Boring Ride Until I Met Daniel

After a night's stay just shy of Comstock, Karma and I woke up, had breakfast and promptly went back to sleep. (As Mel Brooks said in History of the World Part I, "It's good to be the king.") When we awoke later, I met a gentleman in the cabin next to us and his friend. We chatted about our respective journeys. The one man had been on the road with his wife on their Harley Davidson's since July 2009 and were spending the winter in Comstock. (Not a place I'd personally consider staying a winter, but they made a tidy little home in their octagonal cabin.) The other gentleman was retired and just roaming the country. He asked about my journey and asked, "So, you on any schedule or time table?" I told him definitely not to which he replied, "Ain't no reason to wake up early then, now is there? Just take your time and enjoy your trip." 

Karma and I rolled out of town around 12:00. I felt a lot of body fatigue as I rolled out of town. But made the trip to Del Rio successfully - but slowed by 3 definitively broken rear spokes. 

There is absolutely nothing spectacular about the signs or the roads. Honestly! The amazing part of the photograph below is that it is the first traffic signal I saw in 175 miles! Last one, Alpine, TX.

Riding on Rt. 90 toward Del Rio, I saw a car parked on the opposite side of the road well off the shoulder and into the grass beside an exposed rock embankment. I saw a man beyond the vehicle and pulled across the two lane road to assure he was fine. We said our hellos and I noted he had a small notebook and a small rock hammer. I asked if he was a paleontologist because of his steel tool. In fact, Daniel, an Italian raised in Spain, was a sedimentologist studying the various layers of rock formations on the embankment. Karma hopped out of the trailer and moved into the tall grass to be cozy in the warm sun.

Daniel and I chatted for about 10 minutes about his studies, and I am very happy to report that I actually remembered a number of geologic terms from over 20 years ago while in college. I showed him the spoils of my rock digging from the other day and from New Mexico. I learned that the "crystals" I found were in fact gypsum - still very cool in my mind - and were the result of a chemical reaction from the layers of rock that were below the ocean floor millions of years ago. Additionally, I showed Daniel what I believed were  mollusks I found in New Mexico. He confirmed that they were in fact from a significantly earlier epoch than the gypsum I found. Again, a very cool discovery - well, for me at least.

My new Italian friend asked me why I was traveling cross country. I told him the multiple reasons and he gave me some insights about being hosted as a traveler and suggested I read a current translation of Homer's The Oddessy because of its correlation to my journey. He indicated he'd read the book at least seven times (4 more times than I've read my favorite book.) He also told me I must, must, must, go live in Santa Cruz, California because of the constant sharing he experienced while there (not to mention it's a great place to learn to surf). The sharing was not just physical items, but thoughts, ideas, efforts and help. There was a tremendous wisdom in this young man. I will be visiting Santa Cruz! Not sure when, but I'll go. Karma, now a proponent of the trailer, hopped in willingly, and we parted ways with our Boot Country friend.

Nearing Del Rio, I saw a bicyclist headed my direction at quite a fast pace on the opposite side of the 4 lane highway. As soon as traffic cleared, he veered across the 4 lanes, turned around and started riding with me toward Del Rio. This gentleman, I found, rides his bicycle to and from work daily, approximately 10 miles each way. He had two pannier packs on his bicycle and was dressed the part of a real cyclist. My guess is he was approximately 60 years old. He told me that on average, he rides anywhere from 350 to 450 miles per WEEK! In addition, he participated and completed the RAAM - Race Across America an annual endurance race that starts in a city on the west coast and ends in a city on the east coast and has a course changes yearly. It is such a demanding race that a rider is disqualified if they do not finish the race in 12 days - over 3,000 miles! Yeah, I don't think I'll be joining that ride any time soon.

Speaking of not finishing, I have some very disappointing but realistic news. My journey will be ending much sooner than I thought. I'm only going to continue riding for roughly another 200 miles which will bring my total miles to approximately 1,586 - over 1/2 of my intended journey. Last night and today were pivotal and deciding points in my trip. Last night I awoke in the middle of the night because of shooting pains all the way down my arms. I have had almost constant neck and back pain - including difficulty breathing at times (including at this very moment at 4:23 AM), coupled with new knee pains (the knee on which I've already had 4 surgeries started clicking and swelling) that have told me to call it quits. 

I cherish the thought of walking on my existing knees for a number of years to come (though my orthopedic surgeon told me last February that I'll almost definitely be having arthritis in my left knee soon). I will continue my journey, but in a different manner and will get to that in another entry after I've ended my trip in Comfort, TX. I have to end my adventure there symbolically, simply because of the name. (Perhaps a mystic or a shaman will be able to fix the missing cartilage in my knee and repair the bulging disc in my neck and degenerated disc in my low back. I can hope can't I?) I also have already purchased a ticket for skydiving and don't want to ruin my knees for that event that will happen later this year. 

Finally, I don't think Karma really likes her running shoes all that much either. She says they make her butt look big.

I'll be spending another day in Del Rio, fixing my bicycle and recovering a bit (perhaps finding a massage therapist), and then heading out for a bunch of miles on Wednesday. 

Until my next blog, I wish you well, and to my children, I miss you, love you and will forever love you.