Shortly after finishing my blog post from Langtry, three east-bound riders showed up. Tim and Tom, twin brothers from Kansas, and Jim, from the San Francisco area, had ridden all day into the same winds that were so favorable for us. One rider had bonked, or run out of the sugar we cyclists rely on to continue spinning the pedals. The other two were just tired from a long day. They ate the same supper we did from the 3 item menu, two bean and cheese burritos for $5. Actually not bad at all when you're hungry and washed down with a Dos Equis or two.
Chatted with Tim for quite a while since this was his second time doing the Southern Tiers route. He was a great source of information, and we tried to pass on what we could of places to stay and eat from the miles behind us.
Every cyclist was in bed sleeping by 8:30. But Barb and I were back up at 5:15 to watch the total eclipse under cloudless skies. Very impressive, then we retired back to bed to catch more sleep before our 6:30 alarm.
Breakfast at the Langtry cafe was from a limited menu, but the special of two eggs, sausage, toast, potatoes and coffee worked well and we were off on the road by 8, with 40 miles to limited service at Dryden, followed by 20 more miles into Sanderson.
As the temperature dropped in the morning, clouds began to roll in and we rode down into canyons and then back up again, always seeming to gain elevation throughout the day. We took a longer break at picnic area 10 miles east of Dryden, and then rolled into Dryden about 12:30.
As we'd been forewarned, the services in Dryden were very limited. We were told we could fill our water bottles from the garden hose, but that it was well water and not at all palatable. So we each bought a pint of bottled water for $1.50 eacb, a pint of Gatorade for $1.61, a can of refried beans and 4 pieces of string cheese, and retired to the shade of an abandoned building to have a second meal of bean and cheese burritos in less than a day.
By the time we left, the sun had burned off the morning clouds, and we continued up and down canyons until we arrived at Sanderson about 3:30. The Ranch House cafe was not only the first restaurant we saw, but offered our first glimpse of the horse and mule who's roadside droppings we'd been following for two days. Bryan Brant has been crossing the US for two and a half years after leaving Quebec. He was in great humor and his animals looked well-cared for, so he clearly knows what he's doing. We understand he's headed for Montana, but didn't ask for a schedule. He has a website if you're interested in following him.
After eating, we headed to the casita owned by Liz, the sister of Alice Rogers, whom we stayed with in Montell. Liz wasn't at her Sanderson home, but the door of the small apartment-sized cottage next to her home was open as promised. After showering and getting some snacks, we spent an hour sitting on the deck, watching the setting sun paint the sky while 40 or 50 vultures soared on thermals rising from the canyon floor.
Sleeping was easy and neither of us stirred much until the 6:30 alarm had us up and packing. It was a pretty standard morning until I brushed against a few bushes along the sidewalk from a trip to take our trash to a nearby dumpster. The bush turned out to be a large cactus with rather impressive barbed spines. Ouch. Barb came out to her bike to find me stripped out of my biking jersey and pulling twenty or thirty barbs from my chest, abdomen, arm and shoulder. Then we went back into the better light of the casita and pulled a similar number that were still imbedded in my jersey. Don't mess with Texas, especially Sanderson the self-proclaimed cactus capital of Texas.
We left shortly thereafter and had breakfast at a nearby convenience store. The first 34 miles of our ride were basically a long climb out of Sanderson canyon. The grades were hardly ever very steep, but like a headwind, they were pretty unrelenting.
The morning ride would have been easier, but i had another Don't mess with Texas moment. We've been enjoying the proliferation of wildflowers in the canyons, so when we passed a two foot wide section of roadside grass that had been spray-painted bright yellow, I turned to Barb and pointed out the new variety of 'wildflower'. Photo opp! So I turned to have my fun with the Texas DOT. Fool! Don't mess with Texas. No sooner had I returned to put my feet on the pedals, and it was obvious that my rear tire was now flat. Texas had retaliated again.
After fixing the flat the ride went pretty well. We stopped for lunch at another picnic area and rested for the better part of an hr. We were in the shade and had a cooling breeze and the second part of the ride actually had some downhill segments. Still after 54 service-less miles we were tired and a little dehydrated. We coasted a nice downhill into town and stopped for a gatorade at the first convenience store we came to. Then we continued into town to find Ingrid, our warmshowers host. She was still working at the French Grocery, a nice store that has a little of everything. So Barb and I took her suggestion and stopped at the Burro Café and Bar for supper until she could show us our accommodations.
By 5:30 we'd eaten burgers and continued hydration at the insistence of our waitress, a nurse by training. About the time she was satisfied that we had drunk sufficient water, Ingrid showed up and we pedaled up to La Loma Del Chivo or Goat hill.
It's a bit hard to describe the place. Perhaps a collection of buildings constructed from recycled everything by folks who had studied the architecture of 70's hippy communes. It's both strange and wonderful. But everything works. We've had hot showers with fresh towels provided, done our laundry, and are ready to get some sleep.
Tomorrow we have a shorter day planned into Alpine, where we'llbe staying with Liz at her Alpine home.
We're a little tired, but well and enjoying our adventure.
Don't mess with Texas.
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