Feb 22, 2007

2/20/07

Yesterday we took off from Ozona Texas at about 830am. At 1230 we reached Sonora and decided to take a half day off to visit the Sonora Caverns.

We toured the caverns in the afternoon (super sweet) and had time to have a beer and some peanut butter fudge before dinner and bedtime…what a life.

In the morning we again started out at 830am and we got about 2 miles in before my chain fell apart…literally, in mid stroke it just came apart. So we pulled over and upon further investigation we found that the chain came apart at the master link so as soon after a bit of fiddling we snapped it together and we were on our way.


This section involved many rolling hills meaning that we had many slow climbs followed by some steep downhills. The shoulder was like butter all day. Seriously, it was like riding on a basketball court. So the climbs were slow but there was a nice payoff each time. We3 recorded a top speed of 36 mph today, the fastest so far. When I get to that speed, I start to get a bit nervous because any quick move can flip the trike (see previous post called “Road Rash”).

At mile 40 Dad got a flat. We were going down a hill at about 30 mph and he hit a rock. The tube pinched inside his tire and ripped. I was rixding in front and did not notice that he had stopped until I came upon an offramp. Usually at an offramp, Dad yells “CLEAR” which means it is safe to cross. This time I yelled “CLEAR?” and did not hear a response so I looked back and noticed that I was riding solo. I circled back and saw that he was about a half mile back on the side of the road fixing a flat. I waited there, it was getting warm so I sstripped some layers and rode the rest of the day in shorts and my jersey, beautiful weather today.

We finished the last 20 miles in about an hour and a half. Flat, tailwind and a shoulder like butter, like butta.

That night we listened to Wally perform some prank calls on his new toy and we had a great spaghetti dinner prepared by Mary.





2/22/07

It is 8am here in Kerrville, Texas. I thought I would post right now before we get on the road because the internet access is good and it might not be tonight...

Yesterday was quite a grind...My right leg is getting pretty burly and my left leg is still scrawny, but I am managing with no pain, and little discomfort...at this point.

We started In Junction, TX and the shoulder was pretty bad. Immediately we started a steep 5 mile climb out of the river valley that we stayed in the night before. WShen we reached the top of the climb there was a rest stop and we stopped to rest and stretch (the climb took about an hour and a half, 3.5 mph most of the time). Chilling at the rest stop, we were approached by a friendly trucker who asked me if I would be in a picture for his website. I agreed and he took a picture of me in front of his truck and he said that he would add a chain that made it look like I was pulling it.



On the road again, the shoulder was still crap, it was getting a little warmer now and we noticed some small rocks sticking to our tires from the melting tar on the shoulder. We were riding through a trough of tar and gravel. As the day went on, the sun became hotter, the tar softer. The hills continued and as we were going downhill, we could only go half speed because of the tar trough.

This picture was taken before the tires were COMPLETELY COVERED, but you get the idea.
By the end of the day, our tires were covered in Tar and small rocks. The rocks were sticking to our tar wheels and fling into the air and into the moving parts on our bikes, a bit concerning but we made it. It was a slow grind but we reached our destination the Buckhorn RV resort, where the motorhomes are twice as valuable as the homes in the area and the people are three times as snooty, Dad calls it the Buttcorn.

We have finally reached civilization once again. Trees, water, buildings, people. Its a little overwhelming. We crossed a river that actually had water in it so we had to stop to take a picture:


Dad is getting antsy so we had better get on the road...

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