(January 15)

Day 21 - Del Rio Rest Day

When Football Reigns Supreme!

Supap, my waitress at breakfast this morning is a big Dallas Cowboys fan (note her Cowboys shirt under the apron!). She is also well familiar with bike tourists and told me she has seen many come through town throughout the year.

 

 



My body is really used to early mornings now. It woke up very early on its own and I was out before dawn...like usual...foraging for a big breakfast. I'm doing so much physical exercise each day I'm always ravenous when I wake up. I had a very pleasant conversation with my waitress, who has visited with plenty of bike tourers who come through Del Rio throughout the year. She hasn't seen any too recently, but she knew right away that I was on a tour when she saw me ride up.

 

My goals for today are as follows:

 

- Cheer the Cowboys on to victory!

 

- Get a load of laundry done. I sweat enough in my cycling clothes each day (not to mention the occasional rain) that I need to at least put things in the dryer pretty much every day. I do have a spare set of cycling bib shorts and cycling jersey, but I try and keep those stored away for an emergency while I just keep washing and/or drying the other set each day.

 

- Replenish my Fig Newton supply. They really are great cycling fuel. They don't melt and they have a pretty decent mix of carbs and protein. They are also good as "dessert" after dinner if I'm craving that.

 

- Don't get rained on. It is supposed to rain on and off all day, and being confined to bike travel at all times, that means I need to pick my "sun" windows carefully. If I'm cutting it too close I might get soaked on the way to/from the hotel. And THAT means another trip to the laundry to get my stuff dried out.

 

- Contemplate the idea of shipping all my camping gear home. Walking up those hills two days ago was a sobering testament to the effects of carrying a lot of "just in case" gear. And shipping home all my camping gear (along with a bit of extra winter clothing I've proven not to need), may just be something I do as soon as the Del Rio post office opens in the morning. But, for now, it stays because I'm super paranoid about winter storms!

 

UPDATE: Ah well...Cowboys didn't win. But it was a terrific game right until the field goal that won it for Green Bay in the end. I'm proud of the season they had, and there is always next year!

The good news is that I feel ready for the next several days of transit across the Chihuahuan Desert! Should be a very interesting trip to El Paso...and much different than the parts of the country I've been through so far!