(January 9th)

Day 15 - Austin TX Rest Day

The Truth Revealed

 

Downtown Austin...which I found quite beautiful. Note the bike/pedestrian only bridge across the river. This is a VERY bike-friendly town, with dozens and dozens of bike-lane routes throughout the city.

My Austin hosts Ellen and Chad. They are posing on Ellen's car, which has a truly spectacular collection of stickers.

 



A day of mundane details. First, a stop at Jack in the Box for a bite to eat, the laundry, Walgreens, the grocery store, the laundromat, etc.. Once all that was out of the way, I was off to visit my nearest local bike shop to see if they may be able to fix my USB port.

• Stop 1: East Side Pedalers - The lone person in the shop...the mechanic on duty...was helpful in that he straightened my brake lever from when I dropped the bike on the curb yesterday morning. But, he had no clue how to fix my USB port. The other part of what this fine gentlemen told me I'll detail below. Onward I went.

• Stop 2: Mellow Johnny's - A hipster kind of place owned by Lance Armstrong. It had a coffee bar inside, a whole lot of bearded young men and a vibe far cooler than I am! The mechanics there did take a look at the USB port but decided they really didn't know what was wrong.

• Stop 3: Bicycle Sport Shop - An excellent operation. The mechanic definitely knew all about The Hub USB port I had and said he'd seen the problem before and the only way to even try to fix it was to, basically, dissemble most of my bike to get at all the inner workings of the device that is inside the head tube. I definitely didn't have time for that. However, we began talking about my saddle and how I just didn't feel comfortable. Not even an hour into my daily ride I'd start suffering. So, I ended up buying a totally new seat (Brooks Cambion) and having him fit the bike to me with this new seat on it. I seriously hope this fixes my issue, whatever that fit issue might be.

But, back to what I learned at the first shop. So...do you all remember the whole FedEx package non-delivery snafu back on New Year's Eve at the small little hotel in Oberlin Louisiana? And the day my trailer tire went flat and I ended up towing it many miles? And I lied egregiously to myself?
 

Well, turns out the bicycle pump I've had on my bike THE WHOLE TIME is, actually, a convertible pump capable of being used on both types of tires I have. He kindly showed me how to do the quick conversion.

 

And, yes, I felt like a complete idiot. The irony was so heavy at that moment it would have overloaded one of those giant magnets that pick up wrecked cars. But, at least the truth of my genius in choosing that pump in the first place was revealed!

 

And, as promised, I wanted to add more about my "WarmShowers.org" experience. It turns out that just like this is my first experience staying with a host, this is their first experience hosting. When they were bicycle touring in Europe last year for four months, they stayed with several Warmshowers hosts, but this is the first time they've had the opportunity to "pay it forward" and do some hosting themselves.

 

So, what is Warmshowers.org? It is a website in which people from all over the world volunteer to host bicycle tourists in their home. Almost universally the hosts have done some touring themselves. Now, maybe not all hosts have been on the same kinds of bike touring experiences, but as far as I know, they all have some sort of connection to bike touring. I first read about it doing research for my trip and then was convinced to try it by the couple I met who had been bike touring the world for years. They sold me on the idea that bike touring is better when you have experiences where you meet fellow bike tourists. I was originally reluctant because I didn't feel I could give too many days advanced warning, but I got over myself and gave it a try.

 

And I'm so glad I did! Ellen and Chad have been wonderful hosts. When I arrived yesterday there was a plate of the food in the fridge just in case I was hungry :) They are roughly the age of my kids and it has been terrific getting to know them. My next opportunity for a Warmshowers stay will be in Kerrville in two days. I'm looking forward to it!