Sunday, December 25, 2011

And, finale!


A christmas miracle! We squiggled down the mississippi river all day, and then jumped in my folks' car at a gas station, just in time for thanksgiving turkey. We were regaled with hugs and beers and beads, and southern love. My grandma was there at dinner,and my mom, sister and jerry and james, too!

I don't know what to say. the mississippi river is industrial, and smelly. i like bike touring. I want to do it again. My odometer, which was wrong for a while, says I rode 3300 miles.

I have been on the road for two months and 23 days. I have been in 7 states, and over 6 borders. There is more to say, and more to post, but that will have to wait for an epilogue in a few days, and copious pictures.

For now... thanks to everyone who was so sweet and generous and warm and welcoming along the way, and who let me into their lives and hearts this fall. I have learned and gained so much, and people truly amaze me.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

The red stick

We have arrived in baton rouge. We are waiting 4 the bad weather to recommence so we can finish the journey to new orleans tomorrow. 80 something miles and counting, to be ridden in driving rain, 15 mph winds, and... clean knickers. For lease navidad, friends!



Friday, December 23, 2011

Kinder to port barre, what?

We tried, made a valiant effort for the red stick tonight. But. We found instead the bar that is like being inyour best friend's kitchen. So james and I have found ourselves at our new friend renee's house in port barre.

Oh, and I got a flat. Fine al fuckin ment. Merci bo cus louisiana.







Wednesday, December 21, 2011

O louisiana

Your roads are so bad, your coffee is so good, your biscuits so full of butter, your people so tender. O louisiana! I can't even believe how much better your boudin balls are. Holy crap, they're good.





Monday, December 19, 2011

Boudin study part the 1st

Dear bloggerie,
Today bore witness to the very first boudin ball of our boudin b-Monday. A boudin ball is a belectable fried bit of fat, more specifically rice, pork, and fat, deep fried in the shape of a ping pong ball, or bigger. James has it on good authority that there is a line, a demarcation somewhere between here and baton rouge, where boudin becomes barfy. We two intrepid eaters are bhot on the trail for answers as to where, and more seriously, why. Is it the addition of liver? Perhaps simply unspecified offal? Maybe it's the blood of she-goats.

Today was our first boudin sighting. Hence, this marks the westernmost point on the historic boudin trail.

Todays boudin was not good, but no one threw up. It came from a gas station outside cleveland, tx, where we were treated to the sounds of square dancing on the 2nd floor. These balls were big. We shared one, and ate with forks. Drier than a bayou, it was.  But no liver, as far as we know.

Conroe to moss landing. 40.0 long miles.





Dec 18 burton to conroe

James and I rode 95 miles today, quite a few of them after 6. We are back in the world where people smoke in bars. I am shocked by my own surprise, and notice that when you can smoke inside, most people smoke.

At this point, I'm excited to be out of texas. I think this part of texas is excited to be out of texas, too. Things are starting to feel decidedly cajun. We peddlin to dat boudin, cocodrie.


Friday, December 16, 2011

December 16th (we think)

James and I (there is still so much novelty in this 'we' thing) have taken to telling folks that 'we' have been riding since seattle (or spokane, or whatever) and that 'we' are really excited to be so close to new orleans, where 'we' are going to stay for a while.  Which means I get to blame him for all the less proud moments of 'our' trip.  And I sort of get to rewrite history, making me feel somehow better about what it was like for 'us' in west texas. Anyway.

We rode a little further today, and got up a little earlier. But for me, it feels like party time so I'm back to 40 mile days, and the going gets tough, find a cinnamon roll latitude.

When we made it to burton, we knittled our bikes up to the victorian inn, but it was booked. We talked to a lady on the phone who said we could ride 8 miles in the wrong direction to stay in her bunkhouse, but I hated that idea. So we went to the white horse tavern for beers and to find out what next. What next was tommy, who brought us back to his burton family christmas, told us bow hunting stories, fed us, showed us silver jewelry he'd made, insisted we stay tomorrow to dress a hog and light the bbq... that kinda thing. We're staying in a room with a stuffed brown bear, saharan ekg wallpaper, green couch. We graduated from tent campers to cousins in an evening.

Tommy has at least 15 old schwinn 3 speeds and runs an informal bike club out of his house.  He says he'll let me help dress a deer tomorrow, or wild hog.  He builds his own bows, he's built his house from the ground up, while living in it, he doctors a doctor by teaching him to make jewelry in exchage for classical piano lessons.

With such a supreme host, do we dare move on?



Thursday, December 15, 2011

december 15 : austin to smithville more than 30 miles

i know things have changed because tonight i sat in the backseat while we drove with our host from the grocery store in bastrop to their house in smithville. i sat in the backseat! james asked questions, and talked motorcycles, and carried it, man, when all i could ask was, "what are banditos?"

we had awesome hosts, natasha and randall, and are staying in natasha's dad's back house, where we are nuzzling our faces in animal skin rugs, drinking whiskey in rocking chairs, swaggering in this silver fox's cowboy boots, and enjoying the sweetness of companionship.

central texas is getting the rain it's been desperate for, and who am i to wish it would hold off a few weeks?

yes yes, serious and endeavoring, we are.

oh, and james solved the mystery of my generous odometer

4 realz


assurances

I didn't give up, I didn't quit, I am not in New Orleans.

I took a break, hung out with people I love.

I'm still in Austin, and James, against all odds, has arrived to shepherd me home.

The circus, my friends, is back in town!

Monday, December 5, 2011

Dec 5

46 miles. Kerrville to stonerville
Closing in.
Cold cold cold and colder tomorrow

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Reasons to not always love central texas

Rode 35 miles today, in rain, wind, 40 degrees.  This is after swimming in a river and taking off my shirt yesterday. The hills won today, and my cold feet were the sore losers. Made it to kerrville, not all by myself. Weather forecast looking wet. Good for droughty texas, but couldn't it have waited till Wednesday? Met a friendly sheriff, and the nicest woman ever, my bag-lunch fairy god texan, ginger.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Reasons to love central texas

BBQ. Christmas. Trees. 60 degree mornings. Limestone. Old folks.
I rode 78 miles in 70 degree weather yesterday, went swimming in a river, got sunburned, slept outside.



Friday, December 2, 2011

Getting on with it

I realized I've been complaining a lot. Sorry about that. It's kind of an emotional roller coaster these days. And by it, I mean me.

Today it was supposed to be rainy and windy but it was wonderful ; overcast, in the 50's, light tailwind, and the road flattened out a lot. So I rode for a while. Made it 100 miles to bracketville, although if you looked at a map of langtry to bracketville, it's more like 92. What is that about? Is my odometer off? Do I really weave that much on the road? At any time, I'm about 3 miles ahead of road mileage. This, people, is one of the reasons I'm going crazy.

In other news, I'm not in the desert! I'm not in the desert! I'm not in the desert! Woot! Big ups to trees!  What I am in is fort springs, a private homeowners assoc. aka central texas disney land, with limestone activities center, theater, museum, and rv park tucked way in back where it doesn't lower property value. I had to pay inflated rates cause I'm not a member... but what hoa member would pay to camp in a tent? Anyway... I'm happy about central texas. It's kinda cool to be back! Even if the $2 hot shower was cold. The park attendant was so gracious, and careful!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

67 miles : sanderson to langtry

Boring ride today. I had to listen to a lot of power ballads to remember I was still breathing. One nice thing about riding alone on remote west texas highways is there's no one around to hear how bad you sound singing celine dion at the top of your lungs.
I saw 5 dead deer in the first 20 miles of riding. Some were pretty badly mangled, and definitely picture worthy, but I felt bad doing that. They were lives, after all.
Once upon a time, a transcontinental railroad was built through west texas, and towns sprang up every 30 miles or so to bring needed water for steam powered engines. Most of these towns are more like fossils these days ; langtry, where I'm staying has a population of 19.
At the end of the day, I went to the judge roy bean museum in langtry, named (if u believe bean) for the british actress lilly langtry. You gotta hand it to a guy who can run a bar, and uphold law, even if he made up the laws as he went along.  Seems like it'd be easy to lose customers. Or get shot, trying to pull that off in the west. Judge Bean even called a fight to settle a dispute, then held it in mexico (and had a footbridge built so evryone could go) when the texas government told him it was illegal.
Tonight I'm staying in another miracle of warm showers - a trailer owned by the lovely manns that was open and waiting for me to arrive, what with fresh towels, box wine, and hdtv. I have learned to watch tv again on this trip.
Del rio tomorrow (almost a big city!) And then on, in the rain I think, towards austin.