"Rinse And Repeat"

Riding Day 27 – 91.77 miles

We woke up in another Comfort Inn in Cleveland, Tx because it was still raining last night and camping in the rain sucks. The free breakfast started at 7:00 and we we’re there exactly at 7, and so were two families with a zillion kids. I waited patiently to get my usual helping of eggs, but the zillion kids had already emptied the egg tray. They were cute kids though, so I gave them a break and improvised with extra muffins and oatmeal. And why am I telling you this? I’m not exactly sure, but I wasn’t going to let eggs, or rather the lack of eggs, ruin my day. The rain had ceased, the route for the day was relatively flat, the temps were cool, and Odie and I were going to bang out some big miles.

I had to clean Hank’s chains and lubricate the derailers before we started because the rain had left crust and rust in places on Hank that could lead to failure if left unattended. But even with this extra tasking, we were still rolling by 8:30. The air felt cool and moist, and Odie and I were both better prepared with our biking apparel than we had been the day before. It was going to be a good day.

After a mile or so of getting our legs warm, we started to really move. For long stretches we’d cruise at 18 or 19 mph until a small hill, rough road or light wind would slow us a few miles per hour. But every time there was an opportunity to push the pace, we did, because we knew there weren’t giant hills or stiff winds headed our way. After two weeks of relentless hills and winds, we were finally free.

We had first entered Texas on March 22^nd, and tomorrow, on April 9^th, Easter Sunday, we will at last cross into Louisiana, probably around mid-morning. That’s 19 total days in one state, which includes 3 off days and 16 days of hardcore, arduous riding. That’s 16 days out of the 27 total days we’ve ridden since leaving San Diego, to cross one state, the state of Texas.

It was, as we’d predicted, a big milage day, a great riding day, a relatively uneventful day, a day where we finally felt in control of our destiny again. Mid-ride, the Bob surprised us with giant milkshakes from Sonic, and while we were enjoying them, three puppies accosted us and demanded belly rubs. Then their dad, a big Pitbull with a limp, showed up to bark at us before demanding his own belly rubs. Then their owner showed up and thought we were trying to steal his dogs, but upon being informed of what was really going on, offered to let us have one of the pups. As tempting as this offer was, because those pups were adorable, we declined.

At the start of the day, we’d set our sights on making it to Kirbyville, Tx. It didn’t seem overly ambitious, even though it was roughly 91 miles away, and shortly before 5pm, we made it to Kerrville, still feeling relatively fresh. We found a great camping spot with nobody around, then dinned on rice, soup and tuna.

Tomorrow will do it all over again, “rinse and repeat,” as the Bob says, but with only about 1,068 miles left before we reach Saint Augustine, the light is starting to be visible at the end of the tunnel. With a conservative estimate of a 70-mile daily average (I think we’ll do much more given the flatness of the terrain) we’ll only need to pedal for another 15 days. With two planned off days, one in New Orleans, and one in Alabama to see Odie’s son, we should make it to Saint Augustine on the 25^th or 26^th of April, well ahead of schedule. It has never been a race, but we’re in a groove now, and we’re gonna let it roll every chance we get because it feels really good to be flying across the country on a bicycle, just like it did when we were kids flying through the neighborhoods of our youth on stingrays with banana seats and butterfly handlebars….ahhh, those were the days, but then so are these.