Day 59 - Sierra Blanca to El Paso

Finally I was greeted with the sight of a never ending decent, at least to my eyes, that is what it seemed to be.  Leaving the RV park where I had camped, the first few miles out of Sierra Blanca were a slow and steady uphill.  I knew from my maps that everything dropped down to El Paso, so I patiently awaited the cresting of the ridge.  Finally, there before my eyes, was the long drop along I10 down into the valley that was sure to be nice and flat.

Those days are really a treat because you get so many miles in without any effort.  Unfortunately their is often a price to be paid, some sort of wicked karma played upon you by the Gods.  When I reached the valley floor, the route deviates from the highway into 18 miles of some of the most inhospitable terrain I have seen.  Dry, dry, and drier, the dust permeates your lips, lungs and body.  This stretch of land works its way closer to the Rio Grande and the border between the US and Mexico.  Border Patrol agents and the lone goat farmer were all I would see on this desolate stretch of road.  As I wound my way further along, it became apparent that the locals knew how to farm this land, something that for the life of me I could not figure out how.  The dirt, grey and rocky stretched for miles, but off in the distance you could see the swirling dust cloud thrown up from the big tractors plowing the land.

Soon it became apparent what the plan was, they had figured out how to create canals, dams, and resevoirs, all from the Rio Grande.  With an intricate system of flood gates they could control what fields got irrigated and when.  I must assume that their is some overarching authority that places a method on this madness, but who knows.  Slowly the miles rolled by and I would find huge patches of land that were bright green, a stark contrast to that which surrounded them.

I was now approaching the 60 mile mark for the day, and not a camp spot in sight.  My attempts to communicate with locals was lost on them, my lousy Spanish and their lousy English were no match for one another.  Dusk settled in and still I pounded the pedals, darkness soon to set in.  I went to switch on my blinky lights, only to find out my batteries were dead.  Then, my headlight, dead as well.  My emergency strobe strapped to the back of BOB, well, not quite dead but close enough. 

I used my phone as a light to pull out my trusty headlamp, thank goodness for Petzl, those things just work and work.  As darkness set in I was now pedaling in complete black on winding country roads, confident as always that a spot would be found, not allowing doubt to creep into my mind.  I had never been failed and I knew tonight would not be the first time.  Still, a spot sure would be nice, I had not eaten in quite some time, and save the adrenalin rushing through my legs, I was all but dead. Shortly before sunset I had begun to notice that Pecan farms were all around, some stretching away from the road as far as you could see.  These farms made for a very intense sunset as the sun dipped down into their leafless branches, casting a very eery glow along the ground. 

As I searched for a spot, it was not lost on me that I was pedaling by these massive farms.  The problem, they were almost always surrounded by one of these min canals, making entry into them impossible.  Finally, after 78 miles I found a farm that stretched off into the distance, no fence, no canal, and only two remote houses near them.  That was it, I pulled over, shut off my light and walked the bike back into the middle of the trees.  Collapsing in exhaustion, I now had to find a way to eat witout fire, and sleep with no tent.  Right now I don't have my bivy, so it was going to be a night under the stars.  As for dinner, well a can of Sardines, corn tortillas and fresh brocolli would have to do.  Needless to say, it was quite the day, but the glow of El Paso was right there, Texas was soon to be finished and New Mexico up on the plate.

Day 58 - Van Horn to Siera Blanca

Short day today after a cold night in the desert. I knew it was cold inthe middle of the night but did realize how cold until I woke to frozenwater bottles. Unfortunately my clothing and sleeping kit is just not warmenough for those conditions. If I can ever afford a new sleeping bag I amgoing with down rated at 0 or 15 degrees max.

I was camped right outside of Van Horn so it was a short ride in where Ifound some fresh fruit and a McDonald's for electricity and WiFi. I met somegreat folks there, a number of whom had do e portions of the ACA routes. Itis great to talk to folks that have dome long distance trips and get theretake on traveling by bike.

I stayed a good while before heading out to finish the remaining 30 miles toSierra Blanca. A small town that is nestled at the top of a small ridgewhich then leads down onto the plains and into El Paso. As I was ridingalong the frontage road ran into another eastbound cyclist, John. It wasfunny because John had the chance to rude with a number of the people that Ihad rum across in the past couple of weeks.

I found John yo be a real inspiration. In his mid 60's and overweight, hetook up hid passion for cycling once again and set out to travel the roadsof North America. Having now lost over 25 pounds he is feeling good abouthis health and making plans to loose mote weight and travel even farther.He is a great example of getting out and just doing it. Instead of lettinghis age define him and what he is capable of doing, he is taking control anddefining who he wants to be. You can follow John at wheretheroadleads.com.

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Day 57 - Observatory to Van Horn

The ride off the top of the Davis Mountains and the McDonald observatory was fast, and winding.  Wicked downhill made breaking necessary to keep my speed under 35 mph, a speed that is about the max for a fulluy loaded BOB trailer.  The sweeping turns and straight downhill plunged me down 8 miles in record time, with only brief, and often painful uphill sections to battle.

As I exited the mountains and came out onto the plains I had sweeping views of the distance, a far cry from yesterday's near zero visibility from the snow storms.  As I took a break on a little turnout I saw the welcome sign of another biker working his way up a hill, magically appearing from below.  He was shortly followed by his girlfriend and we spent a few moments chatting and comparing notes.  They were on their way up to the Observatory and I am sure they received the same wonderful hospitality from Dave and Debbie that I did.

Speaking of Dave and Debbie, these folks are what makes this trip and Warmshowers such a great experience.  They put me up in their house for two days, fed me and took me on tours of the surrounding area.  On top of that, since they are at a strategic spot on the Southern tier route, they have amazing stories of peddlers that have made their way up the mountain only to find a warm and comfortable place to stay.  Thanks guys, I really appreciated your hospitality.

Shortly after getting back on the road, and about 2 miles from getting on I10, I ran into another group of cyclists.  This group was made up of a father and his two sons, with mom 'sagging' the trip for them.  I would guess the boys were in their early teens and all I could think of was what a wonderful experience for this family and for those boys.  To peddle 3300 miles across the country with your dad is really something special.  I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with them and can only hope that my efforts to convince my kids to come out and join me on one of the legs of my trip will be met with success.

Much is made of this stretch of road because Kent is really not much of a stop, with pretty disgusting camping conditions behind the old Mercantile, which is now closed.  I was on a mission to blow by Kent, so I only stopped for a bit of rest and a snack and then it was on to the interstate.  Here you need to go about 19 miles on I10 before you can get off and ride on a frontage road.  Personally, I found the interstate a joy to ride on.  The shoulder is quite large with a big rumble strip separating you from traffic, but more importantly, it is smooth asphalt.  Wow, what a joy to ride on something so smooth, you really feel like your speed increases  by a couple of mph.  I made great time and the views of the plains and the distant mountains are pretty spectacular.

The biggest issue with this stretch is camping, so I opted to wait for the frontage road and camp a few miles outside of Van Horn.  I found a bit of dirt road and clear sand along the barbed wire fence and after 65 miles plopped myself down in the dirt and just chilled until dark.  As the sun set over the mountains, the sky lit up in brilliant reds, oranges and blues and made for a really sweet little place to watch the transition from day to night.  I really do love that time right after the sun goes down and its counterpart, right before it comes up.  There is just something really very peaceful about that time of day and it is so conducive to sitting, meditating and reflecting on your day and how good life is out on the trail.

Day 56 - Observatory

The wind storm came and so I sat with my host at the observatory. Gusts of60 mph and higher simply made it impossible to peddle today. In theafternoon he tried to take me for a tour of the surrounding area but thesand was so bad you could not see a thing. John gets bonus points for theeffort.

It was a great day of rest and I managed to sort and edit about two weeks ofpictures, some of which I posted online both on Facebook and the BikeAround America gallery. I hope you enjoy.

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Day 55 - Alpine to McDonald Observatory

I had a great stay in Alpine but was ready to hit the road especially with the forecast for 60 mph winds on Sunday.  I woke early and hit the road right at day break. The ride to the observatory is almost exactly 40 miles from Alpine, so it was a very comfortable distance.  The first 8 miles out of Alpine are dead flat with sweeping views of the plains on the left and right and the Davis mountain range in front of you. There was no doubt that the flats were ending and the mountains were coming.  The elevation change of the entire day was about 2200 feet with the first 30 miles increasing around 1000 feet and the last 5 miles, the remaining 1200.

As I rolled out of the flats you enter a magnificent ride through the canyons leading to Fort Davis.  I have to say, this stretch of 15 miles or so was the prettiest stretch of my trip, surpassing the route along the Guadelope river as my favorite ride to date.  The climbs were gentle, interspersed with rolling hills and some flats. I actually came across the first body of water that I had seen since the Pecos river, a spring fed stream/pond that ran for a half or mile along the road.  Normally one would not even notice such an occurrence, but riding in the desert, the lack of water is on your mind at all times.

As you exit the canyon you come upon another set of rolling plains, once again, the Davis mountains in the distance with glimpses of the McDonald Observatory telescopes peaking in between the mountain peaks.  Fort Davis was a very quaint little town, with the most amazing little grocery store in a long while.  It was at odds with the normal Texas small town market, instead of shelves lined with junk food this market had nice organic items, things with real nutritional value.  It was a welcome place to shop, and I took advantage to pick up a new type of breakfast oats and some potato gnocchi to spice up a dinner or two.  I am definitely looking forward to those two meals.

The girl scouts were out in full swing, running their yearly cookie sale, which I felt a great need to support.  I talked to the girls and their parents about the fundraising efforts for Childhood Obesity and they are a great willing audience.  After some question and answers about my trip, I rooted through my change supply and managed to pull together enough coins to part with a box of peanut butter cookies, my all time Girl Scout fave.  Later in the day I managed to consume half of the box in one sitting, but as you will see I earned them.

Leaving Fort Davis it is a mere 10 miles to the observatory, but for those of you that have done the math, you already realize that the bulk of the elevation gain occurs in a very small distance, in other words, straight up.  The last 5 miles up the mountain were just brutal, and I was once again grateful to AJ and the Peddlers bike shop in Austin for convincing me to add a very low granny gear to the setup.  Without it I would have been walking, which I don't have an issue with, but still, I would prefer to peddle if at all possible.  Thankfully their was a little picnic area about 2 miles from the top and I was able to take a break without looking like a total wimp, eat some trail mix and prepare myself for the final assault on the climb.  The views here were simply spectacular as you looked back out to the south east and the area just covered.

My host, John, works for the observatory, so after arriving and resting up a bit, I got a wonderful sunset tour of the two main telescopes.  The view at sunset was just unreal, and something not to be forgotten soon.  I will post pictures of it later, but they just won't do it justice.  From the top of the mountain and the catwalk that goes around the telescope, you have an amazing 360 degree view, where you can see over 100 miles away. It was a breathtaking scene as the sun set off in the west back lighting the original telescope that was endowed to the university all those years ago and is still in operation today.

The forecast for high winds means I will rest on Sunday and then make the final 3 day push out of Texas and  into New Mexico and Arizona. 

Day 54 - Alpine Texas

My legs hurt for the first time in a long while so I chose to sit today,eat, and rest. Actually, if I am being truthful all I have done for 24hours is eat. Last night I treated myself to a meal at a real restaurantand very much enjoyed it. I then walked down the street and proceeded toorder a burger and fries from a sonic.

This morning I started my day with coffee; I then inhaled a jumbo cinnamonbun; Next up was a plate of eggs with toast and potatoes. I did not feelsatisfied so I then had four mini brownies, which really were small,honestly they were tiny.

So as not to bore you I won't even talk about the rest of the day becauseall of that was before 12:00 so I was just getting started. Needless to saythis busted my food budget but I have learned to listen to my body and whenif gets like this it is clearly and very loudly telling me to just get outof the way and EAT. So, with much happiness I ate and ate and ate, andthankfully as I sit here typing this I am actually full, which is a veryrare event for this adventure.

Oh yes, Alpine us a lovely little town with lots of Cowboys in the area. Itcould just be that they are here for the Cowboy Poetry and Music festival,but so.e how I don't think that is the only reason. From what I can tell itappears that Alpine has a rich history with western history and the AmericanCowboy.

A big thanks to another lovely host, Liz, who opened up her house to me,sight unseen. The folks of Texas have truly been wonderful to me making mytime here very enjoyable.

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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?

Day 52

Camped 4 miles outside of Marathon and about 26 miles from Alpine. I leftnew friends in Sanderson today after a great nights sleep in their apartmentabove their grocery store. The hospitality of small town Texas has justbeen incredible.

The day cleared very early and I had nothing but sun for my steady climb,about 1200 feet of elevation gain. The ride was through the stark anddesolate desert with not much other than the blur sky to add color to thebrown and gray landscape.

At the end of the day I had the sun set right in front of me behind adistant mountain range. It was one of those sunsets where the huge orangeball ever so slowly defends below the horizon.

Off in the distance on one of the larger peaks you can see the dome of theMcDonald Observatory. The stars here keep getting brighter, no lightpollution to diminish their brilliance.

The desert is an interesting place and I have only just begun my journeythrough hundreds of miles of nothingness.

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Day 51

I broke camp fairly early and said my goodbyes to my new friends.  After several days off and not much miles under my seat I felt a need to do some bigger miles today.  The goal was to get around 50-60 in, which in the flats is not a big deal, but here the elevation is on a one way ticket up.  As the morning progressed I realized that this was going to be a really hard day.  The sun had come out early and it was bright and intense, adding heat to the equation of exhaustion.  By noon I had struggled up the hills and was in a full blown sweat.  Heat exhaustion was a real fear.

Unwittingly I had sent back my lone long sleeve shirt that was not wool and not black.  This I realized later in the day was to be a very bad mistake.  My bike shirt is sleeveless thus exposing both my arms, and shoulders and that ever so delicate portion of your lats.  Well by early afternoon the sun was really taking a toll and I knew that I was turning a bright shade of red.  That combined with the layer of sweat and dust made for a very uncomfortable feeling on my skin.  It was like this noxious combination of stuff on your arms that at the touch felt gritty and left a slight burning sensation.  I knew that night time was going to be painful because I was officially fried.

The hills continued and I had my second flat of the trip.  I rolled over two of those prickly branches that just pierced a 2 inch spike righ through my tire.  These things were so tough that when I went to repair the flat I could not pull them out, but instead had to 'push' them through.  I guess short of slime, there is no defense against these things because they are just mean.  I will attempt at all costs to avoid them in the future, but they are incredibly difficult to see on these chipped roads, which are a combination of black and gray/white rocks, so the thorns just blend right in.

By around 5:00 I was spent and found a picnic area to relax and figure out my camping plans.  This would be my first night of real desert camping which creates a whole new set of issues.  One thing is for sure, the Border Patrol is incredibly active, so in addition to worrying about being on someone's land I also did not want to be anywhere that would cause them angst.  As I sat at the picnic area this very interesting guy stopped, with his female Pit Bull, and they hung with me for a while talking about immigration, border control, Kansas, and mostly guns.  It turns out that he was ex military and was always locked and loaded.  When travelling he carried multiple handguns, rifle, shotgun, AK-47, and more handguns.  He was wearing shorts and was still packing underneath them.  I admit to both being intrigued and a bit worried about  this guy but in the end he was harmless.

I ended up circling back a couple of hundred yards to a side road and made my way about a half a mile out into the desert. There I waited until dark and made camp, cooked and passed out from exhaustion.  What seemed like a very short time later I was awaked by the sound of goats trying to figure out who or what I was and why I was in the middle of their pasture.  Once I realized what it was, it was easy to dismiss it and just go back to sleep.  I woke later that night to do my business, and upon stepping out of my tent was greeted by a brilliant display of stars.  Having lost the last of the Del Rio night pollution this was a real treat for my eyes.

Day 50

After a great day off my new friends Nils and Heather offered me share their campsite at Seminole Canyon state park, about a 39 mile ride from where we were in Amistad.  The route turned out to be nice a flat with only a few hills and I managed to crank out the miles in about 3 hours, definitely one of my faster days of late.  Rolling into the Seminole Canyon park I was blown away by the canyons themselves. I can only imagine what the really big ones look like because these were really pretty small. 

The park was filling up very quickly with lots of RV's, Kayakers, and hikers.  Apparently this is a very popular location and it made for a fun place to relax and people watch.  One of the most striking things since leaving Amistad and Del Rio is the sense that you have really entered into the desert.  The landscape has changed dramatically and I am sure will only get more intense the further west I move.

I definitely enjoyed the companionship of having people around for a few days.  What a treat to socialize and actually eat meals in a civilize manner instead of ingesting food as quickly as humanly possible.  Even still I noticed that my plate was cleaned in about half the time of those around me.  I have said it before, but it is worth repeating, it is just impossible to eat too much food on this trip.  It seems that even when I try and consume everything in sight I am still running a deficit.

That night, the skies cleared and the stars shone bright.  Back to the east was still some light pollution from Del Rio, so I would imagine that in another day or two the night skies will be truly amazing.

Day 49

A fun day of rest with new friends. I woke to the smiling and inquisitivefaces of three deer staring me in the face. I don't know, maybe they weretelling me to slow down and enjoy the scenery. For a multitude of reasons,including the 14 days o had to take off, i have certainly felt the need to'push' on and recover some miles.

Taking my deer friends to heart i opted to just take the entire day off.The weather was gray and windy with a threat of rain, so they really did nothave to work very hard at convincing to sit out the day. Next thing I knowmy new friend Nils comes down and invites me to breakfast, which I gladlyaccepted.

This is one really nice thing about campgrounds is you get to meet people.Luckily this is a wonderful NPS primitive site that only charges $5 pernight.

I joined Nils and Heather for breakfast, a little Canadian fruit dish andlots of fresh coffee. We then piled into their cleaning van, headed intotown and checked out the local sights. Important things like the libraryand grocery store.

Nils was looking for a book store sp we went in search of the mall. It feltsurreal to be driving around in a car let alone walking through a mall. Nobookstore, but a bottle of Guineas and then a movie completed a gun andeclectic day on the trail.

Meeting new people and getting to spend some time with them is one of thepurest joys of traveling. Now to go put some miles in....Sent from my Windows Phone

Day 48

First I would like to say thanks to everyone that sent me birthdaywishes. Being out on the trail can sometimes be an emotional rollercoaster, so having friends and family connect with me today is veryspecial. Thank you all for making my day special.

Last night was definitely not the beat nights sleep of the trip. In orderto take today off I needed to camp on the east side of Del Rio, which meantUrban stealth camping. Earlier in the day i had looked for a Warm showershost but really could not find anything to my liking. Having to stealthcamp in an urban environment is really not my thing, just a little toopublic for my likes, I really prefer the woods. However, in this case therewas no better choice, so i curled up between two large trucks behind thefire department. I think every noise startles me and in the end i just gotup at 4:00 in the morning and broke camp.

Now i had the opposite problem, what to do at that hour of the morning. Iwanted to see some of the town so i did not want to just blow through.Instead i made a cup of coffee, yes, between the trucks, and slowly waiteduntil 5:00. From there i was able to find a McDonald's where i hung outuntil mid morning.

Since it was my birthday i was going to do a special breakfast, but as icycled past restaurants nothing really jumped out at me. The day wasstarting gray, just like the last three days, so i simply decided to buychocolate instead. A quick trip into Wallmart and i was loaded up withNutella and a dark chocolate bar and headed to the campground. After allwhat better way to celebrate a birthday than with lots of yummy chocolate.

The sun never did come out, but i have been eating chocolate and nappingwhich makes for a good sunshine substitute. Leaving Del Rio and headingwest there are some big hills and mountains just up the road including themonster 7000 ft peak with one of the world famous observatories perched onits peak.

Time to get back to my day of rest and cargo loading....

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Day 47

Word of the day is hot. I am amazed at how quickly the weather haschanges. Today was a high of 80 with a very intense sun. Everything outhere is dry, including almost all of the creeks. I can't imagine doing thissection in the warmer months. One if the biggest challenges is keeping mywater bottles full.

Yesterday I messes up my evening water resupply so I started today withabout a cup of water and the nearest water source about 18 miles away. Igot up extra early to make sure I could ride in the cooler morning hoursknowing I had virtually no water to drink.

The road leading down and into Del Rio is a barren brown landscape. Otherthan the blue sky there is no other colors to be viewed. On the other sideof the town is a national park area which i am looking forward to exploringover the next two days.

From there it is still another 450 miles to exit the state. People warnedme about how long it would take to cross Texas and they sure were right. Iam assuming that as i get closer to the west coast i will begin to run intoother riders. I saw one today as i was coming out of the grocery store butwas unable to get his attention. I am sure there are more to come

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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 46

Today was just one of those awesome days, the ones that reinforce thechoices I have made and the beauty of adventure travel. It started off dampand wet, which seems to be the prevailing weather pattern here in Texas. Myhost, Jared, invited me down to his establishment for eggs and bacon. I amhappy to say I consumed three egg-bacon-cheese sandwiches along with somevery strong coffee. There was no way I was going to bonk on my big climbout of Leakey.

The monster hill did not dissapoint me, quite steep and almost two mileslong, I managed to climb it in style. Still drizzly and windy, the scenicviews were nit quite as spectacular as they would have been on a clear day.Never the less, visibility was good enough and I took it all in. From therebegan the long descent to Del Rio, still about 100 miles away.

By afternoon, once again the skies had cleared and it was nothing but bluesky and sunshine. I stopped in a small town for some library time and thewas off foe the final push of the day. This part of the route was headingsouth before turning west. As I made the turn, the mountains ringed thevalley with a bright red sun working down towards their towering tips. Aquick glance behind me revealed a WI ding stretch of road leading straightto the near full moon. It was simply breathtaking.

The sun finally dipped below the peaks and I knew I had about 20 minutes tofind a camp spot before dark. This country road which I had now been on for10 miles was not really showing me anything promising. Then, up ahead of meI spied two dear. As I closed on them they darted right, thought twice andthen crossed the road and dissapearwd into the woods.

This brought a smile to my face, especially once I got to the location wherethey disappeared . Yes, an entry point into woods with no fence and nosigns. I followed there trail in about twenty yards and made a perfect campsite. Dinner under the moon and a breaze to cool things off, all conspiredto end this most awesome day on a simply brilliant note.

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Day 45

Today was perhaps the hardest of the trip. Somewhat ironic sinceyesterday was the prettiest. I woke at around 4:30, not being able to sleepanymore. Here I am getting close to Mtn time so it does not get light until7:30. Getting up this early meant I was going to be sitting for a while,which is exactly what I did.

After it was light enough I set back out on the hill that I bailed on thenight before. Hills were to be the word of the day. I knew from theelevation profile that today was going to be killer . In order to makeLeaky I would have about 40 miles of hills with two near vertical climbs.Lets say I was not too excited about my situation.

By mid day the sun was in full bloom and the first vertical ascent wasstaring me down. I took off my base layer And started the climb. A thirdof the way in I was down to my granny and praying that I don't stop. I wasreally afraid that if I stopped I would have to walk the rest of the waybecause I would not be able to get started again. We are talking about abike moving at the slowest possible speed at which it can remain upright.

By two thirds of the way in I was ready to puke, my mind in disbelief thatthis hill kept going. I kept telling myself to go one rotation at a time,that I could do it. Legs and lungs were burning and I was now soaked insweat, I finally felt the grade change and knew that I was going to makeit. I laughed at the fact there was a rest area at the top, as if carswould have felt the way I did...

The road followed a ridge fir a bit and then a spectacular descent where Iwas very grateful foe disc brakes. The bad knees was this scene was to berepeated one more time. By the end of the next descent I was completelyspent. The last four miles into Leaky were very painful, but I preserved.

Knowing that the other side of town held a hill bigger than either of thetwo I had already faced, it was a no brainer to decide this was the end ofmy day.

Five dollars later I had secured a camp site in a locals back yard, where Ipitched my tent and fell asleep. Later I was able to explore a bit of thiscanyon town, which at dusk with the moon up high and a big ole ice creamcone in my hand, was quite the nice place to be.

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Day 44

I woke to fig and what looked like rain. However within an hour the skieshad cleared and the sun was shining. The start of the ride was quite prettybut once I turned on 39 it became spectacular.

Rte 39 meanders and cross crosses the Guadelope river. Because of this theclimbs were few and far between. As the rode followed the river i wastreated to spectacular canyon walls; amazing waterfront ranches; and waterthat seemed to be a deep turquoise blue. So far I think this was myfavorite ride of the trip.

Late afternoon brought hills and a search for camp. In this part of Texasevery bit of land is fenced. It is quite a sight and obviously creates somedifficulties when searching fir a place to sleep. As I was working my wayup yet another climb I managed to find a bit of woofs that had been clearedfor a utility line and that was not fenced.

Clear skies brought a brilliant orange and blue sunset that finally gave wayto the near full moon. The moon had already been high in the sky as Ifollowed the river, but once darkness hit, it was bright enough to seewithout a headlamp.

Sleep came very, very easy.

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Day 43

The hills killed me again today. No matter how hard I tried, I just hadno juice at all. Some of these country roads go from a gully bed to analmost instantaneous vertical climb. I think that is the hardest thing, thefact that the hills have not been gradual, just extreme.

The good side of this is that the hill country is really beautiful. I cansee why this area is so popular, especially with cyclists and motorcycleriders.

By early afternoon I was totally spent, a measly 26 mile day. I rounded acorner , climbed another steep hill, and was greeted by the quaint town ofWaverly.

The first thing I saw was an old Texaco station with the vintage gas pumps,it was like a scene from a movie. As I walked my bike to a rest i waswelcomed by a smiling guy calling me a crazy fool. Well it was love atfirst sight and after some ice cream and a nap out back, i accepted hisoffer to stay the night, completely content with my days accomplishments orlack there of.

The town is not much more than a four way stop, but the town folks arefriendly and they love cyclists. I visited a cute little gallery with someeclectic works of art, including some amazing old pictures of the townfounders.

Dinner at the gas station turned diner, where Wednesday night is the realhappening day. They call it Wednesday steak night where you get a greatsteak and live music. This place is huge, which you really can't tell fromthe outside. Inside there is a small cafe which leads unit a country musicroom and if you keep going the back has another live stage and 20 or morepicnic tables.

So, if you are biking the southern tier you should plan on making this aWednesday night stop. Get some great food and if you ask real nice, a placeto camp.

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Day 42

Last night the temps hit 20 degrees, once again making me veryuncomfortable. Twenty is about ten degrees below the comfort zone of mybody and gear. As the night progressed I knew it was getting colder andcolder, my body unable to stay warm.

Morning brought a frozen tent, frost on everything and four frozen waterbottles. Needles to say I was excited to see a forecast that showed nothingbut rising temps.

Because of the cold I had stayed in my tent much longer than Normal, so itwas going to be a late start to the day. Greeted with bright sun and bluesky I was optimistic about getting in some good miles.

However, as one steep hill quickly led to another it became painfullyobvious that the day was going to be long in time yet short in miles. Thehills were simply too steep and my 2 week layoff too long. Lunch came andmy odometer read 15 miles where normally it would be at or beyond 30.

After getting back on the road I very quickly found a bakery at the bottomof a hill. Not that I needed an excuse to stop but when a bakery shows upin the middle of no where -- well you have to stop. I filled my waterbottles and bought a chocolate chip cookie then went outside to relax andenjoy the view.

Shortly afterwards I was joined by another cyclist on a beautiful Lightspeedroad bike. Klaus was his name and he was out for a mere 120 mile loopstarting and ending in Austin. Yes, I was thinking bad thoughts aboutsomeone who was riding more in a day than what I had dine in two. Skinnytires and a titanium frame go pretty fast.

Klaus ordered a soda, coffee and Apple pie with ice cream. When the pieshowed up both our eyes went wide in amazement. It was a huge serving, morethan I could have eaten in a single sitting. Klaus offered me a portion towhich I gladly accepted. The serving, now confronted by two hungrycyclists, had met its match.

Afterwards we said our goodbyes and I was off to get in my final miles ofthe day. This part of Texas, besides being hilly, is defined by wirefences. Everything, and I do mean everything is fenced. This had me a bitconcerned out my ability to find a good camp site. However luck was on myside because high up on a ridge top I found a beautiful little patch oftrees with a clearing in the middle and quickly made camp.

Tired and sore, sleep will come easy with what I am sure will be dreams ofhills yet to be faced.

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Day 41

Well I have to say, I absolutely love Austin. It is everything and morethan what I expected. Great people; a beautiful town; and a wonderfulactive community. Just an awesome place and I can't wait to go back.

Last night my hosts took me out for a 25 mile night ride around the city.We started at one of there favorite bars and ended at another. Given that Iwas riding an almost new bike it was a great warm up before I headed backout on the trail.

Leaving Austin I was immediately faces with big hills, something that I wasreally not used to. Thank goodness for the new gearing. The ride meanderedout of the city, across the Colorado river and then headed west.

More hills came and went, making me think that I would have been reallyhurting if I had to do this with a single speed. I am very grateful forthose gears.

My destination for the night was Wimberly, a town about 50 miles fromAustin. The ACA has made arrangements with the EMS folks that allowedcyclists to camp outside of the station. The folks there were awesome,making me feel right at home. I can't tell you bow nice it is to know youhave a place to stay at the end of the day. Thanks gals and guys of theWimberly EMS department, I really appreciated your hospitality.

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