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Adventure Bicycle Travel

Day 92 – 98: El Paso, TX to Silver City, NM

Not the most miles this time around, but New Mexico has been super interesting, especially the latter half of the week. Scroll down to watch this weeks video, it was a lot of fun to make.

Day 92: El Paso.

Following on from the previous post, spent the day exploring El Paso, which is an awesomely colourful town. Weirdly I haven’t had any issues with knee trouble at all whilst on the bike, but today was the first day where, off the bike, there was a bit of a niggle. Stretch stretch stretch.

Day 93: El Paso to Keystone Heritage Park (17 miles)

The bike was not in a good way this morning. Slow puncture on the back, proper puncture on the front. Urgh. It took so many hours of faff and walking around the El Paso industrial suburbs, that by the time it was fixed, it was already 4pm, so it didn’t end up being a particularly productive day. More like one of those days where you scream profanities and curse the bike (in your mind and under your breath). Stealth camp on the outskirts of El Paso in a Botanical Garden Car Park.

Day 94: Keystone Heritage Park to Vado, New Mexico (20 miles)

A lot of reading and not a lot of cycling today. Short bursts if anything. But not to worry, because – New Mexico! Let’s have some of that state line corny goodness.

Crossed the line at Anthony, NM in the evening, which felt quite exotic compared to most other places so far, as Spanish was the most prominent language used by the locals. After a quick stop in town, I ended up riding out on the 470 towards Las Cruces and camped on a road side dirt mound. Gone are the days of being ‘stealthy’. In New Mexico (and even towards the end of Texas) you aren’t really given much choice. Flat ground that’ll take pegs isn’t in abundance, so you get what you’re given.

Day 95: Vado to Hatch, via Las Cruces (56 miles)*

First time waking up to frozen water bottles. New Mexico is quite bizarre in that it’s freezing at night, and blisteringly hot during the day. Two very different extremes. State laws are also markers of change. In New Mexico’s case? Bin bags by the side of the road. Loads of them.

Through Las Cruces, where I bumped into a 78 year old retiree named Ron, who’s done a lot of climbing in his time, all over the world, but in Alaska especially. (All whilst being married to a 48 year old semi-pro skier. He was very proud of this!)  An ex-maths professor who worked for NASA, he now takes clients mountaineering and climbing to encourage and promote lifestyle change.

The riding in NM has been through dry farmland. There’s been a four year drought so it’s totally dry, crops are suffering and farmers are having a very hard time, and all are wishing for just a little bit of rain. Arrived in Hatch late, to a bivvy on a bench near to the Municipal Hall. Brr, another cold one.

Day 96: Hatch to 3 miles NW of Hatch (3 miles)

Hatch is the chile capitol of the world. You can’t go through a place with a tagline like that without sampling some chile. That’s where Sparky’s Barbeque comes in. Green Chile Burger? Ok, then. Get the pineapple slaw too. Absolutely knackered from the previous day / night so read the signs and ended up kipping here:

Day 97: Nr Hatch to 16 miles NW of Deming (61 miles)

It’s more desert than farmland now. Very similar to rural West Texas. Simple riding, generally flat. Long straight roads in the blazing sun. Quiet roads too, with lots of the day spent without a car or person in sight. Just a lot of desert, and solar panels. Lots of solar panels. Not the kind to take with you on a bike ride though.

Day 98: Nr Deming to Silver City (37 miles)

Set off this morning, from a roadside camp in the desert. Most of the ride was more-of-the-same. Think tumbleweeds and long shimmering roads that run to the horizon. Ran out of water and had to drink hot (spicy) chili water left over from a noodle breakfast. Hot chili water in the middle of a hot desert is pretty gross. Pulled in to Hurley, a tiny little town in between Deming and Silver City. Like other towns in the area, it’s a historic mining town – gold and copper from back in the day.

Joseph and Karin Wade run the Hurley Art Gallery. Spent a good few hours with these two, chatting about how they ended up here, moving from Phoenix 7 years ago on a whim. Karin (below) is the web-savvy guru of the pair, and Joseph is a painter.

Here’s a film shot in collaboration with Joseph (Karin’s a little camera shy!). Had a lot of fun filming this one and hope it comes across. I’m not big into “art” in it’s traditional sense (i.e. fine art painting) but art doesn’t have to mean picking up a paintbrush like Joe, or taking photographs, or making Tracy Island out of Papier-mâché. It’s what you do that creates a connection with another person or group of people. Your art can be entrepreneurship, swimming, juggling, being the best damn waitress imaginable, whatever.   So take a look at the film in a general sense, as Joe talks about finding his path, grit & tenacity and goal setting.

(Click here if you can’t view the video in your email browser)

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* An epic tale ensued on this night. I’ll share in the distant future (using fake names & places to protect those involved) but can’t at the moment due to confidentiality. Let’s just say that the entire project was up-in-the-air for a moment. [for reference]

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Adventure Bicycle Travel

Day 83 – 91: Sanderson to El Paso, TX

Day 83: Sanderson. Rest day and blog catch up. Not much happening in Sanderson.

Day 84: Sanderson to Marathon (55 miles)

Slow morning getting the bike sorted. Had to replace tube as there was a slow puncture. Nice ride through more desert landscapes. Sanderson is actually the ‘Cactus Capital’ of Texas, and there’s definitely a lot’of’em. Awesome sunset to darkness riding. Totally empty road, and insanely clear sky, to the point where it was more fun to ride in the moonlight than turn on any bike lights. Ended up at a campsite just outside Marathon at about 8pm.

Day 85: Marathon. 

Woke up run down, knackered and chesty, so ended up just resting. It definitely seems pretty easy to get sick whilst on the road, nutrition is super important. Plus side was that it was SuperBowl Sunday. The town is pretty small, and the local hotel was where the game was being shown, in a room with a massive buffalo stuck to the wall. Despite local help, the rules are still confusing.

Day 86: Marathon to Alpine (31 miles)

Paul Kranendonk from Rotterdam was pulling into the campsite as I was leaving. He’d set off from San Diego and was heading to Jacksonville, FL. It was his 11th day on the road. 11th! Talk about fast progress. But understandable considering he needs to be back at work at the beginning of March! In 2008 he cycled the Great Divide with his wife (together they’ve clocked up a massive amount of cycle touring experience), and it was interesting to hear his perspective on the difference between solo versus team travelling. Also, a few days ago he was chased by 4 massive dogs and had to sprint for 3km to outrun them. Fair play!

After chatting with Paul, and stocking up at the Grocery store, it was getting late (recurring theme?!), so I ended up in Alpine fairly late after more night riding. Big thanks to Sam at the Highland Inn for sorting out a last minute room – nice spot to rest and see the town if you’re passing through!

Day 87: Alpine to US-90 Rest Area (5 miles)

Wasn’t feeling it again, with more chesty sickness, even after an indoor night. Cruised into the historic part of Alpine (which is super nice – all local stores that have gone unchanged for years). Spent a lot of time reading in the park, and didn’t even try leaving the town until 5.30pm. It’s always tricky to be motivated after such a late start. Ended up calling it a day at a rest stop overlooking some incredibly aesthetic hills. Location definitely has a big impact on general psyche, and this one helped to improve the day.

Day 88: US-90 Rest Area to Valentine (57 miles)

Brrr. Cold night so good to see the sun and it’s warmth. In Louisiana, Glen the cyclist had mentioned that the roads in West Texas are a nightmare when it comes to rolling resitance. For a while I’ve not had a clue what he was on about. The roads in West Texas seem exactly the same as the ones in all the other states. But for the first time what he was talking about became clear. The road was made differently, with big pebbles stuck into the surface, which definitely slowed everything down. It didn’t last long though, because literally at the sign that marked entering a new county, the road became smooth again.

It’s been quite strange cycling through the Texas desert. Many of the towns are dilapidated, but every so often a town in the middle of nowhere will be vibrant and bustling. Passing through Marfa was one of those times. Small town but with a lot of quirky people and a heavy art scene. This was on the way in to town, a lotta’ heavy Q’s (if you look carefully the artist has signed it):

Left Marfa, after a brief stop and explore, and pedalled to Valentine (once again a tiny town where almost everything is boarded up and shut down – quite spooky). I was running out of water, so stopped to attempt to scrounge some from the farmers who were in their yard. Kirkby and Maria owned the roadside farm in Valentine, and had hosted cyclists before. They offered the yard as a place to crash, and I jumped at the chance.

“You can sleep in the shipping container if you like? It’ll be warmer than outside.” After the previous night, anything to escape the cold was amazing.

Day 89: Valentine to Allamoore, via Van Horn (50 miles)

Woke up in the shipping container. (That’s probably not a sentence that gets written much.) Thankfully it was still on the farm and not out at sea. That would have been more challenging.

Day started off great, through deserty-farm land, similar to the last few days really. Got quite hot and dusty from about midday though. Ended up running out of water close to Van Horn, which even for only 15 miles wasn’t too pleasant. Usually it’s never a problem, there’s always somewhere to fill up, but this stretch is quite sparse (if you’re going to be cycling this stretch, make sure you carry more than you think you’ll need).

The railway ran next to the road for most of the day, and a regular sight was seeing the Border Patrol driving their 4×4’s on the dirt track next to the tracks, towing tyres. Anyone know what this is about?

Quite a tough section pulling in to Van Horn. Not because of hills or anything like that, but because you can see Van Horn from miles away, shimmering away in the distance. And you know there’s water and all that goodness, if you can just make it to the shimmering city. But it doesn’t seem to get any closer, no matter how hard you pedal. It was like a mirage for a while, quite bizarre. But eventually Van Horn provided an oasis.

Stayed in Van Horn until quite late, just to get out of the heat for a while. From Van Horn, the way to El Paso is via the Interstate (I10), which is the equivalent to the motorway in the UK (i.e. busy and fast). Started this section at about 9PM, after getting kitted out in everything high-vis. To be honest, the shoulder is so wide that it’s probably safer than the other roads, but nonetheless it has an air of intimidation, especially getting on from a junction.

Cycled for an hour or so, and ended up finding a spot in between the interstate and the road that runs parallel to it. Crazy clear sky, which made it a bit more bearable, as the bivvy spot was a patch of dirt in between some concrete traffic blocks, near the railway, outside a factory.

Day 90: Allamoore to El Paso (106 miles)

El Paso was a fair way off, so I thought an early start was in order to arrive on time. Didn’t quite realise how early. In the haze of last night (first time on Interstate, finding a sleeping spot etc), it slipped my mind, even after seeing the great big sign, that I’d crossed into a new time zone (MST). Alarm set for 5AM. But of course my phone was still showing Central time. It meant an unintentional 4AM start. All good really though, it wasn’t the most luxurious sleeping spot anyway. Here’s a video of late Day 89 and early 90 (I hadn’t realised the time zone mistake at this point):

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After a few very early, and very dark miles to Sierra Blanca, the sun came up and brought with it a heavy dose of amazing. The longest and fastest downhill of the trip so far. It was top gear for about an hour, full speed ahead. At points you’re going so fast that pedalling doesn’t make a difference, so you can sit back and let gravity do the work. As good as cycling gets. After the initial steepness, it flattened out a little bit but it was never slow. Never a low gear, all the way into El Paso. Without a doubt the most fun riding so far.

Ended up cycling some of this stretch with Arvid from Sweden, who’s a Navy officer that sailed into Florida and has a month off the boat. He’s travelling light, on a road bike, and between motels mainly. His month off is coming to an end in 12 days so he’s trying to make as much progress as possible and will fly back to Florida from wherever he ends up.

Got into El Paso around 3pm after taking a couple of long-ish breaks along the way. Lucky enough to be staying for the next couple of nights at the Hyatt El Paso. It’s quite a different setup to the shipping container!

Day 91: El Paso, TX

Catching up on the blog, and chilling out for the day thanks to the wonderful people at the Hyatt (thanks for your incredible hospitality!). Staying here until Sunday morning and then will head for New Mexico. It’s amazing to take a full day off the bike, and not have to worry about keeping a constant eye on kit. Even though it’s been slow, travelling through the desert and not getting much sleep in the process was definitely quite draining. Stoked to recharge. But blimey, Texas in it’s own right has been an amazing ride, full of unforgettable experiences and incredible people.

For anyone cycling the Southern Tier east to west – you can avoid the interstate for miles if you come off at Allamoore. There’s a quiet road that runs in parallel until Sierra Blanca, about 15 metres away from the I10.

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Map of this stretch:

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Adventure Bicycle Travel Philosophy

Highlight: “Richard” [Video]

Every so often, a film pops up online that is striking, inspiring, a bit nuts, or all three. I’d love to share this one with anyone who’s interested in Vague Direction. I think you’ll like the content and it’s well worth taking 4 minutes out to enjoy this.

This short film tells the tale of Richard, a piano tuner from London, who voluntarily gave up his apartment to live a nomadic (and homeless) existence, just him, one bag, and a bicycle, around the English capital. He made the extreme life change after becoming fed up with his 7 year student debt, his constant work life, and material possessions.

The film was shot last summer, and Richard is now keeping a blog, called Piano-Tuning, which makes for great reading. Recent posts suggest he’s now in Argentina, so quite a stark contrast in just a few months.

Major kudos to Matt Hopkins who produced this work of art as part of the England Your England series. There are a bunch of other films on the EYE website that are well worth your time too.

Enjoy!

(Click here if the video doesn’t show in your email browser, and please share the page with anyone who may be interested)

Richard from England Your England on Vimeo.

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Adventure Bicycle Travel

Day 77 – 82: Fredericksburg to Sanderson, TX

Internet connection has been very few and far between in west Texas, so it’s a bit of a catch up post. Might be a bit long. Look out for the video.

The end of Day 76: Fredericksburg.

After writing the previous blog post, I explored Fredericksburg for a bit, and found a bike shop called Hill Country Bicycle Works, where Lisa the owner was fixing some bikes before closing. I was getting pretty sick of all these punctures, so decided a tyre change was in order (back to the Schwalbe Marathon Plus’ – the tyre that was totally puncture free at the beginning of the trip). 20 years ago, Lisa cycled around the globe with her husband. It was great to pick her brains about her 30,000 mile, 3 year long trip.

After fixing the bike up, I bumped into Brett whilst undercover Wi-Fi-ing.

“You the guy on the bike?”

Turns out Brett was a Couchsurfing host. A couchsurfing host who owned his own hotel and offered a room for the night. What are the chances!? He’d quit the army in 2009, and ever since enrolling had a niggling thought in the back of his mind telling him he should hike the Appalachian Trail, so when he quit, it was the first thing on his to-do list.

Day 77: Fredericksburg to a very remote gas station on Jct 41W/83S (64 miles)

Relaxed (late) start enjoying the delights of the German bakery in Fredericksburg. The roads soon seemed very remote, even though the town still wasn’t very far away. They were deserted roads with, through landscapes that would look at home on a David Attenborough documentary. Tons of deer jumping around too.

Eventually ended up at a tiny gas station at a junction in the middle of nowhere, where the owner pointed out a shelter with a lovely floor (click on image to open full panorama).

Day 78: Gas station on Jct 41W/83S to Del Rio (112 miles)

Early start today. You can generally tell at the start of the day whether it’ll be a ‘big day’, and this was one of them. I could see from the GPS that Del Rio was 110 miles away, so thought that would be a good target.

Had some shockingly dreadful breakfast / energy bars and set off. More of the same Attenborough / Safari / Jurassic Park scenery, more deer. There’s a lot of deer in Texas. Soon passed a border patrol car, which was the first one so far. Been expecting them, as this section of the route is now a traverse above the US – Mexico border, and security’s tight, and from here on out, ever-increasing.

Got to Rocksprings and was knackered, hungry and thirsty. So to take care of all three, I picked up some food and drink from the store, and had a nap in the park for an hour. Not very hardcore, taking a nap, is it? Post-nap, the ride went through some mega landscapes, and with the sun dropping and the horizon becoming bright red, it was intensified.

Great riding, up long, but not very steep, hills. And down them. Always nice. Getting closer to Del Rio, it seemed like a 6 mile or so downhill. Really easy pedalling to finish the day. And then there were some bikelights, just a few miles outside of the town. John Counsell was a local, who’s been stationed in Del Rio as a pilot for the last several years. His job is to fly politicians, celebrities, billionaires etc to wherever they want to go, in this beast. The Bahamas is a popular one. He’s clocked up a lot of international cycling miles, as his bike goes with him wherever he flies.

Got into Del Rio very late, around 11.30. Refillable Pepsi please.  Ended up at a park, where there was a shelter and picnic tables. Slept in an instant after the biggest day so far.

Day 79: Del Rio to just west of Del Rio (6 miles)

The plan today was to get to Comstock. Wake up, have a bit of breakfast, and get on the road. The waking up, and having a bit of breakfast part worked well. But then I saw that Zero Dark Thirty was playing at the cinema at 2pm. So, I didn’t get very far, but it’s a good movie. Cycled for half an hour and set up camp near a firework shop on the outskirts of town.

Day 80: Outskirts of Del Rio to Comstock (26 miles)

When mother nature doesn’t want you to get very far, the headwinds begin. Windiest day so far, no question. And unfortunately it was coming from the West. The exact direction to make progress as slow as possible. It’s quite a bizarre experience, cycling down a relatively steep hill, stopping pedalling, and coming to a quick halt. Not even gravity helps when the winds are strong. Today was a lot of ‘deal with it for an hour’ then break. Repeat, and so on.

Bumped into HoYoung going over the Amistad reservoir, who’s on a break from studying business, and is cycling the Southern Tier before heading to South Korea to begin work. Super friendly guy who is travelling super light. Cycled together for the rest of the day, both of us getting battered by headwinds. Slow progress.

Day 81: Comstock to Langtry (30 miles)

Cycled with HoYoung again today. More brutal headwinds, so more slow progress. It was really interesting getting an insight into the South Korean way of life. He mentioned that there’s a strong ‘workaholic’ tradition (minimal vacation) and he sees this as his last opportunity to take an extended trip. He’d like to take the bike back home as a reminder of his adventure, and maybe one day pass it on to his children to embark on something similar.

Some mega landscapes today. Especially the Pecos river bridge. A limestone canyon with an amazingly green river and huge caves (click on image to open full panorama).

A driver called Dan pulled up and mentioned he worked at a farm that’s hosted bike travellers before, and gave the directions. Another worker, Tom Ethen had been stationed on the farm, fixing up windows, making shutters etc, in return for free accommodation in a mobile home. Originally from Minnesota, he’s recently retired, and is on a cross country motorcycle adventure. I’ve been interested to talk to a ‘biker’ for a while, and what an aesthetic place to do so. After seeing the sights, including the amazing river and canyon that is the natural US-Mexico border, and being taken off roading in a 4×4, I must admit it was highly amusing when he suggested watching Mr Bean. Just not something you expect a hardcore motorcyclist to be into. HoYoung loved it too. Bean’s a global hit! Check out the video – a profile of a biker:

(Click here if the video doesn’t show in your email browser)

Day 82: Langtry to Sanderson (61 miles)

Late start after filming the above video, but the winds had died down so it was a joy to travel at a decent speed again. HoYoung is taking a different route to pick up some essentials that he left in Mississippi, but will rejoin the route in a few days. It was once again really hilly. The steepest so far and it looks like the coming days will be steeper too. It’s really not that much of a PITA though, if anything, getting to the top of a big steep hill is a fun challenge. For now anyway, maybe not in a couple of days.

After the hills, the 20 miles prior to Sanderson became fairly flat so it was an easy coast into town, arriving at about 7.30pm, as the sky was glowing red. Stayed at Canyons R.V. Park (it’s really good), just off the main road.

Quick (and very rough) map of the last few days:

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Adventure Bicycle Travel

Day 74 – 76: Austin to Fredericksburg, TX

Thought a quick update would be a good idea as it’s getting more and more rural and sparse by the day. WiFi in west Texas may be fairly unreliable. 

Day 74: Austin to the outskirts of Austin (10 miles)

Had a brilliant time in Austin, and woke up on Day 74 not really wanting to leave. So when my chain snapped, again, I took it as a sign and did a bit more seeing-the-city. Excuse the next paragraph if you’re not into techie bike stuff. After looking at the chain, the cassette, the chainrings etc, I was at a loss. It was a new chain, there weren’t any rogue teeth on the cassette or chainring. So why the constant snapping? Took the bike to a recommended bike shop to see if they could identify what was up. They did. It was unusual. A tiny little ball bearing had become stuck in a chain-link, stuck there by magnetism. Meant the chain wouldn’t turn properly. The culprit. Hopefully less chain snapping from here on out.

Leaving Austin as the sun was dropping was pretty special. Sometimes leaving a city by bike can be stressful, but it’s a VERY bike-friendly town (if there’s a higher concentration of Fixie-bikes anywhere else on the planet, I’d be surprised), with ample cycle lanes, so it wasn’t an issue at all. Didn’t make it very far though. That’s the problem with leaving late. But ended up at this roadside bivy. Deluxe. Started to think a tent would have been a good idea when it began drizzling.

Day 75: Outskirts of Austin to outskirts of Johnson City (55 miles)

‘Hills’. That single word would go far in describing the whole day. And ‘Sweaty’. Central Texas is where the hills start, then? To be honest there’s something quite satisfying about making it to the top of a hill, when earlier you were at the bottom looking up in dread. Should really have seen the hills coming, all things considered:

Ended up at a Rest Stop at the Lyndon B. Johnson State Park, about 20 miles east of Fredericksburg. A really big, really scenic park, with huge trees, picnic benches, water fountains and all. And a lot of stars. Probably one of the nicest camp spots so far, and no need for a tent.

Day 76: Outskirts of Johnson City to Fredericksburg (21 miles at time of writing).

Woke up with a puncture. Again? Yep. Turned out to be a thorn, so was an easy fix but wiped out a larger than normal chunk of the morning. The upside was meeting a couple of members of staff at the Lyndon B. Johnson state park rest stop. Shay Tindall was one of those. Twelve years ago, at nearly 50, she packed up her stuff into a pickup truck, and travelled around the US with her partner, for six years! Living out of a truck and a tent in places like the Grand Canyon, for SIX YEARS. Heck of a commitment, that. She was really lovely and drew a series of handmade maps which showed the best roads to take for the next few days. They really were some of the most scenic so far. The hilliest of the trip so far n’ all. Past some enticing turquoise sections of river – very tempting for swimming.

Writing this at the moment from Fredericksburg, having not got very far due to having some computer-based stuff to do, but pretty stoked to crack on and attempt some biggish days from here. I’ve never ridden on hills like those in the last couple of days. It definitely feels like it may be a more physical game for a while, now the route moves from the coast to the mountains and you really have to pedal hard to make any progress. Waking up after doing a hilly 55 miles felt like the morning after the century day a few weeks ago. It’ll be good for general conditioning though, and the advantage to massive uphills is obvious. Massive downhills. It all becomes worth it when you scream down the other side of the hill as fast as possible.

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Hanging out with Steve the Hog Trapper.

As mentioned in the last post, posted below is a video with Navasota resident Steve Stribling, who’s a Hog Trapper. There are a lot of hogs / pigs that are seen as pests in Texas, over 2 million some reports say, and Steve’s company removes these problem hogs from places like ranches, golf courses etc, in over 5 counties within the Lone Star state.

We discussed a lot of stuff over at his shooting facility. In particular, what comes up a lot when talking with people who have begun their own business is risk taking. How did you decide the time was right, and how did you cope with the risks involved? And also, how do you go about finding your own direction in life, if you’re a bit lost?

(Click here if the video doesn’t play in your email browser)

With Steve providing guidance, I had a go at shooting on the target range which was a first. Practising marksmanship in the sunshine was an enjoyable experience. (Quick disclaimer – No animals were harmed during the making of this video, only paper targets.)

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Wrote this guest article for Steph at Twenty-Something Travel (her blog is ace), whilst sheltering from the Louisiana storm in what felt like the middle-of-nowhere. The Dark and Light of Solo Travelling. Sorry about the cheesy photos.

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Rough map from the last few days, let the hills begin:

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Adventure Bicycle Travel

Day 68 – 73: Cleveland to Austin, TX

Day 68: Cleveland to Navasota (64 miles)

Absolute corker of a day, and the first proper taste of Texas. Left Cleveland and fairly quickly ended up in a place called ‘Cut And Shoot‘. Bizarre name for a town, huh? It’s a tiny little town, with a very deserted atmosphere and an abandoned flea market that would be at home in a Western movie. Oh and a wicked little Mexican lunch spot called Sandres. Honestly, the nicest food I’ve had so far, in the most unsuspecting place. Get the tacos.

Another snapped chain in Conroe. Lost count how many times this has happened now. Didn’t take too long to fix but it was bit frustrating. One of those days that on the whole is quite pleasant but seemed to take ages. Arrived in Navasota around 10pm, zonked.

Day 69: Navasota

Been really looking forward to Navasota for a while now. It’s a small town of 7,000 people, with an awesome downtown high street. Everything was local, and it hadn’t been infested by global franchises like many other towns. It’s also ‘The Blues Capital of Texas’, in honour of the late Mance Lipscomb (ta Wikipedia). I’d been chatting with Bert Miller the mayor via email for a while and he’d helped organise the day which definitely had the ingredients to be interesting!

We’d lined up time with with two unique-to-Texas people. First up was Misslette, the singing cowgirl. Yep. In full ranch gear, hat and all. We discussed how she became a singing cowgirl, her relationship with God and how that turned her life around, and the importance of finding something you really love to do, and pursuing that. Here’s a brief snippet, look out for the yodelling:

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After the interview, I don’t really know how it happened, but in true Texas tradition, Misslette insisted on praying for my safety on this trip. I’m not a religious chap, and told her this, so it was definitely a unique moment. Regardless of preconceptions or stereotypes, seeing how people like Misslette have turned their lives around for the better due to religion is inspiring.

“That didn’t hurt ‘ya did it? You’re not bleeding are ‘ya?”. 

The rest of the day was spent with Steve Stribling, a Navasota Hog Trapper, at his out-of-town ranch, which was very interesting. I’ll post up the video and a write up in the next post. It involved firearms and local BBQ food. A truly Texan experience. A big shout out to Bert and the City of Navasota too. Thanks for all your help and hospitality – definitely a highlight of the trip.

Day 70: Navasota to near Giddings (56 miles)

After swinging in to say goodbye to Bert and the gang from yesterday, it was time to get back on the road. The last few days have been amazing weather wise – definitely a motivator which makes being on the road much more pleasurable.

Mega roads out of Navasota, all the way to Brenham. These little Texan towns are amazing. It seems like the modern world has left them behind, in a good way. There’s independent soda shops, diners, book shops, you name it, all local, all rocking classic American music. Spent a couple of hours just riding around Brenham, looking around and taking in the intoxicating scent of garden BBQ’s. Ended the day really late, stealth camping just off the road near Giddings, kind-of-blocked from view by a couple of trees.

Day 71: Giddings to near Paige (28 miles)

You know when you wake up, a new day begins, and you just know it’s not going to be very eventful? Yep, one of those.

Met Dwayne in Giddings, a super-positive guy who talked about an epic journey he went on in ’78, with fond memories. A 5 week round trip motorcycle ride from Texas to Washington state. At 53, he told the story and it was easy to see how passionate he felt about the experience. In his own words, a highlight of his life. “Maybe I’ll do another one again soon.” Go for it, Dwayne!

Wasn’t really into the riding today, just felt a bit knackered really, so called it a day pretty early, camped once again just off the road behind a tree just east of Paige.

Day 72: near Paige to Austin (46 miles)

Gotta love long sleeps. Austin was in sight, so a simple ride and that’s that. Cracking weather, beautiful cold wind to counterbalance the sunshine. Makes for perfect riding.

SSSNNNNAAAAPPPP. Another snapped chain. Another! There’s a pattern emerging. It involves a skipping chain. Whenever the chain starts skipping, it’s a sure fire way of knowing that it’s about to snap. Could give way in a rotation, or could take a few days. The best thing you can hope for is that it will snap in the least-awkward place. Noted down that I should have a proper look at the cassette to try and figure out a way of reducing these constant breakages, but mainly just hoped it wouldn’t snap again before making it to Austin. Thankfully it didn’t.

Pulled into Austin as the sun was dropping and explored the area around the University of Texas campus. Managed to catch some live music on Guadalupe St too which was cool, and a nice change to be in a bustling place with a lot of people instead of on a road in the sticks. Super friendly folk throughout who found a lot of amusement in an English accent!

Day 73: Austin

Couldn’t go through Austin without stopping for a day to have a look around. It’s such a contrast to most of the other Texas I’ve seen so far. Super diverse, a huge range of people, awesome architecture, epic graffiti, and amazingly colourful. And pita bread. Lot’s of pita bread. It’s full of Fixie bike riders and buskers. Americas version of Manchester’s Northern Quarter.

Rough map from the last few days.

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Quick link. Did an interview with the great Peter Parkorr at TravelUnmasked which you can read here.

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Categories
Adventure Bicycle Travel

Day 63 – 67: Kinder, LA to Cleveland, TX

General psyche is way improved after the last post. The storm has gone, and Texas seems awesome and super-friendly, if a little unusual, so far. Let’s jump into it. Phone images to accompany.

Day 63: Just outside Kinder, LA (thunderstorm)

You know in the new Batman film, when Anne Hathaway says to Christian Bale, “There’s a storm coming, Mr Wayne?”. Well it must have made its way from Gotham City to Kinder. It was crazy rain and lightning. Took Anne’s advice and battened down the hatches.

Day 64: Kinder to Dequincy, LA (39 miles)

The morning started with a load more heavy rain, so I took shelter at the nearest sandwich shop for it to ease off a little bit. It did eventually, and in between the storm bursts a little bit of progress to the next town was made. Dequincy. Tiny little railroad town, with not a lot going on in all honesty, but the people were friendly. Set up camp near the Railroad museum. Oh crikey. The railroad is still active. It’s quite a fright at 3am (until you regain a bit of sense) when the bottom of your tent gets brighter and brighter, and the sound of a train gets louder and louder.

Day 65: Dequincy, LA (thunderstorm)

So I guess the general theme of this post is sitting out a storm. Woke to the tent getting battered with rain and lightning flashes. Atmospheric and fun though, knowing the lightning had plenty of higher, more metallic objects to mess with.

Dequincy during the day is a beautiful little spot, there’s some awesome little independent coffee shops, which make sitting out a storm very enjoyable. They were all shut though. Small town on a Sunday syndrome.

The big yellow M to the rescue.

Day 66: Dequincy, LA to Kountze, TX (66 miles)

Finally the storm that the whole of Louisiana has been complaining about is over! It was replaced with light drizzle in the morning, which is nothing compared to the more recent rain, so was a pleasure to ride in. The storm brought with it a cold spell, so it’s the first time it’s felt properly cold on the trip so far. Nothing more layers and gloves don’t solve.

A great ride, the drizzle eventually easing (that phrase sounds like a weather report, don’t you think?). And there it was. Shining, covered in neon lights. Just kidding, it wasn’t shining or covered in neon lights. The Texas state line, at Deweyville, TX. Where the riding gets ‘real’ (i.e. headwinds and hills, apparently). Sorry about the hairy guy in this horrendously cheesy photo.

After a few hours more riding, I ended up at a little town called Kountze. It was getting on a bit by now, probably 7ish, so was dark. So far it’s become apparent that if you’re after a place to pitch a tent subtly and you’re in a tiny town with no parks, local churches generally grant you permission. It’s happened a few times now, and everyone’s been totally cool with it. So this was a bit of an unusual conversation, after knocking on a door that had a light on inside. And so began an introduction to Texas.

Knock, knock.

“Who is it?”

At this point I explained how I’d ended up at this door.

“Step away from the door, at least 10 metres away from the door!”.

This was becoming a bit odd, so I proceeded to explain I wasn’t a psychopath, murderer or trying to rob the place. Oh and by the way you really have to shout from 10 metres back. Eventually, Michael the minister opened the door slowly, and popped his head around the edge.

“OK. I give you permission to stay here. You can camp wherever you like. You have a weapon?!”

Nope, no weapon.

“There’s some crazy people out there, you should think about carrying a weapon.”

So after everything was explained, and permission was granted, I thought enough trust had been developed to seal the deal with a handshake. It wasn’t.

“What did I tell you about staying 10 metres back.”. 

Day 67: Kountze, TX to Cleveland, TX (53 miles)

Texas has certainly been quite a different experience so far. It’s like a soap opera.

Started off with more light rain and very cold temperatures. Werthers Originals to act as fuel. Do we still get them in the UK? The riding was pretty simple, on amazingly smooth roads. These are the roads Lance Armstrong trained on, a couple of people suggested today.

It was about 3pm, music pumping, through vast Texas cattle farms. The roads had been fairly quiet, but had picked up in the last hour. In the distance there was a woman and her dog walking on the side of the road. There’s nothing too strange about that, right?

Riding past, the dog caught sight and ran over the road, nearly getting hit by oncoming traffic. Woah. After a while, dogs running at you cease to be frightning. Rather than dog spray, simply stopping pedalling stops the dogs desire to chase you. But this one was different. First of all it wasn’t aggressive at all. No barking. Second of all, what the hell are you doing letting your dog run across a busy road?

Turns out it wasn’t her dog. It had followed her down the road, after a Jerry Springer-like incident minutes earlier. It involved tears and was all a bit bizarre to be honest. Lent her a cell phone (mobile – still rocking the British language) to call for a ride, and took the dog to a nearby house.

From there on Cleveland was the next town. A return to normality? Oh no. You know what they say about buses coming in two’s? It’s true. Anyway the next incident involved someone stealing a hat from Walmart and sprinting out of the store, being chased by about 7 security guards.

“Just another crackhead getting chased by the po po.”  Overheard. Hello Texas!

Some exciting, unique-to-Texas stuff coming up (involving video) in the next couple of posts which should mix up the more recent bicycle-based reports. Despite the first couple of days bizarre tales, there’s a great atmosphere in Texas, YEE HA!

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Quick link. Wrote a guest post for the chaps over at Brooks England – the saddle makers. I was a sceptic at first, I mean come on Brooks Saddles hardly look comfy, do they? You can check it out here. They were very creative with their captions. (p.s. it’s taken a while to go live due to the holidays so the mileage is out of sync)

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Rough map of the last few days:

Categories
Adventure Bicycle Travel

Day 57 – 62: Baton Rouge to Kinder, LA

Been taking shelter from a major thunderstorm for the last couple of days in South West Lousiana. Quick (rushed) catch up post today with phone images.

Day 57: Baton Rouge

Rest day in Baton Rouge. Spent the day getting organised and exploring. *Techy system alert* Decided to change up the stove system I’ve been using. It was a penny-stove. It’s now an MSR Whisperlite. The new one is heavier, but opens up the possibilities (i.e. you can do more than heat up tins or cook noodles). Also, the penny stove was a bit of a faff and the Whisperlite will fare better in the more remote parts of the route. Faff reduction – always a good thing. One of the things that life on the road makes you miss is a kitchen so this simple change is quite exciting.

Other than that it was awesome just to have a break. Louisiana seafood has been recommended a lot, so I found a little place near the motel to try the raved-about Gumbo, which is kind of like a seafood soup / rice combo. A great little local spot run by an old woman called Louise, funnily enough. Southern hospitality really is inspiring, the reports are true. She was totally cool and told great (and terrifying) stories about the local fishing community working in the fairly regular Gulf storms. The Gumbo was amazing, too!

Day 58: Baton Rouge to New Roads (33 miles)

Leaving Baton Rouge, it all changed. The contrast from urban and industrial to vast green countryside happened within the space of about a mile. The busy and intimidating Baton Rouge roads quickly lead to some of the best and quietest roads so far. Totally quiet, rural roads through old plantations. Super quiet, the only thing to listen to was the sound of cows, frogs and birds. A bit therapeutic.

It was always going to be a short day, after a late start. And it didn’t take too long to reach the end. Sunday in New Roads that meant everything other than a petrol station was shut, but in terms of a town atmosphere, it was a good one. An amazing old waterfront town, with the atmosphere and aesthetics of a Western film. Stealth camped right in the center of town in a park.

Day 59: New Roads to Lebeau (51 miles)

Late start making pancakes and pineapple on’t new stove. That’s the way to start the day!

It was all going so well. Stoked to get a big day in. But of course it’s never that simple! Sometimes, rather than after-the-fact write ups, it’s good to know what was happening at the time. I use Evernote to keep note of everything that happens throughout the day, and this is from Day 59’s note:

“Like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. Except less comedy, more horror. Another puncture. Cycled the same stretch of road, twice now leaving NR. PITA bike.”

Whilst cycling out of New Roads, after about 7 miles, I got another puncture. Seems to be happening a lot recently. After a lot of faff, and the irritating realisation that the pump I picked up in Baton Rouge is a piece of crap, it was eventually sorted after hitching a ride back into New Roads (Cheers Susan!).

Bumped into Paul Guillott, a retiree who now spends a lot of his time exploring his home state on his Honda. By his own admission, he’s “living the dream” which is amazing. Sometimes he and his wife will just take off on the bike and travel up to 650 miles in a day, just to see a new place that they’ve never been to before. His bike is kitted out. Think heated leather seats and thumping music. Unfortunately Paul wasn’t in to the suggestion that we swap bikes. Gutted.

Also, I met a cyclist called Glen today who was cycling the Southern Tier route from West to East. He was on a snazzy lightweight road bike, with just a very light rucksack on his back, and clearly in a rush. Travelling light, and bouncing between hotels after taking 36 days leave from his work in Pennsylvania, he was gunning for it, averaging 92 miles a day. It’s always facinating exploring the 6 degrees of separation theory. Glen had lived in the Lake District and Guildford for a year during his college days. Small world.

The ride, after the puncture-faff, went well. It didn’t take long for it to get dark after setting off so late, so it was a lit up night ride. Ended up camping in a field in a tiny, tiny little village called Lebeau.

Day 60: Lebeau to Kinder (63 miles)

Up at first light, and on the bike early. Definitely the way to do it if you’re after doing big days. Bumped into Terry in a town called Washington – the jolliest chap in Louisiana, who  provided the first indication of what was to come.

“You be careful now. You’re gonna want to bunk up for the next few days. There’s going to be 8 inches of rain coming down this evening.” I checked the forecast, and he was spot on.

The storm was due at about 5pm. So luckily there was still a good few hours to make a bit of progress. Through Opelousas, Eunice, Basile and Elton, and eventually ending up at Kinder when the rain started to fall.

Day 61: Kinder (5 miles)

The forecast was right. There’s a major storm here. Intense rain and lightning every minute. Some of the schools are closing due to flood warnings, so it’s not something the locals are taking lightly. They’re hunkering down, so being on the road isn’t too appealing. Sitting it out in a budget motel for a night.

I was talking to a couple of people earlier, and when talking about what they get up to in Kinder, they mentioned the Casino was “the only entertainment for miles around.” Gambling is a huge part of American culture, so I was interested to check it out, and of course win big with my $10. Unfortunately filming wasn’t permitted, but it was a unique experience for sure. Such an in-your-face atmosphere with all the lights and the music bombarding the senses. It was eye opening to see the locals who come every day, and spend all day here.  It was as though life had vanished from behind their eyes as they looked into the slot machines and pulled the lever, time after time, hoping for a big win whilst simultaneously losing money.  One of the themes that a lot of the people in the casino talked about, was how they had begun regularly gambling once retired. It’s easy to see how that world can hook people who are looking for something to fill their time with.

Day 62: Kinder

Just a rest day in Kinder. Nothing much to report about today. More intense rain, a little less lightning. Setting off tomorrow to try and make Texas in the gap between storms. The Texan state line is in sight, which is where the riding gets ‘serious’ apparently.

“Make sure you don’t lose your mind in East and Central Texas! After that it’s some of the best riding out there”. Glen mentioned that East and Central Texas is for sure the hardest part of the Southern Tier route, with the gradients and the nothingness, so it sounds like it’ll be interesting.

Ready for something deep? I’ve been having a few mental battles recently about what this all means, whether it even is meaningful, the pace and people, and coping with the solo aspects of travelling – there’s a dark side for sure, in the mind. The metaphorical roller coaster ride was always expected, though, so it’s not a concern. On the down days, it’s people like Louise, Paul and Terry who, by telling their story, provide much needed positivity and a mental lift. It’s great to completely forget about the route, the cycling, the blog, the filming etc sometimes.

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Quick link. I recently did a guest post for BicycleTouringPro which you can read here. Take a look around the site too, it’s crammed full of useful info, great stories and motivating adventures – a great resource if you’re wanting to know about anything to do with cycle touring.

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Categories
Adventure Bicycle Travel

Day 51 – 56: Daphne, AL to Baton Rouge, LA

Excuse the radio silence for the last few days, the blog has been frozen for longer than intended. But, there’s a story behind it, so let’s dive right in. Quick iPhone photos/video to accompany.

Day 51 – Daphne, AL to Lucedale, MS (56 miles)

Set off from Daphne and after a mellow ride out of town, arrived on the outskirts of Mobile, AL. It’s a really impressive aesthetic city, with some amazing buildings. In contrast to that, just 5 miles further out of the city, it’s a different story entirely. Towns which were obviously thriving just a few years ago, now totally quiet. No people, everything boarded up, abandoned stuff. The recession hit hard.

More night riding, and through the Alabama / Mississippi state line, I ended up at a diner in Lucedale, MS, where there was probably 100 people packed in. It was Sunday night and these were all church-goers who were on their way home from church. It was the 30th December, so it was a celebratory New Years dinner. Here’s just a few of them. Such positive folk.

Day 52 – Lucedale, MS to Wiggins, MS (38 miles)

Groggy morning waking up in another stealth camp. This time in a park. Life of luxury, eh? Up and away early in an attempt to re-jig the body clock. Straight out of Lucedale was amazing. Dense dewey fog hovering above green farmscapes. There was really nothing in between Lucedale and Wiggins other than countryside. No towns, no people, few houses. So it was a simple town-to-town ride, ending in Wiggins, a tiny little town, to see in New Year. The people of Wiggins were really welcoming, and explained that the county was a dry county, and most people leave town for New Year to the coast. So it wasn’t very rock and roll, but there were some fireworks so all’s well that ends well.

Day 53 – Wiggins, MS to Bogalusa, LA (43 miles)

You know when you’re riding your bike and a fly ends up in your mouth? This happened for the majority of the day today.

Another state line, Louisiana. Get in.

It was grey and cloudy. The kind of clouds that you look at and think it might drizzle lightly for a few minutes. And then it did. But it was Louisiana rain. Nature’s power shower, with no let up. I wasn’t prepared for it at all. The waterproofs were stuffed in the panniers, somewhere. Electronics weren’t in their dry bags. So it was a frantic rush to make sure everything was safe from the rain. And then to try and find the waterproofs. I’d not ridden in heavy rain before this, and it was actually really enjoyable.

Ended up camping on the outskirts of Bogalusa, with totally drenched kit. Waking up with clothes that were still wet, and heavy, definitely influenced the following days decision.

Day 54 – Bogalusa, LA to Franklinton, LA (20 miles)

The last few days have been really hilly. Moving inland, away from the coast, the game is starting to change: rain, headwind and hills. It’s making a big difference, and after the wheel incident, I’m focused on shedding as much unnecessary weight as possible. So first on the ticklist was to visit a post office and ship a bunch of stuff on to California. For now the focus is on light. What a difference it made. The first few miles out of Bogalusa were like riding a new bike with a slightly higher average speed. Unfortunately, sending the stuff on had taken a long time, so it was a late start.

After an hour of cycling, it rained again. Heavy rain, just like yesterday. This time wasn’t as horrible; jackets and waterproofs were at the ready. But going through Franklinton, there were loads of obvious spots to set up camp. An early finish to a late start.

Day 55 – Franklinton, LA to Baton Rouge, LA (73 miles)

Cycling is a funny game. After nearly two months of riding, it’s less physical, far more mental. You can tell at the start of the day whether it’s going to be a big day.

Today started this way. The Sat Nav showed that I had 106 miles remaining (to New Roads, LA.) As that number decreases, there’s no way you’re stopping. Not until it’s reached zero. That is unless something happens that stops you. “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” It’s true, you know, that well known saying. So after several hours of going for it, the bike lighter than ever, hip-hop music blasting in my ears, huge wide shoulders through inspiring Louisiana countryside, there was a very strange clicking noise, and it was obvious something wasn’t right.

The clicking turned out to be a piece of wire that had gone straight through the rear tyre and punctured the tube. It’s not been a good run lately, but no worries, it’s only a puncture. That’s what the toolkit’s for.

If the video below doesn’t show in your email browser, click here.

The bicycle pump is usually in my camera bag. That’s where it’s been for the last 55 days. So why was it not there? After a confusing few minutes, emptying all the pannier bags in search of the pump, it was nowhere to be found. Well that sucks, must have lost it along the way. With no way to fix the puncture, I walked to the lights in the distance, which turned out to be a gas station. If you use Schrader valve inner tubes, gas stations are a dream sight. There’s almost always an air pump outside. And there was at this one, too. Happy days, problem solved! Nope, I’m using Presta valves. After unsuccessful attempts at trying to bodge the air pump, it wasn’t going anywhere. Time to call it a day.

A mile or so down the road (in the suburbs of Baton Rouge now) there was a huge playing field / methodist church garden. Prime camping spot. I set up the tent, off the road and out of sight, ready to be away early, get the tyre fixed and hopefully make at least a little bit of progress. It’s been a slow few days after all. Unfortunately, the police were doing routine patrols. And of course this stealth camp site was on their list. American police are quite intimidating, but there’s nothing like cycling to provide a little common ground. After explaining the situation, the policeman made a very cycle-specific joke.

“That’s what you get when you use Presta valves!” Fair play, officer. Turns out he was a cyclist and would turn a blind eye to the stealth camp.

“But be careful. That side of the road is the crime hotspot of Baton Rouge. You should be fine here, but just over there is where the highest homicide rate in the city is.” 

Moral of the story? I’m not too sure, but it’s probably something to do with carrying a bike pump.

Day 56 – Baton Rouge, LA to… TBC

It’s day 56 now, and I’m quickly piecing together this post on the outskirts of Baton Rouge. The bike still has a puncture, but the bike shop isn’t too far away, so hopefully not for much longer.

A rough map of the last few days:

Categories
Adventure Bicycle Travel

Day 47 – 50: Fort Walton Beach, FL to Daphne, AL

It’s been an interesting few days; Bike parts have broken. Tornadoes have been active. Mileage has been minimal. Momentum has halted. 

Day 47: Fort Walton Beach to Gulf Breeze, FL (35 miles)

Boxing day morning. “Just whatever you do, make sure you don’t head West”. That’s what Sue, the motel receptionist said, as I left FWB after Christmas. Sorry Sue, west is the way to California. Unfortunately there had been reports of various tornados, thunderstorms and generally extreme weather in nearby areas.

However, the adverse conditions hit on Christmas day, and other than high winds and cold temperatures, boxing day was clear and bright, and there were no more active weather warnings.

It was the coldest day so far for sure, and into the headwind it was tough. Sometimes the roads are conducive to pleasant / not-too-stressful night riding conditions. Today was in contrast to that, and with a constant and strong headwind, night riding wasn’t on the agenda. A super short day of riding, to end up at Gulf Breeze, and a camp on the waterfront.

Day 48: Gulf Breeze, FL to Daphne, AL (56 miles)

Faffed about with the stove to cook up some breakfast on the deserted waterfront, only to find out the lighter was knackered. No cooking breakfast then.

The riding was pretty good. Quickly over the bridge from Gulf Breeze into Pensacola. And soon outside of Pensacola were the first proper hills. A decent bit of leg burn. Days like this are always stand-out days, simply because of state line crossings. There’s usually a massive sign, a lot of the times even a ‘Welcome to’ Visitor Centre. No such thing here. The state line was marked by a river, and it wasn’t obvious at all. And finally it wasn’t ‘straight generally-flat roads through the woods’.

Entering Alabama meant vast farmland and rivers. A visual change, finally. That’s a relief. And then magic hour. Alabama has topped it – the most awesome sky so far. Here’s a cheesy photo.

Pulling in to the suburbs of Daphne, now in the dark, I ended up taking a short cut on what started out as a quality clay path through the woods. Very Blair Witch. It soon turned out to be what can only be described as a downhill mountain biking trail. Gotta admit, it was a lot of fun to be off-road and to add a bit of spice to the riding. Maybe not sensible or wise, though. But fun, definitely.

After that ridiculous endeavour I camped in the least subtle place so far. Essentially on a lawn about 5 metres off the main road. It’s funny how systems work themselves out. If you pitch up late, it’s generally safe to say no-one will bother you until the morning, so if you can be packed up early, well then you’re sorted.

Day 49 & 50: Daphne, AL

Very dark clouds looming over Daphne whilst packing up the tent. And a puncture on the back wheel. Sometimes it’s easy to tell if a day on the road isn’t gonna go to plan, and this was one of those times.

I’d passed a bike shop the previous night, which was probably less than a mile away, so decided seeing as the wheel was punctured, I may as well take this opportunity to get the bottom bracket replaced as it’s been playing up and is on it’s last legs, and the rear tyre replaced as it’s now about as thin as an inner tube.

In the bike shop, it was all going so well. The staff were awesome and the shop was great. Unfortunately we noticed that the rim had a crack in it. S**T! On closer inspection, it wasn’t just one crack, it was loads. Literally covered in cracks. Now last nights off-road escapades lasted all of ten minutes, so I’m doubtful that’s the cause. Perhaps though. I think in all likelihood it’s the toll of nearly two months of heavy weight loaded over the rear wheel. In any case, there was a days delay before having access to a new rim.

Conveniently, mother nature decided to POUR down. Welcome to Alabama. So being forced out-of-action, and in close proximity to the cinema, it seemed appropriate to catch up on films. Just a hint if you’re ever planning on doing something similar and solo stealth camping most of the time: Don’t watch The Hobbit before finding a spot to camp. Gollum will put you on edge. Well done CGI.

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So not the best of days, with not much progress made, and major bike problems, but these things happen. I’m way behind anticipated schedule, and the budget has taken a solid hit because of the fix, so fingers crossed the next few days go a little smoother. It’d be nice to boost the averages, make up some ground and generally get back into the swing of it.