Bikers took over the town of Ft Hancock last night . . . that’s bicyclist’s. Twelve us overnight at the Ft Hancock Motel where there was no hot water for showers! It was quite a group. Our gang of six, two Brits, three Michiganders and one from Belgium.  Every group got a $5 discount because of the no hot water!!! Last night the owner told Gina not to drink the water (even though Margie did all night) and this morning she said it was OK to drink the water. I filled by bottles at Angie’s across the street.

Gina, Margie and I were at Angie’s by 6:30am having a great breakfast. Then we heard on the TV authorities found a decapitated body in South Padre last night!!!

The three of us headed out at 8:00am since we were ‘locked and loaded’! We were back along the border. This Farm’s description was no exaggeration as you could see ‘the fence’ right in his back yard.

Today would be an easy 74 mile day, mostly flat with a headwind in the afternoon. Plus we would have our own road for most of the way!!!

First we passed through Tommy’s Town and congratulated our TommyH on what a great place to have named after him . . .

. . . mmmmmmm looks like his town has fallen apart. Good thing he hasn’t as he rolls along the Southern Tier!!!

The first 25 miles were on what Texas calls a, Farm Road. Paved, no shoulder BUT really no traffic. Just a few pickups from local farms. You can see the tumbleweeds piled up along the fence line. Oh . . . those tumblin’ tumbleweeds.

Lots of different types of homes along the way. This one may have been delivered by Menards, from the back of a truck . . .

. . .these folks look like they are doing just fine. You can see ‘the fence’ running in the background.

What . . .  trouble ahead?  No, just Gina warning of a ‘Tinkle Timeout’.

The girls were ahead of me as I stopped to take photos. When they got to this point there was a mother and two young Rottweiler’s out in the road to greet them. They were not a problem. By the time I arrived,a few minutes later, the two pups were gone but mom was still in the ‘yard’, behind the fence, looking at me as I biked by . . . probably thinking, “This one looks a little meatier. . . where are the children!”.

Flash flood gauge in the foreground . . . it really must come gushing down from the watershed, at times.

After 25 miles we reached the interstate and took a break for a fashion show as two of our cowgirls made the rounds of the display racks trying things on. Good thing we were the only customers at the time!!!

I bought Moon pies for the three of us and you can see Gina’s reaction . . .

. . . they didn’t last long!!!

It was on to the interstate for about 3 miles before we came to the  . . .

. . . ‘frontage road’ that you can see from the wavy fog line might need a little repair.

But soon we came to a much smoother surface and rolled to our lunch spot, Sierra Blanca, twenty miles away. NO TRAFFIC! We think ‘the frontage road’ is the old highway the interstate replaced.

We did roll through a Border Patrol station. Lots of noise, lots of BP officers running around in olive drab uniforms, and many officers with leashed very excited Dobermans that are used to sniff vehicles for drugs or  ‘human cargo’. It really gave me a bad feeling in my stomach. I guess being in the Midwest I am isolated from these types of things.

We pulled into Sierra Blanco and literally took over the Subway at this gas station . . . Bikers in town!!! Here was part of the group ready to head out.

Our frontage road changed to the north side of the interstate highway and we would ride it until the last 8 miles before Van Horn, our home for the night. This entry way may double as a drainage ditch!!!

We no more got going when I stopped to talk to Adam, from Reno, Nevada, who has been on the road since last June. He is hiking the three primary trails in the US: the Appalachian, Continental Divide and the Pacific Crest, getting from one trial to the next on his bike that he has shipped to him. Nice young fellow. Does a half hour bird survey every morning of UC-Davis. Good luck in your travels, Adam!!!

Here was the staging area for the Border Patrol in this district. LOTS and LOTS of hardware.

Across the interstate I could see these two guys standing behind their van with the 4 way flashers going holding these two sign. Wish I had been closer to read them. Wonder if they said . . . NEED GAS. If so, sort of funny they would have pre-made signs!

I rolled up on Julie and Mark who camped in Ft Hancock last night near out motel. Great couple from Kent, England celebrating their 30th anniversary this summer. Tomorrow night they are overnighting in Kent, TX!!!

I had been admiring Mark’s wide brim hat the last couple of days and since it was not raining today took a close up shot. He said it’s made in the US. Good idea . . . really like the name of his helmet too!!!

As we biked along you could see more flash flood signs near the interstate. A five foot flood would just about hit the interstate surface!!!

The last 8 miles we were ,off the ‘frontage road’ and back, onto the interstate as we travel to Van Horn. You can see some of the gang on the entrance ramp.

I was in the middle of the pack and as I rolled along I could hear a vehicle hit the rumbles strips right behind me. Not sure if the guy driving fell a sleep, was on his cell phone or what but as he pulled back onto the roadway I could smell an INTENSE rubber burning smell. In another 100 feet, I suddenly had pieces of failed tire raining down on me from above. He obviously had crossed onto the rumbles strip and his tire disintegrated. I watched him stop about a half mile ahead . . . and then roll off onto the road again.

A mile down the road I could see him pulled over again into a shoulder pull off and as I rolled up on his truck I could see the tire was just about gone . . .

. . . not much left and I could see his running boards and rear quarter panel had been damaged and he had tire marks on the side of his truck bed.

As I rolled by his door he was on the phone, probably calling for help, and he smiled at me. I said, “A**h**le, You, almost F**ck**g killed me!”.  (sorry Mom). Seemed like the appropriate thing to say at the time!

Soon we were at the motel, which square footage wise, is probably has the smallest rooms where we have stayed. It was TommyH’s turn to be on the floor tonight and he decided to get his own room The girls are, all three, staying in one room. Smoochie . . . I will never comment about you being ‘messy again!

I seemed to have been carrying some extra gear the last week or so and checked with Linda and Margie to see if it was theirs. No. I thought I had brought along some of emJay’s gear from our biking closet by mistake. BUT . . . today I found out they were Gina’s!

Here she is ‘sheepishly’ admitting she put them In my bag to lighten hers!!!! FUN!!!! (She bought lemon cake tonight so all is good!!)

Tonight we all needed protein for the big day tomorrow, 94 miles and 2,250ft of climbing, so we headed to the local steak restaurant . . .

. . . I had a ‘healthy’ steak.

Funny sign on the way back to our motel. We shared the lemon cake that Gina had bought and yummy Tim chocolate chip cookies!!

 

Today  we passed into the Central Time Zone. . . . one day and an hour closer to my Smoochie!!!