My first day without a flat, and an all around solid day left me with a good feeling in my stomach last night. As much as Texas and west Texas has been a pain in the butt it has been worth it. The winds of change are blowing and I hope they are in my direction.
When I got on the road today I was smiling for a change. I was actually happy to be out riding. The road was not chip seal and there was no wind to speak of. Really I had no complaints. For the first time in a long time my legs felt above 70% and my eyes were not tempted to shut until about halfway through the ride which is odd.
Things kept getting better because the wind was behind me. I had to stop because I thought I was loosing my mind. This was the first tailwind I have had since Mississippi about 1000 miles away. The miles were ticking by and I paced my rest stop with easy so I pushed back where I was going to snack to the next town.
When I got to said town I decided to take a few back roads because a stranger gave me a tip it would be faster. I took the tips and was spat out on the road I wanted to be on, but I got on the road past all the shops so I could not top up water or food. I had a tailwind though nothing could stop me I was simply going to push it off to the homestead 15 miles away.
Well you guessed it no water or food in this place. Oddly though it had a school. This school was new and fairly big but was surrounded by nothing. Within eyesight there was not a building. This did not bode well for me because I was out of water and the next town which was supposed to be my rest stop for the day (now my lunch stop) was 20 miles away.
I had a tailwind nothing could stop me I was making it to my lunch stop no questions asked. I made it in good time because I kicked up my pace and was stoked when I completed 132km before noon. Now in Brownfield I was on the hunt for food. This was a more difficult then anticipated challenge because the only place around was in an unmarked building. They offered a special of catfish or fried chicken. I figured that if they could not afford letters for the exterior of the building they probably could not afford good catfish, so chicken was the choice.
After a quick bite I was on the road and now traveling west. This meant one thing a wicked crosswind. My sleep point was 20 miles away and it was slow going. Then it happened. My front tire, which is one day old started to act up. 1 flat, checked the running surface nothing. 2nd flat, again nothing upon detailed inspection and checking of the rim. 3rd flat, threw my bike on the ground and used my last tube. When that went flat I was stranded again. Texas was not letting me leave without getting one last kick at the can. Luckily my eyes didn’t start to act up because this all happened in the middle of cotton fields.
Within 15 mins a nice man by the of Charles Rhodes who is a law enforcement officer for the u.s.d.a. stopped. I asked to get taken to the next town and he gladly obliged and we were off down the road. We get to the town and it is a ghost town. 90% of the building were boarded up and abandoned. He asked if I wanted to go to the next town and I said “sure”. The next town was more of the same. This meant that my rest stop for the day was going to be in Roswell, which is actually good because it meant that I could get a few new tubes.
It was very pleasant getting to know Charles. I find it amazing how open people are to strangers. I find it amazing that someone you have known for 2 minutes you feel comfortable telling you life story to. It is actually an honour to hear these stories because it takes your mind off of whatever is bothering you.
That distraction cant last forever. I was brought back to reality when I had to spend another 30 mins checkin my tire and still nothing. Feeling confident I am not going tog et a flat for at least another 70 miles I looked at my map. This is when my frustration turned to depression. Looking at the map the next rides are just going to be ruthless. I have a 100 mile mountain range tomorrow, then 200 miles of flat, then another 200 mile mountain range that has a solid 100 mile gap with nothing. I thought Texas was going to be the hump state but the whole rest of the trip is going to be brutal. 1000 miles to go till I hit the ocean.
Roswell is a mess; all of New Mexico has been this way. There is 0 reason to ever come here for any reason whatsoever. It’s hot, bad looking, and has vast spaces of nothing.
Trip Distance: 151km
Ride Time: 6:38hr
Avg. Speed: 22:75km/h
Total Distance: 14760km
Total Ride Time: 683hr
Destination: Roswell, New Mexico
This has to be one of the lowest points of the trip I am struggling.
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Man is this getting madding,attempt #3!I keep hitting the wrong key and losing everthing. Anyways here I go once more.Ev I know from some of my past trips on the bike [when I was about your age] that the southwest has a whole lot of nothing out there so be extra carefull.It was not one of my favorite places, that said I must say their is something almost surreal being out there with the whole world it seems to yourself.I sometimes almost felt like I was sliding back in time,like a high plains drifter,it sounds corny I know but true. Igot back last week from my own road trip,5 days/5340kmhs.It was the wierdest trip I've ever been on! Something goofy happened everyday,it sure made things intreting. Going on a road trip has to one of the most enjoyable things that I can think of,Ifound some great new roads that Iwill be going back to,the country/colours were amazing!I know I'll never stop riding,you get such a sense of freedom,its worth more than most people know.Anyhow Ev the days ahead of you are going to be tough and may seem not worth it but you have to cross it to get where you want to be both phyiscally/mentally[sounds like bs but isn't]so good luck/be safe. Dad
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