Bygone Bicyclist

Upon awakening, I ate as many Mexican pastries from the night prior as I could. I read a mellow pace most of the day, stopping only at the HEB to get dinner. Del Rio being the last place to buy much, if any, food makes our day a little more interesting. I ended up going 73 miles on 2.5 bottles of water – clearly the weather was fantastic. Overcast and 80-85 from 5am until 10:07am really made for an easy day for those of us who didn’t stop to eat a real breakfast. I averaged around 18mph, slowly drudging along. I couldn’t find any real motivation today, and that made it quite hard to ride any faster. Once arriving at the campsite, the few of us here early hung out. Around 1 or so Lauren rolled up with two women riding from Tucson, AZ to Maine (my original route…kind of – AZ to Maine [different route though]). Those of us at the campsite at the time hung out with them and shared good times, offered many gifts for the road, and bid the two a safe trip. Leilani and Wendy will have an amazing time. I am certain of this! Check out their webpage if you get a chance! http://leilanirobinson.com/

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So last night we went to Mexico: Dan, Judy, Nick, Callie, Red, Matt, Allison, Brian, Crystal, Francesca and I. It was a great blast. The van was parked on the US side, and a mini-van taxi (that seats took the 11 of us (plus the driver) across the border. Shoved in any nook and cranny we went, but one vehicle provided enough space. Once in Cuidad Acunia, we walked around a bit looking for a place to eat. First we stopped at a convenience store for some alcohol, considering how cheep it was. Two fifths of Presidente brandy for $3? Sure, why not. We ended up eating at a taquito-ria – 12 taquitos with tons of lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream…$5. We then ventured a bit around the streets to see what we could find. For many people this was their first time in Mexico, so they were very stoked to be there. I stopped in a panderia with Nick and spent the majority of the pesos I had left (and got somewhere around 20 pastries). We couldn’t find the liquor store again, so we headed to a high class bar to have some drinks before we left. After a drink there, we headed over to the Corona Bar where Judy and Red were. On the way, Brian stopped at a ‘Lady’s Bar’ to get the full on Mexico experience. Little did he know: Lady’s Bar meant prostitute bar and not strip club/etc. After a few drinks in the Corona Bar (which were incredibly cheap might I add) we headed back to the US.

Today was a fun day. Instead of the first person to arrive to ‘win’ the day, we took down total elapsed time from start to finish (ie: time trial). I didn’t assume I’d place at all (top 5), but much to my surprise…4th. I averaged 23.7mph and rode 42.6 miles in 1 hour 50 minutes. The ride was quick. Once we arrived Matt, Francesca and I ate at the hamburger joint in town (1 pound burger – omg!). People started getting in, and then it started pouring rain. Here in about 15 minutes we’re headed to Mexico for a few hours; should be fun (will post the pics tomorrow). Tomorrow we have a 75 mile day and it will probably be quite hot. Have I mentioned lately how much I miss Erin!??!?

I started today a little bit after a few people. I’m here to impress no one (maybe myself), but I got into a superb groove today and smoked the route. Leaving at 5:37am, taking 20 minutes of total breaks / water filling and often slowing out of boredom and what have you, I still finished in a total of 4 hours of riding, puting me at the hotel at 9:55am. I was the first person in by a good 30 minutes, and made it in time for breakfast, which was a nice reward. 87 miles, averaged 21.7mph, 4 hours of riding, 20 minutes of ‘breaks’. The Tour de Texas is an offshoot of the original ‘ring event’. Originally, the first rider to get in (rotating in sex per day – male, female, male…etc) would get the ‘championship ring’. In Texas, a Sheriff’s badge was picked up, and the winner of the day (no matter the gender) gets it. They’re also apparently tallying points for the top 5, ala Tour. It’s a neat and fun game for us. Another neat note is that all four guys in my room have won a stage in the Tour de Tejas (all in the first 6 days!). Today was kind of a fluke for me, I think. Shortly after some people started getting in, Chris, Dan, Matt and I went swimming/jacuzzi’ing. It was incredibly medicinal and refreshing. I rode into town for food, and I’ll probably go to bed quite early tonight. Tomorrow we have a 45 mile day, and the fast guys are talking about a time trial, sprint-mode race. More and more days are solo rides for me, and I guess that’s okay; I’m quite the loner. Riding alone can be slower or faster. Slower because you converse. Faster because you can swap drafts. I prefer to see ahead of me.

I started the morning off alone. My pace was pretty slow, but it was super easy going. I could have finished much sooner than I did, but I do enjoy myself often. San Marcos was a town I knew I’d probably end up stopping in, and I did. How could I skip my likely last chance at a real coffee shop for the next 2 weeks? Tantric shop for cappuccino and b-fast burritos was nice, but I spent a fair bit of time there. Next stop: New Braunfels, one of my 4 favorite towns in Texas. I was wishy-washy about stopping to swim / Schlitterbahn, but I decided I needed to. I jumped into the Comal, and it was freezing! I couldn’t believe how cold it was, but it was very refreshing. Shortly after getting back on the road, Bennett and I met up. We ended up finishing the rest of the ride together, at a rather slow pace for the both of us. Our hotel was literally 8 feet from The Alamo; it was rather surreal. Our room actually looked down on it – amazing. We did a mini photo-shoot at The Alamo with all our bikes / gear, and then I had dinner with Mom, Christy and Caden. We walked The Alamo after, and then headed to the event. Gold sprints again – fun – but the event was kind of ‘dead’, as it was very early in the day. After the event, Mom bought me a massage and then we went for Haagen Dazs. It was the perfect ending to the day and midway point of the trip.