Day 53 : Marathon to Alpine

I had worked hard yesterday to do the 50 plus miles up hill to get to Marathon Tx, with the goal being that today would then be an easy 25 mile ride to Alpine.  I obviously did not consult mother nature about my plans as she had other things in store for me.  So, instead of writing a long winded description of my difficult day I will just list out some bullet points, some facts, some thought that rambled through my head as I battled a ferocious non-stop head wind.  For those of you that adventure travel, I know you will relate to the pain and agony that such days inflict on our bodies and our psyche.  Enjoy:

• 27 miles should have been a two and half hour ride, but instead turned into six long hours
• I was blown from the middle of the shoulder (where I normally ride) off the road or on to the road, a mere 3-4 feet in an instant as the wind shifted from in front to the side
• My normal riding position when the wind was from the side was at a 20 degree angle leaning into the wind, not unlike edging my kayak into strong side winds
• Did you know that strong winds from the side will literally take the saliva out of your mouth and make you drool sideways?  I did not know this was possible, but am here to tell you that it is
• I never thought I would use my granny gear on the flats, but I did
• When the wind subsided, 5 mph felt like I was speeding
• There were not many downhill grades, but when they did occur I seemed to gain absolutely no benefit from them at all
• I had to stop to drink from my water bottle for fear of crashing if I rode one handed
• The last 7 miles took what seemed like an eternity, forcing me to stop each mile to rest and drink
• There were large objects moving down and accross the road, just like in those old western movies
• I have not been really sore for most of the trip.  I have no doubt that tomorrow I will be in pain
• Why are the last few miles of any difficult ride always uphill, I mean, what are the odds?

Side-Note

Two things I just wanted to point out.  First, is that while I am up to day 47, my actual bike time is right around 33 days, which puts me about half way across the Southern Tier.  The other days were down time due to the arctic blast that hit Texas and the few days of repairs in Austin to the bike.

Second, most, if not all, of the Daily Trail posts are from my Windows 7 phone via email to the website.  For whatever reason the website system does not translate things correctly and you get words that run together.  I do apologize for this, and have tried to find a way around it, but it is something on the Squarespace end.  This happened last year with my Nokia, so I know it is not on the phone end but on the translation from email to post.  So, please forgive the spacing and any undue typos/grammar mistakes that may be thrown in from time to time.

I hope you enjoy reading and following along.

Day 40

Picked up the bike today from the repair shop and all is well.  I have enjoyed Austin but am looking forward to hitting the road tomorrow.  It feels like forever since I rode, even though it was only a 10 day rest.  I have to admit, that is the longest rest period I have taken on a trip, and a bit too long by about 7 days.  Hopping on the bike today it felt like a complete stranger, especially because I rode without the trailer.  It was like a totally new machine, not only because of the repairs, but simply not having a 40 pound trailer waggling behind you.

Luckily the weather is clearing and the forecast is for a nice warming trend.  Heading out into hill country and then into West Texas should be a real challenge.  I have camped in may places, but never the dessert.  While dealing with water is something I am used to, the totally new array of critters, including scorpions, has me a bit on edge.  I don't know how it will affect my camp routine, but I will be sure and pay extra attention to what is around me, especially in the mornings after a long cool night. 

I am stoked and ready to roll, so let the journey continue.....

Day 28-35

As many of you know, I detoured up to North Texas to visit family.  My intention had been to spend 3-4 days and relax, eat a ton of food, and catch up with loved ones.  Much to my surprise, by day 3, the impending arctic blast was being predicted and by day 4 of my stay, the frigid temperatures were upon me, along with sleet and rain.  It was a mess and only predicted to get worse.  By mid week, Texas got up to 6 inches where I am staying and that insured that I was not getting back on the trail any time soon.  Heck, I don't even have shoes or pants, just shorts and crocs, definitely not the appropriate clothing for single digit temps and 6 inches of wet snow.

Updates to the Daily Trail have been infrequent due to lack of internet and sparse cell phone coverage.  I must also admit that because of the weather, I have not done much other than eat, sleep, and be a bum.  Happily, the visit has been great and I am now preparing to head south and get back on the trail, just south and west of Austin.

On Monday I will hop a ride down to Austin, get some repairs done to the bike and then rejoin the southern tier route.  My body is definitely ready, because going from 65 miles a day, to nothing is just plain hard.  The first few days of rest are enjoyable and I think important to your long term success.  However, after a few days the body seems to get terribly confused and nothing feels right.  Now, compound that with being confined  in a house and not even being able to go outside, and well, you have a recipe for pure restlessness.

I am axious to get back on the road, and move into west Texas and then New Mexico and Arizona.  In a couple of weeks I will be at a point where I will detour north again, this time to visit the Grand Canyon and some other places that I have always wanted to see.  If you are interested in joining me for this segement of the trip, please drop me a note.  The detour from Tempe AZ to the southern rim of the Grand Canyon is about 250 miles, or a week of biking.  I am confident that if you are simply interested in a one way route that we can arrange for some form of transport back to Tempe. 

My current plan is to continue to the North Rim and some of the upper canyons surrounding Page AZ.  From there I will decide if I am biking back down to join the route or if I will look for transport to get me back on route.  I believe that I will be in position to meet up with folks in Tempe around the 10th of March, so if you are interested, just shoot me an email and we can discuss options.

One more day now of rest and then back on the bike, this time with a 1x9 setup.  I chose this because it was the most affordable option out of the multitude of choices.  I am really looking forward to not having to stand up on each and every incline and certainly for the more mountainous regions, it will be a huge benefit to my body.  By adding gears I also think my overall performance, both distance and speed, should increase slightly since I won't be expending myself as much on those inclines.

The daily trail will officially pick back up on the 7th of February!