text message, wind, twilight zone

October 13, 2008

Day Twenty Two

"You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension: a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, of things and ideas, you've just crossed into... The Twilight Zone."
- Rod Serling -

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Looking in the mirror this morning, I realized I got the haircut equivalent of a bad tattoo while I was in Mexico. And I wasn't even drunk. No problemo. It'll grow back.

I left the Eleven Inn at 10:00, wondering if the checkout time was 11:00, and pedaled to the convenience store where I bought a very dry turkey and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I washed it down with some chocolate milk, then bought some Gatorade for the road.

I've been riding on I-10, on and off, since the Esperanza Truck Stop shortly after leaving Cecil’s house. I really dislike riding on the interstate, but out here in West Texas my options are limited… there are no alternate routes. Fortunately, the shoulder, although cluttered with debris, is wide enough for me to stay far away from the vehicles blasting past me at 85+ miles per hour.

It's also becoming more level and straight.

I received a text message from Klaus this morning: "I am having donuts in Fort Davis. Yesterday hard ride but great landscape. Wilderness. Slept in the wild. Cheers."

The wind today was like an post-adolescent boy on a date: calm and cool at first, but hot, heavy, and in your face by the end.

I was rolling along nicely at first, propelled by a nice tailwind, and I averaged almost 15 miles an hour.

After a couple of hours I calculated how long it would take me to get to Fort Stockton... one and a half hours.

Then the wind shifted. The pedaling became less easy. My average speed dropped. Then it shifted again and became more of a side headwind. An hour later I recalculated how long it would take me to get to Fort Stockton... one and a half hours.

The wind shifted to a headwind. Pedaling became even harder. My average speed dropped. An hour later I recalculated how long it would take me to get to Fort Stockton... one and a half hours.

I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone.

My speed continued to drop: 11 miles an hour... 8-9... 7... 6... 5... Now I was in first gear.

One and a half hours.

I pulled in to a rest stop and took this picture.

During the last ten miles of the day, my knee started hurting again.

I was really glad to see the giant roadrunner. Fort Stockton is famous for it.

When I was within sight of my hotel, I met another bicyclist, 28-year-old Mike O'Connor. He started in Florida and is heading West. He's had some great tailwinds which enabled him to do more than a hundred miles a day a couple of times. He was near New Orleans when Hurricane Ike hit, resulting in a postponed tour and a bus back to Florida. He returned a week later to resume his trip. We chatted on the side of the road, but I forgot to take his picture.

Fortunately for my knee, tomorrow is an off day. I have plans, so I can't really call it a rest day. I lived in Texas most of my life, yet never made it to Big Bend National Park. I've heard it's beautiful, and worth going to, but if you look at it on a map it's not on the way to ANYwhere. Before starting this trip I decided to rent a car and spend a day driving around inside the park.

As luck would have it (mine), Jim Reid, a friend from Munday, where I used to work, has also been wanting to see it so he spent five hours in a car today and met me in Fort Stockton.

He pulled up to the motel just as I finished checking in.

I did some laundry and spent a couple of hours uploading pictures, then we went to Pizza Hut so I could "carb load."

Oh yeah, I'm not riding tomorrow so I didn’t really need to. Oh, well.

We'll be getting an early start tomorrow so I went to bed early.

The shipping date for my computer was delayed for the third time. Grrrrrrrr......

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distance: 54.1 miles
cumulative: 1105.3 miles

Today's ride: 54 miles (87 km)
Total: 1,105 miles (1,778 km)

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George Hall"The wind today was like an post-adolescent boy on a date: calm and cool at first, but hot, heavy, and in your face by the end. " An apt description assuming my memories from a half century ago are correct - great writing!
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2 months ago

Mark BinghamTo George HallIf I recall, the Southern Tier is on your list of possibilities. Having ridden it, I suggest an East-to-West direction. I had very few days without a headwind.

Thanks for reading and for the comments!
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2 months ago