Day #24 - 4/5/2011 - Del Rio, TX to Langtry, TX - 60 miles

It was 60 miles along an increasingly desolate US90 that took us from Del Rio to Langtry, Texas.


A good night's sleep, but I'm worried about my right leg...the ache now is trivial, but how will it feel in 30 miles?  For the last two days, around the 30 mile mark, severe paroxysms of pain grab my leg, just below the right knee.  I can't localize it anatomically...not the joint, not the bursa...worse with every downstroke, then disappearing for a few minutes.  It has me concerned  Fortunately, we only have 40 miles planned today, ending up at Seminole Canyon State Park.  It is a necessarily short day as the next substantial town, Sanderson, would be an additional 80 miles.

Another in a long series of budget motels, as seen just before we clear out.

 We were a little slow out the door…after I took a spill yesterday, Lani attempted to lift my bike using my flag pole (a fishing pole).  I picked up another pole yesterday at Walmart and needed a few minutes to secure it.  Then, on the way out of Del Rio, we made a quick stop at the Walmart (again!) for some trail mix.

Even Lani was forced to concede that WalMart has its virtues.  Always open, stocked with all sorts of interesting...stuff..

We've met many people over the past 3 weeks, including other cyclists and locals.  As we were making our way out of Del Rio, we crossed paths with Dex Tooke, Del Rio resident and the principal of Team Dex.  Sure, Dex commutes to work, but he is also a world class cyclist and a participant of the Race Across America. In 2010, in winning his category (Solo Male, age 60-69), Dex covered 2788 miles in (are you ready for this?) 12 days.  He biked, on average 21 hours daily, covering 232 miles daily.  Awesome.

Dex Tooke, a world-class endurance cyclists, does not bike for fame, but bikes for the charity of his choice, BCFS, a provider of health and human services.

And, what of Del Rio, this city of more than 50,000, started as a Spanish settlement in the 18th Century, whose adjacent Laughlin Air Force Base was home to the U-2 spy plane that took the first photographs of land-based medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) sites being constructed in Cuba, the photo intelligence that started the Cuban Missile Crisis.  That Del Rio? 

Well, what I will remember of Del Rio are the winds that blew us back as we tried to approach, and the sunrise that greeted us as we left.

While there have been no roses to smell, there have been sunrises to enjoy.  Click on the picture...it gets bigger.

Once on the road, we made good time.  The winds that were in our face the previous day had flipped nearly 180° and the difference was awesome: from a relentless burden to a friendly boost.  The highway, US-90, was nearly desolate, allowing us to ride in the highway on the smoothest part of the road…in the middle of Nowhere, TX, we owned US-90.

Lani, heading West on US90, savoring the shoulder and lack of wind.

Having been a suburbanite, large city urbanite or small city urbanite, I'm not used to being on a highway with absolutely nothing for 50 miles, or more.

No gas stations, no intersections, no shade...just an occasional road side to prop your bike against.

This part of Texas is only a short jog from the border with Mexico.

At the immigration checkpoint just behind us, cars go through single file.  One Border Patrol agent has a dog sniffing away while another agent, at the driver's window, takes a detailed look at the driver, passengers and asks, "Are you an American citizen?" to which I replied "You betcha!"

Without much of a wind, the hills were not so bad...you grind your way up, and then go flying down.

Our original plan for the day was to stop at Seminole Canyon Park at 42 miles.  But, making such good time, Lani suggested we continue to Langtry, another 20 miles.  In spite of the rolling hills, the 20 miles passed quickly with us grinding our way up, and then tearing down at 30mph.

One thing we had to give credit for to the State of Texas were the numerous historic markers along the highway.  They were all interesting, replete with historic information.  This one was next to to a highway rest stop.

Named after the "Vinegarroon" scorpion, this site marked a milestone in the the construction of the Southern Transcontinental Rail Route by the Southern Pacific Railroad.  Thousands of Chinese laborers called this area home.

Next to the Vinegarroon marker was a covered table, allowing us to get out of the heat for a short break

Tupelo honey (my favorite Monofloral Honey) on peanut butter, a huge favorite of Lani and Bob

It turns out that we were close to Mexico...real close...closer than we thought.

Florida tourists at the Vinegarroon marker rest stop.  If you click on this link, you can see the satellite view of the rest stop and just how close we were to the Rio Grande.

A ladder traversed the fence separating the rest area of the wilderness between this Southern Texas wilderness and Mexico.

Lani contemplates making a break for it.

While we had planned on stopping at the Seminole Canyon State Park, we were feeling pretty good and set our sites on the next town, Langtry, Texas.   As we passed through the Seminole Canyon area, I thought I saw a pair of cyclists in my mirror.  It turns out I did and they caught up to us at the rest stop.  Tenn and Gerda were from the Netherlands and were on a 6-month trip, starting in Miami, heading West until somewhere around Arizona, then heading North to Washington State, then South along the coast.  They were tough. You can find their blog here in Dutch.

Tenn and Gerda Plug  looked like they carried a lot of weight, doing so effortlessly. 

We chatted with Tenn and Gerda a bit, then moved on, returning to US90.


After 3 hours of steady climbing, we came to a downhill that I can only describe as delightful...yes...delightful.  I went ahead, set my camera on burst and signaled for Lani to let gravity do its thing.

There were times when we felt like we owned the highways.

 The uploaded data from our Garmin Edge 705 indicated that this was a 300' drop.

There she goes, cyclin'
Down the road
Draftin' 18 wheelers
To our next abode....

 Too fast, even for me and my camera.

My maximum speed here was 39.9mph

 And the best part of this down hill?  It gave us enough speed to make it up the next hill. 

Still, ffor the 2^nd day, some severe right leg pains (just below the knee) kicked in at around 35 miles, interfering with my cycling in a terrible way.  It was worse yesterday on the way to Del Rio, only coming in paroxysms today.  I can’t quite localize it, but it’s probably a form of over use.  Resting helps, but what is it  and will it stop?

Anyway...

Wow...Langtry, Texas, population 145 and one tornado away from becoming a ghost town.  It only takes a little observation while going from rural, remote Texas town to the next, reading the historic markers, to realize that the history of this part of Texas is all about the history of the railroad..  Langtry was, essentially, created by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1882.  Saloon keeper, Justice of the Peace and larger-than-life iconic legend of Val Verde County,  Roy Bean has a museum here.  The historic artifacts in the museum, including an Edison phonograph, were impressive.

Post Office and General Store, directly across from the Judge Roy Bean visitor center. (Bob forgot to take pictures of the visitor center.  When Bob messes up, he often refers to himself in the 3rd person.)

Back on US90 sits the only gas station in Langtry, operated by Mike who likes to close up shop promptly at 5pm.  Mike makes an excellent smoked beef brisket barbecue, which Lani and I enjoyed along with the best Diet Coke ever..  Lani and I would definitely come back for Mike's smoked beef sandwich (unglamorously served on a hamburger bun).

The nearest gasoline is probably 50 miles away.

 When the Southern Pacific Railroad  moved its facilities away in the 1920s, Langtry's population fell to 50, then as low as 40 in the 1970s.

Only the tourism related to the Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center keeps Langtry alive.

 Were it not for the Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center, Langtry would likely disappear. 

The story of Langtry, a once "bustling West Texas town"  The Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center had a steady stream of traffic while we were there.

Accommodations in Langtry are limited.  Next to the community center (which is locked most of the time), you can pitch a tent and fend for yourself in terms of water and toilet facilities.  There was an RV park nearby with meager facilities, as well.  Or, you can seek out the only accommodation in Langtry, this being the trailer that Mike, owner of the previously mentioned Langtry Depot, had just put down a few weeks ago behind his store.

Bikes propped up against the trailer, Lani relaxes in the Langtry heat.  Mike rented this out for $50 a night...a bargain, all things considered. 

Compared to the Pinetree Inn in Silsbee and the Prince Moral Motel in Tallahassee, Mike's trailer was positively upscale, except for the animal hair on one of the bunks.

Even small/inexpensive trailers are models in efficiency.  The "master bedroom" is behind me and the bathroom behind the door at the end.  Just before the bathroom door, there are a pair of bunk beds on the left. 

The small stove had four gas burners courtesy of the propane tank outside, which also gave us a nice hot shower.  I can't use the word propane without thinking of Hank Hill from the show King of the Hill and his expertise in propane and propane accessories. 

Anyway, the wonders of propane again provide us with lentils and quinoa for dinner.

Comfortably ensconced in my trailer's kitchen, I'm ready to add some chicken to our lentils and quinoa.

By bedtime, the South Texas heat subsided and the air temperature dropped rapidly in way that it does in the desert.  We turned off the air-conditioner and opened the windows.  It was a good day today.