Mb2Cb Tour Days 8 & 9- Vega, Tx. to Boise City, Ok.

Day 8 of the tour brought me from Vega to Dalhart, Tx. Everything about this day's ride was good. The roads, temperature, the winds, the terrain were all working in my favor. I reached Dalhart early and was able to check into a motel and Skype call my dad during his 92nd birthday party. It was great seeing and speaking with my dad and family. Bicycle touring is great fun but it can get lonely.

Day 9 took me out of Texas and into Oklahoma. Everything about today's ride was difficult. The roads, temperature, winds, and terrain were all working against me. There was a steady 20-25mph wind in my face, a cold rain, tons of hills, and (as Mark Glover warned) the Oklahoma roads are terrible (potholes and no shoulders). I was pretty whipped when I finally reached Boise City. The good news is that this part of the Oklahoma Panhandle is only about 35 miles wide and I've already biked over 20 of those miles. Things are looking up. The Weather Channel informs me that the winds will shift back to southwesterly tomorrow and that it will be warmer and sunny. I will enter into Colorado tomorrow and have great expectations take road conditions will improve. Also, today I reached the 600 mile mark which means that one third of the tour is completed. Seems like I just started. See the video for pictures of Days 8 & 9.

Mb2Cb Tour Days 6 & 7 - Levelland to Dimmitt to Vega, Texas

Hello Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea. I'm here at the Boot Hill Bar and Grill in beautiful Vega, Texas where Bob Wills is Still The King. I'm kicking back with a Blue Moon listening to the soulful sounds of San Antonio Rose and Steel Guitar Rag. Danielle, the barrista, a native of Vega, loads the jukebox with quarters and the magic just keeps pouring out. The past two days have taken me through Levelland, Littlefield, Dimmitt, and now Vega. Littlefield is the home of the great and legendary Waylon Jennings and (the equally great and legendary) Medina Community Library's own,  Dr. Don Wilson. It is not possible for me to bike through this part of Texas without thinking of the great singer/song writers who hale from this fertile land including Wills, Waylon, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Ponty Bone, Joe Ely, James McMurty, and of course the original Texas rocker Buddy Holly.  The past two days I've pedaled keeping cadence with Holly's Maybe Baby and Ely's Down on the Drag. For a Texas music fanatic this was pure heaven. I'm interested to know who your favorite Texas singer/song writers and songs are. Comment and let's talk about it.

Day - 5 Lamesa to Levelland, TX

I am writing this post on my tablet since the charger to my netbook mistakenly went back with Skeets to San Antonio. The charger is being shipped back to me and if all goes right, it and I should re-unite in Boise City, OK. this coming Sunday. In the meantime I will continue to post but probably not with pics or video since the tablet has limited capabilities to transfer photos from the handlebar cam or to compose video.
Day 5 ride was great. The weather has been perfect, clear, 75deg, and with a strong wind at my back.  The people I've met have been friendly and every single one of the thousands of motorists that have passed me, considerate.  It's easy to be jaded when we hear about all the bad in this country. However I chose to remain positive. For every mean, cruel, stupid, racist, there's 100 or even 1000 wonderful and caring folks out there. I know, because I meet them on the road and on this blog every day.
I am a native Houstonian and long time Hill Country resident and I'm here to tell you that this part of North West Texas is nothing like those places. This place is not so cosmopolitan as Houston or so beautiful as the Hill Country, but it's BIG. I'm not a drill baby drill kind of guy, but being here in the middle of the West Texas oil patch, it's easy to see why so many are. People are working hard. They are dirty and dusty and busy. This is BIG country, that spawn an American president, and that, for better or worse, still defines what people think of when they think of Texas. I would never live here, but understand why hard working men and women might chose to.
It's 2:29am here at the Levelland Motel in Levelland, Texas. I was awaken by a text from my old friend Al in Houston and haven't been able to get back to sleep. Life is simple on the road. All your cares and responsibilities are left behind. There's time to think about stuff. I'm thinking of my buddy Al and the crazy things we did as kids. I'm thinking of my family, my friends, and all of you. Most of all I'm thinking of the fun I'm gonna have on my bike in just a few hours. Good night.

Day 3 & 4 Ozona to Lamesa w/Century Ride

I left Ozona this AM thinking I would take it easy today and catch up later. However, a couple of miles out of town the terrain flattened out and I picked up a 10mph wind at my back. Looks like I reached the top of the Edwards Plateau. The on board gps tells me the terrain flattened out at 2300 ft. The highway was straight, flat, and fast so I just kept going. 114 miles later I reached Stanton only to find that the inns were all full. Joseph and Mary must have felt something akin to what I felt. Except of course I haven't conceived, immaculate or otherwise. But I digress. It was about 7pm and I was losing light so I made a decision to pedal out of town and find the first stealth campsite available. I found an old abandoned gas station and have made camp behind a 1 foot high brick wall and a big Evergreen feed sign. I am quite comfortable and as soon as it gets really dark I will pitch my tent because my friend from the library, Mark, tells me the snakes are out and that they are hungry.




I survived the night and was up at sunrise just in time to see the sunrise catch the windmills on the wind farm. That's really something to see!!  Also, the land is changing before my eyes.  From rocky hills and river canyons to flat, red, farming fields. The 50 mile ride to Lamesa was easy and peaceful. I even managed to get a motel room and was able to put together this video. Enjoy.

 P.S. I've lost the charger to my netbook which may impact this blog. I'm working on getting a replacement soon.

Mb2Cb Day 1 & 2

Days 1 and 2 took Skeets and me 120 miles from Acuna to Ozona, Texas. The day 1 ride was spectacular with panoramic West Texas vistas spread out over our handlebars. There is absolutely nothing like viewing the vastness and splendor of Texas from a bicycle. We headed west for the first 30 miles out of Del Rio with Lake Amistad to our port and starboard sides. I was surprised that we did not see many RVs or boats on or near the lake, especially since this is Easter weekend. At Comstock we turned north toward Ozona and Canada. Hwy 163 to Ozona is probably one of the most scenic and isolated roads in Texas. There are no gas stations, towns, stores or even very many people for about 100 miles. About 40 miles from Comstock, you'll cross the Devil's River at Baker's Crossing. Years ago some friends and I canoed the Devil's River. You better be ready to paddle hard if you expect to survive that river. The Devil is probably the most isolated and pristine river in Texas. It's famous for its small mouth bass and was the standard for river water purity in Texas. Sadly the old Bakers Crossing put-in and campground is no longer open. For years West Texas ranchers did everything in their power to limit public access to the Devil. I fear the demise of Bakers Crossing is a consequence of those efforts. I had originally planned to camp at Baker's Crossing but had to make other plans. About 65 miles into the day 1 ride, with an elevation rise of over 1200 feet, we were both very tired and looked for the first, best, stealth campground we could find. Safety and security are foremost concerns (not so much comfort) in stealth camping. You want to get in and out without anyone, good or bad, knowing you are there. I thought we picked a pretty good site but we were too close to a creek bed, and because we were tired, didn't keep looking. Around midnight, out of nowhere (or maybe somewhere but we had no way of knowing), a powerful West Texas gully washer blew in. Lots of wind and heavy rain. I didn't feel secure fearing a flash flood. Skeets had already moved to high ground. I had to move my bicycle, tent, etc in the dark with a driving rain and strong wind. I'm telling you, bicycle touring isn't for wussies. We both got soaking wet and almost froze. Morning  finally broke, we packed up our wet gear, and hit the road. Within  few minutes, the misery of the night before was forgotten, and the adventure started all over again. The ride to Ozona was fairly difficult with a significant elevation increase and a couple of very steep and long hills. Skeets broke a spoke on his rear wheel and also experienced a problem with his rear cassette. Even so, he smoked me for the entire track and was able to complete his ride to Ozona. Sadly Skeets goes back to his job and real world tomorrow. It was a great pleasure riding with Skeets. He is a strong cyclist, a real trooper who finds something positive even in a bad situation, and, as I found out in Del Rio, my future son-in-law. That was a complete surprise to me, and I couldn't be happier!! Tomorrow morning I strike out solo toward Big Lake, Tx and points north. Stay tuned!!

Day 0- Mb2Cb Cuidad Acuna, Mexico & Del Rio, Texas

The Mb2Cb 2012 Tour has officially started.  Liz & Lorie dropped Skeets and me off in Del Rio this afternoon. We checked into the Best Western, Del Rio and dropped all of our gear off in the room. We've taken the bikes a whopping 5 miles across the International Bridge and are now in MEXICO.  Day 0 is a scheduled acclimation day and not much riding was planned .Amazing, as soon as you step across the river you're in another world. Acuna is not an attractive town these days. I remember a few years back when the shops were loaded with people. Very few American tourists these days and even the natives seem somewhat reserved. We're told by a tavern owner, Maria, that the violence perpetrated by the drug cartels has everyone on edge.  We stayed in Acuna just a few hours, road around the town, had some refreshments, took some pictures, and headed back to Del Rio. Security crossing back into Texas was very tight. Every car was being searched. Tomorrow morning we're up and running at least 60 miles where we'll camp out somewhere close to Juno, Texas. Photos of our Mexico visit can be viewed at the following video link;

Final Prep_T minus 1 Day_ Mb2Cb 2012 Tour Start

After two years of training and six months of planning the Mb2Cb 2012 Tour begins tomorrow. As you can imagine, taking 5 weeks off from your life to go and goof off, isn't a trivial thing. In order to pull off that type of epic irresponsible behavior, a guy needs enablers. To that end I'd like to thank my wife Liz, who knew better than to try and talk any sense into me and who will have to jump through hoops with her job schedule and at home to make up for my absence. I'm pretty sure most spouses wouldn't be so understanding and I'll do my best to make it up when she leaves on her own adventure later this year. I want to thank my 92 year old dad, who cannot understand why anyone would want to ride a bicycle when there's a perfectly good car sitting on the driveway. He had real trouble with me making this ride, but is finally warming up to the idea. To my son Eric, his Christmas and b-day gift cards went a long way toward outfitting me for this ride. To my daughter Mel, who encouraged me to embrace social media as a way of sharing this adventure with family and friends and who is cheering for me from the Big Apple. To my other daughter Lorie, who's shares my sense of adventure and who lent me her friend Skeets for part of this tour. I want to thank the Board of Directors of the Medina Community Library, who didn't even bat an eye when I asked for the 5 weeks off. Many, many, thanks to the paid staff and volunteers of the Library who will step in and take over my responsibilities. I hate to admit it, but it will likely be weeks before they figure out I'm gone. Finally thanks to all of you who have offered well wishes and encouragement. I very much appreciate all of you.

If you're curious what a librarian takes along on a five week bicycle tour and how much it all weighs you can view a detailed list at this link;

Randy's Mb2Cb Gear List

Tomorrow morning Liz will transport Skeets, me, our bicycles and gear from our home in Bandera to Del Rio, Texas. Skeets and I will cross over into Cuidad Acuna, Mexico on our bikes and then point our wheels north, back across El Rio Grande del Norte, and begin the Mb2Cb 2012 Bicycle Tour. I'm excited!! Here's a few photos of final prep and packing. Next posting... from the road!!