Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad Day

Sorry about the delay in my blog, it has been a rough couple of days. Unfortunately on Tuesday afternoon, dad had a bike accident in super rural Louisiana. Tom was involved but came out of it with only a few scrapes and a torn up helmet. Luckily after being care flighted to a hospital and having surgery for facial lacerations he is doing great now, I can’t belive how tough he is. At this point dad and I will not be continuing the ride right now, he’s not allowed to ride right now and needs too heal. Tom is continuing on to the end and should be done in a couple of weeks. Hopefully at some point in the future we will be able to complete the ride, I’m so proud that we were able to make it this far and I can’t belive how strong we all have become. Thank you so much for all your love and support, it has been so nice sharing my journey with you all! 

At a Christmas parade a day after pops had surgery (he’s such a beast I can’t believe he was up for walking around).  

At a Christmas parade a day after pops had surgery (he’s such a beast I can’t believe he was up for walking around).  

Day Fourty-Three

Day 43  

71.27 miles  

409 ft (elevation gain)  

1,705.8 total miles 

Silsbee -> DeRidder 

WAHOOO!!! Today we said bye bye to Texas and hello to Louisiana!! After 3 weeks and 3 days we are finally out of Texas, hahah, I thought we might never leave. I’m so happy to be out of our fourth state and into our fifth, I can’t beileve we’ve made it this far and  are still going strong. Today we started the day fairly late at around ten, when we woke up this morning at seven it was about 27 degrees outside so we wanted it to warm up a bit. When we left the temp had risen to the mid thirties which was a lot nicer to ride in. It wasn’t too cold out I only had to wear two layers. Once it was warm enough we head out on the ride and mom went on a three hour Walmart trip (she really pulled the short stick).  The ride started on highway 96, where we rode for about 30 miles. These 30 miles were really easy but really really boring, the road was super flat, super straight and seemed like we were on a stationary bike. It was also super loud and we had a bit of a head wind so overall we weren’t having the best time on the highway. Once off the highway we got on a farm to market road that wasn’t much better than the highway. It was really busy and the shoulder was basically non existent so it was a little sketchy for us. Luckily after a couple of miles the road got quieter and we felt much safer. At around mile 40 mom caught up with us after her Walmart trip. We ate a quick lunch and warmed up from being in the cold. We then finished the last 28 miles. They continued to be on the flat straight roads and continued to be really boring. Except when we crossed into Louisiana, this was super exciting for all of us. The last ten mile were fairly easy but continued to be boring but there was a lot more to look at. Today was overall really good, we are continuing to have a ton of fun and are getting really excited for the rest of the trip. 

Saying bye to Reta and heading out for the ride. 

Saying bye to Reta and heading out for the ride. 

Eating the granola right out of the bag. Haha.  

Eating the granola right out of the bag. Haha.  

Buna!  

Buna!  

Quick donut break.  

Quick donut break.  

Welcome to Louisiana!  

Welcome to Louisiana!  

Finishing up with the ride.  

Finishing up with the ride.  

Laundry time. 

Laundry time. 

So many pizzas (we ate all but one). Haha.  

So many pizzas (we ate all but one). Haha.  

Our route for the day.  

Our route for the day.  

Elevation profile.  

Elevation profile.  

 Please help raise funds for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) at https://www.firstgiving.com/event/rsds/Ride-Across-The-Country-For-CRPS

Day Fourty-Two

Day 42  

72.65 miles  

542 ft (elevation gain)  

1,634.5 total miles 

Coldsprings -> Silsbee  

Today was a great day. We started the ride around ten at the city square, we warmed up for about five miles and the rest of the ride was a breeze. The roads was smooth, flat and relatively straight, we even had a little bit of a tail wind. This made our riding really easy, I never pushed hard which was really nice. The cars on the road were also really respectful and would give us lots of space. We were able to average around 20 mph, so we we’re able to speed through the riding. We rode through big forest with trees and foliage packed so tightly together taht you couldn’t even walk through the forest, it’s really crazy looking. We have official made it out of Texas hill country i think, we barely had any uphill all day. We also have left the dry section of Texas and have made it into the swap lands. They are really beautiful and very different fro what I’m used to. It’s really nice but the humidity is rising along with the rising temperature Andrew making me really warm, but it’s not to bad. I really wasn’t even tired after the ride, I can’t belive I’m saying that. Before this trip 70 miles was double my longest ride, I can’t believe how strong I have become. After the ride we went to the trailer park that we are spending the night at, the manager was so nice and invited us to dinner at her house with two other people from the park. It was lovely we all brought food and had a great spread, we decided to consider it our thanks giving since it was much nicer than it actual thanksgiving hahah. After dinner we decide to go to the bar across the street to see it Reta (the park manager), Carlos, and Julie both came with us. There was karaoke, thankfully we didn’t have to sing but lots of other people did and they were all great. Carlos, Julie, and Reta taught us all how to dance, it was really fun. All the locals at the bar were super nice and fun to talk to. I’m so glad we got to meet so many fun and exciting people, I’m also super happy taht we got to go to such a cool town and see the real locals spot. Today was super fun, especially once our ride wasn’t over and we got to hangout and explore. 

Heading out for the day. 

Heading out for the day. 

Check out our stylish necklaces that we found.  

Check out our stylish necklaces that we found.  

Dad helped local push there truck to the gas station after it ran out of gas.  

Dad helped local push there truck to the gas station after it ran out of gas.  

The whole crew. 

The whole crew. 

Reta dad and I. 

Reta dad and I. 

Julie, mom and I.  

Julie, mom and I.  

Honky think Texas bar.  

Honky think Texas bar.  

Route for the day.  

Route for the day.  

elevation profile. 

elevation profile. 

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Day Fourty-One

Day 41  

Restday 7  

Cold Springs  

 Today we decide to take our rest day one day earlier than planned. Our camp site is really nice and the town of Cold Springs was having a Christmas tree/town lighting that we thought would be fun to see. We also thought another day to rest would be good for my belly. We woke up fairly early still, and ate oatmeal, then took the dogs on a long walk through the forest. Gillian and Roxy were so happy to be able to go off leash, they were running all over the place. The forest was really cool it was super dense it wasn’t like tables forests at all. Also through out the forest all sorts of things were hidin, there were suits of armor kids toys and other random stuff, it was kinda creepy, I felt like we were in a horror movie. After the walk we had left over tamales from dinner last night and quesadillas. We then drive over to Lake Livingston and saw the dam and the state park, they were both really cool and beautiful. After the lake we drove into Cold Springs to see the town, we walked around and saw the old county jail and the old town of Cold Springs, we then ate dinner and went to the tree lighting. The tree lighting was really cute it seemed like the whole town was there and knew each other. They had live music and all sorts of different vendors, and then the put Christmas light in the whole court house and surrounding buildings, it was like a scene out of Gilmore Girls. It was the cutest thing ever. After the tree lighting we came back to the trailer and are getting to bed pretty early! 

Forest!  

Forest!  

All the signs we found in the forest.

All the signs we found in the forest.

All of these things really creep me out.  

All of these things really creep me out.  

Old county jail house.  

Old county jail house.  

Lake Livingston Dam.  

Lake Livingston Dam.  

I’m a little sleepy, I think it’s nap time.  

I’m a little sleepy, I think it’s nap time.  

Waiting for the lights to turn on.  

Waiting for the lights to turn on.  

Towns all light up for Christmas.  

Towns all light up for Christmas.  

Papa snowman, mama snowman, baby snowman.  

Papa snowman, mama snowman, baby snowman.  

 Please help raise funds for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) at https://www.firstgiving.com/event/rsds/Ride-Across-The-Country-For-CRPS

Day Fourty

Day 40  

Day 1 of being sick  

Today my tummy was still feeling super wonky, so I didn’t ride. Gosh it’s a real bummer when I can’t ride, it’s really dissapointing. The roads were really pretty, we’ve made our way out of the dry prickley parts of Texas and into the forests, were definetly getting closer to Louisianan with how the vegetation has changed. I’m hoping to tomorrow my stomachs feeling better! 

The guys are starting the ride.  

The guys are starting the ride.  

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Day Thirty-Nine

A little late but...

Day 39  

65.06 miles 

2,393 ft (elevation gain) 

1,561.9 total miles 

 La Grange -> Navasota 

Today we started the ride at around 9. We took off and we’re feeling pretty good after the hallmark movies last night we were all ready to ride. When we woke up we’re were able to watch a littlest bit of the Thanks Giving Day Parade, that was nice it made thanks giving feel like thanksgiving. The ride started with us riding past over 50 antique shops, it was wild they were all over the place and massive. At one point there was a turtle in the middle of the road, we decided to stop and help it cross. From the beginning of the ride I wasn’t feeling great I was having some major tummy issues, by the time mom pulled over and caught up with us I was feeling terrible. At this point I got in the car with her, at lunch I took a nap and still wasn’t feeling good. UGH it sucks when you feel yucky. Once the ride was over we had a very unconventional Thanksgiving dinner. We had beef stew, chicken noodle soup, and McDonalds chicken strips (yes we had McDonald’s for thanks giving hahah). Luckily a couple days ago we bought a peacan pie a couple days ago so that made the meal feel a little More thanksgivingy. But overall we were all just super thankful to be able to do this trip and to be in such a wonderful journey! I’m so thankful that we’ve met so many wonderful people and are having so much fun! I’m especially thankful that my momma is taking care of us as we go on this journey! 

Parade time.  

Parade time.  

The turtle we rescued, I think it’s still a little traumatized.  

The turtle we rescued, I think it’s still a little traumatized.  

Pretty good thanksgiving meal.   

Pretty good thanksgiving meal.   

Our route for the day.  

Our route for the day.  

Elevation profile.  

Elevation profile.  

 Please help raise funds for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) at https://www.firstgiving.com/event/rsds/Ride-Across-The-Country-For-CRPS

Day Thirty-Eight

Day 38  

41.68 miles  

1,476 ft (elevation gain)  

1,474.9 total miles 

Bastrop -> La Grange 

 Today was another fun and chill day. We started the day around eight when we rode bikes to downtown Bastrop to eat breakfast. We went to Maxine’s a local diner it was super yummy and the breakfast was massive!  We then rode back to the KOA and finished packing up for the ride. We finally headed out around ten. After a mile or so of riding through for downtown and out of the city we entered the Bastrop State Park. We riden through the park for about sixteen miles, it was so nice, the road was super smooth and there were hardly any cars. The park was also super pretty to ride though, there were tons of trees and a lot of cute caterpillars. At one point we even stopped to find an orienteering point, unfortunately we didn’t find it haha. The park was great but had some really steep uphill sections, on of them was a 21% grade, luckily the were short so we were able to make it up them fine. Once we rode through the park we met up with mom on on the 153, we had a quick snack and headed out again. The first 2 ish miles of 153 were terrible there was barely any shoulder and when there was a shoulder it was really over grown. There was also a rumble strip so you couldn’t easily bounce from the shoulder to the road. The road was also extremely busy so it was sketchy riding in the road. We almost pulled out of riding the section but luckily after two miles the road got really quiet so we felt comfortable riding even without the shoulder. With fifteen miles left in the ride, it started to rain a bit but luckily it never rained on us too hard, we missed the rain pretty much all day but the roads were definetly really wet, from the rain before we came through. We made it in to La Grande around two, we all took nice long showers and went to an earlyish dinner at a locals restaurant, they treated us all like family and were so nice. The food was also amazing! After dinner we started watching hallmark Christmas movies hahha! They’re so bad but also just so fun to watch, it’s also just nice to chill out. Tomorrow our mileage increases again but not by too much, it should definetly be tolerable. 

The pup and are pumped for the day.  

The pup and are pumped for the day.  

Breakfast was so darn good!  

Breakfast was so darn good!  

Mom riding home with the peacan pie we bought at breakfast.  

Mom riding home with the peacan pie we bought at breakfast.  

Heading out for the day in our super cool new over booties.  

Heading out for the day in our super cool new over booties.  

Scenic overlook in the state park.  

Scenic overlook in the state park.  

IMAGE.JPG

Check out the cool caterpillar!  

Check out this cool furry one.  

Check out this cool furry one.  

Our route for the day.  

Our route for the day.  

Elevation profile.  

Elevation profile.  

The one way street dad decided to drive down in the wrong direction! :[

The one way street dad decided to drive down in the wrong direction! :[

Please help raise funds for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) at https://www.firstgiving.com/event/rsds/Ride-Across-The-Country-For-CRPS

Day Thirty-Seven

Day 37 

39.56 miles 

737 ft (elevation gain)  

1,433.3 total miles 

Austin -> Bastrop 

Today was a short and easy day. we started around ten and rode through down town Austin. We rode on a couple bike paths briefly and then switched to bike lanes through city center, and then ride on a lot of rides with no shoulders at all. The cars were fairly respectful and would switch lanes or move over quiet a bit. The road surface was pretty good but we had a few patches of bumpy road. Riding through the city is fun but also takes awhile because it seems like we would hit every single stop light.About ten mile out side of the city we opted to ride through a small park instead of on the road it was a little longer but was nice to get away from the cars. After about fifteen miles of riding we were riding on smaller country roads. Today we took it really easy, we figured we might as well since it was such a short day. At one point we rode on highway 71 to was super load and busy but luckily we were only on it for a couple miles. We then rode on more small rodes, at one point we stopped to talk to a cyclist going the opposite direction. The rest of the ride was a really easy, it was all flat and the rodes were all good. Tonight we are staying at ten KOA the owners are super nice and gave us a big discount since we are bikers they even gave us tips on our route for tomorrow. We finished our ride pretty early so I was able to take a quick nap and mom and dad were able to go walk around downtown Bastrop. Tonight we planned the next couple days, it cool to see how much progress we are making. Tomorrow’s another short day but should be pretty fun and chill again. 

Heading out for the day.  

Heading out for the day.  

On of the bike paths  

On of the bike paths  

So many cows.  

So many cows.  

Welcome to Bastrop!  

Welcome to Bastrop!  

So many of the little caterpillars.  

So many of the little caterpillars.  

Being a dog is exhausting.

Being a dog is exhausting.

Our route for the day. 

Our route for the day. 

Elevation profile.  

Elevation profile.  

 Please help raise funds for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) at https://www.firstgiving.com/event/rsds/Ride-Across-The-Country-For-CRPS

Day Thirty-Six

Day 36  

Rest day 6 

Austin

Today was are sixth restday and first full day in Austin. We woke up early to go to a laundry mat to do around seven loads of laundry. Normally we’ve been doing laundry regularly to keep it from building up but our last trailer parks didn’t have laundry. After doing laundry for about two hours we needed to stop by and REI and a bike shop to grab some more spare tubes and warmer clothes, we finally got booties for the cold weather. We then went out to lunch and started walking around the city. We walked in the bike paths for around seven miles, it was really pretty, we say the city skyline the whole walk. We walked all the way to the capital building, apperantly it’s the biggest capital in the US, even bigger that the White House! To was super pretty and cool to see. We walked over congress bridge and say some of the millions of bats that fligh our from it at night. We then wakes back to our car and went back to our trailer park, and had dinner down the block from us. After dinner we had dad open a few presents for his birthday, it cool to celebrate it on the road it makes his birthday really memorable. Tomorrow we are back to riding and will be out of Texas and into Louisiana in no time. 

Laundry!  

Laundry!  

Bike shop!  

Bike shop!  

Austin!  

Austin!  

The capital building!  

The capital building!  

A speak easy was behind this bookcase.  

A speak easy was behind this bookcase.  

Happy Birthday Pops!!  

Happy Birthday Pops!!  

 Please help raise funds for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) at https://www.firstgiving.com/event/rsds/Ride-Across-The-Country-For-CRPS

Day Thirty-Five

Day 35  

42.18 miles 

2,189 ft (elevation gain)  

1,393.7 total miles 

Johnson City -> Austin

Today was a really chill day. We started the day around ten when we picked Barb and Tom up from their Bed and Breakfast. We then went to look at Lyndon B Johnsons house at the state park in Johnson City. We then put on a lot of warm layers and started the ride. Today the temperature dropped again to around 45 degrees (it feels a lot colder than this though), there was also a cloud cover and a little bit of rain so it made it a lot chillier. The ride started out really chill with the same rolling hills that we’ve hadn’t the past couple of days, but with a general downhill trend. Non of the hills were too difficult and we were able to get over them pretty quickly. The road surface was also really nice, but there wasn’t much of a shoulder on the road, luckily the roads didn’t have a lot of traffic. We rode through some residential areas, into spread out ranches and then we road through a state park. The road through the state park was really quiet, it was a single land road and kind of rough but overall really nice. At one point there was a big valley that we rode into at the bottom of it was a creek that went right over the road. It was a little deep though and dad and I both got our shoes wet. After putting in dry socks, we continued on on the quiet ranch roads, as we got closer to Austin we stopped to eat pizza, it was in a big open barn and was super cool and yummy. After getting all warm from lunch it was a little hard to get back on the bikes, but we continued anyway. We rode about 20 more miles into downtown ish Austin. Before we got into proper downtown Austin we got in the car to help mom navigate the city in the trailer. Before we reached mom, we had already done our cool down mile when we had to climb a 17% grade hill. It was massive, and was a little bit of a bummer go ride at the very end of the day, but we rode around the parking lot a couple of times to let our muscles cool down.  We then drive about 3 miles to our trailer park in downtown Austin, it’s super cute. Overall today was great but we hadn’t our first heckling from a car, as we were riding to lunch a car going the opposite direction yelled at us and told us to ride somewhere else. This was a bit of a bummer but we didn’t let it get to us and kept in riding. Once we got to our trailer park we had to drop the car off at Best Buy to get a new stereo, our broke around two weeks ago and the cars been a little too quiet for mom, luckily we were able to get the car back tonight and we now can play music in the car! Once the car was dealt with we went out to dinner with our friends from Austin, it’s always nice to see familiar faces on this trip. Today was great and I can’t wait to explore Austin tomorrow.  I also forgot to mention that Austin is the a little over halfway point of the trip! It’s so cool to have already riden this far, I can’t believe we are actually doing this, and that we’ve made it this far in such a short amount of time! I’m so proud of myself and the whole group! 

pre ride snuggle. 

pre ride snuggle. 

Heading out for the day.    

Heading out for the day.    

The stream we had to cross.  

The stream we had to cross.  

Lunch time!  

Lunch time!  

Found a new friend at lunch.  

Found a new friend at lunch.  

Riding out of lunch a little chilly and very full.  

Riding out of lunch a little chilly and very full.  

Our route for the day.  

Our route for the day.  

Elevation profile.  

Elevation profile.  

 Please help raise funds for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) at https://www.firstgiving.com/event/rsds/Ride-Across-The-Country-For-CRPS

Day Thirty-Four

Day 34  

74.74 miles 

2,469 ft (elevation gain) 

1,351.5 total miles 

Kerrville -> Johnson City  

Today’s ride was beautiful. We started the ride by riding through the out skirts of Kerrville. We rode the outskirts for about 5 miles, and then we started riding on cool single lane country roads. It was so pretty the roads were super quiet so we didn’t have to worry about cars to much. The farms and houses out on these roads were also really pretty as well. We rode past massive cows, rams, donkeys, horses, sheep and many other cool animals. While we started our ride my ran some errands in Kerrville, by the time she finished we had riden 30 ish miles and we’re ready for lunch. We stopped for lunch in Fredericksburg, it was a really cute town. We ate at a German restaurant, we sat outside and they had a musician playing. It was nice to be in a somewhat normal town versus the really tiny towns that we’ve been in. Unfortunately when I woke up this morning I had a pretty big headache, I was hoping to would go away after I drank a lot of water and had an aspirin. Unfortunately it did not and by lunch time my head was pounding, at this point we decided it probably wasn’t safe to ride. I wouldn’t be focused and paying full attention to the rode, so I rode in the car with mom for the last half of the ride. It’s a real bummer when I can’t ride with the guys but I’m glad I was able to ride the first half. Once we got into Johnson City we went to see Barb, Toms wife, she flew in from San Francisco to visit while we are in Austin. We had dinner with Barb and her cousins, it was super nice! Tomorrow we have a shorter day into Austin and then we’ll have another rest day to explore the city! I can’t believe we’re over halfway through Texas. 

We’re all ready for the day.  

We’re all ready for the day.  

The roads were so pretty.  

The roads were so pretty.  

Big cows (they look really tiny in this photo but they were massive).  

Big cows (they look really tiny in this photo but they were massive).  

Rams? Or long horn sheep? Or long horn goats? (Not really sure what these are).  

Rams? Or long horn sheep? Or long horn goats? (Not really sure what these are).  

Gorgeous church in Fredericksburg.  

Gorgeous church in Fredericksburg.  

Yahoo, having fun riding.  

Yahoo, having fun riding.  

Snack and stretch time.  

Snack and stretch time.  

Our route for the day.  

Our route for the day.  

Our elevation profile.  

Our elevation profile.  

 Please help raise funds for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) at https://www.firstgiving.com/event/rsds/Ride-Across-The-Country-For-CRPS

Day Thirty-Three

Day 33  

73.52 miles  

1,503 ft (elevation gain)  

1,276.8 total miles

Rocksprings -> Kerrville 

Today was a pretty good day. We rode out of Rocksprings around 9 this morning. We continued to be on the rough road but I was definitely more prepared for it today. it was slightly colder than yesterday but still a comfortable temperature. The shoulder for the first part of the day was wide so, I felt pretty safe. The road was mainly downhill but it had a ton of rolling hills. The uphills were tiring and the downhills didn’t really give you a long enough break so it was a little exhausting. The first three quarters of the day we road past massive exotic animal game ranches. It was like we were riding through the Savannah Desert, there were all sorts of wierd non native animals. Throughout the day we saw a ton of road kill, we seen at least seven different species of road kill on the side of the road. I’ve been told that the locals will turn them into spaghetti, maybe that will be dinner tomorrow night. We had a quick snack break of cheese and crackers at about mile 20, it is awesome to have mom making food for us constantly, I don’t think we would have been able to do this with our her. After the snack break we rode for another 10 ish miles and had lunch, it was super yummy we had massive sandwiches and some ice tea, it was a nice break for our muscles as well. After lunch we continued riding up and down hills, we started to move slowly out of the game ranches and into just family ranches. The last 20 ish miles of our ride were absolutely gorgeous. We were riding along the Guadalupe River, with really mild traffic. We even crossed the river like 8 times, were lucky we missed the flooding from a few weeks ago, you could see that the water got like 10 feet high. As we rode into Hunt the road was freshly paved and really smooth, it was like butter. At this point in the day traffic started to build a bit, but the cars were still respectful and gave us lots of space. We finished today’s ride strong and are resting for another 70 mile day tomorrow!

Our hotel from last night.  

Our hotel from last night.  

Heading out for the day.  

Heading out for the day.  

Exotic animal game ranch. 

Exotic animal game ranch. 

Our lunch stop.  

Our lunch stop.  

Guadalupe River.

Guadalupe River.

Horses outside of Hunt.

Horses outside of Hunt.

The trailers a little too small to foam roll in.  

The trailers a little too small to foam roll in.  

Our route for the day  

Our route for the day  

Our elevation profile.  

Our elevation profile.  

 Please help raise funds for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) at https://www.firstgiving.com/event/rsds/Ride-Across-The-Country-For-CRPS

Day Thirty-Two

Day 32

73.50 miles  

2,450 ft (elevation gain)  

1,203.2 total miles

Del Rio -> Rocksprings

Today was a rough day for me. The first ten miles were fantastic though. The road surface was really nice and there was a wide shoulder and the uphill grade was really chill. As soon as we exited Del Rio city limits about 10 miles into the ride, the road went from great to terrible. The road surface was chip sealed and super super bumpy, and there was basically no shoulder. This was really rough for me, my hands and arms were super soar because of the surface, but once I put two pairs of gloves on it was a little better. The road was generally uphill most of the day but with big rolling hills mixed in. I think we have entered Texas hill country now but I’m honestly not sure if we actually did haha. Although we were going uphill all day it wasn’t the hills that made the day a bummer, it was the super bumpy road. At about 20 miles in we went through an immigration check point, they waved us through with no problems. After the check point we had a quick snack at a food truck and continued on. We then roads through a windmill field, we were a little worried this would mean that we would get a large headwind but luckly we were able to avoid it.  The road continued to be super bumpy and hill but we continued on, we had lunch a little over halfway into the ride, it was a nice break from the road. For about 10 miles before and after lunch we road past construction workers putting in a pipeline, It’s really sad to see how much land is destroyed in this process. At about 15 miles outside of Rocksprings the road got significantly better, the rocks in the chip seal were significantly smaller, this made the road much smoother. At this point in the day 8 was pretty grumpy from being bumped around all day. I got a little happier when I saw my first armadillo of the trip along with, a cute deer and some really cute cows. We powered through the next five miles with no pain, and then as we closed in on the last five we decide to power up and get in really fast, on the last big hill I was going around 18 mph uphill, it was pretty cool, dad couldn’t keep up. We took a one mile cool down, and we’re realky happy once we made it into Rocksprings. Tonight we are staying in an old historic hotel, we felt the need to sleep in actual beds for once. Hopefully tomorrow’s road isn’t nearly as bumpy as today’s was. 

Biking is exhausting.

Biking is exhausting.

Sheeeeeppp at our RV Park.  

Sheeeeeppp at our RV Park.  

The moment a butterfly tried to attack me.  

The moment a butterfly tried to attack me.  

Heading out for the day.  

Heading out for the day.  

We saw a ton of butterflies today.  

We saw a ton of butterflies today.  

Windmill!  

Windmill!  

Most of the scenery we rode past today looked like this. 

Most of the scenery we rode past today looked like this. 

One of the cool historic building in Rocksprings.  

One of the cool historic building in Rocksprings.  

Our route for the day.  

Our route for the day.  

Our elevation profile for the day.  

Our elevation profile for the day.  

 Please help raise funds for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) at https://www.firstgiving.com/event/rsds/Ride-Across-The-Country-For-CRPS

Day Thirty-One

Day 31 

65.63 miles  

1,967 ft (elevation gain) 

1,130.7 total miles 

somewhere on highway 90 -> Del Rio 

Today was a beautiful and awesome ride. We started the day around nine when we had to drive back out 60 mile on highway 90 to the place we stopped riding on Monday. Right from the start the ride was really hilly, although they were big the hills weren’t too bad. The only issue with the hills wasn’t that when you were going up hill you would get really hot and when you went downhill you get chilly. Although it would get kind of cold it wasn’t nearly as cold as it has been, today was the first day in a bit taht we had to take off layers and not put them on. About 15 miles into the ride there was a bridge with road work happening in it. There was a timed traffic light that would control the flow of traffic. We were a little worried that we wouldn’t be able to ride across the bridge fast enough before traffic going to opposite way we were started coming. Fortunately this was not an issue and we were able to ride across the bridge without any issues. The canyon that the bridge was so cool, it had massive limestone walls that were carved out by water, they were beautiful, you could see so many different layers of rocks. After the first bridge we continued to ride up a somewhat endless amount of hills. A lot of the road was cut through the hillside this made the ride even prettier, we were able to look at massive limestone walls, the layers were so cool, there were so many different rock textures. Shortly after the bridge around mile 25 we decided to stop for lunch, we ate fairly quickly and went back in the road. After a couple more miles we road past Langtry, a super small town right on the Mexico boarder. After Langtry we road over the Pecks River. Thee bridge was massive and the river was so cool, it was huge and was in a big canyon. We continued on with the hills and eventually made it to Comstock, we had a quick French fry snack and got back on the road. After Comstock we road about 10 miles before we came to our biggest and final bridge for the day, over the Amsted International Resivoir. Dad and I decided to not ride the half mile section of the bridge, because there was no shoulder and cars were going around 70 mph on it. We thought it wasn’t worth the risk. After riding in the car for about a mile to avoid the bridge we got back in the bikes and rode the last 6 ish miles into Del Rio. The ride kind of flattened out by the last 15 miles and was pretty chill. Unfortunately all day ten shoulder of the highway was really rough, it was super bumpy the ride on but we were able to tolerate it. After the ride we showered, mom made a great spaghetti dinner, and then we went to a gas station/bbq restaurant for some live music and dessert. It was super fun, to get out of the trailer for a bit and listen to some good music. Today I was feeling really strong, I’m now kicking dad and Toms butts on the uphills, it’s awesome to see how strong I’ve become. 

Found a lovely snake skin as we were heading out for the day (I’m glad I didn’t see the actual snake).  

Found a lovely snake skin as we were heading out for the day (I’m glad I didn’t see the actual snake).  

Bridge #1.  

Bridge #1.  

More from bridge #1.  

More from bridge #1.  

So many cool layers (like and onion or a parfait).   

So many cool layers (like and onion or a parfait).   

We saw a lot of trains today with some cool graffiti.

We saw a lot of trains today with some cool graffiti.

Riding on the super bumpy shoulder. 

Riding on the super bumpy shoulder. 

The Pecos River.  

The Pecos River.  

Another cyclist heading across the US just the other direction.  

Another cyclist heading across the US just the other direction.  

Snack time.  

Snack time.  

This gnarly wasp thing thought I was a flower.  

This gnarly wasp thing thought I was a flower.  

The bridge we drove across.  

The bridge we drove across.  

Quick after ride nap with the pup. 

Quick after ride nap with the pup. 

BBQ Time.  

BBQ Time.  

Our route for the day. 

Our route for the day. 

Our elevation profile (look at all those hills).  

Our elevation profile (look at all those hills).  

Please help raise funds for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) at https://www.firstgiving.com/event/rsds/Ride-Across-The-Country-For-CRPS

Day Thirty

Day 30  

Rest Day 5  

Del Rio  

Today we decided to take a rest day since it was so cold. Last night after the ride, we had to drive back to Sanderson to pick up the trailer. We then were going to drive to Seminole Canyon State Park to camp for the night, but with the cold weather Tom needed a hotel room so we decided that it would be a good idea to just drive to El Rio, take a rest day, and ride tomorrow when it would hopefully be warmer. As we were driving to El Rio we decided to stop for dinner, at dinner we ended up meeting another cycilisy that we’ve been hearing about for a couple weeks now. It was super fun to catch up and chit chat a little bit. Today we ran a lot of errands, we spent like four hours in Walmart, took the dogs to the groomer, went to a bike shop, and did a few other things, it was really busy. It really funny on our rest days we ended up being really busy because of all the supplies and things we need to get, the rest days are almost more exauhsting than the days of riding. After the errands we picked up and went to dinner with Jenny and Will, fellow cyclists that we met in Silver City, it was super nice to see some familiar faces. Tomorrow we are riding again and hopefully it will be a lot warmer.  

Dinner with James (the other cyclist).  

Dinner with James (the other cyclist).  

Laundry time.  

Laundry time.  

Gilligan attacked my sneakers.  

Gilligan attacked my sneakers.  

Roxy needed a pillow.  

Roxy needed a pillow.  

Jenny and Will (this photos from Silver City but I figured I’d post it now).  

Jenny and Will (this photos from Silver City but I figured I’d post it now).  

 Please help raise funds for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) at https://www.firstgiving.com/event/rsds/Ride-Across-The-Country-For-CRPS

Day Twenty-Nine

Day 29  

Sanderson -> Seminole Canyon State Park 

Today we woke up early planning on riding about 80 miles into the state park, unfortunately last night and when we woke up the wind was blowing about 20 mph. Since we are pulling a trailer we can’t drive it in those winds or it could flip, because of this we decided to wait a bit and see if the wind would die down, it did not. At this point we decided that we needed to start riding, we unhooked the car from the trailer and some of us headed out. Since it was so windy and cold my mom was really worried about me riding so we decided that I probably shouldn’t and just ride with her for the day. It was a definetly a good idea, I would have been freezing!!! The guys rode about 50 miles before deciding to call it quits for the day, we then picked them up and drove back to where we left our trailer. We hooked up the trailer and are now on our way to the state park. Hopefully tomorrow it warms up and will be better to ride! 

I’m a frozen human.  

I’m a frozen human.  

Warming up our hands on the stove.  

Warming up our hands on the stove.  

 Please help raise funds for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) at https://www.firstgiving.com/event/rsds/Ride-Across-The-Country-For-CRPS

Day Twenty-Eight

Day 28  

54.76 miles

577 ft (elevation gain)  

1,065.1 total miles

Marathon -> Sanderson  

Today was really good. We started our ride at around 9 and went unassisted for the first 25ish miles, while mom went to the Marathon botanical gardens. The first 25 miles was really chill, we had about a 400 ft climb, but it was really gradual so it wasn’t to bad. After the climb the whole ride was downhill. We were able to average around 20 mph and it was really nice. We met up with mom around the half way point, she brought us smoothies, and coffee, they were all really yummy. The ride today was really pretty we rode in a big canyon most of the day, the grasses and vegitation along the rode was also really pretty, there were a ton of wild sunflowers. We also saw a lot of cows today, they are all really cute and like to watch us as we ride, occasionally some of them would run with us. We also saw a cool pack of deer, they looked kind of like antelope, it was really cool they ran really fast and ran along side us for a good while. Also throughout the day there were a billion fluffy black caterpillars that were along the road and crossing the street, it was really hard avoiding them as we rode the blended into the road really well. After the smoothies the ride continued to be pretty chill. It was all down hill, and we had a bit of a tail wind. At about the 5 mile outside of Sanderson mark we turned and started to get a head wind, I stayed behind dad again and we were able to finish the ride strong. By the end of the ride it was only about 1, it’s really cool to see how much stronger I have become since the beginning of the ride. At the start 50 mile rides were fairly difficult for me and now the are what we call a short day. I’m super proud of myself and feeling stronger and stronger everyday! Tonight we are staying at our camper next to the Budget Inn, the managers are super nice and even cooked us dinner, it was so yummy! They were so kind and are even making us chai tea tomorrow morning. Oh I almost forgot, it also warmed up today so riding was a lot easier, our muscles weren’t cold, it was really nice. 

Heading out for the day. 

Heading out for the day. 

Oh deer!

Oh deer!

Smoothies in the middle of nowhere.  

Smoothies in the middle of nowhere.  

Welcome to Sanderson! The cactus capital of Texas.  

Welcome to Sanderson! The cactus capital of Texas.  

Lovely Indian food for dinner. 

Lovely Indian food for dinner. 

Our route for the day.  

Our route for the day.  

Our elevation profile. 

Our elevation profile. 

 Please help raise funds for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) at https://www.firstgiving.com/event/rsds/Ride-Across-The-Country-For-CRPS

Day Twenty-Seven

Day 27

34.06 miles 

490 ft (elevation gain) 

1,010.3 total miles 

Alpine -> Marathon  

Today was pretty good! We started the ride around 10 and it was already significantly warmer than yesterday. We rode threeish miles into Alpine, and then started the bigger portion of our ride. The ride after Alpine wasn’t too bad it was mainly down hill. A little bit before the half way point a massive head wind started, the wind was super cold! We had a lot of layers on though so we were able to keep warm! Luckily dad makes a really good wind break and made my life significantly easier! The rest of the ride was pretty hilly but had a general trend of going downhill. The ride was really pretty there were beautiful clouds the whole time and gorgeous mountains. We were able to explore the town of Marathon a little bit today. We went to the historic Gage hotel and a really good barbecue place for dinner. Also WAHOOO, I’m over 1,000 miles into the trip, I can’t believe we are already this far! 

 

Heading out for the day.  

Heading out for the day.  

Before and after the fog. 

Before and after the fog. 

Heading into Alpine  

Heading into Alpine  

Sul Ross State University.  

Sul Ross State University.  

I thought everything was bigger in Texas, apparently not their Targets!  

I thought everything was bigger in Texas, apparently not their Targets!  

Welcome to Marathon.  

Welcome to Marathon.  

Our route for the day.  

Our route for the day.  

Our elevation profile.  

Our elevation profile.  

 Please help raise funds for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) at https://www.firstgiving.com/event/rsds/Ride-Across-The-Country-For-CRPS

Day Twenty-Six

Day 26  

20.90 miles

385 ft (elevation gain) 

976.3 total miles  

Fort Davis -> Alpine 

Today was cold, damp, and foggy! We started the day late again, it was around 35 degrees when we woke up and we’re hoping it would warm up a little before we started the ride. It warmed up a little but by the time we left around 11 but it was still really cold, the air had a lot of moisture so it was hard to stay dry. The first ten miles was downhill with a few small uphills and was overall fairly easy. At this point though my toes were freezing because of CRPS and my surgeries I don’t have great circulation. It was really hard to keep the toes warm. To keep my feet warm I had two pair of sock with a plastic bag in between them to keep the wind out. The last ten mile of the ride continues to be fairly easy, although it started raining and started getting really foggy. Eventually the dog got really dense and it was super difficult for cars to see us. We decided it was to dangerous to ride and decided to finish the ride tomorrow. Although it was a bummer to not ride we did some really cool things in Alpine, we went to a fantastic bakery and warmed up, we went to the Museum of the Big Bend and went to a locals bar. We met somebody really nice locals and had a great time. Hopefully tomorrow it is warmer and the fog is gone, we all want to get back riding!  

Heading out for the day.  

Heading out for the day.  

It was a little wet outside.  

It was a little wet outside.  

It was super foggy.  

It was super foggy.  

The fantastic bakery we warmed up at. 

The fantastic bakery we warmed up at. 

The cool bar we went to.  

The cool bar we went to.  

Our route for day.  

Our route for day.  

Our elevation profile.  

Our elevation profile.  

 Please help raise funds for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) at https://www.firstgiving.com/event/rsds/Ride-Across-The-Country-For-CRPS

Day Twenty-Five

Day 25

40.38 miles

2,489 ft (elevation gain)

955.4 total mile

somewhere on highway 118 -> Fort Davis  

Today was a pretty chill but with a hill (haha that rhymes). We got started late today, we had some things we needed to do. Gilligans eye has been funky, so we had to take him to the vet. Luckly he is totally fine and just has conjunctivitis. We also had to do a some laundry. Tom still isn’t feeling good so sleeping in was good for him. We started our ride around 11 at the same spot on highway 118 that we did yesterday. The ride started with a gradual uphill with a bit of a tail wind. We were riding through a big canyon with beautiful mountains and rock out croppings. There were a ton of cool cows on the mountains they blended in really well, they would also clump in places with shade. Slowly the gradual uphill turned into a steep uphill, this still wasn’t to bad in a low gear. On the hills we take our time and enjoy the sites. It’s really cool to look around when your going slow and see things that you wouldn’t normally see. At the top of the climb there were a lot of big rolling hills that seemed to take forever. This really were not fun. Shortly after the ascent we ate PB and J’s at a beautiful picnic spot with a oak tree that was perfect for climbing. After lunch we had a short climb and then a ton of down hill. The downhill was pretty fun it had big turns and wasn’t too steep. The view was also beautiful as were descending into Fort Davis, we were able to see into a massive valley and see all the trees turning colors. We finished our ride around 4:30 and immediately went to see Fort Davis, the fort was super cool, we were able to walk through barracks, captains corridors, and the hospital. All of it was beautifully restored and truly amazing. Tonight we also drove out at dark to the town of Marfa to see the mysterious glowing orbs of Marfa. It was really nice to see all of the stars, we also got to see a complete really pretty shooting stars. Overall today was really neat we saw a ton of different and cool things. 

Heading out for the day.  

Heading out for the day.  

Our road for the day.  

Our road for the day.  

Lunch time! 

Lunch time! 

Climbing trees in our free time.

Climbing trees in our free time.

Fort Davis. 

Fort Davis. 

Fort Davis with my pops. 

Fort Davis with my pops. 

Fort Davis with my mama.  

Fort Davis with my mama.  

More Fort Davis. 

More Fort Davis. 

Our route for the day. 

Our route for the day. 

Elevation profile.  

Elevation profile.  

 Please help raise funds for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) at https://www.firstgiving.com/event/rsds/Ride-Across-The-Country-For-CRPS