Week 31 :: TandemWOW

Week 31

26 Jan 2020
Mark

Day 211

Saturday 25th January 2020

Sierra Blanca to Valentine.

We had lost an hours sleep having passed over the time line into central time - as a result it was a massive effort to get out of bed.

We finally did - then roads works stopped us getting onto our route and we had to double back. After a couple of false starts we made it onto the right road heading up hill to Van Horn.

We reached the top of the hill and the mountains stretched out in front for a dramatic descent into Van Horn. We arrived and headed for coffee and pizza (all the staples). We chatted to a guy, who lived in Russia, working in the space station in Houston. We watched a guy come into the cafe carrying a pistol - which seems to be the norm here.

We set off again along Highway 90 towards Marfa and the Big Bend National Park. The scenery was stunning - a massive expanse of desert and mountains as a back drop.

We stopped to camp at an RV Park - the sun was just going down as we pitched the tent. We’ve just been offered breakfast in the morning by the owners of the site - so all is good. Looking forward to an early night!

Day 212

Sunday 26th January 2020

Valantine to Alpine.

Your body looses a lot of heat keeping your bladder (or it’s contents) warm - this gave me an opportunity in the night to look at the stars - which were amazing. As there was very little light pollution- the Milky Way was visible - it was fabulous.

That said - it was freezing - In spite of being in a sleeping bag plus down jacket and two layers of merino I was cold - so cold it was hard to sleep. Raz was fine - hot flushes can come in handy.

The morning finally came and the dawn was still cold. We packed up the tent. Manny, the owner of the RV Park, drove over to see how we were doing. We cycled to Manny’s house - our hands were freezing just riding the 400 metres. We met Smoky - who put the heater on and let us use the shower. It was so good to warm up. Smoky said - you could have stayed here last night - but as you’d set up the tent I thought I’d leave you (i would have been happy to abandon the tent).

Smoky cooked us a fantastic breakfast which we ate having said grace - Texan style. We chatted about our trip, Harry, (previously known as the Prince), and other stuff. We could happily have stayed all morning - but we set off on route to Marfa.

We continued to climb for most of the morning. The scenery continues to be stunning as we travel along Highway 90. There’s not much traffic which gives us time to enjoy the desert and gaze at the mountains in the distance.

We stopped in Marfa for lunch chatting with a group of guys from San Antonio who had been riding in the Big Band National Park - which they said was fantastic. They also said how cold it had been last night (so it wasn’t just me).

We carried onto Alpine getting closer to the mountains as we descended into the town. A shorter day’s riding today - so an extra hour or so off the bike to adjust to the hour change and get our washing done.

We are in a 24/7 American diner - Penny’s - planning tomorrow’s route.

Day 213

Monday 27th January 2020

Alpine to Sanderson.

It was with some trepidation that we headed back to the diner where we had eventually eaten the night before. We had waited ages for our food - and when it finally arrived it wasn’t great.

We thought - at least it will be a different waiter and a different chef. It was the same waiter - our hearts sank. Eventually he came over - after going over our order several times he headed off - he forgot to bring us coffee . Raz, normally diplomatic said - we don’t want to be here for eternity. When breakfast eventually arrived my order was wrong, Raz’s order was incomplete, the oatmeal was cold and we had no cutlery. Other than that - it was fine. All that said - someone did pick up our bill - so that was lovely. We also chatted to a guy who had ridden in Vietnam- all was good - and we didn’t spend eternity in the diner (just an hour or so waiting for breakfast to arrive).

We set off heading towards Marathon where we found a lovely upmarket cafe selling good coffee - the best since California. We lingered eating banana bread then headed off. We had a bit more climbing before a 30 mile descent into Sanderson.

The scenery was wonderful- the road was lined with the type of mountains you see in cowboy movies. We saw Antelope and wild bore. The descent was fantastic - more stunning desert scenery.

We arrived in Sanderson early. It is incredibly run down. There are no cafes or restaurants. The only place open was a garage - we managed to get a can of beans and tuna for dinner.

We are staying in the Budget Motel - we were offered a snack tray upon arrival with biscuits all past their sell by dates - that kind of sums up the town - it’s sad to see.

Day 214

Tuesday 28th January 2020

Sanderson to Del Rio.

We worked out that the mileage between cafes/ restaurants in this area was 142 miles. We woke up with 87 miles to ride to the next cafe. Our breakfast therefore consisted of a piece of apple pie in a box - plus chocolate, banana and energy bars.

We set off as the sun was rising - the plan was to ride to Del Rio almost 120 miles away.

The wind was incredibly strong - mainly behind us but sometimes nearly blowing us off the bike - with cross winds buffeting us as we rode.

We were still riding across the desert - the scenery was similar to the Nullabore in Australia - scrub land as far as we could see. It has a beauty and remoteness which is almost hypnotic as the miles stack up.

We passed through a couple of towns - they were incredibly run down. No one seemed to live there. It looked like at one stage there had been shops and cafes - but the signs were faded and most of the buildings were derelict.

We saw a few trailers where presumably some people still lived - but that was about it.

We stopped at a gas station - it sold soda and a few chocolate bars. The man who ran it appeared to have throat cancer - he had to hold his throat in order to speak - it came out in a rasp.

Alice was also blown over in the wind (she was fine having thrown herself down on a bag) - and my gloves blew away.

We finally made it to Comstock about 87 miles into the ride where we found a bar and ate. The food was great.

We had already had one puncture- we noticed at the bar that we had the second puncture of the day. There are tiny spiky plants which line the side of the road. If you ride over one - that’s it - puncture (mostly you can’t see them).

We continued our journey to Del Rio crossing the Rio Grande and passing the spectacular Walk Lake - the first water we had seen for sometime.

We finally arrived in Del Rio stopping at a nice motel where the owner works with Mexican orphans. Long day in the saddle - but a fantastic day of riding.

Day 215

Wednesday 29th January 2020

Del Rio to Uvalde.

We had a more leisurely start this morning knowing that today we didn’t have to cycle 120 miles - in fact we were heading to Uvalde half way to San Antonio a relatively short ride for us.

We had breakfast at the motel - the owner had bought us a box of PG tips - which was lovely (- nothing to do with chimpanzees riding tandems I hope - (happy to provide a translation for this cryptic comment)).

The motel was used by many cancer survivors who want to access alternative treatments which are available in Mexico (we are still close to the border).

We set off - heading east. We passed lots of ranches - definitely Texan style. The land is mainly scrub land - so not much to see apart from the many red tailed hawks sitting in the trees lining our route.

We stopped for lunch in a cafe with antelope antlers on the ceiling. The local Sheriff cane in with his revolver and Stetson - we chatted to him and the people sitting with him who asked whether we were carrying our own revolver.

We went through border control again - the endless search for illegal immigrants. We arrived in Uvalde and found a Starbucks - luxury.

Lisette LaFortune has very generously and kindly paid for our motel room for tonight - which is lovely and a real treat - a massive thanks for the southern hospitality.

Also today was one of my best friend’s birthdays- Happy Birthday Rick Locker - played London’s Calling by the Clash - the coolest first single ever.

Day 216

Thursday 30th January 2020

Uvalde to San Antonio.

We woke to a cold day. The wind had also shifted and was coming straight at us .

After doing battle with the waffle machine - we set off taking a side road away from the now busy Highway 90 and crossing through farm land. It was hard work - windy and cold. We did however see some fantastic birds of prey - and sadly a dead armadillo.

Eventually we rejoined the 90 and went in search of coffee in Sabinal - where we met the lovely Carol who ran a gift shop - she made us coffee to warm us up. We lingered chatting to Carol about her daughter’s podcast, gun law and the controversial Wall!

We galvanised ourselves to carry on - tragically we saw two deer killed by a truck right in front of us and ironically as we passed a whole series of taxidermists.

We stopped for pizza and found a famous bakery - the Alsatian bakery - where we stocked up on coconut macaroons.

We noticed again that many of the places we passed are run down - shops are closed and borded up. People do seem to be moving away from border towns.

Eventually we arrived in San Antonio where we met the lovely and incredibly generous Lisette who bought us dinner and told us about her father who figured out Stonehenge in the 1960s and her relatives and friends in the UK. It was wonderful to meet her.

Day 217

Friday 31st January 2020

San Antonio to Gonzales.

Our motel was next to Lackland Air Force Base - and the latest recruits were having their passing out parade today, (apparently all Air Force recruits do their basic training here). The motel was full of friends and family looking forward to the parade and determined to have a hearty breakfast first. Breakfast was therefore, a bit busy - everyone determined (including us) to eat their fill.

Raz amidst the chaos attempted again to make the perfect waffle - but failed miserably - there’s always tomorrow.

Anyway we set off cycling through downtown San Antonio, (much of which has seen better days), in search of a bike shop - (we were later told we shouldn’t have cycled through this area - but it felt fine). We said hi to the homeless people many of whom waved. We saw one homeless guy standing outside a very grand hotel - with his life in a shopping cart - it was a real juxtaposition.

We headed north and found a bike shop where we stocked up on inner tubes after our puncture fest in the desert. We found a fantastic coffee shop and lingered drinking two expressos each. Slightly spaced out on caffeine - we ended up on the service road along side the Interstate 10 as we headed out of town.

We found a Mexican restaurant- which appeared to be full of Mexicans in that everyone spoke Spanish and looked Mexican - before rejoining Highway 90 which was much quieter as we headed towards Gonzales past farmland and ranches.