4/03/2015
Rode 83 miles
Rode approx. 9.34 hr
Today was rough, I was exhausted from the two previous days. I had to walk up almost every incline, my legs wouldn’t turn the pedals over. I was still on highway 90, the same road the guy had warned me about looking out for deer. There were still a lot of deer; the air smelled like spring flowers with a hint of decay or the other way around depending on the road kill to flower ratio. The road was littered with dead deer and vulture parts. The semis where going really fast and when they hit a deer, it appeared it destroyed it totally from the random extremities I saw, a random leg here and another one over there.
They must have clipped a lot of vultures who were feeding on the deer, also. There is nothing scarier to date than going across a bridge with no berm and a semi passing two RVs coming at you at what appeared to be 100 mph, the speed limit being 75. The RVs looked like they where booking it and on the downhill and yet the semi was passing them, coming at me, and I had nowhere to go! The saddle bags kept me on the white line because they hit the bridge if I try and move right. I close my eyes and hold the handlebars tight, knuckles turning white, and think no wonder there are deer parts everywhere whoosh and hoooonk and he is by and I am still in one piece!?! Why do they honk? It makes you jump and when you move, your bike moves? Quit honking! I had to make it to the only service station by 5pm or no water and I needed a refill to make it the 25 miles to camp. I was so tired; I keep stopping to rest in the shade when I could find it. Made it into town at 4:45 pm, well, the outskirts of town and yes one service station. Hamburger, Mtn. Dew, Gatorade; water filled and consumed by 4:57 pm. Perfect timing almost like I had planned it. I was so tired, made it to camp after dark again.
4/02/2015
room but had very limited service. Called Mom to have her get on Kayak to find a cheap hotel. The one that the guy had told me would be the cheapest was $34 on Kayak, Mom booked it. While I stopped, I could hear the coyotes yipping. The almost full moon was just fully in view over the horizon, highlighting the desert landscape, it was very beautiful and the sounds of the communicating coyotes only enhanced the experience and surrounding vista. I stalled waiting a little listing even though I was pressed for time! Biking at night was a nice respite from the ubiquitous sun and heat. Stopped at the wrong hotel on my way in town. The guy told me how bad the other place was and said if I can get out of the agreement to come back and he would give me a room for $20. The other one was only $14 more so 
I wasn’t expecting a nice place from either of the prices. When I got there, the guy was asleep, it was about 10 or 10:30. I was exhausted from biking 117 miles and just wanted to sleep! He had to “clean a room for me” it took about 20 minutes. I don’t know why it took so long, it was a double room and only one bed was made. I did not see new sheets on his cart on my way into the room, so I assume he just made one bed without changing the sheets. The tub did not look clean either. Oh well, passed out, woke up early and left after he offered me snacks; chips, water, and crackers because he wanted me to write a review on Trip Advisor. Twenty five cent crackers and fifty cent water totally make up for a disgusting room!! He even went as far as to follow me and harass me for a picture. He wanted me to post it
and say how great his place was I will let you decide?????
a good bit of wildlife on today’s ride. A rattlesnake was hanging out in the road, a possible roadrunner shot across the road, a javelin pig like mammal from the family Tayassuidae…. not to be confused with the escaped domestic pig which is from the family Suidae. I was told by someone that they were not pigs, he seemed very adamant about this. Now you know, too.
rumble like strips which caused my bike to vibrate uncomfortably beneath me. Teeth chattering and slamming together, I struggled to keep my bike upright. This must have caused the bolts to come loose on my bike rack and saddle bags. I lost one off the bike and one off the saddle bag.
duced a chicken leg and a salad with cheese, salami, and a variety of greens. It was delicious! The cheese, which might be my favorite food, was awesome! I haven’t had either for two weeks. She talked to me while I ate. I had offered to buy the food earlier knowing full well that no one was going to sell food to a person cycling across the United States that looked like he was starving. They were going to give it to me. I offered to pay her again and her response was priceless. “Honey, I live in Jackson Hole.”
and have a slightly noticeable accent. “Yes. I am from WV.” Of course, he has been to Richmond. People, it’s a whole different state!! He offered me a ride into Sierra Blanca, my destination for a night. I declined as my goal was to cycle across the US, not hitchhike. I finally got into town at dusk after my delay.
and shorts. An older man sat down beside me. Like most old people I see at McDonalds, the only thing he had was a small coffee and a newspaper. He was the first person who liked Obama I had met on the trip; we talked about how dumb Americans are now. He said, “People used to watch soap operas for entertainment, now they watch Fox News. It’s still just fake bullshit, but they think its important news.” He was an old lawyer, whose hand shook as he held his coffee talking to m
e, who was still practicing because he had to give his ex-wives too much money. We also talked about the prison system and how they are sending nonviolent offenders away for life because of the economic incentives. Prison is a huge business. I stayed for hours talking to the guy and avoiding the heat, a huge plus was the vast quantity of food I consumed while waiting for the heat to fade.
weeds, I was still under prepared for this trap. I think I am quickly becoming a cat person. Biking into town, I was searching for a cheap hotel using Kayak, I found one and booked it. I stopped for my high calorie gas station dinner and beer before continuing to the hotel. When I checked in, I discovered it was cheaper if I would have booked the room without using Kayak. Now I check both online and at the front desk before booking a room. As I was sitting on the stoop of the room drinking my beer and eating my wonderful gas station taco, it actually was good since I was so close to the boarder, a guy asked me if his daughter could ride my bike. In my head hell noooo, she could steal it, wreak it, it’s way too big for her, and it has all my belongings in the panniers. The manager that checked me in must have seen the panic in my eyes as these thoughts rushed through my head. She said, “It’s OK, it’s my daughter and husband.” Well that alleviates all my worries, think… think…, I got it.
blowing through my hair, smiling from the exhilaration and freedom. I thought about all the fun and freedom of childhood. Even in high school when asked by my guidance counselor what I wanted to be. I replied “Ski Bum!!” Not only did I accomplish my goal but I excelled at it! I am a ski bum and a whitewater bum!
ing three of the trip and decided to take the pepper spray out of my waist band and put it outside of my bag beside me. The crazy guy’s ranting is getting closer again. I wiggle my upper body out of the top of the bag again. It is closer still, he is now right beside me talking about killing again. When I say right beside me I mean he was past the personal space bubble so close I said, ”hi”, just so he didn’t step on me. He stopped, regarded me for a second, then in non crazy speak asked me for a cigarette. At that moment oh how I wished I smoked, me and crazy guy could be buddies instead I said, “nope.” He went right back to ranting, but at least he was w
alking away. I went back into my bag and tried to sleep. I could hear him from time to time at varying distances until I feel asleep. Needless to say, I had different nightmares about trying to get out of my sleeping bag and crazy guy, none ended well for me. Sometime later I felt something at my feet, I don’t know how long it took me to realize it wasn’t another nightmare. I started swinging and flopping at the same time, damn zipper-less sleeping bag. When I fought my way out of the sleeping bag, I was relieved to see several javelins, a pig like animal, instead of crazy guy not far from me. I tried to go back to sleep and had a nightmare about pigs eating me, needless to say I woke up at 4 a.m. put my back against the wall and waited for daylight. Nothing else happened, I could have sleep for a few hours.
Adventures Of The Average Joe 