- DAY 14: Sunday 13th March 2022 – Del Rio TX to Comstock TX
- Distance: 53km
- Elevation gain: 335m
- Accomodation: Desert Hills RV Park
An early start today after some confusion over the start of daylight saving time resulted in us waking up at 6.30am and having to wait an hour and a half for it to get light. A great days cycling today along US90, in complete contrast to 2 days ago. A strong wind from the SE pretty much blew us most of the way to Comstock, and a good surface (except for the last 10km) and wide shoulder on the road made for easy cycling. After some confusion over whether we could get a cabin or not, we pitched the tent at an RV park and enjoyed a pleasant warmish evening camping for the first time in a while.
- DAY 15: Monday 14th March 2022 – Comstock TX to Langtry TX
- Distance: 43km
- Elevation gain: 320m
- Accomodation: Jess’s Wagon Wheel
Another great day in fine weather with a tailwind through some lovely desert scenery. We spent the night at Jess’ Wagon Wheel which is a small shop (the only shop in 150km) that has a few basic rooms out back. The owner Jess was an interesting character – apparently he had spent 22 years in a Mexican prison – we never found out what for – and even escaped a couple of times (We assume he was currently out “officially”!) He insisted on making us burger and chips for lunch before making us try his tamales and hot sauces which were very good. We then had a couple of beers and chatted with 2 other cyclists who were staying over and were also heading west along the Southern Tier Route. Dale was an Aussie guy who was planning on cycling to San Diego then north to LA then back across to the East Coast. Jim was an American guy who was going to San Diego then north to Alaska! Both made our trip seem a touch on the short side. The wind in the afternoon became really strong out of the west, so for once we timed things just right.
Another great day in fine weather with a tailwind through some lovely desert scenery. We spent the night at Jess’ Wagon Wheel which is a small shop (the only shop in 150km) that has a few basic rooms out back. The owner Jess was an interesting character – apparently he had spent 22 years in a Mexican prison – we never found out what for – and even escaped a couple of times (We assume he was currently out “officially”!) He insisted on making us burger and chips for lunch before making us try his tamales and hot sauces which were very good. We then had a couple of beers and chatted with 2 other cyclists who were staying over and were also heading west along the Southern Tier Route. Dale was an Aussie guy who was planning on cycling to San Diego then north to LA then back across to the East Coast. Jim was an American guy who was going to San Diego then north to Alaska! Both made our trip seem a touch on the short side. The wind in the afternoon became really strong out of the west, so for once we timed things just right.
- DAY 16: Tuesday 15th March 2022 – Langtry TX to Sanderson TX
- Distance: 98km
- Elevation gain: 960m
- Accomodation: Desert Air Motel
We knew that today would be one of the toughest days of the trip with a long distance between towns, so we set off at first light, turning down the offer of free breakfast burritos from Jess, to avoid cycling for too long in the hottest part of the day. The up and down of the landscape in the last couple of days was replaced by mostly up. We made slow but steady progress and were eventually caught up by Dale who had started out an hour or so after us. We cycled together for a while and then stopped to share a coffee in a picnic area. Jim then caught us up just short of Dryden having had a lie in and setting off just before lunch time – his speed over the ground made the rest of us look bad. We had a pleasant surprise at Dryden – which we had read was now a deserted ghost town – to find that a small general store had recently opened, so we were able to get a cold drink and sandwich for lunch. They also made amazing jerky. After Dryden, the landscape became even more desolate and remote and was a real slog in the afternoon sun. When we stopped on the shoulder (to try and find a spot for a “comfort break” as the Americans say) we had a guy in a truck and a state trooper stop to see if we were OK or if we needed any help – nice to know that there were always people around looking out for us, but not the most convenient timing. Just short of Sanderson, another guy stopped and offered us all a place to camp and free food at his church in town – Jim and Dale accepted but we were set on a comfy motel room after a tough day. People in West Texas have been so generous and helpful though. Approaching Sanderson, the road dropped into a canyon and became much more scenic – we even got a little downhill to finish. The first motel we passed had gone out of business, the second had no vacancies and we were relieved to get the last room at the Desert Air Motel. We expected motels to be fairly empty mid-week, but found out that this week was Spring Break. We spent the evening having a few beers with the guy who runs the motel while he told us all about his life in smalltown West Texas. We decided that this would be a nice place to have a rest day, which quickly became two rest days as there was a gale force headwind out of the west forecast on Thursday which would be almost impossible to cycle into.
- DAY 17 and 18: Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th March 2022 – Rest days in Sanderson TX
- Distance: 0
- Elevation gain: 0
- Accomodation: Desert Air Motel
We spent a couple of days in the motel relaxing, popping over to the ridiculously overpriced Stripes store at the gas station across the road for supplies as needed. To be fair, it was the only store for nearly 100km in any direction, and their bèer was still reasonably priced, so can’t really complain. The predicted gale force westerly wind did indeed materialize, so we were glad that we took the break.
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