to be replaced. I tried to explain what we bicyclists know--that either it holds air or it doesn't, and since the cords obviously weren't damaged, he'd be fine. He remained unconvinced.
The proprietor of our motel raises snakes and albino cats!! But he's a really nice guy, very friendly and happy to talk. The cats are just fine, but we took a pass on checking out the snakes, and Kathy quite sincerely hopes no strays wriggle into our room.
Speaking of Kathy, she points out that one thing this trip teaches is patience--not one of my best qualities as a rule. Whether it's waiting for food or, more importantly, knowing the next town is still 25 miles up the road, there's not much you can do to hasten its arrival other than speed up--which isn't too viable a plan when rationing one's water, energy and stamina just to get there. You just have to be patient, keep those pedals turning at a pace you can sustain, and wait out the road--even though sometimes it's awfully disappointing when the town isn't around that next bend, or--as things often are here--you see the town but turns out it's still 7 miles away!
Sanderson, TX is a dusty, dry desert town that owes its existence to an highway intersection and a railroad siding. Not too much supporting the town other than tourists as far as I can tell. It is the county seat for Terrell county and has schools--they must bus in kids from a long, long ways off, though exactly where they're living is a mystery--certainly not along the road to Marathon! The streets are lined with yuccas, cactuses, dirt and stone, and about half the houses and half the storefronts are clearly uninhabited. There are two restaurants serving lunch and dinner, but none serving breakfast--so we made do at the one business almost any town can support--even in the desert--the conveninece store. Our proprietor says you can buy land here for less than $300/acre.
A reader asked if we use much bike food or energy drinks. Hardly any, to tell you the truth. Kathy uses some GUs, and we carry emergency Clif bars, but in general we eat 'real' food and drink water--lots of water here in the Chihuahuan Desert. Often on long bike trips we get tired of eating the same diner food day after day. Not so this trip. Almost every meal has been a winner, and I think this is mostly due to having the choice to eat Mexican food in every town. Breakfast burritos, homemade salsa, great enchiladas, and chips obviously made in-house. You can't judge a book by its cover, and the same is true for restaurants, especially Mexican restaurants. Some great food in some pretty run-down looking places.
So tomorrow morning we'll be back to tip-top shape--as our bikes certainly seem to be--and we'll press on. We've done 1275 miles, averaging 80 miles for our 16 riding days and a tad over 60 a day if the three rest days are included. We're more-or-less on schedule and thanks to the wonders of modern chemistry, not too sunburned either.
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