Day 10: Slept In

So, after my ordeal with the hail storm and Texas farm hands, I had a hard time getting to sleep early enough to get started at my usual 5-6am start time. So I slept in. I ‘thought’ it would be no big deal because I had a short 50 plus mile day. I got up around 8am and took Zander for a morning walk. We saw all the damage from the hail storm and Zander found a swing set on the camp ground we were staying at (we had a ‘cabin’ which was advertised as a luxury suite but turned out to be a cramped hotel room with a concrete floor shower.) Zander enjoyed the swing and I enjoyed the time I spent with him. Later I helped Stephanie pack the car and sent her up to the McDonald Observatory for the 11am tour as I finally hit the road. The elevation on the map showed a mostly downhill day. It seemed like a lot of rolling hills, a lot of climbing, and a few fun downhills. I actually enjoy the rolling hills more than the flat days, but it slows me down a bit.

As I enter the historic town of Alpine, I notice my front tire is low on air pressure – almost flat. I had only just received cell service as I entered town and my sister called. We talked for 15 or 20 mins as I rode through town. I knew there was a bike shop in town and I wanted to get tire liners before I changed the tube on my front tire so I could avoid all the flats I’ve been having. I asked a couple of locals and got different directions to the bike shop – none of which were correct. I tried to call Stephanie to have her check the map which tells us the phone number of the shop (I only had a copy of the day’s panels which doesn’t have that info) but she wasn’t in cell range. I changed the tube, pulled out the metal hair that has become a recurring theme, and headed out of town.

The highlight of the day was a large bird (we called them chicken hawks growing up, but I’m not sure what kind of bird it really was) standing in the middle of the road. I was about 500 yards away, when it stretched out its wings for what looked like a four foot wing span and just stood there letting the wind blow through its feathers. After about 10 seconds or so, it took two large flaps of its wings and was several feet off the ground – very cool to watch, sorry I wasn’t able to get any pictures.I had 56 miles for the day. That night we stayed in a small hotel called the Gage Inn, in a town called Marathon, TX. We met a family of four on vacation by the pool. They were friendly and inquired about our trip. I didn’t get their names, but I did tell them about the blog – so maybe they will check in. She was pregnant and due close to the same time as Stephanie.

Day 11: Regret Not Finding Bike Shop in Alpine

As we went to bed, I noticed my front tire was flat again! I figured I must have missed a thorn or metal splinter when I changed the tube yesterday. I pulled the tire off, washed it with a rag, looking for and finding three metal splinters in the rubber. I also put air in both the tube that went flat that morning and the tube that went flat after I changed it so I could find all the holes and patch them. I patched both tubes and put my bike back together. I got up at 4am to notice that my front tire was flat AGAIN!!!

I changed the tube with the spare I patched the night before (my last spare) and went back to bed for an hour. At five, the tire was still inflated but I had no spare. If I headed out now, with no cell service and no spare, a flat would leave me stranded for who knows how long. I decide to sleep in, get up with Stephanie, help her pack the car, and head back to the bike shop 30 miles back. We get there about 10:30am and buy a couple of extra tubes (including a thorn resistant tube), two ‘stop-flats’ tire liners, and a couple of CO2 canisters. Stephanie drops me back off at the hotel and I hit the road while she takes Zander to the local library. Not much to tell about the days trip other than it was slow going, mostly flat roads, and the views didn’t change much. At the end of the day I had 55 miles and I never got a flat. I did change the tubes that night to install the tire liners and the thorn resistant tube – I even said “That should stop the flats for the rest of the trip”. Famous last words…

We ate at a local eatery called Paddy’s Pub. Paddy was a heavy set, busy, and friendly. They were out of everything – no hamburgers, no chicken fried stake, no fries, they were even out of diet coke. Finally we asked her what they had left. I had a turkey club and Stephanie had a Ruben. Zander was able to get Paddy to make a hamburger on white bread (apparently they were out of buns, not burger).

Day 12: Fatigue Sets In, Early Finish Line

I was supposed to go 80 plus miles today and then 30 plus miles on Thursday. I got a bright idea – why stay in a hotel on Wednesday night? If we are only 30 miles away, we could just drive the last 30 miles to stay with family on Wednesday – Stephanie could drive me back out on Thursday and avoid a whole day of packing and unpacking. Stephanie liked the idea and Jeremy said it was no problem, so that was the plan.

I got started at 7am – the sun doesn’t come up until 7 am in Texas. The elevations for the day were mostly flat (1000 foot drop over 100 miles) but there were a few rolling hills, with a couple of steep climbs. After 20 miles, I broke a spoke. I was still in good spirits and I figured I would just keep pushing forward. Stephanie caught up at about 30 miles and I took a break. It wasn’t too hot, but the humidity was over 80% so I was soaking wet with sweat. After a few minutes, I went to get back on the bike and guess what — I had a flat! Not only did I have a flat, I had a flat on the back tire where I put the thorn resistant tube and the tire liner! I was ready to quit, but Stephanie encouraged me. I calmed down and replaced the tube. The culprit was a thorn so big it looked like a nail – and it went right through the liner and the tube.

Stephanie agreed to meet me at match line about 20 miles up. It was slow going, I had a hard time moving my legs. I realized that I hadn’t given my legs a break in several days and many of the days were plagued with mechanical problems. I was just plain beat. When I finally met Stephanie at match line I had gone about 48 miles for the day. I took a 30 minute break and hit the road again. I didn’t get far. I left Stephanie at the crest of a hill and thought I would enjoy the down hill ride after my break. I had a hard time getting the bike to move – I have gone down similar hills at 25-40 mph, but I couldn’t get the bike above 10 mph! I don’t know if it was just low moral or that my legs just needed a day of rest, but either way after just two miles (just breaking the 50 mile mark) I was done.

Stephanie likes to let me get a little ahead of her after a break so she can ride by and wave before heading on to the next pit stop. When she came by to wave, I waved her down, loaded the bike on the car, and we drove the rest of the way in.

Seeing Jeremy was awesome and I got to get in a flight simulator to fly the T-6! I did a couple of barrel rolls, a loop, and a crash into the runway on landing. So it looks like my 1000 mile bike tour has ended with 735 miles and a crash landing! It was a lot of fun, I have a wicked cycling tan, a lot of pictures, memories, and stories! I’m sure the pictures aren’t great, but the memories are, and the stories will get better with time!!!

After I got the flat fixed and Stephanie headed back to the cabin, I was fighting a 5-10 mph headwind. Not that big of a deal really, it just slows you down a bit – until the wind picked up to 15-20 mph headwinds! Now I’m fighting to keep the bike upright and moving forward. I was going between 4-6 mph and I felt like I was climbing a 20% incline! After four hours on the road, I had only traveled 20 miles. I was ready to quit, but Stephanie was right there to encourage me to keep pushing forward (actually, I was ready to quit 2 hours into it but Stephanie wasn’t right there, she was packing the cabin up and so I had no choice, but then she got there, she made sure I knew that I had no choice!)

When I got to Kent, TX about 30 miles from Van Horn (where we stayed the night) I needed a break. It was already 12:30 local time so Stephanie and I had some lunch (PB&J sandwiches). After an hour or so the wind had died down and I continued up the road. Now I had already been climbing for the last 30 miles (its a steady incline from Van Horn to just outside of Fort Davis – after the pass its all downhill to Del Rio), but the real climb started here at Kent. For the next four hours I was pulling myself up this mountain. I stopped for a break at matchline (my route is divided up into panels, and at the end of each panel is a line that matches up with the next panel). Stephanie was there waiting for me so I took my break in the air conditioned car. When I got out to get going again – I had my second flat of the day. No problem – by now I’m pretty good at changing tubes out on my bike! I searched the tread to find the metal hair I mentioned, pulled it out and replaced the tube. Back on the road.

By now, Stephanie was worried about check in. Our cell phones stopped working as we got into the mountain and in some of these small towns, if you down check in before too late, the hotel staff have gone to bed for the night and you aren’t getting checked in at all. It was already 6pm local time but the temperature had cooled down, my legs had warmed up to the climbing and I wanted to keep going for the 40 miles I had left. I knew that would put me at the hotel after 10pm but how proud I would be if I could pedal all the way up this hill without aid! Stephanie took off over the hill with a promise to check on me in a couple of hours.

On my own and determined, I pushed forward. Then I noticed rain clouds behind me. I wasn’t too worried about getting rained on, but there was a lot of thunder and lighting and that had me concerned. I pushed myself harder to stay ahead of the storm. I had gone another 10 miles since Stephanie left me but I still had 30 miles ahead of me and I was thinking this storm was catching up and I wouldn’t mind if Stephanie picked me up right about now. I rounded a corner just passing the 60 mile mark when I saw one of the trucks that had passed me earlier stopped beside the road with two farm hand cowboys leaning against it.

“Howdy! You got a big a** hill to climb ahead of ya.” they called out

“Yeah” I was winded

“I don’t reckon I’ld want to climb that hill but I sure wouldn’t do it in a hail storm”

Did he just say hail? Ok, now I’m worried.

“We’ll give you a ride if you want”

I wanted to push on, but my better sense took over – “I think I’ll take you up on that”

Its hard to describe the next 30 min drive with these two Texas cowboys, but after seven beers between the two of them, a few cigarettes and a hail storm so bad it looked like it had snowed, we were in town. There was some banter there as well. They asked why I was riding a bicycle over a mountain and when I told them I wanted to see the world so I started in West Texas and was finishing in East Texas (my best attempt at Texas humor) they asked if I was writing a book. I said no (but I did think of the blog). They ignored my no response and promptly asked that I not put their names in any book I was writing because they were wanted in 58 states (yes, they said 58). After a hardy laugh the driver said of the other cowboy – “He’s wanted for everything from drugs to kidnapping bike riders!”

A minor set back, but I was back up and running in no time, but when you lose a spoke, your tire gets loop-sided and begins to rub against the breaks. So I unhitched the rear break – a trick I only just learned a week before the D-Tour started. Now I’m riding with front brakes only. I know you might be thinking about when you were a kid and riding your bike as fast as you could and grabbed the front brake only to fly over the handle bars, right? Well, maybe that was just me. Anyway, at three-hundred pounds, I would have to be moving a lot faster than I can petal to throw me over the bars. Still, I have to be cautious.

Then about 10 miles down the road, after I had just merged onto I-10, I heard a metal clanging at that same back tire. My first thought was ‘great another broken spoke” but then I realized it was something worse – a metal hanger had punctured my tire and was rapping through my bike as the wheel turned. I came to a stop and heard the hissing of the air leaving the tube. I pulled the hanger out and the tire quickly went flat. No problem, I had a spare tube and the correct tool to remove the tire. It took about 20 mins, but I was able to get the new tube on the tire and inflate the tire with my new CO2 canister. I was proud of myself as I have never changed a tire by myself before – the last time I had a flat, a guy stopped to help – and I needed his help, because I had no idea what I was doing. Anyway, I was back on the road and feeling great.

Stephanie called me at 10:30 am local time. She hit the road and headed to met me. I had already made it through the climbs and was feeling great. She caught up with me at 11:30 and I had gone 60 miles. I had less than 20 miles left and we had already booked a cabin at the KOA in Van Horn so I was looking forward to the pool. I took a break and got in the car. While I was sitting there, a truck came by so fast that the wind he caused blew my bike over. I didn’t think much of it until I started to head back out after the break – my computer wasn’t calculating my speed or distance. Cadence worked ok, so I knew the computer was working, but without speed or distance, I can’t know how far I’ve gotten and I can’t report back to you guys my days results. After inspection, I noticed that when the bike fell over, the computer was jarred and the cable was pulled loose, exposing the wires. I wasn’t able to fix it. This was a big deal.

The nearest bike shop in front of us was over a 100 miles away. The nearest bike shop behind us was over 100 miles away. We called the bike shop in front of us, but they didn’t answer. We called the bike shop behind us – they answered and they had the computer in stock. We put the bike on the car and headed back to El Paso. The trip took several hours but I was able to get the computer fixed, the spoke replaced, the wheel trued up, a replacement tube, and an all in one tool kit.

Now don’t think I was ready to quit for the day. I still had almost 20 miles of road to finish. That’s right – I drove right back to the spot where the computer broke and hit the pedals. We ‘thought’ I was going to roll into the KOA at 8pm which isn’t as great as the 1pm that I would have rolled in, but the pool closes at 10pm so I thought 2 hours is plenty. Wait for it… Wait for it… that’s right – Time Zone change – its not 8pm, its 9pm!!!

Well, the pool felt great and so did finishing the day without putting the bike on the car (not counting the repair trip). In all, I got 77 1/2 miles today – that’s every mile from last nights motel to tonights KOA cabin! WooHooo! It felt great to complete a day with climbing. Tomorrow is the real test – about 90 miles with a lot of climbing. Its made even harder with the time zone change – I lost an hour of sleep time.

Until tomorrow – I’ll see you down the road!

Angie’s was quaint and the food was great, but the service was like all small town life – Friendly but SLOW. After lunch we took a nap at the motel, then headed back over for dinner – the slow service would have likely kept us away from a second meal, but it’s a small town – and like the motel and gas station, this restaurant was the ‘only show in town’. I’m glad we went back because the chicken fried stake was excellent as the sign outside promised it would be.

Tomorrow is going to be long and tough. Its an 80 plus mile day with a lot of climbing. I went 85 miles on day 6, but it was a lot of downhill, unlike tomorrow. We’ll see how that turns out. For the first half of this trip, I put my bike on the car everyday for at least some part of the trip — either too much climbing or I ran out of time. Day 6 and 7, the bike was never on the car – I rode the bike from starting point to stopping point without assistance from my ‘support staff’. I’m hoping to make that a theme for the rest of the trip, but 80 plus miles and a couple of thousand feet of climbing tomorrow may prove too much.

Wish me luck!

Anyway, I knew going into this that I wasn’t going to roll into Del Rio with 1000 miles on the bike. I’m going to be happy with whatever the final number turns out to be. I mean, how could I not — I rode my bicycle 85 miles today! I’m having a blast, my legs are stronger than ever, I feel great, and although its a wicked farmers tan, I am getting dark. I only need to work on the tall and hansom part…

The day started great – there was a climb but it wasn’t too much to bear and then there was a lot of down hill. The first 20 miles were great — then I turned off highway 70 to follow the main route around lake san carlos. The road was bearly paved and full of holes — I had a very difficult time over the next 30 miles. There was no cell service, so I couldn’t even call Stephanie to come get me. I thought I broke a spoke on my tire twice, but luckly I did not. After all was said and done, I only got 50 miles on the bike today. I was not happy with the days results.

Stephanie and I found a great camp site next to a lake. We pitched the tent, and went to the lake to cool off. Its dark now and Zander refused to go to the bathroom while we were in town. He asked to go, so I get in the car with him and drive the quater mile to the restrooms where … he doesn’t go. I get him back in the tent and he promptly says – I have to go ukkies!

Day 3 will be better… right?

Day 3: Much better — saddle sores and all

Ok, Day 2 was bad, but day 3 was great – mostly. It started much more difficult than I had imaged it would. Zander was up most of the night and that kept Stephanie up which kept me up – not to mention we were sleeping on the ground in a tent. There was a large group at the camp site as well and they partied all night long (at least until 1am when I started to fall asleep). Needless to say, I didn’t get a great nights sleep. I haven’t been eating breakfast either. Not a great start to the day.

Anyway, I start in at about 5:15am. The first ten miles are sluggish, but I figured it was because of no sleep. The next ten were harder, but I had started climbing so I knew they would be tough. The next ten were neverending! I did meet Craig – another cyclist headed in the other direction on the same route. He was nice enought to stop and chat for a minute or two. Anyway, I couldn’t make the bike move! I was going 6-8 miles an hour. Stephanie caught up with me and offered to take me to the top of the hill. I know some of you are thinking, ‘hey – that’s cheating!’ — so what!

The top of that hill was actually only another couple of miles, but after I rode my bike to the base of that hill, I was at the bottom of another large climb. I enjoyed the 40 mile per hour downhill run, and I enjoyed putting my bike back on the car at the bottom of that hill so that Stephanie could take me to the top of the next one! It was five miles of straight climbing. Once there, Stephanie and I both took a nap in the car (Zander was already sleeping). That nap was about two hours long.

I got up at about 1pm knowing that I had only gone 30 miles so far. So I took the bike down, told Stephanie to go ahead of me and get a place for us to stay for the night, and I headed down the mountain. I had a great 10 minute right down until I was climbing again. Then we hit New Mexico and I was in rolling hills for 15 miles. I had more down hill today than uphill, but the day was not without its share of climbs – despite the fact that Stephanie helped me past the biggest climb of the trip so far.

In all I went 83 miles today. Tomorrow I only need to go about 75 to get where we are staying, but I have the highest point tomorrow at 8300 ft above sea level. Not sure if I am going to make up that hill by myself, but I’m going to try. Until next time, I’ll see you down the road.

Day 4: New Mexico

Today I went 80 miles exactly. The first 30 miles were all uphill – well, actually it was rolling hills, with more up than down. I enjoy the rolling hills because it give me a reward for all the climbing as I go along. The climbing on day one had no such reward. After the rolling hills, I was at the base of the *real* climbing. I didn’t get more than a couple of miles before Stephanie bailed me out and took me to the top of my 8300-ft-above-sea-level climb about 10 miles further. Again – you may be thinking I’m cheating – I am, but how many miles did you ride your bike today?

Well, she let me out at the pass (top of the climb) and I started the decent. I had to ride my break a lot more than I wanted to, because there were a lot of sharp curves with 30-100ft drops if you miss the turn. I was still above the speed limit for most of the decent. Before you start thinking, hey anyone can ride a bike down hill for 80 miles — it was only about 10 miles to the bottom of the mountain. Then I was back into rolling hills — only this time it was more down than up. Still a lot of climbing.

I took a break in the middle of the day, which turned out to be a mistake. The wind starting picking up and I was facing strong head winds for the last 20 miles. I had a hard time keeping the bike above 8 miles an hour.

After I finished my 80 – we checked into a Bed and Breakfast – a first for both Stephanie and me.

Day 5: Day of rest

It wasn’t originally planned to be my day off, but things change. My legs feel good, but I need to stretch them out today as much as possible. Tomorrow, I have 80 miles ahead of me and we hit Texas.

Started: Glendale – 1300 ft
Finished: Superior – 2800 ft
Day 1 -
Travled 80.5 miles
Climbed over 2000 ft in all – most of which were in the last 10 miles

I started at 5:30am from my house. I got 500 ft from the house and had to turn around — I forgot my shades! Then it was all business – I was averaging 13-15 miles an hour for the first few hours – there was no traffic, it was cool (only 70 degrees) and I was excited.

I told Stephanie last night that I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve – I hardly slept. We were able to get the bike tuned up before I left and Stephanie and I both picked up new cell phones. My new phone is also an MP3 player, so I can listen to my tunes and still hear when Stephanie calls me. I also purchased a new pannier for the handle bars, so I have a place to put the map, extra water, my phone, my wallet, and anything else I needed. Between the phone and the pannier, I was riding in luxury.

Meanwhile at the home front – Stephanie was stuck packing the car and making sure we had everything we need for the trip. At the same time, she was dealing with Zander and running last minute errands. I think I had the better deal. It wasn’t all roses for me however. I was on the bike for a total of 7 hours 45 minutes today. While I averaged almost 13 miles an hour for the first 5 1/2 hours covering 70 miles of road, the last 10 miles took the other 2 hours and 45 minutes!!! I had steep climbs for the last ten miles and although there were a few downhills in the middle, I was so tired from the climbing that I could barely move my legs to pick up any speed on the downhills.

Anyway, today was different than the rest of the trip in that I had a lot of climbing at the end of a long day. This put the tough part of my days ride after I had already gone 70 miles and during the hottest part of the day. Anyway, I really enjoyed Day One. We are likely staying at camp sites for the next couple of nights, so until next time…

As for work – I’ve spent all week transitioning my projects to other engineers, but there is much work left undone that I’m pretty certain will become a huge mess by the time I get back. It seems all the projects I have were dragging their feet on timelines until they heard I was leaving for two weeks – now everything is due while I’m gone!

But despite all of that – I’m excited! Tomorrow I plan to hit the road at 4:30am (just before sunrise). I head down to Tempe, then across Mesa, on to Apache Junction. From there it gets rough. I have a long stretch of nothing but busy highway road, then steep climbs up to Superior and on to Miami/Globe. I won’t make it all the way for several reasons – namely its over a 100 miles and the last 40 miles are all climbing in the heat of the day. So, at 2pm no matter where I am on that mountain, Stephanie is picking me up and we drive the rest of the way to Globe. We found a $40 a night hotel the last time we were there that we plan to stay at. The next day is a 90 mile day, with three big climbs but a good amount of descents as well.

This is likely my last post for a few days, but I will keep notes and post when I can. See you on the other side!

I can tell you that we have two days planned where Stephanie will be picking me up and taking me to that night’s destination (the first day is one of them!). We are staying at camp sites for much of the trip, however we do have a few motels planned and one bed and breakfast. I start riding most days by 6am and I am completely done for the day by 2pm.

I’m very excited and I think Stephanie is actually getting a little excited as well. I know she will be excited when its over. If all goes as planned, we will be in Del Rio by Thursday morning June 7th.

I left the house today at 5:30am – I had a blast! It was cooler and I stayed in the canals for over 20 miles. I jumped out of the canals and headed up cave creek rd. I stopped after 30 miles for a short break. I had steady inclines for over five miles – but no real climbs. I was really having a lot of fun. Then it happened- my bike starting riding funny, pulling to the right. I look down and you know it – my front tire was flat. I was completely in the middle of nowhere! I had pasted a gas station like 8 miles back and I knew there was nothing for over 10 miles in front of me. I wasn’t bright enough to carry a spare tube or the tire tool I needed to change my tire, so I called Stephanie.

After walking over 3 miles (I wasn’t going to just sit there by the side of the road to wait) a guy in a truck pulls over and asks if I need help. I told him “Thank you” but said my wife was on her way. He replied, “Are you sure? I have everything you need right here in the truck, tubes, pumps – I’m on my way to a race.” I said “Wow, thanks”. Stephanie pulled up while we were changing the tire. She forgot the tire tool – but brought the replacement tube and pump. This kind gentleman only had road tubes – I needed a hybrid tube, so we used his tools to open the tire, and my tube to fix the flat.

It was getting hot – the temp was hitting 105, but I still felt good, so I opted to stay on the road despite my wife’s requests to join her for lunch. About ten miles later – you guessed it – another flat, this time I had picked up a nail in the back tire. I had Stephanie pick me up this time. I realized a couple of things on this trip today:

• Take all the tools you need to fix a flat
• Leave early in morning and get my riding done by noon

I still can’t believe I had two flats in one ride…