Alpine to Del Rio, TX

December 21 - 25, 2015

Garmin Info with Maps

Alpine to Marathon

Marathon to Sanderson

Sanderson to Langtry

Langtry to Del Rio

Liz with her Donald piñata

We had a wonderful stay in Alpine. Even before we could ask, Liz offered to let us stay a second night. She invited friends over and pulled out a bottle of champagne to drink while we played cards. Really fun people who are deeply connected to the area through art and politics. The conversations were very interesting. I really needed a rest day and was grateful to have such a fun and comfortable place to stay. 

This seems like exciting news in Alpine

Monday morning we got packed up and headed out of town. We really weren't sure what the grocery store in Marathon or Sanderson would offer so we stopped to restock before heading out. A number of people stopped to chat and ask about our trip. One woman gave each of us a hug.  

The winds have been very strong and today was no different. Luckily, the wind was in our favor. The first half of the ride was a gentle uphill and the second half was a gentle downhill. As has been our typical riding routine, Maryann is gone as soon as we start out. She is a much stronger rider than I am. When we started this tour our speed was very similar but Maryann soon became stronger and stronger. For the first month or so I asked that she not ride too far ahead. I thought if we are going to ride together we should ride together. But I am always stopping and Maryann never needs to stop. I stop to take pictures, chat, check out the scenery and read historical markers. I need to change clothes, check the map, find snacks, do video updates and mostly importantly, my toes get numb and I need to put my feet down to get circulation going again. Maryann doesn't need to do any of these things and is always waiting for me.  When I catch up to her on the road she always looks bored to tears. Finally I decided it was silly to ask her to wait. For the last few weeks we have been riding solo meeting up at the end of the ride.  It does feel a bit strange to be touring with someone where the only time we see each other is at breakfast and dinner but maybe it is for the best.

Marathon post office

Marathon art gallery

Riding to La Loma del Chivo on a very windy day

La Loma del Chivo 

I had another rear flat. While fixing it, I noticed that the inside of the tire was splitting. This tire is failing. When I got to Marathon, Maryann had already met Ingrid, aka the Goat Queen, who runs La Loma del Chivo. This is a very funky hostel on a large property that offers free accommodation for touring cyclists. After introductions and directions, we went to the Marathon Coffee house for lunch and to use the wifi. While there, I decided to order new tires for delivery further down the road. It has occurred to me that if the tires were the same all around, instead of 1.35 in the front and 1.75 in the rear, I could have rotated them and probably saved the rear tire. I first checked with the post office in Del Rio to make sure they accept general delivery packages and would be open on Christmas Eve. Then I ordered 3 20" x 1.75 tires from Bike Tires Direct for express delivery. Yeah, I'm asking a lot to have all this line up and we'll see how long we end up staying in Del Rio waiting for this package.

Main building of the hostel

The Beehive

Maryann outside the bottle house

La Loma del Chivo is amazing and like nothing I've ever seen before. There are many buildings and each one is unique. You are allowed to sleep in any unoccupied building. Some of the buildings, like the super cute Beehive, are only big enough for a mattress. One building is made from colorful glass bottles and another from cans. Most don't have heat or electricity and the overnight temperatures have been in the low 20's so we decided to stay in the main house. There are a few rooms and we got settled in a dorm room with 3 beds and a heater. This place is so bohemian it has to be experienced to be believed. No one even knows who owns the property. The land was purchased many years ago for next to nothing and taxes are paid from donations. Over the years people have shown up and built all the structures. While we were there a guy had finished painting a large second floor deck and the stairs. The guy did a professional job in exchange for a place to stay. La Loma del Chivo is really cool.

Newest house at La Loma del Chivo

Happy winter soltice

As we have been traveling down Hwy 90, we have seen a few historic hotels and everyone has talked about the Gage Hotel restaurant which is especially famous for their chicken fried steak. Maryann and I decided to splurge and have a nice meal there. We met a lot of people including another touring cyclist who we invited to the hostel. It was surprising to meet a cyclist at 9 pm who hadn't already found a place to stay for the night. He was traveling west bound and had started after noon from Sanderson into a tough headwind. 

In the morning we got packed up. The cyclist we met last night was asleep in his sleeping bag outside on the porch. It's possible he arrived so late that the lights were out and he didn't know to come in. It was very cold overnight but he was snoring away. We had a nice and leisurely breakfast at Marathon Coffee and ordered a breakfast burrito to go for the road. Today's ride was lots of miles but going to be mostly down. We had a fairly tough sidewind and the road surface was rough chip seal. Bah!

Tailwinds to Sanderson

Ranch gates

Riding to Sanderson video

Today we are staying in another house of Liz Rogers. Sanderson has seen better days and doesn't have much to offer. Most of the cafes and businesses are closed down. Liz's house is simple and very cute. Maryann had long been settled at the house when I arrived. Since there is only one bedroom we had to decide who should get it. Maryann has an unusual sleep schedule which usually means I get the bedroom. She goes to sleep between 8 and 8:30 pm and is awake very early. She doesn't require as much sleep as I do and, sometimes, she is awake as early as 2:30 am. If I'm on the couch she will be waking me getting to the kitchen to make coffee when she gets up. The couch looked to be very comfortable and Maryann didn't complain. The most awkward aspect of this arrangement is that Maryann has to wait hours for me to get up. I typically get up between 6:30 and 7 and just can't get up any earlier. I always make breakfast and by the time I get up Maryann is packed with everything secured to her trike and she is rearing to go. As soon as we eat breakfast she is gone pedaling ahead. Everyone has a touring rhythm or style of riding they are comfortable with. Our touring styles have become very, very different. I feel bad that Maryann is always waiting for me.

Beautiful Sanderson church

Bulging tire

The wind was very strong when we left Sanderson. It was so strong if it hadn't been a tailwind we wouldn't have been able to ride. I bet the winds were 20-30 mph. I could feel the growing split in my rear tire with every rotation. Thump, thump, thump, there was a good size bulge developing. I stopped to let air out of the tube to relieve some pressure but I wasn't sure the tire would hold for the day's ride to Langtry. And the ride was 60 miles with almost 2,000 ft of climbing but, luckily, also had 3,000 ft down. It was slow going but I did make it with the tire intact. Langtry is very small with a population of 19. There isn't much more than the Wagon Wheel cafe where Maryann was waiting talking to a westbound British cyclist. The Wagon Wheel also has a motel with old and tired rooms. Again the overnight temps were expected to be very cold and we were grateful to be inside even if we had to pay $50. The owner of the Wagon Wheel is a real character. He heard my description of the bulge in my rear wheel and offered to help. The idea that this guy would know anything about bike repair was a real surprise. He gave me a truck tire patch with glue to hold the tire together. It is made by the German company Rema who also make a very popular and high quality bike tire patch kit. Even though the bulge was pronounced, the tire still hadn't split completely. Maryann and one of the workers helped me repair the tire. I couldn't believe how lucky I was to get the owners help. He also gave me a few patches to keep for any future emergencies.

Ride to Lantry

Goats on the road

Tiny Langtry - pop. 19 - Maryann working on my rear tire.

Truck tire patch

Oopsie!

In the morning, after making oatmeal on an outdoor table we set out for another long ride. Today we would be going to Del Rio and back to civilization. This would be the biggest town we had seen since El Paso. Maryann decided to stay back with me in case the tire didn't hold. The bulge was still there and I could feel it with every tire rotation. I had trouble trusting the tire patch and was nervous listening carefully for any changes. We went down a hill and I shifted into the big ring. There was a short uphill and I started shifting down on the rear cassette and then everything locked up. Right away I knew what had happened and stopped. The chain for the new 10 speed cassette isn't long enough to shift into the big ring in the back and big ring in the front. I had never done this before on the trike and wasn't sure how to fix it. Maryann was up ahead waiting for me at the top of the hill. I took the bags off and looked at the situation. This had happened when I rode a 2 wheel Gold Rush. In that case, I would remove the idler to loosen the chain. I tried to do the same but couldn't get the idler loose. Then I started yelling for Maryann but she couldn't hear me. I didn't know what to do and started walking up the hill to get Maryann to come down. Finally she saw I needed help and rode down the hill. The only thing I could think of was to drop the rear wheel. It took some doing but we did get the rear wheel to drop and that loosened the chain just enough that I could shift to the middle front ring. Wow was that a tough and scary repair but we did it. We got back on the road and Maryann started riding behind me. Many miles further, the road surface changed and the sound from the tire changed dramatically. I asked Maryann to ride closely and see if the tire was holding. She didn't like the way it looked and decided we should get a ride instead of risking a catastrophic failure. I have always been able to get a ride quickly with my trike and today was no different. Most of the vehicles passing us on this road have been pick up trucks. Our only question would be if the truck was empty and had enough room for 2 trikes, gear and trikers. The first truck that we flagged down stopped. Mark and Martin were returning from a weekend of hunting. Lucky for us, they didn't want to deal with processing the deer meat and their truck bed was empty. They didn't hesitate to help us quickly loading the trikes and gear into the back of the truck. I told them I was expecting a new tire and Mark called the post office to see if the package had arrived. It was still early in the day and UPS hadn't made their delivery yet. These guys were super nice and dropped us in Del Rio at a Motel 6. What started out as a potentially tough day ended with us safe and sound arriving in town much earlier than expected.

Mark and Martin, good samaritan hunters

Loading up the trikes

New tires

After getting settled in our rooms we started walking to the post office. I was hoping the tires would be there and Maryann also had a small package to mail home. On our way UPS called to say the post office had refused the package and it was waiting at the UPS distribution center in town. This is the 3rd post office problem we have had on this trip. I sent a camera home that never made it, Maryann had another general delivery fail in Phoenix and now, again, the post office disappoints. I have used general delivery countless times without incident too. What is going on? We went back to the hotel and got out the trikes for the 2.5 mile ride to pick up the tires. At this point I was especially happy we got a ride from Mark and Martin. If the tire had completely failed getting the package would have been much more complicated. Once I had the tires, I knew everything was going to be just fine.

The weather is forecast to be really bad for the next couple of days. Lots of rain with powerful winds are coming through. Looks like we are spending Christmas in Del Rio, Texas.