Day 36 - Brackettville, Tx, 41 miles, 1,500 miles total




The Nueces River near Uvalde, Texas

We crossed the wild Pecos
We forded the Nueces
We swum the Guadalupe
And we followed the Brazos
Red River runs rusty
The Wichita clear
But down by the Brazos
I courted my dear

That's the only shot I got today.  It was another overcast, dreary, cold and, eventually, wet ride.  When I got to Bracketville I got pizza at a little hole in the wall place, and as I ate I started to shiver.  That, and the persistent ache in my right knee made the decision for me.  Tomorrow I will ride the 31 miles to Del Rio and end this tour.  I am a defeated man.

I'm sorry I couldn't just "tough it out" but the last time I tried that with knee issues I paid for it by not being able to ride for 6 months.  And as I've already said, I hate riding in cold weather.  Why do something I hate?  There's no point to it, in my opinion.

Tomorrow I'll post one last entry here.

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 17, 2018 at 5:38 PM

    Well I wouldn't call you a defeated man in any sense of the word. You covered a lot of states and you know the hardest part is ahead of you. You need to listen to your body and why continue if you're not having fun? Just to be miserable? Don't beat yourself up. Had conditions been better and if you'd have seen and ridden with other cyclists, it would have been a completely different trip. Good job.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownOctober 17, 2018 at 9:05 PM

    Gary! You gave it all you had and that’s what matters! You had 36 days of adventure and we enjoyed every day of following your crazy adventure from our comfortable perches! You’re our hero and you gave it the old college try! Stand tall and be proud!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Leo TaylorOctober 18, 2018 at 6:40 AM

    Thanks you guys. I appreciate it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownOctober 18, 2018 at 6:49 PM

    Anxiously waiting for your next post... (fingers tapping)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kelsey OviedoOctober 18, 2018 at 8:20 PM

    Uncle Leo!! You are our hero & in my opinion it takes that much more courage to listen to your body rather than push through when it could end up in an injury. You are amazing. A dreamer. A doer. & a wise sage who knows when to rest. Love you!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Leo TaylorOctober 18, 2018 at 8:38 PM

    Thank you Belles, I love you too and that little island peanut of yours. Looking forward to seeing you at Thanksgiving.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Michael LewisOctober 19, 2018 at 9:47 PM

    Gar- you are not letting anyone down, at all. Least of all your older brother. What an endeavor! Drizzle drazzle, drazzle drone . Time for this one to come home...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Preparations

Image
Chromoly Wally, a Specialized Hard Rock mountain bike converted for road touring.  It was a gift from my brother for Christmas, 1997 I've been getting ready for this trip since the first of the year.  So, much of the planning was done earlier, but as the time draws near I keep finding more things to do. Wally was tuned up in January.  It got new shifters, cables, brake pads, chain, pedals and tires.  All adjustments have been made.  Wally is 20 years old now and has probably around 40,000 miles on it but is in great shape.  The only original parts left are the frame, stem, seat post and front derailleur. I seam sealed my tent, got a packing list together, ordered some new gear and generally have been poring over the route, studying the blogs of others who have done this and am trying not to forget any details. Wally will be shipped FedEx (via shipbikes.com, a low-cost way of shipping bikes).  I will drive to Sacramento and stay with ...
Read more

Day 0 - St. Augustine, 9 Miles, 9 Miles Total

Image
I caught a shuttle to St. Augustine this morning and was here by 11 am.  Luckily the motel proprietors were friendly and let me check in 4 hours early. First order of business was unloading my duffel bag and packing up the individual panniers.  Then I picked up Wally at the shipping business which is right across the street.  Before too long I had him all back together but discovered the front wheel had gotten bent during shipping.  But near the shipping place was a bike shop and they got the wheel trued up in just a few minutes. So with that done, I took the first pedal strokes of the journey and rode a few miles over to the Atlantic Ocean for the official wheel dipping ceremony to mark the start of the tour. As I rode back toward the motel I saw the sign for A1A and a flood of memories from my Parrot head days in the mid '1970s came flooding back.  Before I knew it I was singing Jimmy Buffet under my breath. Mother, mother ocean I have hear...
Read more

Day 1 - Palatka, FL, 34 miles, 43 miles total

Image
I got started by 8:30 this morning.  Opening the door of the motel to wheel Wally outside was a sobering experience as the heat and humidity slapped me in the face.  Then I was backhanded by the equally sobering thought that I will likely be dealing with these conditions all the way into Texas.  Might as well get used to it. I didn't pay any attention to the American Cycling Association route today, opting for a more direct route to Palatka on Hwy 207.  It had a nice bike lane for much of the way which was later replaced with an even nicer, and completely deserted, bike path.  The hills in Florida are man made.  This one spans the St. John's River A nuclear power plant and a lumber mill (?) across the St. John's  In the beginning I felt so good that I was regretting having scheduled such a short mileage day, but near the end I was very thankful that I had.  The fires and smoke at home had kept me off the bike most of the time since...
Read more