Day 52 [Gainesville, FL]

I had a very interesting, albeit disturbing start to my long ride to Gainesville today.  Sometime after midnight I was awoken by a knock on the door of my crack-motel.  I decided not to get out of bed, and just to let the meandering drunk go away on his own.  I heard him knock on the surrounding doors, and then he/she was gone.  It took me a little while to get back to sleep while I was wondering if it was going to come back and meet my canister of bear mace.  After an iffy night of rest, I woke up around 5am to get an early start on the 80 mile day in an effort to try and avoid some of this Florida heat.  As I was wheeling my bike out the door, a woman drunker than all hell stumbled up cussing at an invisible person.  When she saw me, her mood temporarily changed as she put on a more pleasant face and asked if she could come into my "crib".  Apparently, to degenerates, no doesn't mean no because she decided to try and enter my room anyway.  I grabbed her by the shirt and stopped her as she was at the doorway.  I told her she better leave before I have her arrested.  She then stumbled off into the night, this time cussing at me instead of the invisible friend.  Groggy and tired, I set off into the night and rode the first 10 miles in darkness.  It was kind of relaxing in a way, but at the same time I could hardly see the road hazards that I was running over.  When the sun came up, I rode through another 10 or so miles of fog before the sun was able to burn it away.  Oh yea, I found a Chipotle here in Gainesville.  What better way to get those calories back?

Day 51 [Live Oak, FL]

Another day on the lovely route 90 brought me 65 miles closer to St. Augustine.  Sweat just pours out of you in this accurately depicted "Sunshine State".  Today it was 94 degrees w/ humidity, just a total freaking swamp.  Getting off the bike anywhere but a town is miserable because a million gnats instantly swarm on you.  I've never had a bug in both eyes at the same time before riding through Florida.  Sweating by the gallon has turned me into a somewhat of a wuss about camping.  Motels here are only 35-40 dollars, and allow for much better sleep.  It doesn't get below 75 degrees here until around midnight, and I can't sleep when I'm hot.  I may as well climb a little further into debt before the trip is over anyway, right?  I passed another cyclist today whom was just starting out and heading west.  I have a feeling he'll be regretting setting out this late in the season fairly soon.  Also, I saw a baby miniature horse today...pretty darn cute.  Tomorrow I'll be in Gator-land (Gainesville, FL).  

Day 50 [Monticello, FL]

Tallahassee was beautiful, especially the Seminole's campus which Edo drove me around this afternoon.  Quite a pretty college, I'd say almost as pretty as Virginia Tech...but hey, I'm a bit biased there.  He took me to a local legend pizza place that served slices nearly equivalent to the size of an entire pizza.  The line was out the door, but totally worth the wait.  By the time my tour of the town was complete, including a drive by the infamously inappropriate Capitol building, it was nearly five o'clock.  To keep to schedule, I may or may not have received a little bit of vehicular assistance to arrive 40 miles down the road this evening.  All together, another cool city visited with kindness exhibited from an old friend.   

Day 49 [Tallahassee, FL]

I made it to the Capital of Florida today, and to my host's house.  Edo is busy tonight with final exams and his girlfriend's graduation, but still was nice enough to let me hang out at his apartment.  He'll be showing me around town tomorrow morning before I head out.  This will likely lead to a late start and I may be riding well into the evening tomorrow.  Maybe it'll be time for my first "night biking" of the trip.  St. Augustine is fast approaching!  The miles are melting away and I believe I'm somewhere around 300 miles from my finish line.  In other news I managed to fall off my bike for the first time today.  I was pulling into a gas station and what looked like a light dusting of sand turned out to be about three inches of it.  Took it at an angle and this brought the whole ship down with my elbow taking all of the impact.  I think my pride was hurt more than my arm, as I wasn't too happy about how many saw the accident.  I proceeded to have an adult temper-tantrum, throwing my helmet to the ground and kicking it the rest of the way to the storefront.  Oh well, at least I made it back into the Eastern Timezone.  

Day 48 [Marianna, FL]

My love affair with US-90 continued today, as it will for the next couple of days.  The views you get are pretty much consistent with what you see above.  Miles and miles of grass and pine trees, with your occasional river or creek.  Moderate sized towns are sprinkled in about every 10 miles, too.  Throughout Florida route 90 has graciously given me a nice four foot wide shoulder to work with.  I wish all the roads I've been on were this bike-friendly!  I'll be spending my last night in Central Time tonight, and breaking into EST will be the second to last major milestone of my trip (the final being the Atlantic Ocean, of course).  I'm excited to reach the finish line, but at the same time can foresee a quick onset of nostalgia upon completion.  At least I'll always be able to look back at this blog and relive it from time to time.  It makes me extremely happy that I chronicled it all like this.  Tomorrow night I get another free place to stay, this time in Tallahassee - right near Florida State's campus.    

Day 47 [DeFuniak Springs, FL]

Above is a map of the remaining miles I have to ride to reach the Atlantic.  425 more to be exact.  Today was supposed to be long, about 90 miles.  However, as my host was dropping me off back on route, she decided that it wasn't safe for me.  There were too many cars here, and as a mother she couldn't allow me to be dropped off in such a location.  She ended up driving me about 20 miles, until US 90 turned into a one lane road and the amount of cars dwindled.  Hey, I'm not complaining.  70 miles is still plenty of pedaling, even if it is on relatively flat roads.  Tomorrow I begin map 7 of 7 of the Southern Tier route.  At this point I plan to make it to St. Augustine in seven days or less.

Day 46 [Pensacola, FL]

I am finally in Florida, and as such have crossed my last state border of the trip.  Plenty of work is left to do though, as northern FL is well over 500 miles wide.  I have some great hosts here in Pensacola that are putting me up for the night and took me out to dinner at a yummy Chinese buffet.  Relatives of a friend that agreed to have me even though it was pretty much a last minute deal.  Couldn't have worked out better.  Well, tomorrow I begin the long haul through the homestretch state.  I am absolutely exhausted right now, so good night!

Day 45 [Dauphin Island, AL & Mobile, AL]

As you can see from the title I had two end points for today's ride.  Right off the bat this should indicate to you that it was an interesting day.  Well, let me tell you, it was a crazy day that took me from extremely irritated to a happy ending.  So let's take it from the top.  I started off the day eating breakfast with that Montana couple that I met at the campground last night.  They turned out to be incredibly interesting people that own a plane and frequently fly to Alaska for some big game hunting.  They laid down a warm welcome to me if I ever happen to find myself in Montana.  After breakfast we rode together for a little while, and I even got to get my picture taken by a state sign without using the timer feature.  When I took their picture for them, they picked up empty beer cans off the roadside and toasted them.  Pretty awesome people.  We parted ways when a shortcut presented itself that traveled down a gravel road.  My road tires don't fair well over dirt and gravel.  Anyway, a few miles after the Alabama state line came a fork in the road.  One way went up to Mobile and the other down to Dauphin Island.  My maps covered both routes, and I chose Dauphin Island because it looked like it'd be fun, as it involved boarding a ferry after all.  After 70 miles I had arrived in my campground on the island.  Upon checking in, I learned that they charged $22 just to pitch a tent at their facility.  I told the lady this was outrageous, and turned back to get on the ferry and then ride another 30 miles to my next campground once it reached the other side.  It was only 4 o'clock, and my legs felt fine, so good plan, right?

Would have been, had fate not had it that the ferry I had called only 4 hours prior to verify that it was up and running not of spontaneously broken down.  There I was waiting by the ferry as the news went from bad to worse.  I was initially told it would be up by midday tomorrow.  Then the real issue with the ferry surfaced and the best estimate turned to midday Wednesday (2 1/2 days) because the replacement part was in Texas.  I was furious.  The only other way out would of entailed me backtracking nearly 50 miles.  That wasn't even an option in my mind, and so I immediately jumped into thinking mode.  How could I get back up to Mobile?  Rent a car?  Charter a personal boat to take me to the other side?  Both of those alternatives sounded costly, and so I quickly came to the realization that I was going to have to hitchhike up to Mobile.  Lucky for me I caught a man getting into his car that turned out to be the owner of the company doing the repairs on the big boat.  After explaining my situation (and mispronouncing Mobile many times), he offered to give me a ride under the condition that I quit saying Mobile the wrong way.  My response was the correct pronunciation of Mobile, followed by the phrase "Roll Tide".  The drive with him was hilarious.  He was a very interesting man that likewise took a strong interest in my journey.  He even drove me around Mobile for awhile looking for the cheapest motel.  I tried to give him cash as gas money, instead he gave me his business card and told me just to send him a post card when I reach St. Augustine.

Day 44 [Vancleave, MS]

I had a nice ride through rural Mississippi back roads today.  Not a single gas station or restaurant for 70+ miles, but I managed to make do by asking churches along the way to refill my water holdings.  Six hours of riding and I was here in my next campground.  I set up my tent and walked into town to find food having not eaten since 8:30 this morning.  A redneck here at the campground told me there was a Subway a mile down the road to the left. Well I walked that mile, and a little extra...no Subway or any other place to get food.  So I turned around and walked back the other way, all in all tallying about 3 miles of walking around before I was able to find some grub.  A real fun game to play when you are starving.  Back at the campground I hung out with three other touring cyclists for an hour or so.  One couple from Montana, and a man from Colorado who I met last night at my campground in Poplarville.  Tomorrow's a cool day.  It brings me to Alabama, and in particular a little island off the coast of Alabama that I never knew existed until this trip.  These smaller states are so fun to bike through because you can rip right by them in a day or two!

Day 43 [Poplarville, MS]

Long day today, mostly because I was reluctant to get out of my sleeping bag in the 50 degree weather this morning.  I was finally on the road by 9:30 or so, and arrived at my campground here in Poplarville by about 6pm.  80 total miles ridden, the first 30 or so consisting of rolling hills and the last 50 being a grab bag of hills and flats.  It was all worth it near the end of the ride when I crossed over into Mississippi, though!  I found my buddies on the road as well.  I rode with them for a little while, but they proved to be too quick for me without their gear loaded on their bikes.  The "welcome to Mississippi" sign was incredibly lame, but what can you do?  There was another sign a mile after this one that would have made for a better photo, but it required trekking through some tall grass and after all the dead snakes I've been seeing on the side of the road I decided against it.  More long days are ahead of me, and I'm learning that proper sleep makes all the difference.  At the beginning of the trip I didn't get the best rest in my tent, but now I sleep like a log in it.  I suppose I've gotten over my fear of bobcats, werewolves, or whatever the hell I was so afraid of.

Day 42 [Easleyville, LA]

Well today was just incredible for me in more ways than one.  First of all the ride was super easy, smooth sailing with only the faintest of winds.  Another reason why today was great was me breaking the double-millennial mark in miles pedaled for the trip.  Best of all, I met a group of three cross-country cyclists last night at the campground that are going my direction.  A dude and two chicks from Colorado, who since entering Louisiana have had an RV following them driven by one of their grandparents.  The RV is only going to the Louisiana state line, then after that they are back on their own, unsupported.  We decided to ride together for a little while once their support departs.  We exchanged phone numbers and figured we'd probably meet up somewhere in Mississippi.  It'll be fun to have some company for once!  They'll also help me go further every day, as they left over 10 days after me and have caught up.  On my ride today, I bumped into another rider heading west and he let me know that the gas station here in Easleyville lets you camp behind it for free.  That saved me $15 bucks, as I was going to camp at a paid campground here in town.  I may still head over there this evening to sneak a shower, though.  

Day 41 [New Roads, LA]

A nice and easy day for me today aside from the flat tire I got only a few miles from my destination.  I was on the same old flat Louisiana roads that I've been traveling on, and thankful for them.  Here in New Roads I found an RV park/Boat launch place to camp at.  They usually charge $10 to camp, but they waived the fee for me presumably due to my awesomeness.  The first thing I did after setting up my tent was run, not walk, to the shower.  I'd built up quite a stink between yesterday and today, and it's a great feeling to get clean again.  I'm now relaxing in my tent, which is sitting right by the lake, and planning out tomorrow's ride as the sun sets.  

Day 40 [Simmesport, LA]

 I had another nice 70 mile ride today on Louisiana's smooth, flat, and shoulder-less roads.  By accident I met up with David and Nancy again when we ran into each other on the road.  We pedaled together and chatted for fifteen miles until they breaked for lunch.  I then rode through Chicot State Park, which was gorgeous and car free.  Since entering this state I've been noticing the thick Cajun accent that is portrayed on that History Channel show, Swamp People.  I thought

 that show was an exaggeration, but
it turns out these gator grapplin', crawfish craving folk really do talk funny!  They are very friendly and talkative people though, at least the ones I've run across.  Here in Simmesport I am camping out for free in a country park.  No luxuries here, like a clean toilet or a shower, but hey I'm fond of the price.  Tomorrow I'm taking a shorter day, one that will bring me to the end of map 5 of my 7 map pack.  What'll remain after that is a mere 850 miles.  Sounds like a lot, but at 60 miles a day I will shred through it pretty quickly.  That finish line is close, and I can taste it.  As much as I don't want this trip to end, I want this trip to end.  Waking up in a bed every morning and home-cooked meals are becoming a distant memory.  This is the adventure of a lifetime, but certain things you can't help but miss.

Day 39 [Mamou, LA]

Keeping an eye on the weather I didn't know if I'd be moving today, but finally around 11:30am I began pedaling.  The rain that I thought had ceased slowly started to get heavier until I was drenched, and then it finally stopped for good once it was sure that I was soaked.  Then, for the first time on the trip I had my front tire go flat on me.  I know all to well what it feels like to have the rear tire go flat, but the front flat is a new sensation.  It took me a hundred feet or so to realize what was going on, and riding the flat caused me to have to apply three patches instead of one.  This setback combined with my late start caused me to fall short of my goal for the day of 80 miles, which would have brought me to a campground.  I stopped at 60 miles in the small town of Mamou, where I found a hotel for $40 cash.  It was already 7pm so my daylight was running out.  It's actually a very nice room, but an odd hotel.  I had to call the number on the door to get the owner to drive out and check me in.  It's also weird because they leave all of the unoccupied room doors open.  It's kind of creepy to see a hallway full of dark rooms (there's only one other guest here) especially in this old building.  Here's to a ghost-free night and a good ride tomorrow! 

Day 38 [Deridder, LA]

Update 5:00 am: I was awoken in my tent around 4:30 this morning by strong winds and rain.  Took shelter in the laundry room here at the RV park.  Looks like it may be like this all day and I doubt I'll be able to ride.  I Google'd things to do in Deridder and #3 on the list was "Dairy Queen".  So it looks like if I am stuck here, it'll be with boredom.

Today I feel a great sense of pride and accomplishment as I have conquered our biggest state in the lower 48 by riding through the dead center of it.  Texas represented about one third of my total trip and it was quite interesting to very slowly see it change from a dead desert to a state of dense vegetation.  The western most part of Texas is best left for the cows and ranchers.  There's really no reason to be there unless you hate fresh food and living things.  Once you get towards the middle, the state starts to bloom and just keeps getting prettier the further east you travel.  All in all, Texas took me 18 days and 920 miles to cross.  Parts of it (mainly Austin) I loved.  Other parts not so much.  Some of those days where I'd be doing stretches of 60 or 70 miles without civilization out in the desert...well let's just say there were many moments where I didn't think I was going to make it.  It was all just part of my adventure though, and I am glad I can look back on it and say I did it.

Today was much better than I'd hoped.  I had 50 miles done, and the state line crossed by noon!  The winds that I expected were present, but much milder than originally planned for.  Much of the day was spent at 15-20 mph.  That's warp speed for a loaded touring bike.  There's some bad weather moving in that I want to outrun, and as long as it doesn't impede upon tomorrow's ride I should have another big mileage day.  Since I managed to miss my "welcome to Texas" sign when I entered the state, I took a picture at my exit point just for good measure.

Day 37 [Silsbee, TX]

I took a short day today for rest, but battled some strong winds from the east for almost the entire duration of the ride.  Just a few miles out from my campground I got the first flat tire I've had in awhile.  Those gatorskins I bought are good, but I suppose not invincible.  Lucky for me I happened to break down right in front a small one-man shop that sold golf carts and bicycles!  As I was going through the motions of fixing the flat, the owner of the shop crossed the street in his truck and told me to load everything in it.  Back in his shop we used an air-compressor to re-inflate the tire, which made life a lot easier than cranking it out with my dinky hand pump.  He then showed me around his shop, which housed many gas and electric bicycles, as well as some tricked out golf carts (even one made by Lamborghini).  Mr. J.P. White then told me he knew where the campground I was going was, and he'd be glad to take me there.  He did, but not before taking me to McDonalds and instructing me to order anything I wanted with him paying for it.  If only every flat tire turned out so awesome.  

Since I had an easy day, I had plenty of time to update the blog and do my laundry before dinner.  I enjoyed a sit down meal at Chili's tonight with a couple that I had met in New Mexico, David and Nancy.  We had a great feast at Chili's and a fun time filling each other in with stories from the road since the last time we met.  They were very kind to treat me to dinner.  Two free meals in one day!  I think I am finally starting to get the hang of this life on the road thing.  Tomorrow will be a long haul to Deridder.  70+ miles with a headwind, so there's that to look forward to.  Time for a full night's rest on a full belly. 

Day 36 [Thicket, TX]

Happy Friday the 13th everyone!  I didn't even realize it when I took the picture of this old house today, but how fitting.  I rode by quite a few homes that time has forgotten today, and many microscopic towns as well.  Personally I don't understand how some of these little places are even on the map, but apparently out here all you need to be considered a "town" is to have a church.  For example, the town I am staying in tonight has a tiny RV park (with just one other guest), a church, and a vending machine.  Thank to Verizon's amazing service I'm still able to get online, though!  Today the roads flattened out after about the first 20 miles, but there were some mild headwinds to fight.  I get the comfort of air conditioning tonight, because this RV park let me stay in a trailer instead of camping out.  That also means I don't have to put out my tent, which I enjoy because the morning routine of packing everything up has become the bane of my existence.  At one point during my ride today another guy on a bicycle came up next to me and chatted on with me for 10 miles or so.  He was just out for a short ride, but he had a lot of questions about my adventure and the company always makes the miles go quicker.  Not everyone you pass is so nice and friendly, however.  I'd like to take this opportunity to express my thoughts on all of the elitist cyclists with their thumbs up their butts thinking that they're to good to wave to a touring cyclist.  You're not cool because you weigh less than your 5,000 dollar carbon-fiber bike.  I wouldn't rant about this if it hadn't happened to me multiple times, but  for whatever reason there are so many of these awful pricks riding around on bicycles that can't remember why they started riding bikes in the first place: for fun.  Enough on that.  I'm comfortable in my country bumpkin trailer and am probably going to go watch some Deadwood episodes now.

Day 35 [Pumpkin, TX]

Yes, I am staying in a town called Pumpkin tonight.  A town so small and cutely named that Google Maps refuses to recognize its existence.  Today brought more hills, but gentler ones.  I can tell that they are dying out and I will soon be out of the Texas hill country, and Texas all together for that matter.  Today was much cooler than yesterday, in which I was hemorrhaging sweat and as a result had gnats ransacking my face.  The only bug issues I had today was one worthless beetle-sized bug that fly head on into my left eye.  That little kamikaze bastard hurt me pretty good.  The ride today was very pretty because it was mostly through Sam Houston National Forest.  Trees on both sides and not many cars, mostly just the occasional park ranger asking me if I was okay when I'd just be dismounting the bike to take a leak.  Anyway, the past few days I have been learning how to increase my hobo level.  I have all but stopped looking for good lunches and have started resorting to sitting outside convenience stores eating turkey n' cheese Lunchables midday...and sometimes for breakfast.  Don't really care what it is or who's watching me bum it up, just let me wolf it down and get back to pedaling, please.  The past three days have been 65, 70, and 60 mile days, respectively.  My legs are starting to get burnt out from the hills so I think tomorrow will be a 50 mile day, and then a 35 miler the following day.

Day 34 [Navasota, TX]

If I haven't tested my legs yet during the trip then I surely did today.  Mile after mile of hills that just never stopped coming.  Just shy of 70 miles worth of hills, in fact, that took me 7 hours of pedal-time to pass.  Little towns came and went for the first 30 miles, but after that it was pretty rural riding.  I apparently stumbled upon the world's smallest Catholic church during the ride, too.  One thing I can be happy about with today's ride is that my butt was the least of my worries.  For the first time in awhile, I was able to cuss and bitch about my legs hurting instead of my bottom!  Very happy with that new saddle so far.  Tonight  I am staying at a free municipal RV park, the first of it's kind that I've seen so far.  I can't complain that much since it cost me nothing, but I can tell you that I had to kill about 5 cockroaches before I could step into the shower here.  They even had a toilet plunger in the shower, so I got the point and used that to start whacking all these insects to death.

Day 33 [La Grange, TX]

I truly loved Austin, TX.  Out of all the cities I've been to in the US this really might be my favorite.  It's kind of hard to explain why though.  There's really just something about this city.  It's not too city-like, it's clean, and is just freaking cool!  I feel like if I had been touring with someone else, or met someone off of couchsurfing that I would have stayed there for a week or more.  I stopped by an REI store while in town and swapped out my worn tires for some fresh ones that will hopefully prove to be a bit more puncture resistant.  In addition, I returned my cushy bike saddle for a hard leather Brooks one.  It seemed counter-intuitive at first that a rock hard saddle would provide more comfort, but after some thought it made sense.  Riding in bike shorts with a plush saddle ultimately just equates to a lot of moving around under my butt.  You don't need double padding like I was employing, and doing so just submits you to so much discomfort on long distance rides.  Brooks saddles are renowned in the bicycle world as being a top notch seat once you break it in.  It will take me a few hundred miles to satisfy the break in period, but today was the least painful 60+ mile ride of my trip so far.  All in all things are looking great for the second half of this journey.  I can't wait to see what some of these states closer to home hold for me.  Texas was awesome, albeit a bear during some stretches.  I will now be riding routes with towns much more closely spaced together.  The benefit of this is knowing I can get fresh, cold water every 20-30 miles.  This'll allow me to push on for longer distances each day without the worry of being stranded in a "village" of 17 people.

Day 32 [San Antonio + Austin, TX]

Here's the deal:  I am now halfway across America and have the weird suntan lines to prove it.  I've laid down 1450 miles since leaving San Diego in early March.  I've pedaled my ass off.  More miles in just over one month than I have ridden throughout my entire life, and I'm sure many times over.  I can safely say at this point that I've gotten more than I bargained for on this ride.  Don't get me wrong, I knew fairly well what I was getting into...but certain aspects have aligned with my expectations while others have strayed.  You tend to paint a beautiful picture in your head for an adventure like this...one that portrays the entire trip as one beautiful image.  I'm certain, at the end, that that's how I'll remember it.  But at this point in time I can tell you that it's hard god damn work. 

I knew full well that it'd be blood, sweat, and sometimes a pain in the ass (literally).  It was the overall commitment to receiving this day in and day out that I couldn't conceptualize until I was on the road.  It's hard to explain to anyone who hasn't experienced it, but I'll give it a go.  Imagine waking up every morning and knowing that you have to complete a work out, and you have to, or else you fall short of all goals for the day.  If you wake up and ditch the workout then you have done nothing at all with your day.  So, regardless of your sore butt, your tired legs, or your will to just freaking relax, you press on, knowing that your 40-70 miles you ride that day are a very small chunk of what is an extremely large country.  Eventually you begin to see the bigger picture and realize that your daily goal plays an incremental role in accomplishing the overarching one.  Looking at the map from time to time and visualizing your progress every day reaffirms this idea.  What it has all taught me is what I treasure above all else so far on this journey.  That'd be the fact that every day you press on makes you one day stronger and one piece closer to a richer puzzle.  Now, I hope this isn't just a worthless idea typed, but rather a mentality that sticks with me throughout life.  

As for the 40 mile ride today, I can say that the roads got better.  The winds died down a bit and I was able to ride into San Antonio in just under four hours.  I can also say that I didn't much like San Antonio, and decided to take a break in Austin.  I may have road through the ghetto area of San Antonio, but I could see the downtown part of the city and off the bat knew that it wasn't for me.  I've been riding for 12 days straight now without rest, and thus decided to board a bus to Austin.  This city is where it's at.  All of the cyclists I've past heading west told me that Austin is amazing.  While it's only my first night I can surely say that I've made the right decision.  This is a town worthy of celebrating my accomplishments at...and that I will do.  I may be here for a few days exploring before I resume the burden of busting my ass all day everyday.  One, two, three day break?  I'm not sure yet, but I'm here to have fun.  Talk to you when I'm back in saddle with some good stories to tell.  

Day 31 [Hondo, TX]

Today was just another hard fought day in my adventure.  The poor roads continued for me, although they did at least get a tad better.  Worse than the road surfaces were the constant 10 to 15 mph headwinds that were just punching me in the face all day long.  It took me five hours to go 42 miles, which is a pretty lazy pace compared to what I'm used to.  I actually found out from a man at the diner I ate breakfast at why these roads are so bad.  He told me that they choose to make them a little rough in this part of Texas because of all the lower-income families' cars leaking oil.  Oil all over the place would make a smooth asphalt road very slippery, but not so with a crappy bumpy road.  Its been quite a while now since I've had a nice easy day without hills/flat tires/crappy roads.  I hope I've been saving some up and get to enjoy them soon.  Tomorrow I'll arrive in San Antonio, and I'm not yet sure if I'll be staying there a night or just passing through.

Day 30 [Uvalde, TX]

The bumpy roads continued for most of my ride today.  To add to my frustration I encountered three flats during the ride.  The last flat came when I was really close to town, so I just got off and walked the last two miles to my motel.  I was beyond pissed off.  Probably the closest I've come to a bitchy breakdown thus far.  The hot sun was also cooking me while draining my water supply.  I was out of water with ten miles left to ride, but thankfully there was a border patrol station that I was able to tank up at.  I was in such a bad mood, however, that I kind of snapped at one of the border patrol guards when he asked me if I had any drugs on me.  My response was something along the lines of "if that canine sitting two feet away from me isn't retarded then I think he'd let you know".  I'm glad they still helped me out.  The roads though...I can't understand why they would use such a shitty surface for them.  I swear to god the Romans had better roads.  Hopefully they will change tomorrow for me.  Thank god I have air conditioning and baseball on TV tonight - makes it way easier to relax after the day I had.  Although the rooms not the cleanest...pretty sure I saw a cockroach raping a rat when I came in.  

Day 29 [Brackettville, TX]

Here's me midday smelling like crap.  You see the shower that I was so excited about being free yesterday was free for a reason:  it no worky.  I also have been wearing the same shirt for 3 days because all of my clothes are dirty.  Yea today was probably about the dirtiest I've ever felt in my life.  That's not gel holding my hair up, but rather the perfect combination of sweat and dirt.  The ride today was short but painful.  They were redoing the roads, which used to be made out of old tarred-down gravel.  Texas, in it's infinite wisdom, didn't update the roads to smooth asphalt.  Instead, they chose to lay down new tarred-down gravel.  The tar was still tar, and the gravel was loose.  The absolute worst surface for bicycles ever invented.  I wish Virginia would step in and show Texas how to make a sensible road.  Anyway, tonight I am in a campground with working showers and a laundry machine, so both of my problems will be solved soon.  As far as my route goes, I am once again deviating slightly from my ACA maps for a few days.  This will allow me to roll through San Antonio, which I'd like to see.  I also just received an e-mail from a couple I met on the road a couple weeks back offering to give me a ride in their rent-a-car to Austin from Bastrop if I can make it there the same time as them.  Only problem is I'd have to hurry and probably couldn't grab that rest day I've been craving.  We'll see how it goes, though.

Day 28 [Del Rio, TX]

 Well one of the heavy duty tubes I bought in New Mexico finally failed me.  I hadn't had a flat since I bought them, but unfortunately I woke up this morning to find that the rear tube had failed.  There was a crack in the base of the valve-stem and so it was unrepairable.  I replaced it with a standard tube and was one the road.  Before I was three miles in the rear tire was flat again.  I patched it on the side of the road and  was back on my way to another hill happy day.  The first 30 miles today were the same as yesterday.  Violent ups and downs, slow climbs and ridiculous speed sprees.  The final 30 miles were relatively flat and I was able to blow through them pretty quickly.  I stopped and ate lunch with a real Texas rancher in Comstock about halfway into the day's ride.  This man was absolutely hilarious, granted a bit racist, but hey it's Western Texas.  He lives 15 miles down a dirt road and said he never runs from a conversation because of how infrequently he sees other humans.  I asked him how long it took him to get to his house down this dirt road and his answer was "about 50 minutes...or 15 if I'm drunk".  After lunch I started noticing that my surroundings were getting greener and greener by the mile.  Grass, trees, and water have been missing from my sight for the last 400 miles or so.  I can't tell you how happy I was to see vegetation - it gave me an incredible burst of energy that sling-shotted me into Del Rio.  Going over the bridge below I just wanted to dive in headfirst.  Tonight I am staying in a free campground that has a shower, so I'm pretty stoked on that. Tomorrow is up in the air.  I'm not sure exactly which route I'm going to be on, and I'm not sure when I want to take a rest day.  I do know that it will be soon, though.

HOLY SHIT, WATER!!!!!!

Day 27 [Langtry, TX]

 Above you'll see my view of Sanderson from the top of a mountain as the sun was setting.  This guy Craig that I met at the RV park yesterday was a cool dude from Oklahoma.  He instructed me on how to get up to the top of the mountain and then let me borrow his 4-wheeler!  I haven't used gasoline in over a month (or ridden a 4-wheeler in 10 years) so it was a blast for me.  I thought the view was pretty spectacular as well, but you be the judge.

 Today was a hell of a 60 mile ride.  I'd have to say it was certainly the most difficult terrain I've seen, but my first few days of riding were harder only because my legs weren't with the program yet.  Steep ups and downs all day long in hot, blaring sun.  I'd go from climbing at 5 mph for awhile to bombing down a hill at 30 mph over and over.  I sort of enjoy this type of riding now that my legs can handle it, however 60 miles of it still wears me down.  It is so exhilarating and rewarding to fly at 30+ miles per hour on a bicycle after you just worked your butt off to conquer a big hill.  About 45 miles into my ride at the hottest point in the day I hit an extremely steep climb that lasted about a mile and a half.  I somehow made it up but I was sweating buckets the whole way.

Laugh it up, because this last picture is of where I am sleeping tonight.  After the long haul today this town of Langtry is the first town I have seen since leaving Sanderson this morning.  The population of the town is an overwhelming 17 people.  This is actually the first place on the trip that I haven't had cell reception.  There obviously isn't much in town, but there is a tiny RV park, which is vacant other than this lone trailer.  A sign was posted on it that said "for rent" with a phone number.  It has a shower, A/C, electricity, a refrigerator, and is pretty clean.  I got it for $25 bucks and couldn't be happier with it.  I'll need a good nights rest after the day I had and the fact that I'll be pretty much repeating it tomorrow.  Dinner is a bag of Fritos and a gallon of water...not much to choose from in Langtry's general store either.

Day 26 [Sanderson, TX]

Marathon's nightlife wasn't exactly crowded considering the town only has a few hundred residents, but they did have one place open for me to watch the Final Four games at.  A Texas-style saloon with peanuts all over the floor.  I had a fun time there and a pretty good slumber in my adobe dwelling upon returning to the hostel. This morning I was still half asleep and in search of coffee when a pit bull ran out of someone's yard and started to chase me.  Usually I don't even bother to flinch when I see a dog chasing me, but a pit bull has a way of getting your attention.  The bastard put a nice big bite into one of my rear panniers before leaving me alone.  I repeatedly tried kicking it in it's over sized, fat skull thankfully missing because who knows how much that may have pissed it off.  I'm just grateful the pannier received the injury over my leg.  Then about about 20 miles into my ride today I saw the unthinkable:  a pretty girl doing a cross-country ride!  We stopped and chatted for a little while, but of course she was headed the opposite direction of me - name's Miranda just in case she happens to stumble upon this blog.  Tonight my accommodations are once again in my tent, in the lovely Canyon RV Park here in town.  According to the other cyclists I've spoken to, tomorrow and probably the next day are going to suck something awful so I'd better rest up.