Saturday Oct. 23 – Our last day of Week 3 began with breakfast in the dark next to the frog pool at the Oasis Inn in Sanderson, TX. With supplies from the Stripes Truck Stop/Quicky mart across the street, we managed to get Vanna packed early for our shuttle to yesterday’s ride end. Although it was going to be our longest ride of the week, about 89 miles, it was supposed to be a bit easier with a gradual descent all day. And we have found that when we approach major cities, the road surface improves – but not in West Texas. It was a rough surface called chip n seal, we had a head wind the entire ride and there was almost as much climbing as there was free wheelin’ downhill. The landscape had also mellowed as we only went through one town, plus countless prairies and dried out rivers. We were getting sluggish. I even got a sting from a bee that flew into my helmet through the air slots (I was told that was blog-worthy).
But 60 miles into the ride, Charles Breer was smiling and waiting for us. Charles is one of Week 4’s riders and easily the most accomplished rider of our entire group. (He has already ridden over 12,000 miles this year). He had arrived early into Del Rio and rode out to greet us. His fresh legs and attitude inspired us all for the last 30 miles.
The final segment featured a ride across the bridge over the Amistad Reservoir, a beautiful span of water that straddles the US-Mexican border. The bridge was uneventful except for Scott, who managed to get his 3rd flat only 10 miles from the finish of a 444 mile ride. Scott noted that he used to think that hills were a significant factor in how tough a ride was, but he now puts road surface and wind ahead.
Del Rio, population about 37,000, is a relatively small Texas city but has all the makings of a big time town. The ride in featured a return to Wal-Mart, fast food, movie theaters and traffic. I have never seen so many pickup trucks, most with a trailer hitched to them.
We learned how different thing really were in Del Rio from 2 of Peter’s old friends from Cleveland, David and Julie Chalk. We met them at a great Steak restaurant called Cripple Creek where we all celebrated the successful and safe completion to Week 3 with our now traditional Margaritas. The Chalks have been here for 10 years now, leading one of the local churches and raising 2 kids. They are essentially a minority here where English is a second language. Many of the students in the schools come from wealthy Mexican families who transport their kids over the border every day. We told the Chalks about our constant contact with the Border Patrol since California and they opened our eyes to the reality of illegal crossings on a daily basis. Although the problem is much better than it used to be, thousands continue to get through each month, while thousands more get caught (usually for the 2nd or 3rd time) and released back to Mexico. It almost sounded like a game of capture the flag, but it is just an unfortunate part of daily life along the border. Luckily, Monday, we begin heading true east, away from the border.
So Week 3 ends with the departure of Scott Emerson who rode well through another rainless week despite 3 flats. His sense of humor was a break from Peter’s and my bad jokes and his tall frame was easy to see on the horizon when we got stretched out. Dan did a great job on his first week of support, logging nearly 100 miles of riding after hours. His fiddle playing at each rest stop added to the backdrop of the old west with mountain peaks, mesas and prairies surrounding. Next week, we will have Charles, Michael Novak and Sam Lombardo join us for our move to the middle of Texas and the heart of barbeque country.
Map to date:
http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/ca/san%20diego/931128792219273332
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