Saturday, November 5, 2016

Blowing in the Wind!











                                                          




The theme of today's ride was "Blowing in the Wind".
Glenn estimates that the wind was blowing at a steady 20 mph with
higher gusts.  How does he know this, you ask?

Estimating Wind Speed With Only a Flag using the Beaufort Method 

  • Find a flag blowing in the wind. This method requires no math but more of a subjective reading. The Beaufort Method uses a heavy flag, which are large flags found at military bases or weather stations.  Observe how it reacts to the wind. If the flag is not moving at all, the wind speed is below 11 mph.   If it flaps lightly and sporadically the wind is blowing at around 12 to 18 mph. If the flag is flapping over the whole length of the flag, it is blowing at around 19 to 24 mph. If it is partially extended and flaps quickly, the wind speed is 25 to 31 mph. A fully extended flag flapping hard in the wind will be around 32 to 37 mph. It’s not possible to use a flag to measure any higher as the flag will react in the same way, even with harsher winds.  Glenn uses this method whenever he can find a flag :)


Whatever the wind speed was, it was 
blowing and in the wrong direction!



We departed El Paso at 8 AM heading to 
Fort Hancock, TX  which was to be our 
starting point for today.  Along I-10
we saw some very decorative road bridges.






Much nicer design than Spaghetti Junction in Atlanta!














Railroad crossing in Fort Hancock.
  That was about the most excitement to be had in this sleepy town! One notable piece of trivia is that Fort Hancock High School competes in  six man football and between 1986 and 1992, their team—The Mustangs—competed six times in the state championship, winning five (one streak lasted four years). Mustang Stadium in Fort Hancock has a capacity of 800. 
I know Texans love their Friday Night Lights!





The ride got off to an inauspicious start with yet another 
flat tire on the bike as Glenn took it out of the car.
After inserting TWO more tubes, he was successful and
day's ride to Van Horn, TX began at 10:45 AM.













 Ready to Roll!




I followed the small roads that Glenn would ride just in case more flat tire issues arose. He had no problems but I was glad that I chose that route.   Interesting sights and experiences!






I could see Mexico from my car window!

I missed my opportunity but there were 
signs about "Port of Entry" and Border Patrol too!

Just the field seen here separated the road I drove
and the Mexican Border. Glad I brought our passports!











First meet up with Glenn....All was well!








If you look closely, you can see that the road
is call Farm Road 192



 I could certainly see why it was named that way!


































 Why did the cows cross the road?
To amuse me!








Luckily, there was no water on the road here today.
We did, however, see on the news last night that areas
in El Paso had terrible flooding and hail during the storm.
We were very fortunate to be in a high and dry part of town.








Not much is very green here so this field was an
unusual sight.  I'm not sure my photo does the scene justice,








Boy, do I have a story for you! 

As Glenn rode along Farm Road 192, I went ahead
about 5 miles and found a spot to wait for him to
pass by and get a snack or just check in.
I did this several times in about an hour.
Apparently, I looked suspicious because the
a Border Patrol officer in an official vehicle pulled
up next to me and asked what I was doing.  He
and his colleague had been tracking my movement
which was consistent with that of a pick-up (get-away)
car awaiting illegal aliens who come across the fields
I mentioned in an earlier photo.   Mario and I chatted
for about 15 minutes until Glenn rode up and I could
prove that my story was true.  I was actually happy
to know that there were agents patrolling the area 
since I was alone in the car for that stretch! He couldn't
let me take a photo of him but I took one of my car 
in the suspicious pick-up spot!  I met up with him
again and he just said hi and gave me directions to 
our next road and he warned us of an inspection
station later on the route.  And the adventure continues!






Empty road leading to more mountains











Never enough cactus photos!
Above caught my shadow so I am in one photo today!









Glenn was surprised to learn from Texan cyclists
that in some areas of the state, the only road
on which to ride is Interstate 10!
It is illegal in most states for bicycles to
ride on the highways but Texas seems
to have its own rules about that! Glenn
traveled 47 miles on I-10....no one stopped
him or ticketed him and the big rigs even
moved over and honked hello to him.


























                                                          


At one of my waiting spots on I-10.








No passports needed.  The officer looked at us and
our car and asked if we were US citizens!  We
had decided that Glenn would ride the few miles
before the inspection station in the car to avoid
any issues.   All went well!







Shortly after we left this station, I deposited Glenn
back on I-10 to complete the 26 miles that would get him
to the hotel in Van Horn, TX. There were some bumps
in the road, literally, but none for Glenn today! 





More beautiful scenery along the road




















We both laughed at this sign!  We lost an hour getting to Van Horn
but we'll gain it back tonight.  So....does that mean the time doesn't
really change for us at all?!?!?



Glenn read an article in the New York Times about 
eliminating time zones and time changes.  That might
have been helpful to us on this trip!










Uh oh!!! Tomorrow could be a long day for some folks!!

 We are not going all the way on I-10
so we only have to go 80 miles to Fort Davis!





To our trivia winners
Barb Kay wins a tee shirt
 Terry Miller and Debbie Cohen win Logo Decals!
Thanks to all who sent me answers!







What famous golfer began his career as a golf club
professional in El Paso before qualifying for the PGA?


Lee Trevino


After his discharge from the marines, 
Trevino became a club professional in 
El Paso, TX, and made extra money by gambling
 for stakes in head-to-head matches
before qualifying for the PGA. 




Today's Stats


A much better day!














3 comments:

  1. What a day. You two are suspicious characters for sure! 😉 good border patrol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very :) I guess I worked my charms on Mario!

      Delete
  2. I was going to say the same thing.....you two look like very suspicious characters.
    Looking forward to tomorrow's blog!!

    ReplyDelete

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