March 14

We headed for home Sunday afternoon and camped in the area we were going to be biking through.

 This is our campground in Beaumont, TX March 11th, before the heavier rains fell.

One of the campers mentioned that last year he couldn't buy a drop of rain and the ground was cracked with dryness.

We had to remove our shoes and roll  up our trousers to walk around the flooded campsites.

Then the heavy rains came through - Louisiana flooded and more rain predicted.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/13/us/louisiana-flooding/index.html?hpt=us_c1

We actually drove through this storm Monday and experienced 3 hours of intense monsoon rainfall. I would describe it as a liquid blizzard. Jeanne and I were glad we decided to delay the rest of our ride for later this year.  Here is the caption from the clip:

(CNN) -- Record floodwaters inundated parts of southern Louisiana early Tuesday after intense rains caused flash flooding and prompted hundreds of rescues.  Estimates by the National Weather Service put total rainfall at 12 to 18 inches across the region, with possible amounts of 20 or more inches in some areas. A flood warning has been issued until late Tuesday.

Floodwaters were cresting overnight for Bayou Vermilion at Carencro at 5.5 feet over flood stage and 12 inches above the record set in May 2004. "We're still conducting rescues," Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office spokesman Kip Judice said Monday evening. "We've done over 150 rescues throughout the day today."

One of those involved 16 middle school students whose bus became stuck after more than 4 feet of water covered the road. "It was really scary because we couldn't get out of the bus ... the water was closing it in," said student Cory McCall. "It was thundering and lightning." Boats and dump trucks were used to reach the children and bring them to safety, Judice said.

The town of Carencro was among the hardest hit communities in Lafayette Parish, according to Capt. Craig Stansbury, who is also from the Parish Sheriff's Office. He noted there were reports of water as high as 8 feet on some roadways. Stansbury said fire department vehicles, tractors and conventional boats and airboats were being used to reach those stranded in homes and cars.

"A lot of things that we have at our disposal, we're just going to go ahead and utilize," he said. "Whatever it takes to get to the people." The parish declared a state of emergency in the midst of the high water. "We are working with local officials to ensure they get the resources and support they need to respond to the flooding," said Kevin Davis, director of the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. "We urge residents to be mindful ... and to take precautionary measures."

A state of emergency was also declared in St. Landry Parish, where Government Administrative Director Jessie Bellard estimated that some 2,000 people had been affected. People were driving dump trucks to rescue residents who have flooding in their homes and can't get out. Bellard said several minor and major roads, including part of U.S. Highway 190, have experienced significant flooding.

"It's just a terrible situation," Bellard said.

Maj. Ginny Higgins of the St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office said flooding affected at least 15 to 20 roads Monday in that parish. Several people were safely rescued after being trapped in their vehicles, she said. A state of emergency has been declared for that parish, Higgins said. Stansbury, from Lafayette Parish, said residents knew Monday would be wet but didn't foresee the volume or intensity.

"There was a forecast of some heavy rains, but I don't think anybody could have predicted that amount of rain," he said.

And while the worst precipitation is over, the headaches are not. Intermittent rain continued to fall.

Judice, from Lafayette Parish, said water levels were continuing to rise in his area. "It's still a very crazy situation," he said.

CNN's Joe Sutton and Barbara Hall contributed to this report.

March 11th San Antonio, TX

Nice day to watch the flowers grow.

We have been holed up in San Antonio since Tuesday, March 6th as the weather pattern has given us a steady diet of rain and thunderstorms. The forecast this morning indicates that biking east, we will encounter the same rain and thunderstorms for the next week to10 days. Biking through East Texas, Louisiana and through to Florida under these conditions is not feasible. Therefore, we have decided that we will take a long enough break for the weather to be more acceptable for bike riding. Staying in Texas for that length of time doesn't make sense. We intend to return to Rhode Island for now and come back in the fall to finish what we started. 

 

March 8th

We made it from Kerrville, to Comfort to Blanco, TX with a lot of work. The creeks followed by hills with the intermittent headwinds made it a serious piece of riding.  The good part is that unlike the hundreds of arid dusty miles from El Paso to Junction, now there is evidence of more moisture in the air - there are more green things growing than the shades of brown and tanish grays of the desert.  Also, there is more wildlife and unfortunately more road carrion.

Here is the town I couldn't help but notice as we near the  half way point of our ride.

This is an example of the change in landscape. Farms like we may expect them to be.



Some folks put make believe metal displays in their pastures.

Then there are some real cattle, though these are the first Brahmans I  have seen.

Some of the ranches have pretty elaborate entrances. . .  

With sophisticated security to boot.

We ended the ride with another flat tire, this time the back tire for the second time.  Then, foul weather became a factor, as well as my seat, (anatomically speaking) so we headed for a bike shop and the pleasant confines of my sister-in-law in San Antonio where we last saw family and friends in January.

Who would have thought that between Austin and San Antonio all this wet weather would materialize and stay around for a while.

I had my bike fixed with a Slime Tube at the Action Bikes shop at Universal City, TX. I was telling the owner the purpose of the ride and how, when I am doing the difficult climbs with the wind in my face, I think of how difficult it is for burn survivors who have it so such more harder than us.  He spoke about our soldiers from the burn unit at the military hospital in San Antonio. After he fixed my bike, he said, "Let's just leave it at that!" And he offered his services for the burn survivors.

Here is Howard Smith at his bike shop pulling for me and more importantly, for the burn survivors.

March 5th

Yesterday we made great progress with the wind helping out. Today, with much greater effort, facing a headwind, we made about half the progress. Nevertheless, we reached out destination, Kerrville, TX.

Today's rest stop resembled the Alamo. 

This kind of hill climbing with a headwind is as challenging as the mountains. Some of these hills go on for several miles of climbing. When they say things are bigger in Texas, it applies in this case.

March 4th

As we left Iraan, the center of the West Texas oil business, we came across a children's park nearby the City RV Park so we took some shots.

 This is the place for the kids who can't make it to Disneyland come to play.

Dino the dinosaur is there.





Smok'in Joe the monkey is there also.

We had a lousy time of it getting to Azona as we had another flat tire. Two flats in two days after going almost a month without one. We put in a Slime tube for the front tire but used a regular tube for the back tire. Needless to say, back tires are more difficult to fix.

This morning as we left Azona, we had a serenade from the Lonely Goatherd, "Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo!"

This is a fill'in station right out in the oil fields.

I met Jeanne at a rest stop in Sonora, TX (this is getting to be a habit) and thought you might compare some Texas sized wheels to my bike. They look like the kind to support artillery in WWI.  The caisson is set up as a roof for the picnic table.

Then it was back to the open road, kind of like Willie Nelson's song, "On The Road Again". 

After reaching Junction, TX, we gave ourselves a special treat at this outstanding place for Texas style BBQ. They sell the BBQ meats by the pound or sandwiches or dinners.

March 2nd

Before we left Ft. Stockton, we recounted the many hours we wiled away in the Ft. Stockton RV wagon wheel swing.

How quaint, but as Jeanne and I rocked away last night, it was downright comfortable.

Jeanne got a shot of me starting my ride this morning.

Here is an early rest stop where I checked in with Jeanne.  It used to be a place where stage coaches in the Old West stopped to resupply called Tunis Creek Stage Coach Stop.  

This couple is from Mexico City, Mexico. She works for Toshiba and is doing some training before going back to her job in Mexico City.  They were very nice and after talking with them, we gave them our blog.

This is my bike without it's front tire. I got my first flat this morning.  Fortunately, Jeanne was within telephone contact and only 10 miles or so down the road.

When Jeanne caught up with me she brought my tool kit and I fixed the flat. Sorry I didn't have my "MAN WORKING" sign posted.

This is the remote area we were in at the time.

This is an American natural God-made pyramid.

As we approached Iraan, TX, we came across numerous active oil wells. There was the smell of oil in the air as we passed them.

In Iraan right next to the City RV Park where we are staying, is an obsolete now defunct oil well. Yes, it still smells of oil.

March 1st

Hello from Ft. Stockton, TX.  This is an outpost of West Texas that is developing its potential as a tourist area. They even feature sand-boarding although we didn't see any yet.  Before leaving Balmorhea this morning we took a few more pictures of the grounds.

This is a picture of an inground natural spring encased by a swimming pool.  It is the source of all the greenery making this, literally, an oasis in the desert.

This is the swimming pool. The water temperature stays at 72 degrees all year.

It even attracts early birdwatchers.

As we were leaving town, we spotted a very untypical establishment for imports.

Apparently some of these items come from Mexico.

Mexican cowboy.

Mexican peasant.  

This looks like a Mexican bandido, with six shooters over his head.

  Here's a Longhorn that has seen better days.

Here's me at our lunch break. This was the first time we actually found a sponsored Rest Area for us to take our break. It was exceeding pleasant having lunch with Jeanne in this cool setting. We generally stop along side the highway. 



As I was biking I couldn't resist my typical view of they highway I was peddling. Hot stuff!

February 29th, Leap Year entry

We left Van Horn, TX and headed East with the wind at our backs. It gives altogether new meaning to the Irish prayer, "May the wind be always at your back." Sometimes the wind blows so hard in West Texas, it stirs up clouds of dust that look like fog.  But it still helps when you are riding East and the sirocco type wind is pushing you up the hills.

In Kent, TX we ran into this couple who are literally walking across America for their cause to help poor villages in Asia. Here is there blog: walkamerica.co.uk.

This is Nick and Lucy from Lincolnshire, UK. That is not a baby carriage but a 3 wheel cart to carry the water they will need crossing Texas.

Here is Nick and Lucy with Jeanne. We presented them with the flag which might help them be visible on the highway.  We had the flag because Travis, who we helped to the bike shop in Las Cruces to get his derailleur fixed, left it in our truck.  Well, why not put it to good use?

And there they go taking a nice stroll along the highway to San Diego, CA.

We are staying at Balmorhea, TX after 60+ miles of riding, and they have a most excellent State Park there.

This is a park with plenty of flowing water which is amazing in this part of the state.

We ran into a couple from Wisconsin who have an A-frame like ours. We had a little comparison chat about them. This is the only other one we have seen.

As of February 28th

Sunday we had a wonderful afternoon of riding out of Las Cruces, NM.  Las Cruces is a city of about 100,000 people and has an agricultural base similar to the Imperial Valley in CA. But this area seems to be more prosperous and have a more comfortable way of life. There were lots of bike riders including families, tons of motorcycles, a calm fun loving happy atmosphere we found enchanting. Of course outside the city one cannot escape the smell of farming (read cows, manure, fertilizer, etc.) but overall, it was a pleasant place to visit.

This pecan grove overarched the road and went on for several miles. Many families were riding their bikes along the sides of the road and dozens of motorcycles poured through. It was delightful.

This is a typical middle to upper middle class house in the farming district. Notice the fencing and the bars on the windows. Most houses, be they wealthy, middle class or poor, all have the fencing and physical barriers to entrance. I think it is a throwback to Spain and the European influence. The other thing is most people have dogs and sometimes I got chased. Talk about warming up fast, wow.

After staying overnight in Anthony, NM, we headed into the Lone Star state, Texas.  We now have 1100 miles to go to get to Louisiana, equal to one third of the trip.

We got to Tornillo, TX where we were supposed to find a functioning RV Park. It was not open but they did have a reception committee for Jeanne.  It was Mr. Ed the talking horse.

So we moved on to Ft. Hancock, TX and with nothing doing for an overnight we stayed at the Shell station parking lot, with their permission. No sooner did we get settled in when one 18 wheeler after another pulled in to either get some food at a nearby restaurant, or to take a break and get some sleep. Well, they keep their diesel engines going all night long. Furthermore, at 11:00 P.M. there was a conclave of drivers telling stories about their adventures of the day in excitable voices.  Hey, it was free, safe and much better than nothing. Furthermore, when we started out at 8:00 A.M. the next day, a Border Patrol officer came over to ask if everything was all right. We told him about Tornillo and he said, it was good we didn't stay there, it is a "cartel" town.

Speaking of security, this is a Border Patrol check point. I wasn't supposed to take this picture, but the guard said, "OK, OK, move on!".

 I peddled up to Van Horn, TX on Route I-10 with a fabulous West-East wind at my back. Also, Jeanne and I ran into Erin, the fellow we first saw in Sunrise, AZ,

so I peddled with him for about 50 miles. It was nice to see him again.