November 30
Got up at 6:15 this morning and took a peek outside: raining, windy, and cold. Hauled out this machine, which I had packed last night, and looked at the weather report: rain, wind and cold all day. Clearing tonight, wind subsiding tomorrow, but remaining cold.
Should I stay another day for another $60, or ride on, hoping that the rain would stop before noon? The next place with shelter would be Brenham, about 30 miles west. West-south-west, actually, and the wind was north-north-west. And strong, at least 20mph. So I had a bowl of cereal, coffee, and a couple of donuts, compliments of Best Western, and punched up Google Earth, to see what information they might have about my route south. Two and a half hours later I had the whole thing planned, as far as Valle Hermoso, in Tamaulipas.
With my rain gear on, if there are hills to climb, I am usually drenched with sweat after the third hill. Not today. Today I needed those hills to stay warm. Which I did, except for my hands and feet, because my gloves and shoes were soaked. The crosswind gusts were strong enough that I did not dare ride more than about 12 mph, even downhill, where I normally get up to about 25. And at times I thought the rain was turning to sleet. The highway had a good, wide shoulder, but I stopped at narrow bridges until there was no traffic before crossing them, because the gusts could blow me three feet onto the road.
About ten miles west of Navasota a truck pulled over ahead of me, and a long-haired person got out of the passenger side, lowered the tail gate, and unloaded a bicycle equipped for touring and tenting. I stopped, of course. What I had taken for a girl was Geoff, and he and I rode together for the next ten miles or so. Geoff is a twenty-three year old anarchist from Winnipeg. One could not ask for a better traveling companion. He is headed, eventually, for Guatemala, but is going to Austin first, and knowing what I do about Austin and Geoff, I think he will stay there a week or so. He rides a hundred miles a day, to my sixty, so he might catch up with me again in Mexico. We exchanged e-mail addresses, a few stories, and some biography. We rode together for quite a while, but then he said he had to flake our on me. His feet were freezing, and he was going to hitch-hike. A truck gave him a ride before I got a quarter of a mile away.
Nearing Brenham, I stopped at Tex's Barbeque and Catering, and had a large bowl of delicious stew and two corn muffins and a cup of good coffee for $5. Bonnie Benkoski, proprietress, gave me clear and specific directions to this motel. Following them, as I was creeping up a hill on a residential street I overtook a fellow walking. We greeted each other, and he had time to mention that he was trying to scrape up some money to buy gas for his car. I stopped. I gave him $4. Restorative karma, having received aid from that good man in Mississippi.
I'm in a EconoLodge, and in the time it took to write this I've warmed up and my gear has dried out. That's what good karma can do for you.
Should I stay another day for another $60, or ride on, hoping that the rain would stop before noon? The next place with shelter would be Brenham, about 30 miles west. West-south-west, actually, and the wind was north-north-west. And strong, at least 20mph. So I had a bowl of cereal, coffee, and a couple of donuts, compliments of Best Western, and punched up Google Earth, to see what information they might have about my route south. Two and a half hours later I had the whole thing planned, as far as Valle Hermoso, in Tamaulipas.
With my rain gear on, if there are hills to climb, I am usually drenched with sweat after the third hill. Not today. Today I needed those hills to stay warm. Which I did, except for my hands and feet, because my gloves and shoes were soaked. The crosswind gusts were strong enough that I did not dare ride more than about 12 mph, even downhill, where I normally get up to about 25. And at times I thought the rain was turning to sleet. The highway had a good, wide shoulder, but I stopped at narrow bridges until there was no traffic before crossing them, because the gusts could blow me three feet onto the road.
About ten miles west of Navasota a truck pulled over ahead of me, and a long-haired person got out of the passenger side, lowered the tail gate, and unloaded a bicycle equipped for touring and tenting. I stopped, of course. What I had taken for a girl was Geoff, and he and I rode together for the next ten miles or so. Geoff is a twenty-three year old anarchist from Winnipeg. One could not ask for a better traveling companion. He is headed, eventually, for Guatemala, but is going to Austin first, and knowing what I do about Austin and Geoff, I think he will stay there a week or so. He rides a hundred miles a day, to my sixty, so he might catch up with me again in Mexico. We exchanged e-mail addresses, a few stories, and some biography. We rode together for quite a while, but then he said he had to flake our on me. His feet were freezing, and he was going to hitch-hike. A truck gave him a ride before I got a quarter of a mile away.
Nearing Brenham, I stopped at Tex's Barbeque and Catering, and had a large bowl of delicious stew and two corn muffins and a cup of good coffee for $5. Bonnie Benkoski, proprietress, gave me clear and specific directions to this motel. Following them, as I was creeping up a hill on a residential street I overtook a fellow walking. We greeted each other, and he had time to mention that he was trying to scrape up some money to buy gas for his car. I stopped. I gave him $4. Restorative karma, having received aid from that good man in Mississippi.
I'm in a EconoLodge, and in the time it took to write this I've warmed up and my gear has dried out. That's what good karma can do for you.
posted by untv at
9:51 AM
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