Day 41...Wind

Leaving Valentine, TX
Day 41

It was one of those days where most sane people would have chosen to sail, NOT ride a bike. That's what my friend Charles wrote me after he saw the video I posted on Facebook. To say we had no choice is wrong. But we are on a mission to get to San Diego and we CHOOSE to go from East to West and with that decision came the very good possibility of hitting head wind, and a lot of it.

30 miles into our WINDY ride  

We were due to travel Northwest today and, as luck would have it, the winds were blowing NNW in the a.m. and WNW in the p.m. between 15-25mph. Smack dab in our face. At least it wasn't raining - the sun was out in full force...and at least it wasn't boiling hot - it was a nice 70 degree day. But the wind. She was merciless.

The Flags Are BLOWIN'

After lunch we found ourself forced onto a major road for about 8 miles. We pedaled as hard as we could to get off it but when we finally did we were pushed onto a very old, half-paved road that paralleled the highway. For 4 miles we grunted over this rutty road more suitable for a cyclocross or mountain bike. My carbon frame was rattling and I was cringing.

Not a road for a road bike

When the road finally smoothed out, the wind calmed a bit. Phew! And we only had 20 miles to go. This last stretch was along the railway (as most of the roads have been in Texas). We heard a train approaching and, like always, we waved in hopes of getting a response from the conductor. In the past, he/she has waved and even honked the horn (do you honk a train's horn?) but today was even better. This conductor opened his sliding window and waved us on like, "come on you two, hurry up!" We laughed and pedaled harder, at least for a bit.

End of Day 41
Sierra Blanca, TX
(see light-colored mountain range to the left of me)

The ride today was short but tough. 71.5 miles, brutal miles. We rode from Valentine, TX to Sierra Blanca, TX and entered a new time zone: Mountain! The best news yet is that we are about 88 miles from El Paso, TX!  

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Some fun things we passed today included...

A Prada store in the middle of Valentine, TX (aka nowhere) .....

A Pecan Farm in Van Horn, TX ....

And a "Jesus Christ is Lord, Not a Swear Word" tractor-trailer...

Day 40...Bugs

Some days you are a windshield and some days you are the bugs. Today we were the bugs.

The past few mornings I have felt really fatigued. It seems that the final push of this journey across America might really test my endurance. I can only think of one thing to do: rise to the challenge.

A late push off this morning and 10 miles of hills put us both in a "sighing" mind-set. Today was going to be a struggle.

Alpine, TX

We were headed for Alpine, TX to start and, from there, were deciding which route we would take and how far we would actually go today. The headwinds were relentless this morning and after Alpine, where we stopped for coffee, they failed to show any mercy whatsoever. About 45 miles into the ride....and 4 hours of pedaling (do the math, that is SLOW), we finally changed direction and, hooray, the wind was no longer tormenting us. We stopped in Marfa, TX for lunch 55 miles into the ride. A much needed refueling.

Entering Marfa, TX

The final 37 miles of today's ride tested our will even more. The roads became rough again....except for the thin white line that separated the shoulder from the motor vehicle lane. So, with tired legs, aching feet/backs/wrists (to name a few), we refocused our energy and did all that we could to keep our wheels on this 6" white line.

Riding the thin white line...

A late start meant a late finish. But the sun was shining all day and the landscape was beautiful. This afternoon we had mountains on either side of us and we could see for miles all around us.

Kevin riding as the sun begins to set
Day 40, Valentine, TX

92 miles today.  We are camped out in a town called Valentine, TX. Just over 1,100 miles to go!

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My very dear friend, Steph, sent me some cute pictures this morning of her as a little girl on her bike. She was a rock star then and is a rock star today. Steph and I went to veterinary school together and I will be attending her wedding (to Rob) on December 3rd in the UK. Thanks for the pictures Steph! xx

Steph, 1984
Nice Wheels!

Steph, 1984
On a Mission...

Steph + I
Vet school! 2005

Day 39...Happy Halloween!

My Halloween jersey!

Happy Halloween!!! Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to buy myself a wig for the ride, so the only way for me to show my Halloween spirit was to wear my Sleepy Hollow jersey c/o my friend Charles Whalen (and his brother Rob of course)....

Cruising down a long stretch

It was a fairly restless night for me. Every little sound woke me and the big sounds, like the train passing through town several times through the night, did too. We were pulled about 50 feet off the road behind the local grocery store in Dryden, TX. This was our view from the RV...

Yes, that IS in fact an elliptical machine. This morning Jim hopped on it for a while....

The first 20 miles were tough. Kevin and I both felt fatigued. We stopped in a little town called Sanderson and I downed a cup of coffee. That helped a little and we pedaled steady for the next 25 miles until we met up with Jim + Jeff and the RV. We were in for a little Halloween surprise when we arrived...

Jeff..aka the headless well digger

Jim..aka the candy-giving clown 

We made it to Marathon, TX today and rode 75 miles. The town's population is only about 450 but it has a pretty well known and high-end (?!?!) hotel called The Gage Hotel. The town is buzzing with tourists!

We are parked in a nice RV park and, as has been the theme of our trip, can easily hear the train rolling through town. Now, where did I put those ear plugs??.....

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I thought it would be a fun idea to post photos of my friends and family on their bikes at the end of each of my blogs. So, please, send me some pictures!

The first photos I will post will be of the wonderful Hubbell Family. Unfortunately, these photos exclude Ali, who is the photographer, and Zuzu and Weezie, their very adorable French bulldogs. The family is currently in the Florida Keys and sent me a few pictures yesterday which I love! Thanks guys!

From back to front:
Abigail, Caitlin, Jackson and John

John on his mini cruiser
(perfect form John, perfect form)

Day 38...Now THIS is feels like Texas!

Start of Day 38!

It was 10 degrees warmer this morning…a balmy 49 degrees. It actually felt warm to me so I knew that mid-day would be a sizzler. The sun was out with all her force by 8am. We hit the road at 9am. The start to our day has become increasingly later since we changed time zones and the sun is rising later. I guess fatigue has something to do with it too ;-)

Texas open road

We set out knowing the land would be baron. But, the sun was out and the wind was surprisingly at our back. We both felt great and flew for the first half of our day. Jim and Jeff drove ahead and we met them 50 miles later for lunch in the RV.

Jim about to go through a pass

Jim joined us for the second half of our ride.  I had a hard time getting my legs back after lunch and my lower back started to ache a bit. I concentrated on the gorgeous scenery around me and grunted through 40 more miles.

Jeff had found a place to park in a very small town called Dryden, TX. He was, of course, chatting it up with the locals. What a friendly guy!

Today we rode from Del Rio, TX to Dryden, TX. We passed The Rio Grande (although didn’t actually see it), rode over the Pecos River…

Pecos River, TX

saw a few cargo trains traversing the land (pulling 100 cars each)…

Trains..

and rode through passing upon passing that had been blasted out hundreds of years ago to make way for the roads… and us of course.

Cruising through a passing

Close up view of the rock

Today we rode 90 miles...phew...I am definitely feeling the miles now.....

very poor signal..will update tomorrow if i can..all ok in Dryden, TX

Day 37...Vibrations

Lake View at RV Park this morning

Brrrr another cold morning. 39 degrees! What???? At least it was meant to be sunny today and likely warm up to above 70. I layered up but this time with arm and leg warmers so I could take them off if need be.

Remember the song "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys? I thought a lot about vibrations today and tried desperately to think of GOOD vibrations. The ground beneath us was uneven and scattered with poorly packed stones that sent constant, almost debilitating, vibrations through my wrists, arms, shoulders, neck...oh, and the lower half of me too.

A Close-up View of The Road
Texas

To take my mind off the pain, I tried to think of a few potentially good vibrations as I rode today. This is what I came up with:

1. The soft hum of a car's engine as it runs. That kind of vibration can put me right to sleep.
2. The vibration felt in a room when a good base line plays preferably this music is played LOUDLY!
3. The soft + soothing vibration heard when an ear is placed on the chest of someone as they speak.

The Paved Road (left) or the Dirt Road (right)?
We choose the Dirt for a bit...

About 60 miles into our ride we thought we would try to ride the dirt path that paralleled the bumpy road. That's how bad the paved road was. Believe it or not, the dirt road turned out to be a smoother ride!

Day 37...Texas

Apart from the rough roads, today's ride was lovely. The winds were light and variable and there were very few (small) climbs. We rode into then out of the city of Del Rio, TX before seeing Jim +  Jeff on the side of the road watching a monster truck mud bog race. Hilarious.

85 miles of riding today landed us just outside of Del Rio, TX. We have another long day in store for us tomorrow. Phew, this BIG state of TEXAS (go big or go home) is going to take a while to get through....

Day 36...Wild Pigs and Steep Hills

Layered up for the start of Day 36

The Northern winds certainly cooled things down in Texas. We woke to a chilly 44 degree and an overcast sky. The sun was due to come out but winds were still blowing out of the North and it was not going to get warmer than 63 degrees. We layered up and got ready for some major hill work.

On our second morning ride in Texas we saw a man dressed in camouflage standing next to his truck which was pulled off to the side of the road. He was obviously getting set to go hunting. As we biked by, I yelled, “Good morning. What are you hunting for?” He replied, “Deer and pigs.” Deer OK, but PIGS? Yes, there are wild pigs here in Texas and I didn’t believe it until today. We were about 15 miles into our ride and in the middle of no where when I heard Kevin say, “what is that?” I looked up the road and saw some sort of creature on the side of the road rooting around. It wasn’t tall enough to be a deer and it’s head was larger than a dog. As we got closer, we must have startled it because, just as we realized it was indeed a pig, it (and 3 of it's friends) scurried across the street.  What a sight.

Boots, lots of boots

Soon after we left Hunt, TX we came across another an amazing sight.  On top of each fence post that lined the road was a cowboy boot. There were all different sizes, colors and styles and it went on for about ½ mile!

The Boots!

The roads were again rough and the vibrations even sent my bike computer into a tail spin. I think I'm going to give up on the bike computer and just use my Garmin watch from now on. Too much drama!

Approaching Hill #1

Cruising along a plateau  

The second half of today's ride was all about hills. And not some little ones. Beginning at mile 40 we began a series of what would be 4 steep and long climbs that led us, eventually, to our campground in Camp Wood, TX. The skies had cleared by the time our climbing started and the sun thawed my feet.  Needless-to-say, the climbing finished the job of warming the rest of me up. It was a day much like our day climbing the good ‘ol Blue Ridge Mountains. After the final ascent we enjoyed a nice 10 miles trip DOWN hill to the camp ground.

Downhill coming up....

Jeff found us a great spot right next the water in the campground. A beautiful place to relax and recoup from this tough day. 78.5 miles in the saddle with lots of hills. We are over 2,500 miles into this amazing journey. Tomorrow looks to be mainly down hill. What a nice reprieve that will be!

View From the RV
Camp Wood, TX