February 15, 2023 – Keep Calm and Pedal On

The flags were a flying under a clear blue sky as we rolled out of Seminole Canyon State Park early this morning.

And we found our warm today in Del Rio, Texas. In fact they set a record temp for this day by two degrees.

We can’t think of a better state in which to use wind turbines than the windy state of Texas. Texas friends, I sure hope your energy costs are low ‘cause y’all have BIG wind here. We were awed by all of the blades being transported as we cycled east.

As we stomped on peddles most of the day trying to get above 9 miles an hour, there was little to do but cuss, cry or start wondering about things we saw along the road… like discarded tractor tires in the Border Patrol lane. We’d been seeing them for hundreds of miles. And they had chains on them. And there aren’t farmers out here; it’s mostly ranch land.

And the increase in heat made us ultra aware of an increase in dead deer on the side of the road. Why were the carcasses spray painted orange? These are things you might not notice going 75 miles an hour with your windows up and the AC on, but again, at 9mph in 95 degrees ya notice a lot of dead animals and you begin to wonder. 😂

As the head wind increased, so did our speed as we peddled our hearts out to get over the bridge spanning the Amistad Resevoir. Tom said he just wanted to stick his foot out and trip the semi truck that didn’t move over.🌬️🚴🏼‍♂️🚴🏼‍♀️😂

We know when to say when and we cut the ride short in Del Rio as the next possible place to camp or hotel it was almost 30 miles up the road. We had a lot of laughs over dinner about the day but it wasn’t much fun while riding.

But hey, we learned Border Patrol trucks hook those chained tires up to their pickup and drag the tires behind them to smooth the sandy road so footprints can be more easily detected.

And the spray painted deer carcasses? From what I learned, in an effort to improve public safety, statistics are kept on collisions involving wildlife. Marking the dead deer with paint ensures they aren’t double counted. Makes sense to me.

So we found our warm today with a side of headwind, and I’ll take 90 degree temps over 30 degrees any day! ☀️ Thank you, Texas! ❤️🤍💙

For the second graders:

We just read about sandstorms and Cole wants to know if you have seen any since you have been riding.

Hello from the beautiful state of Texas, Cole! 👋🏻 I think the closest thing we have seen to a sandstorm is when we crossed the Algodones Dunes near Glamis in the Sonoran Desert in California. It was a very windy day and sand was blowing across the street and dunes.