March 28th, 2013 Friday
Today was one of those perfect bicycling days that reminded me and everyone else who rode what fun it can be without sandstorms or wind or dramatic climbs and sudden drops. We had breakfast at Indian Lodge created by the chef and then l bicycled off with a few of the riders around 8:30 a.m. The directions today were simple - stay on the road to Alpine TX and then turn left towards Marathon TX for a total of 60 miles. The two highways were both quiet. The first had more ups and downs than the second but they were all doable, and we had fabulous open views of rolling scrub with cactus and distant uneven hills and low mountains. The air was cool, about 60 degrees, and there was a cloud cover so no burning sun.
I was riding with Helen and we decided to stop in Alpine for a snack. The first place we saw was the Bakery & Donut Shop so we went in and he gave us two small donuts for one, a cappuccino and her coffee for about $5 altogether. Such a deal. We both laughed at how we eat at home and avoid sugar and candies and here we are, so hungry we can scarf down two donuts without hesitation.
Then we drove on into Marathon, a small one-street town with an enormous old hotel, which once belonged to the wealthy banker from San Antonio who built it and used it to entertain his friends. It's in pink adobe, with outdoor courtyards and shaded piazzas, and inside there is a high ceilinged lobby with a stuffed mountain lion, and stuffed elk or deer heads on the walls, old fashioned prints and paintings and heavy wooden western furniture. Upstairs, where I am there are rooms off a long corridor. No. 9. the Badlands, has a big iron double bed, old prints on the wall, a big wooden table, and black and white cowskin mats on the floor and on the low sofa. The bathroom had a big shower in white and black tiles, and a tile floor. It is a most imposing place and has a restaurant but we are not eating there.
Our two guides are in a small house adjoining the property with a walled garden, and that's where we had lasagna, garlic bread, and salad for dinner, sitting outside on our plastic chairs, sipping wine and laughing about the day. Those of us on the second floor of the hotel left our bikes there too so we didn't have to drag them up the 20 narrow stairs and down again.
When I first got in, - that was about 1:30 p.m. - I had a shower and went for a walk. I found a bookstore - yay - and of course bought a book, the biography of Johnny Cash's daughter Rosanne, which I had heard of and was interested in reading. I also bought some postcards and then wandered down to the Post Office - very small - for some stamps, and to the French Grocery which was like a 7-11 but was called the French Grocery because a family called French once owned. Now the owner is a tall striking looking woman from Slovakia who lived in Austin TX for 20 years but decided it was too big a city, so came to Marathon leaving her three grown children there now that they had finished college. She made me a cup of Turkish coffee, and I bought a cookie, and I sat outside at a picnic table in the shade and sipped my coffee and watched the customers who drove up and went in and came back with soft drinks or bags with things in, or nothing at all. It was hot and sunny and extraordinarily quiet.
The occasional long long train goes through the town on tracks parallel to the main street and that makes a noise. I walked down to the second hand stores - nothing really interesting - and also peeked into the dress boutique with an odd mixture of high-priced fashion and western gear. The Bakery was shut, as was the art gallery.
Somehow I missed the hotel swimming pool, where some of the others went to swim in the fairly cool water. But I sat outside in the courtyard and listened to the birds and breathed soft air and the faint smell of wisteria and felt very peaceful and relaxed.
Tomorrow we have 54 miles to Sanderson TX and another simple day. WHen the route map is only half a page, you know it's not complicated. Everyone made it in today, doing as much or as little as they wanted to ride, and we have an 8 a.m. breakfast call,
Friday, March 29, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Texas Roads Are Bad for Biking
Thursday March 28, 2013 Day Off
A day off in a beautiful part of the world, in a lovely old-style adobe lodge, with a fabulous restaurant right here in the peace and quiet of Fort Davis State Park is just about perfect. I am in The Lobby as they call the meeting room with heavy old wooden tables and chairs, huge treetrunks as support posts to hold up the wooden ceiling, varnished brown wood and gleaming wood floors, all built by the hundreds of Civilian Conservation Corps men whose group photos are hung along the wall in old black and white prints that remind me of my girls school photos with 700 plus girls neatly lined up and uniformed.
Yesterday I set off to ride as much as I could on a long 90 miles day. The first part alongside I-10 on a wide shoulder was fine - ups and downs and distant views of low mountains, and a nice Sag stop for a snack and filling up our water at Exit 156. The next twenty miles were also fine and I was beginning to think this might be my big day when we turned off on a side road for lunch, this time prepared by our Super Chef Linda at a picnic spot. The road suddenly turned from smooth to bumpy and I was introduced to the notorious Texas Chipseal which is NOT asphalt or anything nice and smooth, but a mess of uneven gravel in stuff that makes riding it like riding over marbles embedded in cement. It's really hard to pedal, it's bumpy so you bike is rumbling and it makes everything very sloooooww. I finally made the 8 miles uphill to lunch - and decided to van the rest. As did most of the others so we had a full van and a load of bikes on top. When we realized two more were stuck, the Subaru Sag went back to pick them up and we waited and relaxed at a picnic area by the Sag stop.
The last part of the ride - the Really Hilly Part up and down serpentine bends - had great views but big climbs. 10 women finished - and the rest of us cheered them on. Amazing.
We arrived at this beautiful adobe lodge and registered. I have a big shady room with a view of the mountains and the sky, heavy carved wooden carved furniture including a desk and chair in an alcove, a fireplace (not working) and a lovely bed with extra blankets for the cool nights. The buildings slope down the hillside, and the restaurant, run by Super Chef Connie Cornett, is just amazing. We had a wonderful dinner last night, a five choice fresh buffet breakfast this morning for which we had to pay, and most of us plan to eat here tonight and not go the four miles into the small town. I got up today at about 8:30 a.m. which is about the time we're usually out on the road,
It's in the 60s but the pool is closed. For me, just hanging out is fine.
Javelinas are around. These are small black pigs that eat vegetation and are part of the ecology of this area. They are about the size of a beagle, look like pigs, snort and root around, and stay in their family groups and don't like people. I took a photo of some in the parking lot - which is apparently their favorite hangout, and no, they do not make good pets.
For me, riding and visiting exploring is an enormously satisfying way of life because it is so simple. I have two books I am reading - one about the copper mines in Santa Rita AZ which is really interesting, and one I started on the plane about traveling in Arab countries - and my mind is having a hard time finishing them. I do have a crossword puzzle book and that is fun to do in the evening. People are sharing books but I don't need another one yet.
We talk a lot and share our lives about our families, and our children and our grandchildren. Two women are expecting grandchildren in the near future. We are becoming a large family of women, and know each other's personalities and quirks, and love the bicycling and are challenged by it.
I am looking forward to meeting my granddaughter and her fiancé in Bastrop Texas near Austin where they live. They plan to drive down because it's only an hour's drive away and it will be lovely to see them, since I don't see them often when I'm in Boulder. And now I am thinking about an afternoon nap.
A day off in a beautiful part of the world, in a lovely old-style adobe lodge, with a fabulous restaurant right here in the peace and quiet of Fort Davis State Park is just about perfect. I am in The Lobby as they call the meeting room with heavy old wooden tables and chairs, huge treetrunks as support posts to hold up the wooden ceiling, varnished brown wood and gleaming wood floors, all built by the hundreds of Civilian Conservation Corps men whose group photos are hung along the wall in old black and white prints that remind me of my girls school photos with 700 plus girls neatly lined up and uniformed.
Yesterday I set off to ride as much as I could on a long 90 miles day. The first part alongside I-10 on a wide shoulder was fine - ups and downs and distant views of low mountains, and a nice Sag stop for a snack and filling up our water at Exit 156. The next twenty miles were also fine and I was beginning to think this might be my big day when we turned off on a side road for lunch, this time prepared by our Super Chef Linda at a picnic spot. The road suddenly turned from smooth to bumpy and I was introduced to the notorious Texas Chipseal which is NOT asphalt or anything nice and smooth, but a mess of uneven gravel in stuff that makes riding it like riding over marbles embedded in cement. It's really hard to pedal, it's bumpy so you bike is rumbling and it makes everything very sloooooww. I finally made the 8 miles uphill to lunch - and decided to van the rest. As did most of the others so we had a full van and a load of bikes on top. When we realized two more were stuck, the Subaru Sag went back to pick them up and we waited and relaxed at a picnic area by the Sag stop.
The last part of the ride - the Really Hilly Part up and down serpentine bends - had great views but big climbs. 10 women finished - and the rest of us cheered them on. Amazing.
We arrived at this beautiful adobe lodge and registered. I have a big shady room with a view of the mountains and the sky, heavy carved wooden carved furniture including a desk and chair in an alcove, a fireplace (not working) and a lovely bed with extra blankets for the cool nights. The buildings slope down the hillside, and the restaurant, run by Super Chef Connie Cornett, is just amazing. We had a wonderful dinner last night, a five choice fresh buffet breakfast this morning for which we had to pay, and most of us plan to eat here tonight and not go the four miles into the small town. I got up today at about 8:30 a.m. which is about the time we're usually out on the road,
It's in the 60s but the pool is closed. For me, just hanging out is fine.
Javelinas are around. These are small black pigs that eat vegetation and are part of the ecology of this area. They are about the size of a beagle, look like pigs, snort and root around, and stay in their family groups and don't like people. I took a photo of some in the parking lot - which is apparently their favorite hangout, and no, they do not make good pets.
For me, riding and visiting exploring is an enormously satisfying way of life because it is so simple. I have two books I am reading - one about the copper mines in Santa Rita AZ which is really interesting, and one I started on the plane about traveling in Arab countries - and my mind is having a hard time finishing them. I do have a crossword puzzle book and that is fun to do in the evening. People are sharing books but I don't need another one yet.
We talk a lot and share our lives about our families, and our children and our grandchildren. Two women are expecting grandchildren in the near future. We are becoming a large family of women, and know each other's personalities and quirks, and love the bicycling and are challenged by it.
I am looking forward to meeting my granddaughter and her fiancé in Bastrop Texas near Austin where they live. They plan to drive down because it's only an hour's drive away and it will be lovely to see them, since I don't see them often when I'm in Boulder. And now I am thinking about an afternoon nap.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Birthday, Views and More Wind
It's a windy windy place is Texas
Last night at dinner we had Linda's chicken tetrazzini and a chocolate cake to celebrate Dolly's birthday - one of the most accomplished riders in the group. She told us she's 65 and that she spent yesterday riding around the El Paso area where her parents lived and where her mother, who lived to be 100, is buried and she visited the cemetery - all on her bicycle, a round trip of about 68 miles. We sang "Happy Birthday" and celebrated as it got colder and colder - and then ran to bed.
This is an unusual cold spell - with winds from the east, not the westerlies that are supposed to blow us along the road. In the morning I put on all the warmth I had - four layers - and warm gloves and long riding pants and my headband under my helmet - and set off at 8 a.m. to do a really long 78 mile ride to Van Horn in Texas. A group of us set off happily down the road and took a right and then a left - and the wind began slowly, steadily, and cold-ly if there was such a word. Generally everyone passes me early on and I pedal on steadily. So this happened, and then there were four others ahead struggling as I was up the hills and down the dales while the wind blew hard, fierce and cold. After about 10 miles at a pace of about 6 miles an hour I worked out that to cover 78 miles I would need to keep pedaling for 78 divided by 6 which made it 13 hours and Really Late AND we had to put our clocks forward an hour because we're in a different time zone.
At 20 miles and panting we found the Sag Wagon and because there were so many ready to stop, they called the van and picked us up and we joined those who had decided not to ride at all. The rest of the bicyclist we saw as we drove along and there were some more pickups. BUT the Ride with the Wolves group were splendid and though they didn't get in until the afternoon, they did the Whole Thing with the wind, cold and distance. Now we're sitting outside, waiting for dinner, and wondering what tomorrow will bring.
In case you're wondering about Texas, it is cold, windy, and though there are blue skies, I'm in jeans, a turtleneck and a fleece. Not quite ready for boots but who knows......
Last night at dinner we had Linda's chicken tetrazzini and a chocolate cake to celebrate Dolly's birthday - one of the most accomplished riders in the group. She told us she's 65 and that she spent yesterday riding around the El Paso area where her parents lived and where her mother, who lived to be 100, is buried and she visited the cemetery - all on her bicycle, a round trip of about 68 miles. We sang "Happy Birthday" and celebrated as it got colder and colder - and then ran to bed.
This is an unusual cold spell - with winds from the east, not the westerlies that are supposed to blow us along the road. In the morning I put on all the warmth I had - four layers - and warm gloves and long riding pants and my headband under my helmet - and set off at 8 a.m. to do a really long 78 mile ride to Van Horn in Texas. A group of us set off happily down the road and took a right and then a left - and the wind began slowly, steadily, and cold-ly if there was such a word. Generally everyone passes me early on and I pedal on steadily. So this happened, and then there were four others ahead struggling as I was up the hills and down the dales while the wind blew hard, fierce and cold. After about 10 miles at a pace of about 6 miles an hour I worked out that to cover 78 miles I would need to keep pedaling for 78 divided by 6 which made it 13 hours and Really Late AND we had to put our clocks forward an hour because we're in a different time zone.
At 20 miles and panting we found the Sag Wagon and because there were so many ready to stop, they called the van and picked us up and we joined those who had decided not to ride at all. The rest of the bicyclist we saw as we drove along and there were some more pickups. BUT the Ride with the Wolves group were splendid and though they didn't get in until the afternoon, they did the Whole Thing with the wind, cold and distance. Now we're sitting outside, waiting for dinner, and wondering what tomorrow will bring.
In case you're wondering about Texas, it is cold, windy, and though there are blue skies, I'm in jeans, a turtleneck and a fleece. Not quite ready for boots but who knows......
Monday, March 25, 2013
Fighting the wind for 47 miles!
"An easy ride" our leaders promised - yeah right!
Every evening after dinner which Super Chef Linda cooks and serves, the Superstar Bike Mechanic Carol hands out our cue sheets for riding the next day and tells us something about the ride. This one she promised was quite short - 47 miles - since we had a long day coming up - and did not have too many features (which is our code word for hills) - and she urged us to stop at the old Missions on the Mission Trail on the way, and enjoy pie in Angie's Restaurant at the end. "Take your time" were here words.
Ahhhh - the wind! That same wind which had drenched us in dirty sand was still lurking around, not at our backs, where it would have been wonderful, but in our faces. I started out hoping to speed along at 12 to15 miles an hour but the wind kept it down to 8, 9 and 10 and was a cold easterly wind I wore my fleece headband and four layers and long pants.
I reached the first Sag stop at 20 miles where our Sag Rider had prepared a plate of cut-up fruit and cookie snacks that looked so appetizing, people took photos of it. I sat in the van to get out of the wind, had some water, apricots and a tangerine, and then set off again.
I didn't want to visit the old Missions, since I'd seen several before in California. I also feel the missionaries were not altogether benign but bullied the locals, did not respect their culture, and never tried to learn their language, and then told them they had to be celibate and give up sex. Not a good idea.
Once I rode out of the traffic of El Paso, much busier on a Monday morning, it was long straight roads through farmlands where people were opening the water systems to flood the wide ditches and later water the fields. The most attractive town was San Elizario with a lovely old Mission style adobe church and small houses and funky stores.
I had been warned that loose dogs are sometimes an issue and today I met three of them. One was a big dog wagging its tail and barking and trying to chase my bike. I used my loudest dog control voice and shouted: "Bad dog! Bad dog! Go home! Bad dog!" on the assumption that every dog knows that "Bad dog!" is not a good thing. Fortunately they did and after a couple of barks ran off. In one yard there were two German shepherds who got very excited but then started barking at each other which was a good diversion. One suggestion was to take a whistle, but apparently dogs like the sound and may follow you. Other suggestions had been to squirt them with water from your water bottle, but there really isn't time for anything but yelling when the dog suddenly appears and starts barking and chasing. For some reason this part of the ride has more rural loose dogs than other places. It all adds to the adventure of being on the road, watching out for the cars, the potholes, the loose gravel, the sand, the sudden dips, and the stop signs.
There was a lunch place recommended in Tornillo but by then I was determined to keep pedaling and get to the end where we had been told Angie's Restaurant served the best home-made pies around. I planned to have two pieces when I arrived. I stopped on the road by three big telegraph poles which sheltered me from the wind, and ate my sandwich (made at the snack table) and an orange and drank more water. I'm learning it's easier for me to keep pedaling than take a long break and have to start again on most days.
One nice sign said: "Texas Mountain Trail" and pointed to a dead flat road - dem's de mountains in Texas. Also a couple of signs said "Road may ice up" and it was hard to believe you could get ice in this dry desert area. Apart from the green fields about to irrigated with water, there is only sand and scrubby plants stretching out on either side of the road, with low hills in the distance.
Bicycling does focus my mind on what I am doing - and it's great to be powering myself. But the wind blowing in my face and on to my bike was a big hindrance - slowing my speed, taking my breath away, and whipped around in sudden gusts.
I arrived at 3 p.m. - a mere 5 1/2 hour ride. Someone waved to me from Angie's so I went over to the restaurant to find I was the fourth person to arrive - and the others were the Dynamic Dynamos who'd already had pie. So I felt very proud of myself. I had apple pie and icecream first, which was truly home-made and delicious, and then a piece of the cherry pie with icrceam too - and some coffee. They tasted fabulous.
I'm in the old-fashioned Fort Hancock Motel in Fort Hancock NM which is about 20 streets and a few closed shops, a gas station and Angie's and very little else. I am on Knox Street - and my room has a sweeping view of the distant low dusty hills, the open swoop of the yell0w-blue sky, the rolling scrub of sand and tufty shrubs and bits of wood and stones. I had a bath - no hot tub or pool - in an old tiled wall bathroom - remember those? - and the fire alarm is hanging loose from the wall, and the alarm clock is permanently stuck at 17:47 whenever that is, and the carpeting has lumpy bumps in it which I hope I will not trip over. And I have a real key for #17 that fits into the lock on the door handle - none of those miniscule bits of plastic to slide in the door and may or may show you the green light and let you in.
Ah - the problems of modern life!.
Every evening after dinner which Super Chef Linda cooks and serves, the Superstar Bike Mechanic Carol hands out our cue sheets for riding the next day and tells us something about the ride. This one she promised was quite short - 47 miles - since we had a long day coming up - and did not have too many features (which is our code word for hills) - and she urged us to stop at the old Missions on the Mission Trail on the way, and enjoy pie in Angie's Restaurant at the end. "Take your time" were here words.
Ahhhh - the wind! That same wind which had drenched us in dirty sand was still lurking around, not at our backs, where it would have been wonderful, but in our faces. I started out hoping to speed along at 12 to15 miles an hour but the wind kept it down to 8, 9 and 10 and was a cold easterly wind I wore my fleece headband and four layers and long pants.
I reached the first Sag stop at 20 miles where our Sag Rider had prepared a plate of cut-up fruit and cookie snacks that looked so appetizing, people took photos of it. I sat in the van to get out of the wind, had some water, apricots and a tangerine, and then set off again.
I didn't want to visit the old Missions, since I'd seen several before in California. I also feel the missionaries were not altogether benign but bullied the locals, did not respect their culture, and never tried to learn their language, and then told them they had to be celibate and give up sex. Not a good idea.
Once I rode out of the traffic of El Paso, much busier on a Monday morning, it was long straight roads through farmlands where people were opening the water systems to flood the wide ditches and later water the fields. The most attractive town was San Elizario with a lovely old Mission style adobe church and small houses and funky stores.
I had been warned that loose dogs are sometimes an issue and today I met three of them. One was a big dog wagging its tail and barking and trying to chase my bike. I used my loudest dog control voice and shouted: "Bad dog! Bad dog! Go home! Bad dog!" on the assumption that every dog knows that "Bad dog!" is not a good thing. Fortunately they did and after a couple of barks ran off. In one yard there were two German shepherds who got very excited but then started barking at each other which was a good diversion. One suggestion was to take a whistle, but apparently dogs like the sound and may follow you. Other suggestions had been to squirt them with water from your water bottle, but there really isn't time for anything but yelling when the dog suddenly appears and starts barking and chasing. For some reason this part of the ride has more rural loose dogs than other places. It all adds to the adventure of being on the road, watching out for the cars, the potholes, the loose gravel, the sand, the sudden dips, and the stop signs.
There was a lunch place recommended in Tornillo but by then I was determined to keep pedaling and get to the end where we had been told Angie's Restaurant served the best home-made pies around. I planned to have two pieces when I arrived. I stopped on the road by three big telegraph poles which sheltered me from the wind, and ate my sandwich (made at the snack table) and an orange and drank more water. I'm learning it's easier for me to keep pedaling than take a long break and have to start again on most days.
One nice sign said: "Texas Mountain Trail" and pointed to a dead flat road - dem's de mountains in Texas. Also a couple of signs said "Road may ice up" and it was hard to believe you could get ice in this dry desert area. Apart from the green fields about to irrigated with water, there is only sand and scrubby plants stretching out on either side of the road, with low hills in the distance.
Bicycling does focus my mind on what I am doing - and it's great to be powering myself. But the wind blowing in my face and on to my bike was a big hindrance - slowing my speed, taking my breath away, and whipped around in sudden gusts.
I arrived at 3 p.m. - a mere 5 1/2 hour ride. Someone waved to me from Angie's so I went over to the restaurant to find I was the fourth person to arrive - and the others were the Dynamic Dynamos who'd already had pie. So I felt very proud of myself. I had apple pie and icecream first, which was truly home-made and delicious, and then a piece of the cherry pie with icrceam too - and some coffee. They tasted fabulous.
I'm in the old-fashioned Fort Hancock Motel in Fort Hancock NM which is about 20 streets and a few closed shops, a gas station and Angie's and very little else. I am on Knox Street - and my room has a sweeping view of the distant low dusty hills, the open swoop of the yell0w-blue sky, the rolling scrub of sand and tufty shrubs and bits of wood and stones. I had a bath - no hot tub or pool - in an old tiled wall bathroom - remember those? - and the fire alarm is hanging loose from the wall, and the alarm clock is permanently stuck at 17:47 whenever that is, and the carpeting has lumpy bumps in it which I hope I will not trip over. And I have a real key for #17 that fits into the lock on the door handle - none of those miniscule bits of plastic to slide in the door and may or may show you the green light and let you in.
Ah - the problems of modern life!.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Cold, wind and a big city
Sunday, March 24. We're all losing track of days and dates and had to be reminded that this was a weekend so less traffic on the road as we came into El Paso. I began with high hopes of another record ride but after the sandstorm, the temperatures plummeted and it was 34 degrees - yes 34 right here in southern New Mexico. I dressed warmly and got my bike ready by cleaning the chain of the sand and grit and pumping my tires. Then I set off along the backroads and quiet highways to San Miguel, and Las Mesa and McNutt Road which are probably not on most maps.
At first it was just cold - so cold my riding partner stopped at a convenience store after five minutes. I though she said she was going to get gum but she actually went in and bought a pair of working gloves to keep her hands from freezing. My fingers were cold and so were my ears but they warmed as we biked past orchards and orchards of mathematically correct rows of bare branched trees, which were pecans. She used to live in this area and explained the they were planted in the 1940s as a crop and were so successful that today this is the major pecan growing and shelling area in the country. We passed a sign for a shelling center, and after the big trees were rows of small trees - the saplings that will be the pecan trees of the future. They dug deep gullies or trenches between the vast orchards so that they can fill with water when it rains in the spring and water the trees. I am sorry we couldn't be there for the blossom which she assured me was spectacular.
These were roads linking small hamlets like San Miguel, a blip as we rode past, and La Mesa, which had a service station. After the trees there were open fields some green with alfalfa, some still bare from the winter. I saw enclosures with some goats and sheep, and some lovely horses. There was also a horse show starting and polo is played a great deal though from a distance it looked like a lot of younger riders warming up their horses before the show, the way I used to in Colorado when I had a lovely horse called Legacy and went to jumping and dressage shows.
As I rode on, the wind was cold and fierce so that it took a lot of effort just to keep moving, and though it was rolling and not too difficult, it wasn't a lot of fun with the cold wind and the low temperatures. By the time I reached the first Sag Wagon stop at 20 miles, I had decided this was enough for today after my Big Effort yesterday. I can do more tomorrow. So three of us decided to load our bikes on the Sag Wagon, and climb inside and unchill.
We waited until all the riders had passed - including all the slower riders. The faster ones zip by and make it all look so easy. Then we sat in the Sag to the next stop where the wind was blowing fiercely and the air was cold even though the sun was out. One rider stopped with a flat tire, which got fixed, and we joked about having hot soup and coffee next time to warm them up.
The ride into El Paso was not fun - because there was a lot of traffic, and one major road was under construction, and others were confusing. However, everyone used their native intelligence and made it back safely with their bikes, in one piece.
At 5:45 p.m. we will have margaritas to celebrate crossing the state line into Texas. This was such a non-event that I am shocked that Texas, of all places, doesn't do more for the tourist. First of all you drive for miles along a concentration-camp type fence which marks the border and goes on for ever. Not a pretty sight. Then there's a bridge across to Mexico, not big, which has a sign on for Mexico. And then you're in the traffic of El Paso. No Welcome to Texas, the Biggest state in the Union. No howdy cowboy - just malls and shops and DIllards and Pier 1 and all the places we know so well, as well as Starbucks and KFC. No photo ops, no moments of 'wow', no welcome, just traffic.
We also saw helicopters flying over border country and Border Patrol vehicles, which did not look welcoming, while all the Mexican people we met in stores were perfectly kind and helpful to us. I must ask our New Zealand, Canadian, and Scottish riders how they felt about it - yes, we are a wonderfully international group.
Tomorrow we go on to Fort Hancock, TX and I have no idea what that's like - but it will be a new adventure. I'm getting quite used to the hotels and signing on with different passwords, and finding out what switch works what like. The pool and hot tub here weren't open yet because it's not summer yet, but there's free coffee in the breakfast room and there are washing machines. I think I'll wait one more day - no sweat today, it was tooooo cold.
At first it was just cold - so cold my riding partner stopped at a convenience store after five minutes. I though she said she was going to get gum but she actually went in and bought a pair of working gloves to keep her hands from freezing. My fingers were cold and so were my ears but they warmed as we biked past orchards and orchards of mathematically correct rows of bare branched trees, which were pecans. She used to live in this area and explained the they were planted in the 1940s as a crop and were so successful that today this is the major pecan growing and shelling area in the country. We passed a sign for a shelling center, and after the big trees were rows of small trees - the saplings that will be the pecan trees of the future. They dug deep gullies or trenches between the vast orchards so that they can fill with water when it rains in the spring and water the trees. I am sorry we couldn't be there for the blossom which she assured me was spectacular.
These were roads linking small hamlets like San Miguel, a blip as we rode past, and La Mesa, which had a service station. After the trees there were open fields some green with alfalfa, some still bare from the winter. I saw enclosures with some goats and sheep, and some lovely horses. There was also a horse show starting and polo is played a great deal though from a distance it looked like a lot of younger riders warming up their horses before the show, the way I used to in Colorado when I had a lovely horse called Legacy and went to jumping and dressage shows.
As I rode on, the wind was cold and fierce so that it took a lot of effort just to keep moving, and though it was rolling and not too difficult, it wasn't a lot of fun with the cold wind and the low temperatures. By the time I reached the first Sag Wagon stop at 20 miles, I had decided this was enough for today after my Big Effort yesterday. I can do more tomorrow. So three of us decided to load our bikes on the Sag Wagon, and climb inside and unchill.
We waited until all the riders had passed - including all the slower riders. The faster ones zip by and make it all look so easy. Then we sat in the Sag to the next stop where the wind was blowing fiercely and the air was cold even though the sun was out. One rider stopped with a flat tire, which got fixed, and we joked about having hot soup and coffee next time to warm them up.
The ride into El Paso was not fun - because there was a lot of traffic, and one major road was under construction, and others were confusing. However, everyone used their native intelligence and made it back safely with their bikes, in one piece.
At 5:45 p.m. we will have margaritas to celebrate crossing the state line into Texas. This was such a non-event that I am shocked that Texas, of all places, doesn't do more for the tourist. First of all you drive for miles along a concentration-camp type fence which marks the border and goes on for ever. Not a pretty sight. Then there's a bridge across to Mexico, not big, which has a sign on for Mexico. And then you're in the traffic of El Paso. No Welcome to Texas, the Biggest state in the Union. No howdy cowboy - just malls and shops and DIllards and Pier 1 and all the places we know so well, as well as Starbucks and KFC. No photo ops, no moments of 'wow', no welcome, just traffic.
We also saw helicopters flying over border country and Border Patrol vehicles, which did not look welcoming, while all the Mexican people we met in stores were perfectly kind and helpful to us. I must ask our New Zealand, Canadian, and Scottish riders how they felt about it - yes, we are a wonderfully international group.
Tomorrow we go on to Fort Hancock, TX and I have no idea what that's like - but it will be a new adventure. I'm getting quite used to the hotels and signing on with different passwords, and finding out what switch works what like. The pool and hot tub here weren't open yet because it's not summer yet, but there's free coffee in the breakfast room and there are washing machines. I think I'll wait one more day - no sweat today, it was tooooo cold.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Saturday March 23, 2013
A long and successful bike ride day
Today I rode 88 miles from Kingston NM in the mountains downhill and uphill to Las Cruces NM further south. It was a ride of mountains and distant vistas at first, then a wind came up and began blowing at me from different directions. When it was at my back, I was doing almost 20 mph without much effort. When it blew from the front, I did 8 or 10 mph with a lot of pedaling. Then it veered round and began blowing wildly from the side, whipping up quantities of brown earth and sand, which is what New Mexcio, and blowing it horizontally across the highway.
Sometimes the cloud of dust and sand was so thick you couldn't even see half a mile down the road, which is always a bit scary. However, for me, wind is easier to deal with than hills, so I wrapped my yellow cotton kerchief around my face and pedaled on as best I could, trying to avoid being blow off my bicycle at sudden unexpected guests.
Along the way, there were farms, open land, small towns, a few cars and an air of places that time and prosperity had forgotten. I saw a farm with goats in pen, several beautiful horses standing in bare pastures gazing out because there is no grass to eat, and some sheep in a field with grass. Three of the riders swear they saw a camel standing in a field. Could be. It's ideal weather and country for camels who don't need much food or water.
I was riding with Judi, who rides about my speed, and we did it in 20 mile segments. The first Sag wagon stop we filled our water bottles, decided we felt fine, and rode on another 20 miles. We still felt fine and so we did another 20 and there was only 28 more to do. We rode on - and that was when the wind kicked in. But we both rode on and finished in good time - and felt very proud of our accomplishment since a few riders had to be rescued from the wind.
I have a room at the Days Inn, and it has extra plugs for computers and they give you the number to sign on to the Internet with your key. Times have changed! They allowed Linda to serve dinner in their breakfast room because it was way too windy to eat outside in the parking lot. It's a nice big room, and I took a bath to ease out the aches and a shower to wash my hair. The more dedicated among us have cleaned their bikes but I think I'll do that in the morning. Or wait till we get to the bike store in El Paso our next destination, about 68 miles away.
There's a Walmart next door which a couple of dedicated shoppers rushed over to see but since I now have extra toothpaste and a stronger lip protector, I am fine.
Every evening, Linda whips up dinner for 30 and tonight we had poached fish, an excellent and unusual salad, and quinoa to eat - plus chocolate brownies for dessert. IT was delicious and filling and she is most conscious of balanced diets and healthy foods and chooses the menus to keep us going for the next day's biking.
Tomorrow we cross the state line into Texas - so it's margarita time. And then we'll be in Texas for three weeks - Texas is Big. Last night four of us sang "The eyes of Texas are upon you" and find all the words online and I'm sure we'll find some occasion to practice that in our time there. I first heard that at my grand-daughter's graduation from UT Austin and I waggled my fingers with the brest of them. It is a distinctly memorable song. And so to bed, as Samuel Pepys used to write at the end of his lengthy diary entries.
Today I rode 88 miles from Kingston NM in the mountains downhill and uphill to Las Cruces NM further south. It was a ride of mountains and distant vistas at first, then a wind came up and began blowing at me from different directions. When it was at my back, I was doing almost 20 mph without much effort. When it blew from the front, I did 8 or 10 mph with a lot of pedaling. Then it veered round and began blowing wildly from the side, whipping up quantities of brown earth and sand, which is what New Mexcio, and blowing it horizontally across the highway.
Sometimes the cloud of dust and sand was so thick you couldn't even see half a mile down the road, which is always a bit scary. However, for me, wind is easier to deal with than hills, so I wrapped my yellow cotton kerchief around my face and pedaled on as best I could, trying to avoid being blow off my bicycle at sudden unexpected guests.
Along the way, there were farms, open land, small towns, a few cars and an air of places that time and prosperity had forgotten. I saw a farm with goats in pen, several beautiful horses standing in bare pastures gazing out because there is no grass to eat, and some sheep in a field with grass. Three of the riders swear they saw a camel standing in a field. Could be. It's ideal weather and country for camels who don't need much food or water.
I was riding with Judi, who rides about my speed, and we did it in 20 mile segments. The first Sag wagon stop we filled our water bottles, decided we felt fine, and rode on another 20 miles. We still felt fine and so we did another 20 and there was only 28 more to do. We rode on - and that was when the wind kicked in. But we both rode on and finished in good time - and felt very proud of our accomplishment since a few riders had to be rescued from the wind.
I have a room at the Days Inn, and it has extra plugs for computers and they give you the number to sign on to the Internet with your key. Times have changed! They allowed Linda to serve dinner in their breakfast room because it was way too windy to eat outside in the parking lot. It's a nice big room, and I took a bath to ease out the aches and a shower to wash my hair. The more dedicated among us have cleaned their bikes but I think I'll do that in the morning. Or wait till we get to the bike store in El Paso our next destination, about 68 miles away.
There's a Walmart next door which a couple of dedicated shoppers rushed over to see but since I now have extra toothpaste and a stronger lip protector, I am fine.
Every evening, Linda whips up dinner for 30 and tonight we had poached fish, an excellent and unusual salad, and quinoa to eat - plus chocolate brownies for dessert. IT was delicious and filling and she is most conscious of balanced diets and healthy foods and chooses the menus to keep us going for the next day's biking.
Tomorrow we cross the state line into Texas - so it's margarita time. And then we'll be in Texas for three weeks - Texas is Big. Last night four of us sang "The eyes of Texas are upon you" and find all the words online and I'm sure we'll find some occasion to practice that in our time there. I first heard that at my grand-daughter's graduation from UT Austin and I waggled my fingers with the brest of them. It is a distinctly memorable song. And so to bed, as Samuel Pepys used to write at the end of his lengthy diary entries.
Friday, March 22, 2013
In New Mexico
Notes on where I am Friday May 22
This morning I left Silver City to climb over Emory Pass to the 20-person town of Kingston. Once Silver City was the center of silver mining but some 200 years ago, they discovered copper, and for the past 200 years copper has been mined first by the Spanish, then by Native Americans, and then by American companies. As you drive out of the city, there are gigantic hills of pilings and winding roads between them and the serrated piles of tailings from the mines creating mountains of corrugated looking hills. It is a long history and I just bought a book from a second hand store with all the details - b ut haven't had time to read it yet.
Then we climbed up past the scrub and the first evergreen trees we have seen in a while and suddenly we were in Colorado country - or so it felt - with rolling pine tree covered hills and valleys - but no pine beetles. They hadn't heard of them. It felt like going to Estes Park in a van from Boulder, because this was a day I didn't want to do 8,000 feet so I rode the first 10 miles and then got into the van.
The road wound round in the typical hairpin bends - no traffic and no bike shoulder to ride - to the top. We stopped and walked the half mile to the spectacular view from the pass and took photos. Then we drove down another series of hair pin bends to our fabulous lodging for the night.
I'm at the Black Range Lodge in Kingston, a bed and breakfast built first in the 1800s and added on to over the years. There is a hot tub - yes - and Catherine the owner, and her husband Garry, who gives massages, and their assistant, Bonnie are wonderful Western folk who make us all feel so much at home. I have a beautiful little corner room upstairs where I am sitting on the big bed now, looking out at the view and hoping to see the stars tonight. It has a tiny bathroom and shower, and a balcony where I hung my swimsuit to dry. As we drove in there was a sign inviting us to join the "Spit and Whittle Club" for its weekly meetings but I haven't got there yet. The trees are still bare because it's still early spring, but one pink cherry tree is opening its blossoms.
When I went for a stroll up the road to the Gila Park trails, I crossed a little rushing stream on stepping stones and wandered under the evergreens, rustling in the wind.
Yes, I took photos but my Iphone says "no service" for some reason. I will try and download them later. Catherine is cooking us a big turkey dinner and we are all scattered around the big house and in the livingroom downstairs.
Tomorrow the hills are lower and I plan to ride the 88 miles to Las Cruces if I can....We shall see. Then we get to Texas where we spend three weeks - that's how big Texas is!
This morning I left Silver City to climb over Emory Pass to the 20-person town of Kingston. Once Silver City was the center of silver mining but some 200 years ago, they discovered copper, and for the past 200 years copper has been mined first by the Spanish, then by Native Americans, and then by American companies. As you drive out of the city, there are gigantic hills of pilings and winding roads between them and the serrated piles of tailings from the mines creating mountains of corrugated looking hills. It is a long history and I just bought a book from a second hand store with all the details - b ut haven't had time to read it yet.
Then we climbed up past the scrub and the first evergreen trees we have seen in a while and suddenly we were in Colorado country - or so it felt - with rolling pine tree covered hills and valleys - but no pine beetles. They hadn't heard of them. It felt like going to Estes Park in a van from Boulder, because this was a day I didn't want to do 8,000 feet so I rode the first 10 miles and then got into the van.
The road wound round in the typical hairpin bends - no traffic and no bike shoulder to ride - to the top. We stopped and walked the half mile to the spectacular view from the pass and took photos. Then we drove down another series of hair pin bends to our fabulous lodging for the night.
I'm at the Black Range Lodge in Kingston, a bed and breakfast built first in the 1800s and added on to over the years. There is a hot tub - yes - and Catherine the owner, and her husband Garry, who gives massages, and their assistant, Bonnie are wonderful Western folk who make us all feel so much at home. I have a beautiful little corner room upstairs where I am sitting on the big bed now, looking out at the view and hoping to see the stars tonight. It has a tiny bathroom and shower, and a balcony where I hung my swimsuit to dry. As we drove in there was a sign inviting us to join the "Spit and Whittle Club" for its weekly meetings but I haven't got there yet. The trees are still bare because it's still early spring, but one pink cherry tree is opening its blossoms.
When I went for a stroll up the road to the Gila Park trails, I crossed a little rushing stream on stepping stones and wandered under the evergreens, rustling in the wind.
Yes, I took photos but my Iphone says "no service" for some reason. I will try and download them later. Catherine is cooking us a big turkey dinner and we are all scattered around the big house and in the livingroom downstairs.
Tomorrow the hills are lower and I plan to ride the 88 miles to Las Cruces if I can....We shall see. Then we get to Texas where we spend three weeks - that's how big Texas is!
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