Del Rio - 33.78 miles




I keep forgetting to write about the man I met who worked at the Marathon Coffee Shop. He is related to Bill Wyant who is in the administration of the South Kitsap School District(the district I grew up in). He is also related to Mike Wyant who was in band. I can't quite peg him but I have my suspicions. The muffins were wonderful at the cafe.

I packed up this morning with the intention of eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich today. After passing over the Amistad Reservoir and stopping at Lakeside Sports to have a clinking checked out, I bought the ingredients. H.E.B. is the name of the non-Walmart option in Del Rio. Apparently they are all over Texas. Next stop: public library Internet access. But let me back track.

We met Joe at breakfast. Joe is an Oregonian riding from Phoenix to Austin. We chatted with him over mini-pies and rolled all the way to Del Rio with him. While I was getting my clink checked out, (nice folks at the bike shop by the way) Joe moved on to the library. By the time Jon and I caught up, he was gone. I pursued internet access while Jon dialed Australia. I came out to eat my cottage cheese. Amongst the small curds, there was Ann. Ann teaches in the school district here and invited me to stay at her apartment. She went about her business inside. Jon was unfortunately distraught about something back home and I told him I'd be staying with Ann. I took the opportunity to split ways. We hugged and promised to swap pictures when we had the chance. I tried to send him off in the direction of Brackettville. Then there was one.

Ann noted that there was a shortage of math teachers here. They need subs. So tomorrow I'll go down to the high school and see if this is true. We walked through the historic part of town to the Episcopal church for the monthly women's dinner. Good ladies. Good lasagna and chocolate cake. Ann took me to do laundry at her Lonnie's apartment. With the load washing, we went to a friends house on the reservoir. She's a quilter. The Russian woman had an impressive studio. It included an excellent selection of quilts and a quilting machine. It was time for her to head to bed and time for the clothes to go in the dryer. I sat "reading" a German yachting magazine while my zippers clinked around the barrel. Now to sleep on the hide-a-bed.

10.2 Ave - 24.8 max - 1334.8 odo - 3:17:42 time

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Simmesport - 32.27 miles

Image
Most people would not get excited about liquid oozing out of a limb. I, however, was tired of the painful tautness of the skin from the mass of liquid built up. Aside from perhaps finally getting back on the road again, this was the highlight of my day. St. Augustine once again doesn't feel very far away as I plan to finish off the fifth of the seven maps tomorrow and cross the Mississippi. Checking my email in Simmesport, I received several happy birthdays. A couple of which were from people who claimed not to know me, but were friends of my mother's. So later on the phone I asked my mother if she'd sent a provoking email out. She had. I caught her. Not that it's bad, but usually I'm lucky to have more than one or two people remember it's my birthday. The day hasn't traditionally been great. Last year's was good though. 9.5 ave - 15.1 max - 2214.2 odo - 3:26:38 time
Read more

St. Augustine - 100.65

Image
5:00 came with the same nervous intensity that an early flight out of Sitka does. It is just too much of an inconvenience to be late for an important important. I had to meet with the darkness so we could experience the ebb and flow of the shadows as the street lamps pass us by. This single sensation with the cool night air and tidal movement of my shadow chasing me and leaving me behind is my favorite part of cycling. I watched the orb rise with the traffic the same color as my reflective shirt. I stopped once to eat breakfast at Hardee's and again before crossing the St. John's to eat grilled cheese, veggie-beef soup, and more sweet tea. As I completed the century to St. Augustine, I understood why the ACA route goes where it does. As I approached the coast I passed traffic caused by a down cyclist out for a Monday spin. Waiting in the touristed out town, I took pictures of myself on timer hoping to have one halfway decent one. I rode down some of the narrow streets as the tr
Read more

Big Cane - 0 miles

Image
Though still congested, I don't feel half as ill as I did a few days ago. Drugs work wonders, but the bite on my thigh is still hot, red, tender, and 5 inches in diameter. And people worry about mosquitos in Alaska. I think I may force myself to rest one more day before I take off. I've been anxious to leave since I got here. But my hosts have been the kindest anyone could ask for. To be honest I'll miss the buckets of live craw fish that rest and surprise me on the kitchen floor and the baby turtles in tupperware on the counter. With any luck they'll find that second one that climbed but before they sniff it out.
Read more