From an informal survey of passing motorists
I would venture
That:
Wealthy motorists
Are less generous
With sharing the public roadways/space
Than all other demographics
(Based on cost of vehicle)
Hey, wait a minute!
I heard Rep Lamar Smith (R-TX), chairman of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology, is going to proposed a bill in the House
Called "The High Quality Research Act"
Undoing the need for peer review
For science
With the NSF
If his bill passes and the President signs it into law (never gonna happen, of course, as long as those Demoncrats have "control" of the Senate and White House)
I could take my idea
Publish it in a journal
Say it is "published science"
In a journal
(And if I was a rich guy and so inclined, or a guy with rich "sponsors"
I could buy a journal to have it published in
Or just start one)
My idea, my hypothesis
Needs a little work.
But the Congressional Representative from Texas?
Now his idea,
his idea is crazy.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Austin by next weekend!
Its starting to feel like we are heading home. Today we'll start angling north for the first time in over 2 months!!
I would say the one thing that has surprised me about Texans
(Other than the fact that they DO drive friendly; 'cept for maybe in the "big" cities like El Paso and Del Rio.)
I have had many conversations with proud Texans; ones who have said "WE had to fight fer our independence"
(as though that made them superior.[Esp to Yankees, which they "know" I am, since I typically say "I live in WI." Then they press, and I admit that I'm from NY.], as though the American Revolutionary War didn't matter or count somehow - maybe because it was before Texas was even a gleam in some "settler's" eye? So they didn't have the honor or luck of joining that long, brutal fight? Maybe they don't ... remember it? Wait! The TX school board HAS been in the national news for re-writing history, for teaching weird stuff, and for omitting generally accepted "facts" - maybe they don't teach schoolkids about the fight for "our" independence, you know, from that old colonial power, the United Kingdom?)
In all my conversations with "born and raised" Texans, not one of them has known what years Texas was an independent republic; not one of them has known what year Texas joined the United States. Not even close, in fact. (Guesses have included "1870?" "So after the Civil War then?" "I don't know.")
Of course, Texas, after joining the United States, quickly split and joined the pro-slavery Confederate States - as a slave state. Mexico outlawed slavery, and many of the soon-to-be-"free" negro seminoles who had guided many Americans in the Southwest were soon pursued by American slave traders, lookin' to make money. So they fled to "free" Mexico...
But I digress.
I just figure, if yer gonna be "proud", if yer gonna be condescending and dismissive of others (states, people, political, economic and religious perspectives) then you should at least know about yourself; if not also "the other".
It saddens me that in America even our own history is not deemed wothy of learning. No wonder we, in the form of our "leaders", make statements like "old Europe" and "the Geneva Conventions (on warfare and treatment of prisoners etc) are quaint". Really? How historically ignorant, offensive - and leading to immoral and illegal behavior on OUR part. I thought we were supposed to be "better", "a shining city on the hill"? Guess not. And the lamest thing is that most Americans don't even know it. Ignorant and happy? I don't know. Americans seem more like "fat and angry". Well, that is, if you read and believe in statistics.
TX "won" its independence from Mexico in 1836. It joined the United States in 1845. It left the United States in 1861. TX and the Confederate States lost the Civil War and thus rejoined/remained part of the United States.
Time to ride our bikes through Del Rio. Wish us luck!
Friday, May 3, 2013
Good times and fascinating conversations in Langtry, TX
We rode into Langtry when it was 101' F in the shade. Hot.
Ate and drank at the Langtry Depot; met some nice people too.
Stayed in Keith's "warm showers" trailer, and were glad to have AC; and then a solid building to sleep in (rather than our flimsy tent) when the nasty cold front, lightning, wind and 50+ degree temp drop happened the next day.
Took a nice walk on the day off, checked out the Roy Bean museum, the cactus garden, and, of course, we ate again at the Wagon Wheel, with Sharon and company.
Keith not only dropped off another couple of cold beers the next day (in addition to the sliced cheese and apple he brought us the day before!), but he also took us for a quick tour of the Pump Spring, "the point" overlooking the Rio Grande and over in to Meh he Co, some "sink holes" etc. Nice drive/walk, except for the cacti we got stuck in our shoes - and one nasty one in my toe!
Before leaving Keith's trailer, and Langtry, this morning we went by the US Post Office (it's in the Constitution!) and then to the Wagon Wheel, one more time. Sharon fed us again, and we had some fascinating conversations with Sharon, the owner (who's name I am forgetting, unfortunately), a couple other customers - incl truckers, who asked us questions they had been wondering about for a long time, but had never had the opportunity to get answers to ("Why do cyclists ride in the lane, then move over when they hear us comin'?" Broken beer bottle glass, truck tire debris - flat tires etc) We said goodbye to Meredith and Fletcher when they rode by (a young couple bike touring the other way, who we had met briefly at the museum the day before.) We also talked to a retired football coach turned preacher named Ray who was self-proclaimed "right wing, for TX". Said he had put out a sign on his church during the last Presidential election which read "Vote for the Mormon capitalist, not the Muslim communist"; said he got a lot of attention for it. Said people told him he'd lose his tax-exempt status, since he was clearly telling people who to vote for (which is illegal, for churches, to maintain their tax-free status). He almost immediately said he had been "rooting for your Governor"(in WI) when he was busting the public unions there a couple years back. I couldn't really think of things that I disagree with more. And those certainly seemed like offensive things to say to a stranger; they seemed more like 3rd or 4th date kind of things to say, not first date intro kind of stuff. Nonetheless, I kinda liked the guy.
But I am now trying to think of equally offensive things that I could have said to him, and frankly, I don't find it easy. (And not that I would have either; I think that's rude. If we had had more time? Maybe. Certainly with the woman from the Chamber of Commerce [Safford, AZ?] who accosted us during our lunch and besides preventing us from eating till our sandwiches got cold but went on and on ad nauseam - I couldn't help myself. I responded, forcefully but respectfully.) There is no Fox News Corporation for people who are less "black and white" than people like Ray, for people who understand that there is almost always "gray" in many decisions, in life. For people who don't follow in lock step with Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes' world view. For Democrats and others. For those who think that the problem with so many American Christians is that they are very un-Jesus-like. There is no comparable "hour-after-hour lineup of blowhards repeating the Republican line" - for thinking people. We're just not like that, as humans. We question, we deliberate, we understand that we may be wrong; that we may very well change our mind when presented with new information.
Could I say that, for example, George W Bush and Dick Cheney were draft-dodging rich boy drunk cowards that turned into chickenhawks after they failed to heed all the warning signs and implorings from the outgoing Administration and CIA operatives and prevent the massive attacks on 9/11/01 - and then lied us into unnecessary war in Iraq, tortured people (illegally, immorally -and very un-Christian?), and have bankrupted our great nation with their deregulation and "tax-cut and spend" policies? I could say that. But the problem is that there is a whole lot more truth to that statement than the "Muslim communist" sign Ray put in front of his "tax-free because you don't tell people how to vote" church.
Ate and drank at the Langtry Depot; met some nice people too.
Stayed in Keith's "warm showers" trailer, and were glad to have AC; and then a solid building to sleep in (rather than our flimsy tent) when the nasty cold front, lightning, wind and 50+ degree temp drop happened the next day.
Took a nice walk on the day off, checked out the Roy Bean museum, the cactus garden, and, of course, we ate again at the Wagon Wheel, with Sharon and company.
Keith not only dropped off another couple of cold beers the next day (in addition to the sliced cheese and apple he brought us the day before!), but he also took us for a quick tour of the Pump Spring, "the point" overlooking the Rio Grande and over in to Meh he Co, some "sink holes" etc. Nice drive/walk, except for the cacti we got stuck in our shoes - and one nasty one in my toe!
Before leaving Keith's trailer, and Langtry, this morning we went by the US Post Office (it's in the Constitution!) and then to the Wagon Wheel, one more time. Sharon fed us again, and we had some fascinating conversations with Sharon, the owner (who's name I am forgetting, unfortunately), a couple other customers - incl truckers, who asked us questions they had been wondering about for a long time, but had never had the opportunity to get answers to ("Why do cyclists ride in the lane, then move over when they hear us comin'?" Broken beer bottle glass, truck tire debris - flat tires etc) We said goodbye to Meredith and Fletcher when they rode by (a young couple bike touring the other way, who we had met briefly at the museum the day before.) We also talked to a retired football coach turned preacher named Ray who was self-proclaimed "right wing, for TX". Said he had put out a sign on his church during the last Presidential election which read "Vote for the Mormon capitalist, not the Muslim communist"; said he got a lot of attention for it. Said people told him he'd lose his tax-exempt status, since he was clearly telling people who to vote for (which is illegal, for churches, to maintain their tax-free status). He almost immediately said he had been "rooting for your Governor"(in WI) when he was busting the public unions there a couple years back. I couldn't really think of things that I disagree with more. And those certainly seemed like offensive things to say to a stranger; they seemed more like 3rd or 4th date kind of things to say, not first date intro kind of stuff. Nonetheless, I kinda liked the guy.
But I am now trying to think of equally offensive things that I could have said to him, and frankly, I don't find it easy. (And not that I would have either; I think that's rude. If we had had more time? Maybe. Certainly with the woman from the Chamber of Commerce [Safford, AZ?] who accosted us during our lunch and besides preventing us from eating till our sandwiches got cold but went on and on ad nauseam - I couldn't help myself. I responded, forcefully but respectfully.) There is no Fox News Corporation for people who are less "black and white" than people like Ray, for people who understand that there is almost always "gray" in many decisions, in life. For people who don't follow in lock step with Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes' world view. For Democrats and others. For those who think that the problem with so many American Christians is that they are very un-Jesus-like. There is no comparable "hour-after-hour lineup of blowhards repeating the Republican line" - for thinking people. We're just not like that, as humans. We question, we deliberate, we understand that we may be wrong; that we may very well change our mind when presented with new information.
Could I say that, for example, George W Bush and Dick Cheney were draft-dodging rich boy drunk cowards that turned into chickenhawks after they failed to heed all the warning signs and implorings from the outgoing Administration and CIA operatives and prevent the massive attacks on 9/11/01 - and then lied us into unnecessary war in Iraq, tortured people (illegally, immorally -and very un-Christian?), and have bankrupted our great nation with their deregulation and "tax-cut and spend" policies? I could say that. But the problem is that there is a whole lot more truth to that statement than the "Muslim communist" sign Ray put in front of his "tax-free because you don't tell people how to vote" church.
Fascinating people in TX, fer sure.
Anyway, that's what we did first. Then we rode our bikes 50+ miles.
(And for the ultimate irony...I was sitting in the "Icon Bar and Grill" near Amistad reservoir writing that blog post, thinking about how one might fairly call me an iconoclast, every now and then, writing about my conversation with a guy who takes everything as "black and white"; who says he doesn't deal with gray at all - he just turns to the Bible for all his answers. I kept thinking about the book "The year of living Biblically"...and so many questions! Maybe I'll go visit him in Leakey, on Sunday. I do like talking to all kinds of people after all...even ones that are sure they are right [even when they are most certainly, demonstrably not] - and that everyone else will eventually realize the error of their ways and come over to his "extreme", "right wing, for TX" view of people and the world.)
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Year_of_Living_Biblically
I'm being watched
Tonight we are staying in a RV park near Amistad (spanish for friendship) reservoir. The state parks close by are either closed or with limited services (no water) so we've found an RV park that accepts overnight tents (with water, showers, electricity, wifi and picnic tables). The RV park is eerily empty except for a few RVs, a dozen deer and a cat. The deer are grazing on whatever vegetation they can find (not much here), and staring at me. Judging by the droppings by the tent, we've put our tent on their evening buffet.
Thanks fer feedin' us Sharon!
Must be time to move on down the road
From 100 degrees when we arrived
To maybe 40' last night
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Some "Thank you's" are in order
(Started this ages ago, when we didn't have wifi/cell reception...just catching up)
To Heidi for booking our stay at the Wilderness Lodge and Hotsprings in Gila Hot Springs.
To my mother paying for it, before we did!
To Dean and Mike for entertaining conversations at the Lodge and at the Gila Cliff Dwellings. Really enjoyed our conversations. Thanks!
To Mountain Spirits RV park near Mimbres for a very welcoming place to camp, including for bike tourers.
To Scott for "not being a racer", for the extended chat outside the Mimbres store.
To John, for offering us water on a hot day in the desert, in the "no man's land" between towns.
To the nice folks in Langtry at the depot who keep feeding us.
And now, especially to Keith, who put us up for two nights in his trailer (that he bought and set up for touring cyclists!) - and brought us a couple cold beers on a hundred degree day, and some sliced apple and cheese. Man, that is awesome!
Thanks everybody. You're helping make a great trip even better!
To Heidi for booking our stay at the Wilderness Lodge and Hotsprings in Gila Hot Springs.
To my mother paying for it, before we did!
To Dean and Mike for entertaining conversations at the Lodge and at the Gila Cliff Dwellings. Really enjoyed our conversations. Thanks!
To Mountain Spirits RV park near Mimbres for a very welcoming place to camp, including for bike tourers.
To Scott for "not being a racer", for the extended chat outside the Mimbres store.
To John, for offering us water on a hot day in the desert, in the "no man's land" between towns.
To the nice folks in Langtry at the depot who keep feeding us.
And now, especially to Keith, who put us up for two nights in his trailer (that he bought and set up for touring cyclists!) - and brought us a couple cold beers on a hundred degree day, and some sliced apple and cheese. Man, that is awesome!
Thanks everybody. You're helping make a great trip even better!
Hate to say it, WI
But the drivers in TX are better
More observant
More friendly
More observant
More friendly
Everyone likes to say "Midwest nice"
Guess it doesn't apply to a large enough percent of the motorists there, especially while they're around cyclists and pedestrians, to corroborate that story, that myth, that stereotype
Maybe Wississippi should take down all those new "Open for business" signs at the state border and take a lesson from TX - and put up "Drive Friendly" signs instead?
Of course, cyclists in WI can likely do some things differently to help their own cause; especially since I think it's a pretty safe bet that the current state govt is going to do nothing to help them (given their focus, like a laser, on helping the wealthy and wealthy "corporate people"). What can cyclists do, to help their own cause?
Wear bright-colored clothing, use flashing front and rear lights - even during the daytime; even though some of your friends and some strangers will make fun of you for the lights. But we're cyclists in a car nation, for crap sake. So if we're gonna let a little "peer pressure" decide what we're gonna do - then we're just gonna stop cycling, aren't we?
Be courteous, be thoughtful. Be like most of the motorists in TX - move over when passing (or being passed). Ride single file when it makes it easier for motorists to pass, safely; as a mutual show of respect, of Sharing the Road (it is a two-way street). And, of course, write your city, county, state, and federal representatives/senators - even though you know that many of the responses from them will be what an old college friend of mine used to call the responses he got to his job applications - FOADs. Although you'll have to buy me a beer to learn the secret of that acronym! But let's just quote Wississippi Senator Ron "30 clip" Johnson to understand the flavor of many of those responses. Spending of our tax dollars on safe walking and biking is "a waste of money", according to good ol' RonJohn. But, please, keep writing them anyway. Or they will both think they are "doing the right thing" ("But no one wrote me on that issue!") and "right" on the issue (and not just "right wing" on the issue). Of course, I would guess that most of my friends and family would think that spending at least some of our tax dollars on making walking and biking safer is money well spent. As I'm fond of saying, I want "more than zero" of my tax dollars spent on making walking and cycling safe(r). Currently, "my" WI state govt and some of Wississippi's federal representatives think the only role of govt is to help "corporate people" make more profit, and not to help its citizens(you know, the ones that can [currently] vote) lead safer, healthier lives.
And that must be making the Founding Fathers roll over in their graves.
Until the "tea party revolution" and the "austerity" party have run their course through Wississippi's and Washington's govt's and Excel spreadsheets, we'll just have to ride defensively and respectfully - and hope for the best. We'll have to try the "show respect to get respect" thing until "our" govt is back in the "business" of protecting its citizens, rather than protecting only the wealthy and wealthy "corporate people". Maybe some day the American govt's will return to serving and being responsive to "We, the people"?
A middle-aged guy still has the right to dream, right?
Bikin' through all those road cuts yesterday
I kept thinkin'
The Earth is older than 7,000 years
And
We are in a short, geologically speaking, period of time here, as human animals
A short, stable period
There will certainly be more tectonic changes, sedimentary rock laid down, then uplifted out of the ocean, and, of course, super volcanoes erupting, spewing millions of tons of lava, etc., blocking out the daylight for years at a time, lowering plant growth, causing mass extinctions and certainly internecine wars among humans.
So, my take away is
Enjoy this short life
Be kind to each other
Leave your campsite cleaner than you found it, even though there are much bigger forces at play
And be humble about who we are, how powerful (or not) we are
Try not to destroy the gifts we have been left by previous generations of Earth's inhabitants
Don't take yourself too seriously
And be grateful to all the kind people out there, willin' to feed you, or give you water on a hot day, or take you in during the storm. We have met all kinds of great people on this trip; and, I know it'll be shocking and awing, but many of them are not cyclists, yet still kind to us traveling cyclists.
And for that I am truly grateful.
Thanks.
The Earth is older than 7,000 years
And
We are in a short, geologically speaking, period of time here, as human animals
A short, stable period
There will certainly be more tectonic changes, sedimentary rock laid down, then uplifted out of the ocean, and, of course, super volcanoes erupting, spewing millions of tons of lava, etc., blocking out the daylight for years at a time, lowering plant growth, causing mass extinctions and certainly internecine wars among humans.
So, my take away is
Enjoy this short life
Be kind to each other
Leave your campsite cleaner than you found it, even though there are much bigger forces at play
And be humble about who we are, how powerful (or not) we are
Try not to destroy the gifts we have been left by previous generations of Earth's inhabitants
Don't take yourself too seriously
And be grateful to all the kind people out there, willin' to feed you, or give you water on a hot day, or take you in during the storm. We have met all kinds of great people on this trip; and, I know it'll be shocking and awing, but many of them are not cyclists, yet still kind to us traveling cyclists.
And for that I am truly grateful.
Thanks.
Addiction and racism
Ridin' along the Southern NAFTA border, seeing the massive amount of our tax dollars going to the new, expanded, "rich" Border Patrol, I can't help but think that we aren't being "adults", that we aren't facing up to our own drug use, abuse and addiction.
We should face facts and make marijuana legal, regulate it, and tax it. Hell, we could even use some of that revenue to fund the BP. That would take away a lot of the money, power, and related violence (for them, as well as for us) of the Mexican drug gangs - as they try to supply American's demand for those drugs. But all we do is point the finger at Mexico and say "Look at all their problems with gangs and violence!" Childish, and stupid; not good for us, in the long run (let alone for all the victims of violence down there). Will we "grow up"?
I doubt it; and partly because I read that the alcohol industry lobby spent $9 million AGAINST legalizing marijuana in CA during their recent referendum. Yet another example of corporate/industry lobby groups (like the NRA, representing gun/ammo manufacturers - against the wishes of 91% of the American people. Who won that one?) fighting for their narrow special interests (and usually only for industry profit. I think "the profit motive" is powerful, and fine - but it should not be the "be all, end all" in a self-proclaimed "democratic" society - it should be one of many goals, incentives - controlled for the people by the govt [which has been totally, successfully emasculated by corporations and billionaires, and their paid lobbyists], not those of the state or nation, or "We, the people" - and winning. Because the American system is now wholly corrupt. And that's really too bad, eh? We could have done so much better, as a nation and as individual states.
We should face facts and make marijuana legal, regulate it, and tax it. Hell, we could even use some of that revenue to fund the BP. That would take away a lot of the money, power, and related violence (for them, as well as for us) of the Mexican drug gangs - as they try to supply American's demand for those drugs. But all we do is point the finger at Mexico and say "Look at all their problems with gangs and violence!" Childish, and stupid; not good for us, in the long run (let alone for all the victims of violence down there). Will we "grow up"?
I doubt it; and partly because I read that the alcohol industry lobby spent $9 million AGAINST legalizing marijuana in CA during their recent referendum. Yet another example of corporate/industry lobby groups (like the NRA, representing gun/ammo manufacturers - against the wishes of 91% of the American people. Who won that one?) fighting for their narrow special interests (and usually only for industry profit. I think "the profit motive" is powerful, and fine - but it should not be the "be all, end all" in a self-proclaimed "democratic" society - it should be one of many goals, incentives - controlled for the people by the govt [which has been totally, successfully emasculated by corporations and billionaires, and their paid lobbyists], not those of the state or nation, or "We, the people" - and winning. Because the American system is now wholly corrupt. And that's really too bad, eh? We could have done so much better, as a nation and as individual states.
And "free trade", as in NAFTA? I'll bet it's the very same people and politicians who were clamoring for the "free trade" agreement with Meh he Co (and Canada, eh?) that are now saying "Welcome to America - now speak English!" Or "Build a fence!" Or "Kick them all out!"
But lord knows how bitchy they'd get if there were no migrant farm laborers to pick their strawberries...
How long has AZ been a state? How about NM? As I'm fond of saying, Casey Stengel used to famously say, "You could look it up!"
So can we just call a spade a spade, and admit that after the European-Americans "cleared the area of Indians", as the Historical Markers proclaim, a couple generations ago, the descendants of those people still have some violently anti-"darker than them skin pigmented" people attitudes? We saw on tv last night a former Senator from TX talking about how "awful" the Comanche raids were, for "the people" of TX. Really? How was it for the Comanches? (To have some new strange people with pale skin, strange ideas about "property" and "fences" and new, more deadly weapons? How was it for them?)
So can we just call it what it was? And likely, passed on from past generations, still is? Let's try ignorance, hubris, greed and racism.
And not "freedom", or "free trade", or "Don't tread on me". Because that just makes us look silly.
OK?
Texas deer huntin'
There was a stink in Wississippi coupla years back now when the new Gov in town hired "the deer czar" (self-proclaimed, I believe? [And you thought those conservatives {maybe it's just the tea baggers?} didn't "like" czars, did you?]) all the way from Texas to come nort' to pert near the other NAFTA border (no fence!) to tell the WI DNR what they were doin' wrong, in terms of deer huntin' in Wississippi, anyhow.
Now, we've been gittin' a good look at tha infrastructure of Texas deer huntin' of late. We've seen the tax-deduction corporate jets flyin' overhead, we just biked past this massive (Terrell) county airport out in the middle of nowhere - unless you count the HUGE private hunting lands with tall fences, that is!
So, ya see, yer Romney-class executives fly in on their taxpayer subsidized Lear jets, get picked up by some local big wig or politician who's "workin'", no doubt, and driven in style (maybe escorted by their own phalanx of Border Patrol? Lord knows there's enough of 'em out here!) over to the Carruthers Ranch, where they get to shoot the species, the gender, the size and, who knows, maybe the political party affiliation of any animal they want to! But maybe there's a default switch to "Demoncrat" on that last one.
Then it's a coupla Corona's and off-color jokes (you know the type, the ones that make "the help" uncomfortable, an git real quiet) before they jet back off to, what was it, house number 6, fer some helicopter skiin'?! Yeehhahhhh!!!!
Now, is that really what we want the deer huntin' in Wississippi to turn in to? Is it, Gov'nor Walker, Texas Ranger?
Well, now that I think about it, what with all his boot-licking the billionaires all over the country...maybe that is EXACTLY what he wants! Changin' state law so foreigners can buy large tracts of land, tax credits not only fer corporations themselves, as "people", but also fer the executives of those "corporate people", and now tax credits for them fancy private schools those poor rich folks send their kids off to in the Escalade in the mornin'. Maybe this is exactly the kind of deer huntin', and society, this particular (Westboro?) Baptist preacher's son wants fer Wississippi. I reckon it darn well might be, after all. Shucks.
(For "extra credit", what was the name of the childhood family ranch of Texas Gov Perry?)
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Perspective
I'm worried about wind, the coming storm, how tired I am, will we have a solid building to stay in tonight and tomorrow during this nasty cold front comin'...
And some elderly couple's house just burned down here in Sanderson. Sad.
The woman mildly freakin' out in the gas station, gettin' coffee like us, said "I've never seen anything like it."
Now guys keep comin' up in their big diesel work trucks, fillin' up - with the engine runnin'. Now I know it's diesel, not gasoline, but c'mon. The first dude was on the cell phone too. Now I reckon if he'd a lit up a cigarette that woulda made it the trifecta! Git yer tickets! There's gonna be a show in town!
And some elderly couple's house just burned down here in Sanderson. Sad.
The woman mildly freakin' out in the gas station, gettin' coffee like us, said "I've never seen anything like it."
Now guys keep comin' up in their big diesel work trucks, fillin' up - with the engine runnin'. Now I know it's diesel, not gasoline, but c'mon. The first dude was on the cell phone too. Now I reckon if he'd a lit up a cigarette that woulda made it the trifecta! Git yer tickets! There's gonna be a show in town!
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Hot, windy, and 35 miles of
The second half of today (Marathon to Sanders, TX) was hot, windy, and 35 miles of 1-2% downhill. We were cruising at 20 mph for around 10 miles and then we got tired. How can 35 miles of downhill be so hard!? Oh yeah, its the (hot) wind. One more day, and then we may take a day off, depending on the weather. There might be another cold front blowing through tomorrow evening.
We plan to get up early to miss the heat (100F is predicted) and then the winds are supposed to pick up to 25-30 mph bringing "colder" temperatures. Tomorrow we are staying in Langtry (see wikipedia for its interesting history), and thought with the winds we better stay inside. Langtry isn't big enough for a motel, but we can rent a trailer for the night, so we should be safe and comfy!
We plan to get up early to miss the heat (100F is predicted) and then the winds are supposed to pick up to 25-30 mph bringing "colder" temperatures. Tomorrow we are staying in Langtry (see wikipedia for its interesting history), and thought with the winds we better stay inside. Langtry isn't big enough for a motel, but we can rent a trailer for the night, so we should be safe and comfy!
Confirmation: it WAS an offer of water! (from "Texas, so far")
We stopped at the gas station/food mart in Sanderson today at the end of another hot, windy day (95'F), and there was one other fella sittin' outside. He said "I saw you two the other day. I offered you water."
What?!
Turns out John works for a contractor for the railroad and he keeps the sightlines clear at railroad crossings. He was the guy who passed us in a "work truck" and offered us water, through gestures (I was guessing.)
Then his truck broke down yesterday (after he offered us water, about 20 miles outside the town that we stopped in; Marathon) and he was now stuck in Sanderson, waiting for a rental car approval from his boss. It is his day off and he was not pleased about sittin' at the gas station, waiting for the "rental car approval".
Said he was from Ohio, left right after High School; worked on oil rigs out of LA and at the refineries; he was a pipefitter. Then about 6 years ago he got tired of all the travel etc and started workin' for this outfit; same company his wife works for.
Said he stopped and left some water for an older couple he saw biking our same route the other day. They apparently get bottled water from work, and if he sees a cyclist in his travels along the highway beside the railroad route that he drives for work he offers them one/some. Generous. Thoughtful.
And it made me think back to Mike in CA who had said he was hot, tired, and running out of water when he crested a hill - and there they were, two bottles of water. I asked John if it was him and he said no, but that there are railroad guys over there too...
We had a long time to chat, seeing as how Heidi and I were eating our 4 o'clock dinner...and near the end he said "Maybe I'll try that some day; I do have a bike in the garage at home." Then he came over and checked out our rigs, hefted my heavy bike, and watched us pack our potato chips, yogurt, cans of fruit, fig newtons etc. into our panniers.
Asked us questions about carrying a spare tire ("What do you do if you get a blowout?") Talked about tires, tubes, fixing flats, lubing yer chain etc. I mentioned that I had seen mtb's in the back of some of the Border Patrol pickup trucks, and I said I thought it was a real good idea; "beats walkin'" (I wasn't trying to rub it in, given that he had just had a breakdown of his own.). He's gonna put his bike in the back of his work truck, once the radiator gets replaced, and he gets home (100 miles away); and then back to work.
This gas station/food stop was hoppin', and every third SUV/pickup truck was a brand new Border Patrol vehicle. John made small talk with one of the young gringos with milk still behind his ears, under his cowboy hat, drivin' that sweet $80,000 suped up rig: "I wouldn't want your job!" The kid smiled sheepishly, mentioned how fun it was to chase "them" with the 4 wheelers, etc. When the kid finally tipped his hat to John, his elder, and went in to buy snacks for his shift, John said "That's where all our money goes", kinda quiet, under his breath. It cracked me up. We talked about all the greenbacks being spent on the wetbacks (not in those words; I'm paraphrasing); and how there were brand new Border Patrol fenced compounds going up all over the place.
Anyway, he is a real nice guy. Wished us good luck and be safe. I thanked him, again, for the kind offer of water yesterday, and good luck with his work truck/rental car situation; told him that the nice people we keep meeting on this trip are helping to undo all the crap we read in the newspaper, and see on the tv.
What is America?
Is it people like John, from Ohio?
Or is it politicians like John Boehner, from Ohio?
What?!
Turns out John works for a contractor for the railroad and he keeps the sightlines clear at railroad crossings. He was the guy who passed us in a "work truck" and offered us water, through gestures (I was guessing.)
Then his truck broke down yesterday (after he offered us water, about 20 miles outside the town that we stopped in; Marathon) and he was now stuck in Sanderson, waiting for a rental car approval from his boss. It is his day off and he was not pleased about sittin' at the gas station, waiting for the "rental car approval".
Said he was from Ohio, left right after High School; worked on oil rigs out of LA and at the refineries; he was a pipefitter. Then about 6 years ago he got tired of all the travel etc and started workin' for this outfit; same company his wife works for.
Said he stopped and left some water for an older couple he saw biking our same route the other day. They apparently get bottled water from work, and if he sees a cyclist in his travels along the highway beside the railroad route that he drives for work he offers them one/some. Generous. Thoughtful.
And it made me think back to Mike in CA who had said he was hot, tired, and running out of water when he crested a hill - and there they were, two bottles of water. I asked John if it was him and he said no, but that there are railroad guys over there too...
We had a long time to chat, seeing as how Heidi and I were eating our 4 o'clock dinner...and near the end he said "Maybe I'll try that some day; I do have a bike in the garage at home." Then he came over and checked out our rigs, hefted my heavy bike, and watched us pack our potato chips, yogurt, cans of fruit, fig newtons etc. into our panniers.
Asked us questions about carrying a spare tire ("What do you do if you get a blowout?") Talked about tires, tubes, fixing flats, lubing yer chain etc. I mentioned that I had seen mtb's in the back of some of the Border Patrol pickup trucks, and I said I thought it was a real good idea; "beats walkin'" (I wasn't trying to rub it in, given that he had just had a breakdown of his own.). He's gonna put his bike in the back of his work truck, once the radiator gets replaced, and he gets home (100 miles away); and then back to work.
This gas station/food stop was hoppin', and every third SUV/pickup truck was a brand new Border Patrol vehicle. John made small talk with one of the young gringos with milk still behind his ears, under his cowboy hat, drivin' that sweet $80,000 suped up rig: "I wouldn't want your job!" The kid smiled sheepishly, mentioned how fun it was to chase "them" with the 4 wheelers, etc. When the kid finally tipped his hat to John, his elder, and went in to buy snacks for his shift, John said "That's where all our money goes", kinda quiet, under his breath. It cracked me up. We talked about all the greenbacks being spent on the wetbacks (not in those words; I'm paraphrasing); and how there were brand new Border Patrol fenced compounds going up all over the place.
Anyway, he is a real nice guy. Wished us good luck and be safe. I thanked him, again, for the kind offer of water yesterday, and good luck with his work truck/rental car situation; told him that the nice people we keep meeting on this trip are helping to undo all the crap we read in the newspaper, and see on the tv.
What is America?
Is it people like John, from Ohio?
Or is it politicians like John Boehner, from Ohio?
I can only hope that it's not Boehner.
Think I'm gonna stop
I find history fascinating. And I don't mean the "high school textbook rah rah America!" stuff. I mean, "what the hell actually happened here"; what people actually did to each other, to non-human animals, to the land, air, and water. Who profited, who lost; and how many morals and religious "convictions" were broken in the acquisition of "fill in the blank" (ranch land, copper/gold/silver mines, oil "reserves", private profit from fruit plantations [whether bananas in Guatemala or tomatoes in Venezuela] etc)
So I usually wanna stop at Historical Markers and dioramas; catch up on a little of the "local flavor".
We read one yesterday, by some old house ruins, that closed with "While the country was being cleared of Indians and bandits". And "Erected by the State of Texas".
Frankly, I'm getting tired of and depressed by "our" history. We were bad back then. And, of course, we really haven't changed our "stripes". If we want somethin', whether land, copper, bananas, strategic location - or oil - we go and take it (or just make sure that it is OUR ["multinational"] corporations that profit off the "resource"). Democracy, treaties and "freedom" be damned. We'll couch it in flowery language, and we certainly won't ask tough questions of the "embedded" journalists employed by NBC which is owned by GE which profits off the very war they are "covering" - AND pays NO federal income taxes to help pay for the wars they profit from.
The "local flavor" is proving quite bitter.
I think I'll give up stopping to drink at the well of Historical Markers, and just keep pedaling.
Unless, of course, I see a monument to "the freedom fighters" who fought against the European-Americans, marching West, the ones stealing their land (using better weaponry - we LOVE war, and guns, "airpower", etc.). Now that would be a Historical Marker worth reading.
Freedom!
So I usually wanna stop at Historical Markers and dioramas; catch up on a little of the "local flavor".
We read one yesterday, by some old house ruins, that closed with "While the country was being cleared of Indians and bandits". And "Erected by the State of Texas".
Frankly, I'm getting tired of and depressed by "our" history. We were bad back then. And, of course, we really haven't changed our "stripes". If we want somethin', whether land, copper, bananas, strategic location - or oil - we go and take it (or just make sure that it is OUR ["multinational"] corporations that profit off the "resource"). Democracy, treaties and "freedom" be damned. We'll couch it in flowery language, and we certainly won't ask tough questions of the "embedded" journalists employed by NBC which is owned by GE which profits off the very war they are "covering" - AND pays NO federal income taxes to help pay for the wars they profit from.
The "local flavor" is proving quite bitter.
I think I'll give up stopping to drink at the well of Historical Markers, and just keep pedaling.
Unless, of course, I see a monument to "the freedom fighters" who fought against the European-Americans, marching West, the ones stealing their land (using better weaponry - we LOVE war, and guns, "airpower", etc.). Now that would be a Historical Marker worth reading.
Freedom!
I thought of Oom Kor yesterday
We were biking along side the railroad tracks yesterday when we saw the headlight of a train coming towards us. We haven't seen too many trains on this trip, so when we do it is always a little exciting. Especially this one, since it seemed to fit so well in the wild west open expanse of the view. But the best part was when it blew its (LOUD) horn in response to our waves from the highway!
Monday, April 29, 2013
Back in the old days
About a hundred years ago my dad, who was a professor and off for the summer, took my brother and I camping and fishing across the Wild West. We did the trip again later with my sister and step-mother.
Today, when we were in between Alpine and Marathon, TX, we waved to a Union Pacific train and the conductor blew his train whistle. I was thinkin' "That's the guy we met at the Mission RV park in El Paso!" (Who was a train conductor for Union Pacific. We talked to another guy there, at length - and he was a retired conductor!) Then I said to Heidi "I think we did that as kids; pretend to pull the whistle and see if the conductor would pull the whistle in response." She said "We did too!"
Anyway, it made me think about those trips, decades ago, when we camped, fished, then drove on to another campsite out west; and then did it all over again, a day or 3 later.
The other things I remember, from the first of those two Wild West trips, was the graffiti on the walls of the toilet, in Dick's home state of WY. (Please stop reading if bathroom humor might make cream cheese come out of your nose; presuming you are reading this while eating bagels with cream cheese on them.) Maybe Dick "I had other priorities" Cheney wrote them himself, back in his hard drinking, 5 draft deferments, pre-Chickenhawk days?
Anyway
Here I sit
Broken-hearted.
Came to shit
And only farted.
And (don't tell Lynne!)
It's no use standing on the seat in here
The crabs jump 12 feet high!
I think I was 12 when I read those
In WY
While the deer and the antelope played...
Today, when we were in between Alpine and Marathon, TX, we waved to a Union Pacific train and the conductor blew his train whistle. I was thinkin' "That's the guy we met at the Mission RV park in El Paso!" (Who was a train conductor for Union Pacific. We talked to another guy there, at length - and he was a retired conductor!) Then I said to Heidi "I think we did that as kids; pretend to pull the whistle and see if the conductor would pull the whistle in response." She said "We did too!"
Anyway, it made me think about those trips, decades ago, when we camped, fished, then drove on to another campsite out west; and then did it all over again, a day or 3 later.
The other things I remember, from the first of those two Wild West trips, was the graffiti on the walls of the toilet, in Dick's home state of WY. (Please stop reading if bathroom humor might make cream cheese come out of your nose; presuming you are reading this while eating bagels with cream cheese on them.) Maybe Dick "I had other priorities" Cheney wrote them himself, back in his hard drinking, 5 draft deferments, pre-Chickenhawk days?
Anyway
Here I sit
Broken-hearted.
Came to shit
And only farted.
And (don't tell Lynne!)
It's no use standing on the seat in here
The crabs jump 12 feet high!
I think I was 12 when I read those
In WY
While the deer and the antelope played...
Texas, so far
Has been awesome
We've come 271 mi from El Paso
There have been fewer broken beer bottles on the side of the road (than there were in Nuevo Meh he Co and Azirona)
The drivers, save one guy (gal?) in a gold colored pickup truck today, have been "friendly" - like the Welcome to Texas sign advertised, or admonished? (Except for maybe in El Paso, with about a million Americans, crowded into one hot, windy, and dusty place.)
A guy in a "work truck" today, in the "no man's land" between Alpine and Marathon, even slowed down and offered us water (signaled it, and I am taking it to be that, given that we didn't actually talk; just hand gestures: "Drink?"). I mean, we've biked near 2,500 miles pardner, and no motorist has offered us water?! (In the desert, no less.)
I mean, I don't feel "welcome", being a long-haired, libral hippie who thinks we should treat other humans (even non-Americans - please don't tell anyone!) and non-human animals with respect...
But, so far so good?
We've come 271 mi from El Paso
There have been fewer broken beer bottles on the side of the road (than there were in Nuevo Meh he Co and Azirona)
The drivers, save one guy (gal?) in a gold colored pickup truck today, have been "friendly" - like the Welcome to Texas sign advertised, or admonished? (Except for maybe in El Paso, with about a million Americans, crowded into one hot, windy, and dusty place.)
A guy in a "work truck" today, in the "no man's land" between Alpine and Marathon, even slowed down and offered us water (signaled it, and I am taking it to be that, given that we didn't actually talk; just hand gestures: "Drink?"). I mean, we've biked near 2,500 miles pardner, and no motorist has offered us water?! (In the desert, no less.)
I mean, I don't feel "welcome", being a long-haired, libral hippie who thinks we should treat other humans (even non-Americans - please don't tell anyone!) and non-human animals with respect...
But, so far so good?
Quote of the day, so far
"Heidi, no matter how much Mexican food I eat
There's only so much wind I can break"
But the ladies sitting next to us were talkin' about pesticides and cancer, and all them damn librals and scientists warnin' us about their use and abuse. And the one lady says to the other, "I use all that stuff. And I ain't dead yet!"
Makes me think about those folks who poo poo evolution, sayin' "I ain't never seen a monkey turn into a human, yet!"
Maybe I better go get that haircut now...
There's only so much wind I can break"
But the ladies sitting next to us were talkin' about pesticides and cancer, and all them damn librals and scientists warnin' us about their use and abuse. And the one lady says to the other, "I use all that stuff. And I ain't dead yet!"
Makes me think about those folks who poo poo evolution, sayin' "I ain't never seen a monkey turn into a human, yet!"
Maybe I better go get that haircut now...
I never get tired of this view/draft
Today we are heading east from Fort Davis to Marathon, TX. So far I am loving west Texas!
Highway Cleanup
Had a great idea on Texas 118, on the way from Ft Davis to Alpine
Instead of having groups clean up sections of highway, twice a year
(Do they ever pick up broken glass shards?)
State DOTs should install
Giant clown heads
With huge, gaping mouths
And a dumpster behind them
On the sides of highways
For the really hip DOT they'll put up a "positive reward" system, whereby, if a motorist/passenger gets the beer bottle into the clown's mouth
A loudspeaker
or bright shiny light
Will exclaim
"Nice shootin', Tex!"
It'd save a lot of reflective vests and garbage bags
And flat tires for passing cyclists...
Instead of having groups clean up sections of highway, twice a year
(Do they ever pick up broken glass shards?)
State DOTs should install
Giant clown heads
With huge, gaping mouths
And a dumpster behind them
On the sides of highways
For the really hip DOT they'll put up a "positive reward" system, whereby, if a motorist/passenger gets the beer bottle into the clown's mouth
A loudspeaker
or bright shiny light
Will exclaim
"Nice shootin', Tex!"
It'd save a lot of reflective vests and garbage bags
And flat tires for passing cyclists...
Oh! I must be in the front row!
No more helmet/mullet?
We have a lot of miles to go in TX after all.
And all I keep seein' are signs like these; and Confederate flags, "Don't Tread on Me" snakes, and "Vote Republican" signs.
Hmmm.
There is a salon next door, Sally?
Drought
We bought an annual TX SP pass this morning, and the woman in the office at Davis Mtns SP told us, when we asked, that the rain we had yesterday was the first time it had rained in...she couldn't remember the last time it rained. "Maybe last summer?" she said...
Revised top 10 equipment list
Now that we are down south, I have to revise the equipment list to include my sun sleeves. Best idea ever! Thank you Rhonda for the packing tip when I was still in Middleton, WI with snow on the ground.
Another item we have been using regularly lately is our MSR Dromedary water storage bag. It is more than nice to be able drink as much as we want, and not have to worry about running out.
Another item we have been using regularly lately is our MSR Dromedary water storage bag. It is more than nice to be able drink as much as we want, and not have to worry about running out.
The Davis Mountains
In Jeff(erson) Davis County
(Huh. Thus all the Confederate flags?)
Are truly beautiful.
I'd recommend a day or three there to anyone who likes biking, hiking, ornithology, anthropology, meteorology, astronomy, you name it.
(Unless, maybe, if you're the descendant of American slaves?)
I can certainly see why the Comanches and Apaches didn't let it get wrested from them easily, without a fight.
(Huh. Thus all the Confederate flags?)
Are truly beautiful.
I'd recommend a day or three there to anyone who likes biking, hiking, ornithology, anthropology, meteorology, astronomy, you name it.
(Unless, maybe, if you're the descendant of American slaves?)
I can certainly see why the Comanches and Apaches didn't let it get wrested from them easily, without a fight.
Rhonda was right!
In "downtown" Ft Davis, 2 doors down from the "Confederate flag/"Don't Tread On Me" flag sanctuary...
Lots of Confederate flags
Here in Ft Davis, TX.
Maybe I better not, like, uh, talk to anybody here?
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Heidi, after "the queen stage"
85+ mi
3,100' of climbing
Mixed winds
6:45 riding, about 10 hours elapsed time...
After battling the noise and truck tire debris of I-10 for ~36 miles (a lot on frontage roads actually, from Van Horn) we turned off and uphill on 118. And what a beautiful road that is; awesome.
Such beautiful scenery on 118. And a nice change from the sandy, barren desert we had been in for days to grasses, trees, etc.
I kept imagining how the place must have looked back when it had deer and elk, and maybe bison? (Instead of the cows, fences, water storage tanks, and huge "spreads" with imposing, ornate gates plastered with "Keep Out!" and "No Trespassing" signs of European-American cattle ranching.)
Really cool mountains looking in the distance. And we saw lots of threatening clouds in the distance, heard thunder and even felt a couple raindrops - crazy! The road up by the observatory (6,779')was quite wet; so I think we did the right thing by relaxing at the Lawrence Wood Picnic Area (where we were originally thinking we would camp. Then with promises of "It's early in the day still" [3pm?] and "We'll take it easy", we finished the climbs, miles, winds and made it to a proper campground) for a while before finishing the climb (and letting the worst of the threatening weather pass). Had some snacks at the visitor center (the cafe was closed, but we could buy iced tea, cookies, Milky Way bars, Starburst, etc) used the WC, and took a quick tour (but not the real tour, of the telescopes etc, we missed that part).
It's a nice ride down to the beautiful state park, and grateful that the camping is down in the valley and not up the switchbacks visible from 118.
As Heidi said on the last little rollers after the big downhill from the observatory, "The tank is empty!"
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