I made it to Del Rio, which means another REST DAY! I saw a couple of magnificent bridges, and enjoyed authentic real TEXAS food for dinner.
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Charlie Gandy and I woke up around 6:00 am in the fellowship hall of First Baptist Sanderson. Kelli Ellis had confidently warned us last night during dinner that we would NOT see her on the morning: “I know how early you bikers wake up, and I am not a morning person.”
But she gave us full access to the church kitchen. So we cooked up some eggs, made a pot of coffee, and reheated some delicious homemade cinnamon rolls.
It was fun talking to Charlie some more. Long before he was a trail advocate for the XTX trail across Texas, he was a politician. In fact, at age 23, when was the youngest state legislator in Texas history at the time!
In 1983, he helped pass Texas’s first car seat law. So his actions at a young age have saved many lives.
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At 8:00 am, we parted ways. Charlie rolled out to head west on his bike, while I loaded my bike and panniers into Mike’s truck to head east toward Del Rio.
Mike was going down for a haircut, and I couldn’t pass up the chance to bypass some of the next section. The first stretch was 67 miles against a strong headwind with absolutely no civilization between Sanderson and Langtry. In the 60 miles Langtry to Del Rio, there is a town, Comstock, that would let me split up that long day. But the forecast for Thursday and Friday was 20-30 mph direct headwinds! That seemed just ridiculous. I am on vacation, after all.
I enjoyed getting to know Mike better. He is a bivocational pastor, because the church isn’t big enough to fully support him. So he works full time in construction, and then spends his Saturdays on sermon prep.
I also learned more about Sanderson. It is the county seat, even though it’s not incorporated. In fact, the entire COUNTY is only 760 people!
We stopped to get some drone video of the “high bridge” over the Pecos River. Then Mike dropped me off near Amistad National Recreation Area, where I got some more aerial videos of another bridge. I actually captured unwind the Adventure Cycling people biking over the bridge!
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I biked exactly 17.76 miles today. I alway have been rather patriotic. My body is loving the third easy day in a row! I am feeling normal now, rather than feeling like I just lost a boxing match, as I did those first few days after El Paso.
The tires and tubes I ordered from Amazon had not been delivered yet to Nate’s Bicycle Shop, so I checked into a nearby hotel right at 3:00 pm.
Then I walked a half mile to try out some authentic food from the area: TEXAS ROADHOUSE! I almost never get to eat there except on long bike trips and after marathons. Those are the times I can afford the calories, especially those warm bread rolls with cinnamon butter at 250 calories a pop.
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Nate texted to tell me that the tires and tubes did arrive before his bike shop closed, so tomorrow morning I’ll ride over there and give my bike a new start on life. Hopefully my used iPhone will also arrive tomorrow so I can use a phone normally again.
Meanwhile, this hotel and these easy days of biking are giving my body a new start. Life is good!
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TRANSLATIONS/BACKGROUND: “TEXBIRD” = Texas Bike Ride, my own nickname for the 800 miles in the middle of Southern Tier Bicycle Route, from El Paso to Austin, using maps from ACA (Adventure Cycling Association). This will complete my ride of the Southern Tier from the Pacific Ocean (San Diego) to the Atlantic Ocean (Jacksonville). (I biked the 1500 miles from Austin to Jacksonville in March 2024, and the 1000 miles from San Diego to El Paso in February 2025.)
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LINKS:
Old-fashioned BLOG if you have friends who don’t use Facebook:
“Old Scouter” Facebook page if you want to follow big adventures with more pictures and video clips (but not unrelated personal posts):
“Old Scouter” YouTube page (when I get time to edit after the trip):