Day 24 - Comstock, TX to Bracketville, TX

76 miles today
1,324 total trip miles
13.5 mph average
1,361’ climbing
FF - 4
MP - Ray Brill (RIP) - a good friend since we were in 1st grade together.  Usually the smartest person in the room, but he didn’t believe it.  Music connoisseur who helped form my taste in music.  I miss him a lot.

Today started out cloudy with a slight mist, but warm enought to not be uncomfortable.  A couple of long, shallow climbs that I don’t mind.  The historical marker tour continues.  Here is an example of what I see.

I also am attempting to take a picture of every sign at the entrance to a city.  My favorites are the little green ones like this.

I have to admit that I have missed a few where it wasn’t safe to stop & take a picture, but so far there are about 20 in my collection.  Think I’ll make a collage when the trip is over.

One more long day of riding before a rest day.  Everyone is ready for that.

WDYLT - ILT the British parliament has voted to take authority away from the Prime Minister regarding the Brexit process.  I find that whole situation very interesting.  Doesn’t seem to me that there is going to be a good ending for England.

Day 23 - Sanderson, TX to Comstock, TX

85 miles today
1,248 total trip miles
13.4 mph average
2,434’ climbing
FF - 6
MP - sister-in-law Cindy Nickels & family.  She is always interested in what is going on in your life & it makes me feel important when she asks about what I'm up to.

Today was Historical Marker day.  I try to stop at every one, read it & take a picture.  Texas has a bunch of them.  Sometimes they even have a sign saying “Historical Marker 1 mile”, but then there isn’t one.  Can’t explain that.  The ride was tougher than I expected today, not because of the mileage (even though it was one of our longest days), or because of the amount of climbing (which was one of the biggest number of feet).  For me it has to do with how steep the hills are.  A short steep one I can handle no problem, but long & steep wears me out.  Glad to say I pedaled them all today & there were some nice downhills to balance out the climbs.  The terrain has changed.  No more mountains in the background like we’ve had for the past week or two.  And more vegetation, so there must be better soil & water supply.  We crossed the Pecos River & there was a nice overlook I got a picture from.  If you look closely, you will see a couple of bikers on the bridge.

Looking the other direction from the bridge I could see how the river carved out its passage in the rock, so I put my bike in front of it & took this picture.

I had the most unusual experience of the trip so far, & I doubt that anything more unusual will happen.  I arrived in camp about 4 PM, emptied out the bag on the back of my bike, took a shower, had dinner & attended the daily rider meeting.  About 7 PM, I was back at my tent getting ready for the next day’s ride.  I opened my bike bag, which was closed but not zipped.  Look what I found.

A pretty completely formed bird's nest!

WDYLT - ILT the birds at Seminole Canyon State Park are very industrious!

Day 22 - Marathon, TX to Sanderson, TX

57.5 miles today
1,163 total miles
16.7 mph average
452’ climbing
FF - 2
MP - the Common Ground Healthcare Cooperative family - I am grateful for the staff, the Board of Directors & the membership of this organization that has been an important part of my life for the past 7 years.  We have succeeded in the face of many obstacles put before us & I have learned much through the experience.

Today was pretty much an ideal day for the 2019 C2C trip.  Sunshine, pleasant temperatures once the sun got working, lots of downhills, easy mileage.  We all felt we had earned this after many of our previous efforts.  The terrain continues to intrigue me.

Just a few miles earlier I had read a historical marker that discussed how the hills in this area were formed by earthquakes, but if this doesn’t look like a volcano, I don’t know what does.

I find it interesting that very few serious bikers use a kickstand.  I've noticed that on a couple of different trips I have done.  Here is a picture of one of our rest stops.  My bike is the only one upright. Everyone else just lays the bike down on the ground if there isn’t a building or fence post to lean it against.

Yesterday was an off day & we took a trip to Big Bend National Park.  We didn’t bike there so this really isn’t part of the actual bike trip, but I have to include this picture of a prickly pear cactus in full bloom.  I never imagined it could be so colorful!

WDYLT - ILT we have met probably 10 different bikers who are touring the country carrying all their gear with them.  Today we met 2 ER doctors from England who are trying to set a record for biking around the world in the least number of days.  Bubba always invites these bikers to eat & stay with us & they have great stories. 

Day 20 - Marfa, TX to Marathon, TX

58.5 miles today
1,105.5 miles total
12.7 mph average
921’ climbing
FF - 3
MP - Jamie Waters & family.  We have been friends since high school.  He convinced me, while still in high school, that to make a good decision about what to believe regarding politics, religion & life in general that it is important to study what all sides of an issue say, not just what you think you believe.  He also taught me to play ping pong reasonably well.

Today was a good day to be on the bike (I love it when I can say that).  We had some hills, but not too many & not too steep.  We had some wind, but not too strong & not always a headwind.  We had a relatively short distance to go.  All made for nice riding.  The terrain is changing a bit.  We still have some mountains in the background, but the vegetation seems to be getting greener & bigger.

You may remember the Prada store from yesterday.  Well Target is not to be outdone, although this isn’t quite as deluxe.  No door at all & holes in the wall & graffiti painted inside.

Probably the most interesting event of the day was when we arrived at camp & I removed my helmet.  Everyone agrees I have the best “helmet hair” ever.

Tomorrow is an off day, and we have the opportunity to go see Big Bend National Park.

WDYLT - ILT in Marathon, TX there is a residential area that has about 20 eclectic, DIY built homes with some of the strangest architecture I have ever seen.  Word is that you can rent a home there on AirBnB.  Check it out.

Day 19 - Van Horn, TX to Marfa, TX

75.2 miles today
1,047 total trip miles
11.8 mph average
1,210’ climbing
FF - 6
MP - Sandy Horwitt, friend & author.  When he was studying the development of Southeast Wisconsin Common Ground, we had many discussions.  I always found his questions to be thought provoking, helping me vocalize things I thought & believed.  It is good to be challenged to do that.

The “wind” theme for the 2019 C2C trip continues.  The forecast last night was for 6 - 10 mph variable wind today.  Instead we got 15 - 25 mph wind, sometimes a cross wind, sometimes a headwind.  That made 75 miles a challenge for many.  Again, my recumbent helped me a lot & I was passing bikes that normally pass me.  It was a continuous climb for about 60 miles, but it wasn’t steep so the wind was a bigger problem.  The terrain was similar to what we’ve been seeing, but I did get a morning picture of shadows on the mountain that is kind of interesting.

And I never expected to find a Prada store on Hy 90 in rural Texas, but here it is.

It is actually an art project by the local community.  Built in 2005, inside are actual Prada products from that year, but the door doesn’t even open.

As we traveled along, we also saw a spy blimp along side the road.

Turns out that one of our riders was involved in building it.  For more information, see my WDYLT.

Overall, today was a pretty good day for me, but I agree with the crowd that we are due for more friendly weather.  Unfortunately the forecast is for headwinds again tomorrow. One more day of riding before a rest day. 

WDYLT - ILT the spy blimp we saw is for searching for low flying drug planes.  It is hooked to a tether & covers the area too low for normal radar to detect planes.  There are 3 or 4 of them along the southern border, including one in Florida.

Day 18 - Fort Hancock, TX to Van Horn, TX

76.4 miles today
971.8 total trip miles
13.1 mph average
1,627’ climbing
FF - 4
MP - my sister-in-law “Sunshine” Patti Skirvin & family.  She regularly takes a positive outlook on life, even in the face of personal challenges & encourages others to look at the bright side of life. Today was the perfect day for her to be my MP because the sun was shining all day.  That means I needed to get on plenty of sunscreen.

Today started out great, except that I overestimated the temperature & was cold until the sun came up enough to get me warmer.  The first 20 miles were smooth & fast with very little traffic.  Saw a goat farm along the way & some horses, but the horses were too far away to get a good picture.

Then came a 10 mile climb with grades between 2% - 5%.  Needless to say it slowed me down quite a bit, but those grades I can handle by gearing down. Kept chasing toward this mountain, hoping I didn’t have to climb it.

Had lunch at a diner in the ghost town of Sierra Blanca.  The road we were on used to be the main route through the area, but when the interstate highway was built south of town, the community died.
Pretty much all that is left is that diner.  The owner of the diner was interested in all the bikes, but when she saw my recumbent, she had to try it.  I let her sit on it, but I knew she wouldn’t go anywhere.  She was about 5’ tall & couldn’t even reach the pedals.

We are camping tonight in Van Horn, and there is a beautiful full moon.

WDYLT - ILT  Just north of Van Horn, TX is where Jeff Bezos, owner of Amazon, has his space ship headquarters.  They were supposed to be offering regular citizens space travel this year, but are behind schedule.

Day 17 - El Paso, TX to Fort Hancock, TX

62.9 miles today
895.4 total trip miles
12.2 mph average
931’ climbing
FF - 5
MP - Anyone who has attempted to complete an Ironman event.  An Ironman consists of a 2.4 mile swim + a 112 mile bike ride + a full 26.2 mile marathon run - all in the same day.  I never expect to attempt that, but I am motivated by those who are willing to try it.

Today’s ride was an interesting combination.  We started out riding through the city of El Paso.  It sits in a valley & almost the first thing we had to do is climb out of the valley.  It was at least a mile long climb & that served to spread the group out pretty quickly.  When we reached the top of the hill there was a pretty nice overlook of El Paso.  Here I am celebrating the climb.

I was surprised how big the city was.  We had biked about 25 miles before we got out into the country again.  Lots of stop lights, industrial areas & downtown buildings.  As soon as we got back to a more rural area, there were about 20 miles of pecan groves.  I didn’t know El Paso was a big pecan area. The other thing we had again was the cursed headwind.  I think this is the year of headwinds on Bubba’s C2C.  Everyone hopes it ends soon.

Here are pictures of pecan groves in various states of maturity:

And here is a tree along the road.  I don’t know what it is, but it looked picture worthy to me:

The roads were pretty decent & we are spending the night in a high school gymnasium in Fort Hancock.

WDYLT - ILT Fort Hancock, TX is the city where Andy, in the movie The Shawshank Redemption, crossed over into Mexico.  I think that is the only claim to fame it has.  Not much going on here.