One good thing about being on the road at this time was the ability to vote by absentee ballot. What a wonderfully easy way to exercise this important right and responsibility!!! We didn't have a TV last night but we'll be watching tonight for sure! By the time some read this, the next POTUS might already be determined!
The most difficult part of this journey is being away from family and friends. Thankfully, all of the technology that is available to us makes the distance seem less. Having Face Time sessions and phone chats and getting texts from our children, grandsons and friends lets us know that we are not forgotten and supported on this crazy ride.
Miss you all!
I rarely post photos from the evening prior to a ride but
I wanted to share just a few pix of last night!
Cheers! I decided that I prefer the original
Margarita over a Pickly Pear one and I was
reminded that I am a cheap date!
Here your chance to win a logo tee shirt!
Our son-in-law suggested a contest to come up
with a caption for this photo! Give it your
best shot either as a comment on the blog or
send them to me at lynnhirsch@yahoo.com!
Should be fun and I'll share the the answers
in tomorrow's blog! Guest judges will be
making the final decision :)
The grand entrance to our room for last night.
The biggest issue we have faced on the ride since leaving Phoenix is flat tires. Glenn has been saying that he's going for the Guinness record for the most flat tires in the shortest amount of time! This has been a constant worry and frustration. Yesterday, Glenn got a flat 1/2 mile from the hotel and used his last tube. This is a huge problem since there are NO bicycle shops anywhere around us!!! We were afraid to use Amazon Prime since the shipping date could change and we aren't at the same hotel two nights in a row. When I couldn't sleep at 3:30 AM, I looked up what might be the closest city with bike shops. San Antonio was the answer. I spent 45 minutes calling numerous bike shops until I found Michael at Gotta Ride Bikes. He had the tires and tubes we needed and was willing to ship them - next day by 10:30 delivery - to our Del Rio hotel. He even comped the tubes because he felt so badly about the cost of shipping and thought that our cause was worthwhile :) Happily, the tires survived the ride today from Marathon to Dryden. Whew! Tomorrow morning we wait for the delivery!
Living, as we do, directly above a railroad track, this scene
wasn't unusual for us but this train had a very loud
horn that sounded when it passed the crossing....even during the
night! We did enjoy the graffiti on the cars as they sped past.
It was a cool, cloudy morning.
Glenn took off at 8:15 hoping
that his last tube in his tire remained
inflated today. The route was all
on 90 East so the navigation was easy!
After making arrangements for the delivery of
new tires and tubes to Del Rio, I departed the hotel
at around 10:30. It was still cloudy and cool but
with no traffic, I was able to make up lots of
time to catch up to Glenn.
I made sure to get a few shots despite the rush to meet
up with Glenn in Sanderson.
Met up with Glenn at this point and he pointed me toward
this gas station. Notice that I had cows watching
me pump gas! Thanks to Phlash Phelps for the
advise to get gas wherever I see it!
In Dryden, Glenn hopped in the car for the 101 mile
drive to Del Rio. You can see below how it is that we
are not staying in this area!
One key to making this a successful trip is the ability to be flexible. We learned in Hillsboro, that we don't necessarily have to stay at a place where we have made a reservation. Tonight we were to stay in the town of Sanderson at a motel which had worried me since I booked it. So....we cancelled it and have moved up all of our other reservations to adjust! We drove from Dryden to Del Rio after Glenn's ride and avoided a potential Bates Motel!
By the way, bed bugs in some of our accommodations had been a concern of mine before we left home so we came prepared. In REI, we found these cotton cocoons used by campers which were sprayed with permethrin, an insecticide (non toxic for humans) that should kill bed bugs on contact. We tried our purchase out at one of the hotels. Interesting concept. We surely would have needed to use them in Sanderson even if just for peace of mind!
A horse just roaming in Sanderson.
No fence, no barn, no rider
A stiff wind here on the road to Dryden.
We were riding very close to the Mexican
border again and we saw a number of Border
Patrol and State Police vehicles speeding
up the road with their lights spinning.
There was excitement somewhere but no
one was bothered by us today!
Each time I met up with Glenn today, we were glad that use
of the satellite phone wasn't necessary during that segment.
We did, however, have to use it once! No cell service and
I was a little late in getting to Sanderson so in this case
Glenn was worried because he couldn't reach me.
Obviously, it's usually me who is the worrier!
I pulled in to look at this Historic Marker to get off the road to
wait to pick Glenn up. I decided that I wouldn't
look "suspicious" to the border patrol at this location!
The scenery changed dramatically on the drive between
Dryden and Del Rio. The flat terrain made for a rather
monotonous drive but we enjoyed views of the Pecos River and
the Amistad Reservoir. We covered the distance in a little over an
hour by car but this would have taken 5 hours on the bike!
Cliff diving anyone?
When entering Del Rio to check in
for the night, we noticed signs for
Amistad National Recreation area.
No time to explore but seems like
a great resource for the area.
One thing that I meant to mention earlier is the fact that I don't think many drivers in Texas use the Waze GPS App. I have been directed to closed roads, traffic jams and I don't see any other "little wazers" on my map. Any of you Texans are welcome to weigh in on this.
Today's Stats
You should write a book of all of your adventures. We all feel like we are riding along with you but from the comfort of our couches.
ReplyDeleteYou are both an inspiration to us all!!!
Caption: "I've seen better heads on a nickel beer"
ReplyDelete