Things I Bike About

Week Seven

February 23rd, 2021
Laz Cruces, New Mexico

This week started off with me departing from Joe and Cath’s place in Beaumont, Texas. They hosted me and it was the first Warm Shower host I’ve had. Super welcoming, made a great meat and potatoes dinner and we had good conversation about Texas’s view of COVID and how they manage it. They are interested in relocating to Denver, so I hope they can visit when my tour and COVID are over.

I was really debating whether to even leave that morning. The road had turned completely into ice. Like an idiot, I figured I’d give it a shot. I say like an idiot because unlike up north, there are no snow plows or salt here. So that means there was no chance of the roads getting any better throughout the day (even though the sun did come out once in a while, it wasn’t enough to melt). So along I went, against my instincts, trying to fill my ego for icy riding.

About 20 miles in, the ice had taken over my bike. My brakes were glazed over, so the pads just slid across the rotors. The gearing was all gone and the actual drive train was starting to crunch. I had to call it for the day. I pulled over near an abandon silo and called a tow truck.

The tow truck came and we had a good laugh about the whole thing. He said he thought someone was yanking my chain. He said my number was from Florida and he couldn’t believe someone would be riding a bike in this weather. But he figured he’d check it out since someone called him and it was in the teens weather wise. One of the first things he said was “You’re a better man than me, doing all that biking” and I said no way, you’re the better man for picking me up. That was especially true as he dropped me off at the nearest hotel and didn’t charge me for the lift. Excellent guy. The only way I could repay him was giving him a 5-star review on Google. If you’re ever in Liberty, Texas and need a two, Southern Boys Towing is who you call.

The ride into Houston was frigid and bitter. Every passing bridge was still covered in slushy snow and every gas station and store was closed due to being either out of power or water, or both. Things were not looking good here. Luckily, my host, Natasia, was kind enough to let me stay at her apartment even though she also didn't have power or water. I was so grateful just to have a place to hold up when things kept getting worse. Luckily, the second day I was there, the power did come back and stay back. Natasia returned and I was able to go to a few different grocery stores to scrounge for what was left and make dinner for her and her kid.

One of the reasons I was trying to get to Austin was because I was planning to meet Sara there. She is the one I lived with in Denver before the trip began. Unfortunately, her flight was cancelled due to the storm. Austin got some of the worst of it. She purposed that she drive down to not only see me, but drive me out of Houston and as far west as possible. I was a bit hesitant at first but ultimately agreed.

She didn't have to get back until Monday, so I suggested we go see Big Bend National Park, which was on my original trip map to see. So we did just that. The rest turned out to be better than either of us could've planned.

With that, the week ended with us saying goodbye from a hotel in El Paso.

You can read about Sara's experience in her Instagram post. If you like beer and beer related things, I would highly recommend following her!

My general rule of thumb on taking rides is 1. Only if offered and 2. Only if necessary. The second is the trickier of the two. What is necessary? It’s hard to call getting a tow an offer, but I did deem it necessary. Sure, you could argue I could've crunched those gears further on to Liberty.

Had I stayed in Beaumont another night, like I should’ve, I would’ve made it to Houston the following day without issue (other than it being below 20 degrees). So, the mistake really here was trying to feed my ego and trying to test out my bike in these conditions. Had I done more winter riding in Denver, I could’ve predicted how Cynthia would’ve functioned with a bunch of ice clogging up her drive train. As far as getting a ride out of most of Texas, this one is harder to justify. I’m putting it in the necessary column because someone is driving to meet me here, based on plans being changed. Had the weather not been an issue, I feel confident I'd be in Austin by now and we'd have a nice little stayover there. But things change.

This trip has always been about connections and seeing cool stuff. It’s never been explicitly about the miles. That said, I do enjoy knocking out miles. It’s a great feeling to have a good day of riding, the exhaustion of a long distance travelled. Not to mention, if I want to meet my year deadline, then from that aspect, it’s about miles. But I’ve decided that for me, it’s a feature of doing a trip like this, not a goal.

I only even bring this up because I’m sure there are purists out there who would call shenanigans on me for accepting rides. Honestly, I feel it. It’s hard to argue against it. Playing devils advocate, I’m sure it be some variation of “Why are you taking rides on a bicycle trip?” or “You can but just know that it’s not a real tour if you’re getting rides to places” or some variations with tacked on wisdom. Again, I get these arguments and I don’t really have a rebuttal other than to say yeah, I guess it’s not the right kind of touring, defined by you.

But that’s just it, there is no right or wrong. Joe and Cath told me about many cyclists that they’ve hosted. There was one gentleman who did a minimum of 150 miles a day! One started at 1 a.m. to do 220 miles to meet his friend at a party one day. Some they hosted only did around 30 to 40 miles a day if that and stopped for days at a time. Some have been on their bike for the whole decade. It was so refreshing to hear this! So much variety, so many different paths, all equally valid.

One more thing to add is that I asked Reddit's r/bicycletouring what I should do and their response was overwhelming that I should take the ride and get out of here. Austin and Houston are not only experiencing power outages, but gas shortages and a lack of water. My biggest worry heading out is that places along the way would be closed up and there would be no place for food or water for a long, long time. Also, if something were to happen, I'd be taxing an already taxed first responder system. So having a ride west out of all of this with a girl I adore and I'll also be helping not add to a problem sounds pretty good to me. Maybe not strictly necessary, but very close.

Goals and standards mean nothing if we don’t stick with them or constantly move the goal posts. I’m very aware that taking rides is a slippery slope. But I liken it so far to my journey with food and exercise. You’re going to slip, it’s just going to happen. What matters is that you get back on the wagon and keep going. I plan to pedal to the metal after this. The weather should be getting back to normal and I hope for some good riding ahead. But I’m taking it all as it comes. I hope you are too!

In this section, I talk about things that have really helped me and things that have frustrated me, both surprising and expected. Here are some from this week:

Headwinds:

• Ice, ice baby - I kept saying before the trip that I wanted to do more winter riding, in the snow and ice, and I got my wish! Granted, this wasn't with the studded tires and Barr Mitts that I was going to use, but still. Seriously, it's a whole other game. I wasn't prepared for it, period.

Tailwinds:

• Great hosts - Once again, just coming through.

• Sara - What an amazing person to have in my life. I was a little hesitant of her idea, but it didn't take long to warm up to the idea of exploring the beauty of west Texas with her.