Day 38: Arrey, NM to Hillsboro, NM

Short day today. Just 27 miles. We left Arrey kind of late, around 9. It was chilly this morning so we laid around a little longer and let the sun do its work. Riding north out of town, we started slowly climbing up toward the pass and after about 5 miles we turned left onto highway 152. What's that I feel? A tailwind! The first in I don't know how long. Too bad we were climbing and couldn't take full advantage of it. But at least we didn't have a headwind. What a relief.

Then all of the trouble started. Brennan's tires have had slow leaks for the past two days now. I gave him the pump to carry today so he could add air as necessary because I have a bad habit of r-u-n-n-o-f-t-ing, especially with a good wind at my back. I realized it had been a while since I had looked back to check on him and when I did so, he was nowhere to be seen. Ah, crap. I feared he had a full blown flat so I backtracked and luckily he was just adding air. The second time we weren't so lucky. This time I had gotten really far ahead and when I looked back, I thought I saw a tiny speck on the side of the road. I went to turn around, no cars in my lane. I got about two feet from the center line and noticed a truck was coming in the other lane, so I stopped and waited for it to pass. And what was I greeted with for this patience? A big middle finger in the windshield. I returned the gesture emphatically; I had done nothing wrong. How rude.

When I finally reached Brennan, about 3/4 of a mile back, he was walking along with a flat rear tire. We swapped it out and hit the road again.

The climbing got steeper as we neared the town of Hillsboro but the descent on the other side made it all worth it. I cruised into town at 40 mph. This town was the last stop for supplies before we reached our camping spot just outside Kingston so we pulled into a little cafe and ordered some lunch. I had tamales covered in green chile sauce. Brennan got a cheeseburger. And we topped it all off with a slice of bumbleberry pie covered in ice cream. YES!



Brennan's left knee began hurting pretty severely today so we decided to cut off the last 9 miles and hunker down here in Hillsboro. We are camping in the city park for free. Right on.

I am excited to get to the top of the pass. 8,228 feet! Let the climbing begin!!!

Day 37: Messilla, NM to Arrey, NM

Can I just have truth for half the mileage?

You know those times in life when you're cruising along, having a great time, and then something totally unexpected happens that completely ruins it? Yeah. That happened today.

There we were, minding our own business, riding merrily into a decent headwind through another massive pecan orchard, when a tractor cruises towards us in the first row off the road, spraying pesticides INTO THE WIND, completely covering us. I have lost the magical feeling of riding through giant pecan orchards (If that wasn't enough to give us cancer, then we rose through the town of Radium Springs. I didn't drink the water). There are laws against spraying in this kind of wind but obviously they don't follow them here in New Mexico. Apparently, farming doesn't require a high level of intelligence here either. I'm basing this solely on the assumption of the outstanding number of roadside signs saying "do not plow on road shoulder." This must happen a lot to necessitate signage. Perhaps I am not being fair, but forgive me if I am a little upset about being sprayed with carcinogenic substances while all my pores were wide open.

Anyway, aside from a good dousing of some chemicals, probably known to the state of California to cause cancer, it was an alright day. The wind was fairly relentless starting around 10. I know I said I wouldn't complain about it for Lent, but seriously Njord, give me a break. I will admit it, I cursed and made rude gestures many times, something you young readers should never do. But I guess my message got through. The wind died down after lunch and continued to be very calm for the last couple of hours of the day. AWESOME.

At lunch we cozied up next to a wooden fence to block the wind while we ate triscuits and kippered herring. Delicious! I'm going to eat it every day from here on out because I felt great after that. My energy level sky-rocketed and I wanted to pedal as fast as I could. I even considered trying to race a tractor, but figured it would be a bad idea to leave Brennan behind since he had been having tire troubles all day and I had all the gear to fix it. I'm not sure if the herring was responsible or if I was just so elated to be granted the opportunity to ride with no wind, even for a little while, but I felt light as a feather. Regardless, more please.

Other than that, there weren't too many eventful things today. A few half-hearted tiny dog pursuers (TDP). A veal farm (so sad). A few cows with helmets (kinda like the ones you'd wear kickboxing, but leather). The route took us along the Rio Grande, winding through orchards and surprisingly green fields. The terrain was pretty much flat aside from a few minor hills. That will all change tomorrow as we begin the ascent of the highest point on the ride, Emory Pass. It stands at 8,228 feet. We're gonna make the next two days pretty much half days to allow Brennan's legs some recovery time, especially with all the climbing we are about to do. His bike is also a racing bike so it's geared really high, which means he's gonna be a tired pup even after only 34 mile days. But he is doing great so far. If I had started out encountering this kind of wind I probably would've sat down and cried for a while and then i would've thrown my bike off a cliff and gone home. So way to be. Way to be.

Alrightio, battry is whining about being tired, must depart. Love to you all!

Cheers,
Jess

Days 34-36: marathon, El Paso, and Mesilla, NM

Out of the west Texas town of el paso,
I fell in love with the New Mexico state line.
Nighttime would find me in a tent in Mesilla,
The dust would blow and the wind would whine.

El Paso by Marty Robbins was stuck in my head all day long, which was probably a good thing since it took my mind off the wind, which was blowing in our faces at 20-30 mph for 4 hours. When I got sick of hearing it, I started making up my own words. Someday I'd like to make a cover with the lyrics changed to reflect the events of this day. And this day was eventful. Kinda. Sorta.

But first, where in the world have I been the last two days? Let me tell you about it.

So far you know I ended up in marathon on day 33. That's where I stayed on day 34, too. The wildfires that threatened alpine and fort Davis shut down highway 90 east of alpine during my first night in marathon. The folks in Fort Davis were still scrambling around without power or water, trying to salvage what was left of their homes and town. I decided I didn't want to chance getting stuck up there/getting in the way of their operation and thought it best to wait for Brennan in marathon. He got in around 2 am on Monday.


Sunset in Marathon on Monday.

We toyed with the idea of spending Tuesday in big Bend National Park, but sadly, due to time constraints with his job we could not. So we set out for El Paso Tuesday morning, where we spent the day basically running errands at one of the bike shops and driving around trying to figure out where to leave his car for a week. We decided on the long term parking lot at the airport for the bargain price of five dollars a day.

We tried desperately to find a place to camp but had no luck so we ended up at a La Quinta by I-10 with the government discount. Oh yeah!

Which brings us back to today. We set out for the airport early, leaving the hotel around 7. It was already pretty light out, as we had just crossed into the mountain time zone shortly before arriving in el paso. Once we parked the car and got all the gear attached to the bikes it was about 8. Then we set off.

To get back on the route we had to ride all the way around the airport, a distance of about 15 miles. But it felt good. It was all downhill and the wind was at our backs. We had covered 30 miles by 10, crossing into New Mexico right around mile 29. But that's about all the quick riding we were able to do today.

Right around 10 the wind started picking up. A lot. Then we made a left turn and started heading west. There were times when the gusts were so strong I could barely manage 7 mph. Going downhill it was a struggle to maintain 9 mph. If that's not discouraging, I don't know what is. But we cranked along and made surprisingly good progress for how slow we were going. Finally we got to turn north and have a crosswind instead of a headwind. What a difference! Cruising speed with a 40mph crosswind: 10 mph.

When we got close to Mesilla huge pecan orchards shielded us from the wind. And they were so beautiful too.


Would you believe this is in New Mexico if i hadn't told you?

Woo hoo! We pulled into Mesilla around 3:30. Boy, both of us are pretty pooped. Riding into the wind really takes it out of you, similar to how it feels after being in the sun all day, but we did that too so it's worse. Anyway, Mesilla is a real cute town with a lot of history. It is home to the jail cell that once held Billy the Kid. Just about all of the buildings are made of adobe.

Well, it is 7:10 and we just had some real good Mexican food in town and now are ready to bend to the will of the food coma and crash. Well, Brennan has already crashed. I will soon follow. But I think I will opt for a shower since we paid 19 dollars for a little piece of ground under a tree. Cute little tourist towns are the worst for ripping you off.

Tomorrow we set out for Caballo. Nighty night folks.

Love,
Jess

Day 33: Sanderson to Marathon, TX

Well hello again. Let's do some stats, shall we? I fear they have fallen by the wayside.

Miles today: 56.3
Total miles: 2,058.4
Miles to go: 1,100!!
Wind: can go to an even hotter place than this one for all I care. 35-45mph gusts from about 10:30 on.
Number of entire pizzas I have eaten by myself so far: 3
Rough percentage of border patrolmen who are lookers: 83.4
Amount of water consumed: 1 gallon, 20 ounces.


Hi hi hi hi! Much of today looked like this picture. What you can't see is the smoke rising above the distant Davis mountains to the north from one of the many wildfires burning in the region.

I set out from Sanderson into a beautiful morning and was feeling actually surprisingly good about steadily climbing for 55 miles. Unlike the up and down terrain of last couple of weeks, today was mostly a gentle climb with very few downhill sections. I cranked along to the sounds of the desert, rattling off scientific names of trees to pass the time because I am a nerd like that. it was pretty nice. Until the wind picked up. I knew this was going to happen. I just thought I would have more time before it did. This was around mile 28, just about halfway.

This was no ordinary wind. It was a guster, producing speeds of 35-45 mph, sometimes almost bringing me to a stop and almost knocking me off the road once or twice. For the most part, I would say it was gusting more than not. A cold front is moving into the area, which I have learned means crazy high winds out of the west and northwest. You can have cooler temperatures or you can have no wind but you can't have both here in west Texas. Actually, you can't have no wind, but you can have calm winds. Personally, I prefer the wind over the heat, as shocking as it may sound coming from someone who hates headwinds so much.


Many ranches have these neat little nature scenes above or on their gates.

The good news is it was a bit cooler today. My cyclometer only read 100 degrees once. For the most part it hovered around 95, which means off the road it was probably about 85. With the wind it actually felt kind of nice, though still a bit hot.

In other news, everyone should give me a giant round of applause for drinking lots of water. One gallon and 20 ounces!! I had to take sneaky roadside bathroom breaks three times. Yay for hydration! Heat exhaustion is a good motivator. So is the weight of water.

I've ended up in Marathon at a very nice RV park on the edge of town. I'll forego setting up my tent until the wind dies down/it gets cooler so things don't get hot in there while they are blowing away.

I'm still not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow since Fort Davis is half burnt down. Brennan McIrish is coming tomorrow evening to collect me (yay!) and whisk me away from Texas (yeah, I'm cheating - No, I don't feel bad about it), so perhaps stopping in Alpine, 30 miles down highway 90, would be easiest. Doesn't look like there's much after Alpine for a while. Plus, I won't have to climb up those mountains to Fort Davis. Hallelujah!

Ok, so I do feel a little rotten about not riding the rest of Texas. But a)the best route forward is on fire and b) we need to find a place to leave Brennan's car that is easy to get back to, I.e. somewhere in El Paso, and I am still a few days away from there. So thanks for helping me remind myself that I kind of have to do it this way. Shew. I feel better now.

What's that I hear calling? The gentle drizzle of a nice, cold shower. It awaits! And surely there is a beer around here somewhere to help me celebrate 2,000 miles. Take care, y'all!

Love,
Jess

Day 32: Dryden to Sanderson, TX

Whoooo I made it 20 miles today!!


                                                Desert sunrise

I hit the road at 7 and made it into Sanderson by 9. Rumor had it that today was gonna be another scorcher with heavy winds out of the southwest. I was still feeling pretty exhausted from yesterday and didn't want to risk letting the heat further wear me down, so I decided to take a pseudo rest day. It's been a while anyway, or so it seems.


                                                         I like this blurry photo.

I needed to find a place to ride out the heat. But first: Breakfast! A nice young girl at the gas station directed me across the street to the American legion building where they serve breakfast on the weekends. This is where it got weird (fair warning to parents with young readers - this part is probably not kid-friendly).

On my way across the bumpy, gravel parking lot my chapstick fell out of my handlebar bag. As I was backing up to pick it up, a person emerged from the semi-truck I was next to and started asking me how far they were from I-10. Coming from a trucker, I found this question odd. This person, turns out, is a trans-gender truck driver from Colombia. I know this because she started telling me about it right away. I did find it very interesting, though the creepy vibe coming from her was a little too high for my comfort zone. Plus, I was starving and all I could think about was pancakes so the details of her future surgeries were not that appealing to my appetite. When she started asking if I was a virgin and telling me how bicycles can take a person's virginity, I high-tailed it to the breakfast hall and tried not to freak out. I'm sure she is harmless, but still...when I left I took the long way in the opposite direction.

After a delicious breakfast of biscuits and gravy and French toast (pancakes had no chance when I saw this on the menu), I popped into the Budget Motel office to inquire about prices, as the temptation of hanging out in air conditioning all day was just too hard to resist. The rate is $60, but the desk clerk, a very nice man named Danny from India, told me to name my price and he would give me the room for that rate. I wanted to say $20, but he was so nice I said I could do 35. Bingo. And then he took my picture next to the sign. They love cyclists here. What a lucky find! It left me feeling good after that creepy encounter.

So that's pretty much what I've done today. Napped, watched tv, laid around. It's been good.
Looks like I might be forced to take another rest day on Monday. There's a wildfire burning that has gone through the town I was going to stop in on Monday night. They currently have no power, have run out of water and 14 structures have burned down. So, we'll see. There's not much in the way of alternatives so I might just have to skip on past it in an automobile. Really, that's quite fine by me; I'm rather sick of Texas. I feel like I've been here for a year.

Well, I best be getting some shuteye. 54 miles to Marathon tomorrow. Nighty night.

Love,
Jess

Day 31: Comstock to Dryden, TX

Distance today: 70 miles
Total distance: 1,981
Temperature: supposedly 96, my cyclometer said 111 and I'd believe it.

I finally did it! I finally pedaled myself into heat exhaustion. I was wondering when that was going to happen.

I left Comstock at 7:30, with a lofty goal of riding the 90 miles to Sanderson. No dice! The day started out lovely, sending me rolling up and down desert hills and across the beautiful Pecos River. I was making good time and had covered the 30 miles to Langtry by a little past 9:30. Temperatures were in the high 70s then.


In Langtry I bought a giant Gatorade and topped off on water to cover the next 41 miles of barren desert until Dryden. I also had the privilege of visiting the Judge Roy Bean museum to brush up on my history of the "law west of the Pecos." how neat! I am proud to say Mr. Bean was a Kentucky native. His rule over west Texas was a mixture of his own brand of law, humor, and corruption. You can't help but love the man. Plus, despite his reputation as a little noose-happy, there's actually no proof he hanged anyone.


Judge Bean's pistol

Aside from being a judge, he also ran a saloon, yeah, in the same building as the courthouse, which was also his home. The original building is on the original site, which I found really neat. It's nothing more than a two-room cabin a stone's throw from the Rio Grande. It is said he named the town after his idol, English actress Lilly Langtry, whom he corresponded with over the years but never met in person. But others claim it was after the engineer who designed the railroad bridge across the Pecos. Regardless, it is undisputed that he named his saloon after her.

His brand of justice went something like this: in spite of assurances from the Texas Rangers that gun control was best, Judge Bean thought every man should have the right to bear arms. When a man was brought before him on the charge of carrying a concealed weapon, Judge Bean used the following logic to throw out the case: "that charge won't stick. If he was standing still when he was arrested then he wasn't carrying weapons because he wasn't going no place. And if he wasn't standing still, then he was traveling, and it's legal for travelers to carry weapons.....case dismissed."

As much as I wanted to stick around and learn more about this colorful character, I had to move on before it got hot.

Mission: failed. The next 41 miles to Dryden, my next water stop, were rough. It got hot fast. There were times when it felt like I was wrapped in a blanket of heat and someone was pointing a blow dryer into my face. It was enough to take my breath away. My cyclometer thermometer hovered around 110 for most of the afternoon. I pretty much gathered right away that I wasn't going to make it 90 miles today.

Around about 2:30 was when I started feeling faint. I thought I had been drinking plenty of water but I guess it wasn't enough. I kept forgetting the name of the town I was riding towards. I wanted to fall asleep on the bike.

Finally, salvation!! I stumbled into Dryden, a town that consists pretty much entirely of a grocery store/post office/restaurant. I pulled in and bought a Gatorade and a bottle of water and chugged them both. I had been drinking hot water for the last two hours. There's a tv inside the store with a table next to it. I figured I'd sit down for a spell and take a good rest before I decided to try and tackle the last 20 miles. I fell asleep in my chair watching some lifetime movie. Darn that heat.

After it became apparent I couldn't go on any farther, Tina, the owner/postwoman/cook, offered up the store as a camping spot for the night. I gladly accepted. And then she cooked a delicious spaghetti dinner and invited me to join in. I was more than happy to oblige. Sure beats the heck out of tortillas and peanut butter, always a miserable plan B.

And now It's gettin about time for the sun to go down. A man named Stewart just came into the store. Talk of the town, like the rest of the country, is the imminent government shutdown which is apparently being held up by a debate on abortion. Stewart was quick to point out the real problem lies with our tax money going to fund NPR's liberal, off the edge agenda. I couldn't help but think of Ira Glass's children going hungry. No more Click and Clack? A tragedy! Did I mention Stewart is a federal bankruptcy attorney? Anyway, I wonder if I will still have a job on Monday. Any word on how the Forest Service will fair?

Aye carumba. Another long and hot day ahead tomorrow. I'm gonna try and hit the road way early, maybe 6 or 6:30, and see if I can't knock out the 74 miles by 1 or 2 when it really starts to heat up. I only pass through one town, Sanderson, which is 20 mikes from here, so I will have to carry 55 miles worth of water. Bring it on. Actually, on second thought, don't. Nighty night. Hopefully America still exists when I wake up tomorrow.

Love,
Jess

P.S. I keep forgetting to do this. Thanks so much to Mr. Orin Pierson for donating!! He is a fine gentleman.

Days 29 and 30: Leakey to Bracketville to Comstock, TX

Oh man. What a long and hot couple of days.

Yesterday Tessa cooked us a delicious egg breakfast with the leftover bean soup from the night before and it was amazing. We said adieu and parted ways around 9:20. She was about to climb her last hills while mine have just begun. I'm a little jealous. It's kind of like starting this tour all over again, legs straining and getting used to a new kind of riding.

I rode the 70 miles from Leakey to Bracketville through an increasingly dry landscape, a tough day in heat I am not used to. I pretty much ran out of water when I was still 10 miles out, a lesson I am glad to have learned in such close proximity to a town. In a couple of days I might not have been so lucky. I'm about to cross barren stretches where it's 55 miles between towns and temperatures are hovering right around 100 degrees. Time to get more water bottles!



The posts in this fence were covered with boots for a long way




I finally rolled into Bracketville around 5 and made a beeline to one of the few restaurants, Crazy Chicken Cafe. Only, I didn't have any cash, they didn't accept cards and my card didn't work in any of the ATM machines near by, so I had to settle for gas station food for the time being.

I was hanging out charging up my phone before I started making my way over to the Church of Christ to camp in the back yard when Ray Melton came and sat down at my table. I liked him right away. He started asking me questions about my bike tour and when he found out I'm from Kentucky, he started telling me stories about the Hatfields and McCoys and his time on the Tug river in his youth. You wouldn't think it by looking at him, but Ray is a walking history lesson. And it's way more interesting than any history class. Because he is such a natural story teller, his accounts of historical events make you feel like he was really there, almost like it could've happened the day before yesterday. I couldn't believe I was so on the edge of my seat to hear about the Buffalo soldiers stationed right there in Bracketville at Fort Clark (which he and his wife took me to see before second dinner) and how they were the ones who fought back the native Americans in Texas. Before I knew it, I was back on my bike riding towards their 50 acres right outside of town to have a shower, a root beer, and a real bed to sleep in! With air conditioning!!

After I showered, ray's wife, Sharon, came in and we chatted for a while until Ray got home from church. Oh yeah, turns out he is the pastor at the church I was going to sleep behind. Small world. Or maybe just a small town. Anyway, they hadn't eaten yet so we went back to crazy chicken and got salads. Yum! Several members of the congregation were there too and they were all very interested in my trip. It was lovely to chat with them about it.

Afterwards, we headed back to the house and Ray told me stories about ranching and ranching politics in Texas. Very interesting! Ray and Sharon have a 6,000 acre ranch about 25 miles north of town but they lease out most of it. Sharon takes care of their ranch almost full-time and also substitute teaches at the school. Ray works on another ranch doing rangeland restoration work. It actually sounds like a job I would love to have someday. He basically cuts down cedar trees and encourages the growth of native grasses. He told me, "there's two things I hate: Plastic bags and invasives." Amen.

And then I slept wonderfully.

I was sad to leave these two beautiful and kind people but there is much distance to be covered in the next few days. Sharon cooked us a wonderful breakfast of farm fresh eggs, sausage, and toast and then headed back to the ranch. Ray had some business in town so he stuck around a little later when I left, which was around 8. When I went to put my shoes on, I found 50 dollars inside. Sharon Must've stashed it on her way out. Thanks so much to these wonderful people!!

The ride today was mostly down hill for the first 30 miles and the wind was also at my back so I was cruising. I was in Del Rio, halfway done, by 10 am. On my way into town, I rode past Laughlin Air Force Base, where fighter jets were landing over top of my head. It was awesome!! I swung by the bike shop and got another new pump. The one I had picked up in Bastrop just wasn't cutting it. Then I had lunch in the shade just outside of town.

I rode across the Amistad resevoir, when the wind started blowing in my face. Whaaaat? It was supposed to be out of the south and I was riding northwest. But wind does weird things around water.


The water is out there somewhere!

The last 30 miles went by rather quickly. With about 6 miles left, I ran across another rider heading east. His name is Don and, get this, he is 71 years old. But you wouldn't guess it. His wife is also following along in an RV so he doesn't have to carry any gear. Must be nice!! He told me I have another 1,200 miles. Believe it or not, that doesn't seem that far to me. It's only 17 riding days if I stick with 70 miles a day. But I will most certainly need some rest days in there somewhere.

About a mile down the road I had to go through an immigration checkpoint because the Rio Grande is only about five miles south of here. I also figured out the reason our government is broke: I saw more border patrol cars than civilian cars. I was passed by one about every five minutes it seemed. But it's actually pretty nice to have them around. This is the only stretch of the trip I was concerned about, as far as safety goes, with all the border talk in the last few months. But it's well-patrolled, I can assure you. It was pretty weird to go through an immigration checkpoint in my own country, even though it was really laid back. I basically just chatted with two very interested patrolmen about my trip and then they suddenly and hurriedly asked me the required questions: "are you a citizen of the united states?" And "where were you born?"
I couldn't help but feel a little ridiculous since we had just talked about how I am from Kentucky. But I went along with it and was back on my way.

Comstock is a little dot on the map and that's about it. I got a cheeseburger and fries at the only restaurant in town and hit up the accommodations across the road, which is actually a very, very nice motel room, with the 50 dollars I found in my shoe. Thanks again Sharon!

Long day tomorrow to Sanderson: 86 miles. My cold is waning, thank goodness. But my legs are sore. Brennan McOlive is coming to ride along for 10 days on the 11th. It's gonna be awesome. Can't wait! But until then I gotta hustle through west Texas and get as close to New Mexico as possible. I'm about ready to get out of this state. 400 more miles to El Paso and the end of chip seal roads!!! And that, friends, will be something to celebrate. Nighty night.

Jess

Day 28: Kerrville to Leakey, TX

A little perspective is always a good thing. I've gotten a lot of it over the past couple of days. Today I rode into a 15-20 mph south wind for much of the afternoon. Normally, I might have considered having a little fit at some point, especially with all the climbing and being sick. But after yesterday, it just seemed like a summer breeze. And hills. Oh, man. I got spoiled riding across the lush flatlands of the southeast for two and a half weeks. The climbs today were tough. The big one right after Vanderpool (15 miles from Leakey) really took a lot of energy. It was steep. It took me half an hour. I went down the other side at 40 mph. It's been a while since I've had to focus and push through something that was that physically difficult. And then there was another. I think it took about the same amount of time but somehow seemed less difficult.


View from the top

This morning seems like it was days ago. I left Kerrville on an empty stomach and with almost no food in my bags. Mistake número uno. But you know how I get in a rush to get on the road. Right when I was starting to get really hungry, a man in one of those drive across America RVs suddenly pulled off on the opposite shoulder and waived me over. I didn't know what to think until I realized he was the support vehicle for two riders heading east. Right on!! John, Dave, and Matt are from England and are riding cross-country raising money for three different charities. John chatted with me for a while until Dave and Matt caught up with the rig. It was so great to get to talk with them for a bit. They gave me some cliff bars and two spoonfuls of New Zealand honey for my cold. So sweet of them, no pun intended. Ok, maybe intended a little. I am always excited to meet other riders but I was really excited to meet these guys since they are from another country. But I'm always exited to meet people from other countries. I am also very jealous of their support vehicle, as Ida has been feeling like somewhat of a tank lately. We exchanged blogs (can't wait to read theirs) and the usual "what's up ahead?" stories and then it was time to mosey on, no matter how much I wanted to crawl up into the rv bunk and sleep for the rest of the day...or three. It was great to meet y'all!

The weather today was absolutely beautiful. The cold front did ye old cyclist a solid and cooled things down into the mid 70s. I can't imagine climbing those hills in 90 degree weather. I already felt the urge to vomit, but that might've been from the Mexican coke and snickers ice cream bar I indulged in right before I started climbing. Such a delicious mistake number two!





So refreshing, so bad for you

I finally arrived in Leakey, totally exhausted of course, and sat down on a bench to rest. Then I saw a sign for beer and got myself a nice tall can of Busch and some DayQuil, a match made in heaven. While I was savoring this tasty beverage, another rider rolled up...another solo female rider. Whoa! Tessa lives in Seattle and is riding east. She suggested teaming up on dinner and I, of course, couldn't refuse. Her stove still works. How I miss mine so. So I got some veggies and we headed over to the church and set up camp, where she cooked up some delicious bean soup. There's some left over- we're gonna throw some eggs in it in the morning. Yum.



Hey, it's a steep climb!

It's been really neat to share our experiences as solo female riders. A lot of people ask is if we are afraid. I get that question just about every day. And my answer is always the same: not a bit. People have been great and, yeah, one crazy person could ruin it all, but I can't dwell on that. Meeting people has been one of the unexpected great things about this trip. And I think being alone has caused me to really reach out for that experience when I normally wouldn't because normally I would tell you I don't like people. But now I know that's not really true. I love love love being in the wilderness by myself but I also love, crave, even, meaningful interactions. Kind of a recent development I guess, over the past few years. Anyway, the people on this trip have been great.

Battery warns it is time to wrap things up. Love to you all!!

Until tomorrow I will repeat this part of an irish blessing over and over until it is certain to come true:
May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back

Cheers,
Jess

P.S. I have some sweet photos from today but the network is slow so look for them later!!

Day 27: Comfort to Kerrville, yeah, still Texas

Hey-o. Today was nothing short of misery, if you must know. My tent: so lovely, so comforting. I should have never left it. Ok, not true. I will complain about the events that followed for some time to come. But for now I will only say this: I was only able to ride 20 miles to Kerrville. 20 blustery, insert your own miserable adjective here miles before I gave up and let the 35 mph headwinds win. There was no way I was about to even try and climb the hills that are to come in that kind of wind. Soooo I got a really, really cheap room and stayed in bed all day. Awesome! Also, tv is weird.

One kind of cool thing about this circumstance is Kerrville just happens to be the unofficial halfway point on this trip. Yeah!! I celebrated with pizza and beer and extra sleep. And watched the worst NCAA championship game I think has ever been played. Poor Butler.

That's all I've got. Here's to the wind being at my back tomorrow(?).

Cheers,
Jess

Day 26: Wimberley to Comfort, TX

I don't even wanna be writing this right now. I just want to sleep. But the people want words! And words I will give you.

Holy jumping Jehovas, the climbing has kicked it up a notch. Or seven. I slept in this morning until 8 (awesome), which gave me a solid 8 hours sleep even with the coughing fit at 4 am. It's. About. Time. Seven hours of sleep in two days was a little brutal.

My camp spot behind the emergency services building last night turned out to be a score. I thought i was just going to find a yard to pitch my tent in. But when I got there, three very friendly EMTs offered me pizza and a shower and played music while I ate. Such a wonderful surprise! I wish I had gone down earlier in the evening. I didn't get there until almost 11 because I was watching UK, sadly, lose. I feel like I missed out on several hours of great company. There was another cyclin couple heading east camping too. But they were already in bed when I arrived.

After stopping for a breakfast croissant this morning I was on the road by about 9:30 and ready to take on the hills. About 15 miles in, I ran across another solo rider heading east. He is covering about 100 miles a day and has already made it halfway in just two weeks. I am jealous. Kind of. We exchanged pleasantries and tales of what is to come and set off on our ways. The only thing I really remember him saying is, "I don't know who graded those roads or how they got away with it, but they did," talking about the hills I am about to climb tomorrow.


Lunch crept up on me quickly. Before I knew it, it was 15 til noon and I had only covered 25 miles. Yikes. These hills are slow. I stopped to further clog my arteries (Texas has been more than willing to help) at the Sunset bar and grill in blanco (pronounced Blank-o), where I ordered the hand battered chicken tenders with fries and Texas toast, and let's not forget the cup of gravy. Everything on that plate was merely a vehicle for that gravy. Yum.

After lunch I ended up on the most ridiculous road surface I have ever seen. Chip seal is the worst idea ever, especially when they use rocks the size of Texas. I may as well have ridden on a gravel road for 10 miles.

On and on, up and down, mostly up. The hours went by but the miles did not. Today was the first day I really used all of my gears. It would be a tragedy if I didn't mention the wind. Most of the time it was a crosswind since it was coming out of the south. But there was a 13 mile stretch where I had to ride directly into it. We are talking about a wind with gusts that I struggled to stand up in while stopped. 6 mph was about the best I could manage unless I was going downhill. BUT....I didn't cry. And that means I am mastering bike touring zen. That's one of the many reasons I just enjoyed the hell out of a Reese's blizzard. Rewards are sweet, no pun intended.

Round about 3:30 I crossed paths with a couple heading east on a tandem, Hob and Deb. They are from Connecticut and are cycling up the Atlantic coast after they get to St. Augustine. Real neat folks. They gave me some very helpful information and even the address of some of their friends in Alpine, TX that I should stay with.

Whew. 25 more miles and I'll tell ya, they were on snail time. But I am learning to be like the tortoise and not the hare. Ok sometimes the hare. Like when I set the new speed record on Ida today! Only, gravity did all the work. But that's just a minor detail and you don't want to hear about that. Noooo, you want to hear how fast I went!! 39.5(ish)! It made all the climbing completely worth it. But climbing is always worth it. Who climbs with toil shall find wings waiting there! Pure joy. I let out the goofiest giggle.

The last 12 miles took FOREVER. So while time was standing still, I took notice of how dramatically the landscape is beginning to change. It's much drier and the trees are stunted and more shrub-like. Prickly pear cactus is showing up. South and east slopes are becoming more sparsely vegetated. Did I mention it's hot? Pushing 90 all day. I drank probably 120 ounces of water today (yay for me!) and was still wanting more.

The gravy had all solidified in my arteries by about 4 so I had to stop and snack in Sisterdale to hold me over until I got to Comfort. I had a chicken salad sandwich and a Gatorade. I was only somewhat disappointed this meal did not contain something deep fried. But I did see this sign:


Aaaa-men.

Comfort, you devil woman, foul temptress. I finally made it! The first thing I did was go to a store and buy the largest can of High Life I believe I have ever seen. I didn't drink it in the parking lot. And I won't tell you how badly I wanted to. Instead, I made my way over to the rv park just north of town and drank my icy cold delicious beverage in the shade. Shower, yesss please and thank you. And that's my story and I'm sticking to it. For now.

Darlings, so sleepy like I am at the beginning of this tour all over again. Can't....type.....more. Peace, love and sprockets.

cheers,
Jess