Day 5: 30 miles east of Sanderson to Del Rio
It turns out: weÕre not officially in the Texas ÒHill CountryÓ yet; weÕre still in the ÒBig BendÓ region. The rolling hills of limestone started yesterday, but we have to climb up in elevation and go north out of the creosote, mesquite, and yucca desert before weÕre in the ÒHill CountryÓ.
This makes sense since it was a sweltering 90 degrees today. Riders guzzled water and slathered sunscreen for the 89 mile ride on US 90 to Del Rio. The traffic on US 90 is low and visible for miles behind us, so itÕs easy to feel safe and out of the way, though miles and miles of chip-seal is a bugger.
At lunch we crossed the famed Pecos River, which historically marked the beginning of the old west. ItÕs just a few miles east of Langtry where Judge Roy Bean practiced his special brand of frontier justice, Òbacked up by the six shooter on the table beside him.Ó
The bridge we rode over the Pecos River
IÕve been getting some great complaints about not having enough pictures of people. Though IÕm still waiting for a bribe or two, tonight I chose the funniest request from Nate who said ÒI saw the website, which is nice, but thereÕs no picture of Ron and me!Ó
So, here are a few pictures of Nate and Ron on Day 2 when they decided to put Ron in the pilot seat of their tandem. You got it: Ron, the blind rider, in the driverÕs seat.
I think of this as the ÔBoys Bored with the Wind so Why Not Do Something Incredibly SillyÓ. It was short-lived, but hey, thatÕs how progress is made: goofing off trying something close to being a Darwin award.
Ron pilots the tandem for the ÔBoys Being BoysÕ Experiment
A few seconds later Ron lands unharmed on the ground, soon after maintaining that Nate needs to go to stoker school. J
We did, however, have an accident today. Geni clipped husband SteveÕs back tire coming into Del Rio. She left most of the skin of her knee, shoulder, and side of face on side of the road, but otherwise seems to be ok. Ouch. Send her some big hugs for a speedy recovery.