Well, not really. But does anyone actually quit anything when they say they are going to? I'm sure someone does... but not me. So I couldn't travel the 1072 miles across Texas (but who's counting?) without crossing the state border into New Mexico. I took a spin out to Sunland Park, NM this morning before I surrendered my bike to the folks at Crazy Cat Cycling for disassmbly and shipping. Now I'm just a regular civilian, riding the bus with all the El Paso commuters. One thing I noticed... Northeast, we could use some work making our bus terminals attractive. El Paso's downtown terminal looks like someplace you wouldn't mind going. Burlington Vermont's downtown bus facility... thumbs down. Let's not even talk about Penn Station in NY.
But alas, it's time for this one to go home. And I do dearly love the Northeast, the Green Mountains, and the people there too. Thanks for having me southern USA!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Out of retirement, just like Lance!
Monday, December 28, 2009
My last blog entry :(
We've come to the end of the line... for now (me and the mouse in my pocket, and all of you faithful followers). I rolled into El Paso today on smooth roads, mostly downhill, with a tailwind, and on the cusp of a winter storm. It would have been a perfect finish if not for the frostbite (not literally, but...)
I'll hunker down tomorrow and let the roughly 1,000,000 people of El Paso del Norte and its sister city across the border, Ciudad Juarez , hash it out in the snow. That'll give me time to arrange to have the bike shipped home, etc. Perhaps Wednesday, weather permitting, I may take a short pleasure ride into New Mexico. We'll see.
I can't begin to explain how much I have appreciated all of your support and encouragement. Many of you have conversed with me via comments and e-mail. Many others have let me know you were following me 'silently'. Thanks to all of you, and of course to the folks I have met and stayed with along the way, I have virtually never felt alone during this (almost) 7 weeks.
To say that this has been a rich experience would be an understatement. I'm not particularly disappointed that I didn't make it to California. I wanted to get on my bike and ride across America as far as I could in the time that I had. And that is exactly what happened.
Happy New Year and Happy New Decade to all. If it meets with universal approval I will be home New Year's Eve.
With much love,
Carl
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Easy ride to Sierra Blanca
Here in Texas you can ride your bicycle on the interstate highways. I10 has been my route for today, from Van Horn to Sierra Blanca. I've never traveled the interstates at 10mph before. I could have stocked a whole toolbox with flotsam off the shoulder... screwdrivers, knives, pliers etc.
Not much to this little town, with a population of less than 600. I'm staying at a local motel as I have been since the nighttime temps have been dropping into the teens. I'll try local fare for dinner again tonight. The motel owner says they have BIG tacos.
They're promising east winds tomorrow (that's a tail wind!) Winter storm warning for Tuesday... Oh my!
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Marfa to Van Horn
As Herb mentioned in one of his comments, Marfa is somewhat of center for art and culture here in west Texas. My first photo "Prada Marfa" is an example of Marfan art. This piece is 35 miles west of Marfa, all by itself on RT 90 roadside, in the Chihuahuan desert. A plaque indicates that it is modeled after a Prada Boutique, and has luxury goods from the 2005 fashion year. But it will never be a retail space as the door is permanently sealed.
I kind of like it because it is so nutty, but if this doesn't have the local ranchers shaking their heads, I don't know what would. The second photo is a sample of what's inside.
The landscape between Marfa and Van Horn today was really beautiful, almost surreal. I try to limit myself to 3 photos per blog entry...it's so hard to chose what to show you. This morning's temp in Marfa was 16 degrees, but the wind was mercifully still. Winds probably peaked at 20mph this afternoon, but the temp had come up into the high 40s, and it was manageable.
Icing down the hamstring, then to Chewy's for dinner. A local institution since 1959 according to the signs.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Merry Christmas everyone!!
I'm in Marfa, TX this Christmas Eve, and quite happy to be here. Today was a humbling day cycling between Marathon and Marfa. Strong headwinds, light snow, hills, and the sound of my own whimpering where nearly overwhelming. But even these distractions didn't entirely keep me from appreciating the amazing landscape. The sandstone bluffs, buttes, and mountains around Alpine are breathtaking.
I haven't seen much of the town of Marfa, and likely won't till I leave Saturday am. I brought enough food for a small army, so if you're in the vicinity, stop in and I'll feed you.
I met Guil Jones today, the owner of La Loma del Chivo where I stayed last night. I had stopped at a picnic area beside the road to try and warm my feet. He saw me and pulled in in his early 70s El Camino to introduce himself. He is nice guy, and a cool cat for sure. I'm sorry I didn't get more of a chance to get to know him.
A few birds I've seen over the last couple of days... Pyrrhuloxia, Canyon wrens, Black-throated sparrows, Western scrub jays, Chihuahuan ravens, and possibly a Brewer's sparrow.
Wishing you all love in your hearts and peace of mind this Christmas.
Love,
Carl
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Wednesday night, Marathon, TX
And it felt like a bit of a marathon getting here, with 20-25 mph head/sidewinds, and increasing elevation. But, I got here just before the weather turned nasty. The winds cranked up, the temps dropped almost 20 degrees, and it started hailing/ raining. So, thank you weather gods....
And here is La Loma del Chivo Hostel (the hill of the goat). Cyclists stay here for free. It is a very funky place with lots of creative stuff in progress. Folks can come and try their hands at sustainable building, gardening, renewable energy ideas, creative water conservation, etc. The owner/founder seems to be very flexible and encouraging of creativity. It is somewhat reminiscent of Yestermorrow School in Waitsfield, VT without the structure or business focus. Not having central heat, I'm definitely hunkered down in my sleeping bag. There may be one other person in the main hostel tonight, otherwise everyone else is gone for the holidays.
A quick note about the 1st photo: the nearby rockface shows verticle layers of sandstone, 'folded' over during a mountain building event 270 million years ago (the same time the Appalacians were being formed). The distant hills show horizontal layers of 'new rock', laid down as ocean sediment then pushed up into mountains about 135 million years ago (the same time the Rocky Mountains were being formed. Fascinating rock trivia.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Warmshowers.org, Sanderson, TX
Well riding from Del Rio to Langtry, TX yesterday I met a cyclist from England. She was cycling around the world and had left the UK around May of 2008. Anyway, she told me of a group of people that host long distance cyclists, (www.warmshowers.org) and said that there was a lady who had a small house in Sanderson, TX that she lets cyclists use (apparently she lives in Alpine, TX). So, I contacted Liz and sure enough she has a cute little house in this sleepy town of Sanderson. She told me she hosts for free in Alpine (and offered to have me join them there for Christmas...), but because of the overhead of the little house she asks for a $10 donation.
Who knew? I hope to be west of Alpine by Xmas, or I might join them there. I have a bit of a nagging knee issue that developed late yesterday. Hopefully it won't delay me, and tonight is giving me the perfect opportunity to do a little ice therapy. But, I made enough homemade mac & cheese to last for 3 days, so... if worse comes to worst...
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Langtry, home of Judge Roy Bean
It seems to me that one of the old TV westerns had Judge Roy Bean as a character. Can't remember which. But I crossed the Pecos river today and am camped outside the community center here in Langtry, home of the Judge. There's not much here but a visitor center, a couple of houses and the community center bldg. Not sure where the community is. (The visitor center has wifi, thus the blog update).
I'm glad I wasn't a drunken defendent in front of JRB. Apparently he chained the drunks to mesquite trees until they were sober enough to stand trial. And court was conducted on the porch of the saloon. Apparently he would interrupt court to serve patrons. It would be a bummer to be chained to a tree, trying to sober up while your buddies were getting served!
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Communication
Based on Verizon's 3G network map it looks like I'll be incommunicado for most of the way across to El Paso. I'm guessing that should take me about 10 days if all goes well. I'll try to catch a library in there somewhere if I can't get signal. Unfortunately, I'll run out of time before I run out of road. I'm shooting for Las Cruces , NM and flying back to the frozen North for New Years Eve. I'll have a few more updates, but thanks to all for travelling with me.
Green Rivers, driving
Got to take advantage of a little internet in Del Rio. Still no Verizon network, but the local Subway has wifi. Sorry to all for my lack of communication. Not sure how the network will be going towards El Paso.
Something I noticed about both the Blanco and Guadalupe Rivers was that they often seem to have a decidedly green hue to them. The same color that Muncho Lake along the Alaska Highway had (I don't remember exactly where along the trek Munco was... Ralph, Mom?)
Anyway, Muncho Lake's color was due to the compostion of the lakebottom minerals (what would it be, copper, magnesium??).
I mentioned this to the managers of one of the motels I stayed at in the Hill Country. They looked at me like I had three eyes. Said they never thought of the river as being green. And noone else had ever mentioned it to them. I took several photos trying to capture this effect, but I can't really tell on my screen if it shows up. I'll include one of the Guadalupe near the motel below. Looks green to me, but then... maybe it's my three eyes.
I thought I drove a lot for my job, but I met a guy in the hills in Leakey, TX. He was pulled over along the roadside taking a break. He told me his job was to wear out tires. He works for a Texas company that tests tires for the major manufacturers. He has to drive 500 miles per day, mostly over the rough roads in the hill country. Five days a week, he hits the road. He was driving a beat up Ford Ranger, but he asked me if I had seen the yellow Mustang convertible that just went by. I had, and he told me that was another of their drivers. I'm very glad he told me that, because the Mustang passed me no less than 6 times that day, and I probably would have started getting goosey about it. Apparently, his little company has 50 drivers on the road at a time.
Self-sufficiency
It's such a fallacy. It takes a lot of help to do a self-contained bicycle trip, at least in my case. I've spent several days now traveling through the hill country, and it is has been magnificent and memorable. It's quite isolated up here , and little towns are a long way apart, by bicycle.
Wednesday afternoon I rolled into Hunt, TX, a booming metropolis of several hundred people. But Hunt has a bank, a store, a restaurant, and two lodges. I called ahead and secured a room at one of them (just before I lost cell reception). Unfortunately, the store had been sold that week and was closed for inventory. Equally as unfortunate, the restaurant was between shifts with noone in the kitchen that could put any food together for me. The best the owner (manager?) could do was to sell me a piece of pie. I had no food left with me, planning to reprovision in Hunt, had had a strenuous day getting there and was planning on a more ambitious day the next. I had to have some fuel. I called Cindy, the manager at the River Inn where I was staying. She said she could put a basket of food together for me from what she had, as she lived on-site. And so she did. She came up with cans of soup, bread,eggs, coffee, hot chocolate, some fruit, even some spam. My room had a kitchenette, and I ate very well that night and the following morning for breakfast. She even brought down some cupcakes that she had just baked.
I guess I'm learning on another level a lesson I learned a long time ago. There's no such thing as self-sufficiency. And another thing... if someone can't (or won't) help me, don't be resentful... I'm not their responsibility. Just go ask someone else.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
1st day of the REAL Texas Hill Country
And I survived, a little weak-kneed, but otherwise no worse for the ware. This morning, temps in the 40s and a stiff NE wind got my attention. But the landscape in the hill country is quite variable and almost always beautiful. A lunch stop at the Red Bud Cafe in Blanco yielded a Mediterranean veggie wrap with hummus and fresh sprouts, decaf coffee, and warm feet. My travel to Comfort, TX was otherwise undelayed except for flat tire #9.
I rolled into Comfort just under the dusk buzzer. 70 miles in hill country takes more voltage than I'm used to producing. I opted for a motel when I got in. The two most difficult (Hill Country) climbing days lie just ahead. I will likely take them in smaller chunks.
Two great birds for today were the Northern Caracara and Greater Roadrunner. The Looney Tune hasn't left my head since I saw him...
No less than three people stopped to see if I needed help while I was repairing my tire. One was the rancher who appeared to own the land that I was in front of. He went back to repairing fence when I told him I was okay, but as I rode off he shouted a wish for good luck and also his phone # in case things didn't go well. Just when you think you have people figured out...
Monday, December 14, 2009
Sunday night, Monday with Herb and Susie in Wimberley, TX
I've had a fabulous day and evening with my hosts Herb and Susie. After breakfast this morning, Herb took me along the Blanco river which borders their property (actually they own halfway out into it). They live in the Texas Hill Country, on a picturesque hillside property, in a beautiful home that they designed and built to be energy efficient and easy on the environment. (Some of the photographic images that Herb has captured have been right from his own backyard. You can see these and more by 'googling' "Herb Smith, Fine Art Photography".)
Later we all took a roadtrip east of Austin to a wastewater sludge composting facility located at Hornsby Bend. Burlington Intervale, we still have some things to learn. Among them, it is possible to create compost and provide fantastic wildlife habitat at the same time. Of course, this is south central Texas so there is no shortage of birds. Dinner at a local Thai restaurant, and the company of two socially aware, active and vibrant people, and I couldn't ask for more. Thank you Herb and Susie for your kindness and all you have done for me. Thank you Bill Lipke for making the connection with your long term friends.
Saturday night at the Bastrop RV park men's room, I had a great conversation with a local Texan. Turns out he's a bit of a hybrid, Texan. His daddy was an Texas oil man, but his mama was from Vergennes, VT. The last time he was in VT was 1965, but he told me that he can go on google earth and still find his grammy's house. I asked him about a tree outside the building that had odd looking fruit on it. He told me it was a bourdoc (or something like that... I can't find a reference to that local name). He said if you find it on a fenceline it's so hard you can't drive a nail in it. But as far as he knew the tree was totally useless except that if you take the odd looking fruit and put it around the base of your house it'll keep the cockroaches and fire ants out. Later I realized the tree and fruit were Osage Orange. I would have talked to my Texan buddy a little more, but he was sitting on the throne, drinking a beer. Somehow the 'atmosphere' wasn't right for a continued talk, and I moved on. Tomorrow morning, back on the road!
Saturday, December 12, 2009
In Bastrop, TX. 30 miles from Austin
I thought I would get another 30 or so miles west today. I made the decision to circumvent Austin and possibly visit a couple of Brother Bill Lipke's friends in Wimberly on Sunday. (Thanks Widge for the offer to hook me up with your friends in Austin... I didn't realize Wimberly and Austin were so close). Yesterday I laid over a day in LaGrange as it was supposed to rain all day. It didn't rain at all... until today when it rained all day. A couple of tire blowouts this morning had me looking for a nice bridge to jump off of. And Victor had done such a nice job yesterday talking me off the ledge (okay, a little drama for effect perhaps).
So fortunately today's route took me through two beautiful state parks (Buescher and Bastrop), with quiet, little traveled roads.
The town of Bastrop has a population of only 5540, but it is big box heaven. Makes Williston,VT look like a one horse town. And people were all about the big box stores today! I had to keep on my game as in Bastrop the route brought me two miles along the interstate highway (you can do that here).
Anyway, I'm safe and sound at the local RV park, and waiting for my clothes to come out of the dryer.
Thanks to all of you for keeping in touch with me... I ain't no Marlboro man.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Approaching the "Texas Hill Country"
Today the landscape changed dramatically as I made my way beween Navasota and LaGrange, TX. During yesterday's treck I passed the town of Coldspring. To my eye, Coldspring is the unofficial gateway to the west, at least on this route. Starting there, towns have that somewhat undefinable western feel to them. The center of town is often a feed store, and storefronts tend to have a barnboard facade. Twenty miles west of Navasota the landscape became much more rolling. Apparently the bona-fide "Hill Country" doesn't begin until I get west of Austin. But today's ride was a good warm up.
One photo below shows how the landscape is opening up, near Independence, TX. This landcape characteristic prompted one person I knew to comment that they thought people's personalities follow the landscape. They found westerners to be open, available, and willing to show their hands. Conversely they felt easterners tended to be more closed, cautious, and somewhat secretive like the landscape we live in. Interesting...
The prospects of renting a room in Roundtop, TX for $150/night prompted me to push to LaGrange, TX where I found a perfectly good room for $49, and a very kind motel owner who gave me lots of fruit and water. Seventy miles was today's total. Tomorrow looks like hard rain and 44 degrees. I won't be surprised if I post a goose egg for mileage.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Navasota, Tx low temp 2nite 30
And the temps only got up in the 40s today. Cool biking. This morning was challenging mentally and physically. Low temps, 15-20 mph North winds, rough roads, no shoulders, heavy traffic,hills. One little dog met its maker chasing me in traffic. Got the morning off to a bad start. I guess it was worse for the dog. But, this afternoon brought me through the Sam Houston National Forest. Still cool temps but nice roads, low traffic, very pretty.
I made 83 miles today to Navasota. I'm camping at a municipal RV park. Didn't know there was such a thing. And apparently noone else did either. No charge for tenters, but you have to duck every time a plane comes in at the airport.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
What I hear in the background
A couple of days ago it was cajun french, now it's decidedly spanish. I went from jambalya to burritos pretty quickly. Part of the fun of moving across the landscape. One constant so far though is that the Indians (as in from India) own all the small mom and pop motels. I think it's even true in the northeast. What's with that? They certainly aren't prosperous looking operations for the most part. And, at $30/night they aren't likely to be. They rarely seem to be anywhere near full. Is this a way to live in the states that is better than what they had in India? Are they the only people willing to do it? How have they worked out buying so many of them? Not that I'm envious or begrudge them what they are doing. Most of the places seem like exercises in futility. We Americans want flashy and pretentious now, except for the downtrodden, eccentric, and the cyclists (who may often fit both of the previous categories).
The photo below is part of a roughly 100 acre strip/clear-cut in the Big Thicket. It's not pretty, but it's actually probably pretty good forestry. It creates good habitat for early successional species (deer,rabbits,turkey, woodcock,various songbirds), they've done some snag management (left dead standing trees for woodpeckers, etc.), and they left the tops and branches spread around as a carbon source for the next crop (yeah, here's one place we want carbon).
Monday, December 7, 2009
Big Thicket
I'm in the area of Big Thicket National preserve. The preserve is roughly 98,000 acres, but the area known as The Big Thicket has no distinct boudaries. It contains parts of multiple counties in SE Texas,and is dominated by pine woods. It is thought to be one of the more biologically diverse areas in the US. The diversity is not due to rare or unusual species, but the confluence of habitats that occur here; eastern hardwoods, southern pines, appalacians, southwestern desserts, and cypress swamps. In fairness, it is somewhat unremarkable to ride through, looking rather like industrial forestland (in the area more generally known as the Big Thicket, not the preserve itself which I didn't visit.
I got very wet in the big thicket today, finishing the day at Sheperd, TX in a downpour. I'm staying at a cushy (for me) hotel tonight, and drying everything out. The warmer temps, pushing into the 50s F this afternoon, were a welcome change.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
That's right, you're not from Texas...
I'm gonna be in Texas a long time. Made my way 75 miles today from DeRidder, LA to Silsbee, TX. On the way I stopped in Kirbyville to have some lunch. I picked a jerky/smoked meat place that was closed on Sundays (and didn't look that prosperous M-F). Spread out my stuff on the front wall and got nicely into lunch when this older couple pulls in in a beat-up Toyota p/u. She unrolls the window and I walk over. She's trying to tell me something, and finally the guy says "we own the place". So I apologize and offer to move, and although Mrs might have liked that, Mr says I can stay. Next thing I know he comes out and wants to know if I need to use the bathroom, or want anything to eat... "This is a restaraunt, you know". So out of the blue he starts telling me that he was the town drunk for 30 years (a working drunk though...). He went to rehab this summer for 3 months and has been sober since June. Can I pick 'em or what?
Temp is 52 at the campground in Silsbee. Rain showers tonight, and rainy over the next 2 days, but not as cold. We'll see what I can do with that.
