Texas

My thoughts on the past few days:

After leaving our great hosts in Alpine, TX, we ventured toward Del Rio. Our first day out, I rode my first century (a single day ride of over 100 miles)! Upon arrival in Sanderson, TX, my Dad and I chatted about how much further we wanted to travel that day. The other woman dining in Paddy's Pub decided to join our conversation and told us that we should leave Texas because everyone had the flu or a cold. I must have looked at her incredulously because she wagged her finger at me and said, "You'll see, it's a pandemic!" We chose not to take her advice so we continued on our journey and camped by a dilapidated building. We were sung to sleep by 25+ dogs as well as the "hum" of the bustling railroad tracks.

Super Bowl Sunday: a time for friends, football, commercials and just about every type of potato chip you can think of...

Our Super Bowl Sunday started when we woke up in the tent. We delighted in a can of citrus blend canned fruit, instant oatmeal, some Snickers bars and a couple cans of strawberry Ensure. Over a hundred miles separated us from us Del Rio so we got an early start and encountered lots of hills and even more wind.

This is a very hilly state; it's no wonder Lance Armstrong is so fast!

Anyway, upon arrival in Del Rio we were picked up in a red F150 by Wes Morgan. I learned of his existence through the website couchsurfing.com. He and his roommate were GREAT and we spent the night with them on the Laughlin Air Force base. It was so interesting to be surrounded by a military base community. Once we arrived at their place it was time for the PARTY! Upon arrival we showered because we know that many people find biking spandex unsettling. Chips! Beer! 20-30 Air Force guys! Through a couple of conversations, it seemed like most of the clean-shaven guys graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2006--like my fellow Mounds View High School classmate Chris Schendel. Some of them knew him-I love connections like that.

We watched the eventful game and the eruption of cheers for "anyone but the Patriots!" As the crowd thinned out, we chatted with our hosts in their well-decorated home. As Travis said, "We're two straight dudes with a fruit bowl." We ended the night by celebrating my Dad's birthday with a beer at midnight. Travis said those were the house rules, so we didn't want to offend.

The next day it was my Dad's birthday, and we saw armadillos roaming alongside the road. Once it started to get dark, we needed to find a place for our tent so I went up to a ranch house and inquired about whether or not we could camp in this person's yard. They explained that this house was their guest house so they offered us the couples' suite.

EVERYONE THINKS WE ARE MARRIED. We find this very disturbing. I frequently find myself saying, "Hey Dad..." before all my sentences.

Anyway, the owners of this house went back to their real house and let us stay at their guest house - for free - that night. We felt so lucky. Among their pets, they had a very old lab named Bullet. Dave, the owner, would jokingly instruct Bullet to "kill" or "attack," but the love-sick dog would just wag its tail with glee.