Alpine Thanksgiving

Don't Mess With Texas!

What is seen is transitory, what is unseen is eternal.
                                                       2 Corinthians 4:18

Had a nice tailwind that blew me into the town of Alpine today. No complaints from me about the West Texas drought. I can deal with cooler temperatures better than I can deal with rain or snow. A 20degree Fahrenheit rated sleeping bag certainly has helped me deal with some cool autumn night temperatures. As a matter of fact, I woke up a few days ago with ice in my water bottle. It's very important to have dry clothing before getting in the sack at night.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to integrate photos taken during my travels on this blog. Nor have I been able to correspond directly with followers. Perhaps the future will include better luck in the development of this blog. If you are interested in traveling with me or dealing with me personally, my email address is fsts61@gmail.com.

Kickback Time

Clear dry air meant bright star filled skies...hard to describe the beauty

Picturesque Southwestern American Landscape.

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice in it.
                                                  Psalm 118:24

I've been staying pretty consistent with my approach toward this tour and I found Van Horn, TX  to be a nice place to rest and regenerate before the long haul to San Antonio. Our Lady of Fatima church and the Pilot with the WiFi signal have provided a nice haven to pass the time off the road. Although I missed tailwind riding opportunities yesterday and today, tomorrow has it's hopes.

More riders moving east have appeared and it's nice to share different riding perspectives and approaches to touring. Generally, I'm the slowest guy in the pack because I'm  not in a hurry to get anywhere fast. I carry more equipment than the average biker on tour not because I want to see how much weight I can pull around but to be as comfortable as possible. This stuff includes a tent big enough for me (3 person), 2 sleeping bags, cooking gear,  a good sized air mattress, a variety of wind breaker and rain jackets as well as extra biking shorts, socks, and a pair of biking sandals.  Additionally, I have several bike tubes and spare tires. The tires help to keep me off the ground at night when I camp out.

Hopefully I'll get on down the road with the wind at my back tomorrow.

Lone Star Rising

MOONRISE over Las Cruces, New Mexico

We observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay homage to the Lord.
                                                                   Mathew 2:2

Texas is one very large state. A drive on I-10 from El Paso to Beaumont would cover over 850 miles. I don't plan on taking the interstate. In fact, my proposed route should be well over 1,000 miles across Texas! Maybe I'll never get out of here, that's OK though because I'm no hurry. I'm enjoying west Texas because it's dry and there are some tail winds to catch during the day. I've been having some communication issues with my computer, therefore, my ability to respond to comments is limited.

Las Cruces, NM was one place I didn't plan on visiting but it turned out to be a good experience especially walking around the Mesilla Valley Mall. Although there weren't as many biking lanes there as I hoped for, I found the sidewalks appropriate when needed. Found an excellent frontage road south of town that lead me into El Paso.

My high end Armadillo rear tire let me down. The tire was separating from the tread and I noticed a lot of extra play in handling of my bike. Therefore; I decommissioned it and replaced it with a new Schwalbe. This too was a disappointment. After it installed I noticed my hemorrhaging tube bulging onto the rim. Upon further evaluation,  I noticed the outer ring of the tire had a wire protruding from it which punctured my tube. Although it was dark, windy and dusty when I installed my second spare, I was happy I had one left to install. Even though my latest spare tire has some tread wear I'm delighted that it's holding air and getting the job done. Hopefully I can find a local bike shop along the way where I can return my faulty 'high end' tires and get credited with some new rubber.

Surviving Storm #1

ARIZONA mountain range

Not much out here but wind and clean air

He who lives in love lives in God and God in him.
                           1 John 4:16

Since traveling from Globe I've had the opportunity to travel thru the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. I enjoyed spending my money there because the taxes on items bought were about 4% vs. the 8+% that I pay in Arizona. The Apache Gold casino wasn't bad either with $5 in free slot play just for signing up for a player's card. The homemade Indian Fry Bread in the restaurant was outstanding.

I had interactions with the first touring cyclists during this leg of my journey. Chris was heading west after getting off the Continental Divide Route. He started in Anchorage, AK and wants to travel to Cancun, MX via the Baja California Peninsula before returning to his homeland of Switzerland. I gave him some information about traveling on the Apache Reservation and suggested some camping techniques. You can check him out @ www.chrigiontour.blogspotcom. If you like reading German, you might find his site appropriate.  I also met Janet traveling to California from the Houston area, I plan to look her up when I get closer to Houston even though she will probably still be touring.

The last few days have been challenging with strong headwinds starting in Pima, AZ all the way to Lordsburg, NM. Although the elevation here in Lordsburg is higher than Safford AZ, the climb was tougher because of the strong winds that preceded the latest storm and the first major one I've experienced on this tour. I was happy to get into Lordsburg before it got to dark. It certainly was a challenge to get here and  fulfill my personal goal of averaging 30+ miles per day. After setting up camp and falling soundly asleep, I woke to lots of rain coupled with strong winds. Needless to say, it wasn't a great idea for me to set up my air mattress without putting up a tent to enjoy. My sleeping bag got soaked along with my air mattress. Thankfully, the rains and temperatures in the 30's  didn't last long. The sun came out today and dried my stuff out pretty well.