Cumulative Distance: 1005.0 (1,617.4 km)
Average Speed: 18.4 mph (29.6 kph)
Climb: 2,714 ft (827 m)
Cumulative Climb: 57,254 (17,451 m)
Flats: 2
Cumulative Flats: 9
Ah Texas! Not a lot of interesting topography at the moment. We are generally travelling through flat lands, some of it irrigated and farmable, and a lot of it scrub bush and thorny shrubs. These plains are mostly surrounded by low mountains.
We spent most of our ride today either on I-10 or on a “frontage” road which parallels it. It looks like the frontage road was the old highway. As such, its surface is much coarser or more pebbly and hence resulted in a ride with a lot of vibrations, especially through the handlebars into our hands and arms. We actually looked forward to the sections on the interstate even though the speed limit was 80 mph and there was a surprising amount of trucks. The truckers were generally very attentive to us, often moving over to the center lane as they passed us and, on occasion, giving us a toot as they went by. The shoulder on the interstate was very wide so we did not feel threatened at all by the traffic. In fact, the slight tail wind we had was often augmented by the drafts from the trucks.
We are experiencing what we think is a high proportion of flats to distance travelled. Two of our last three flats were caused by very small thorns, less than ¼ inch long, but strong enough to get through the tire wall sufficiently far the cause holes in the tubes.
We even had "Easter Eggs" in the form of M 'n' Ms.
A general note: if you click on any of the embedded pictures, they will expand to full screen; get back to the blog site by clicking on the back arrow.
We are now in the Central Time Zone so our difference from most of you is now only one hour.
Hey Uncle Keith, its your nephew Andrew. Very jealous of your adventure, as I had hoped to do the transcontinental one summer after doing the pacific route. Marge turned me on to your blog, and I must say, I'm impressed with the mileage you guys are pulling in a desert environment! Have any of you tried the armadillo brand tires? They work for many kinds of thistles, but some can defeat the kevlar belt (and they add weight).
ReplyDeleteOne other tidbit: it's perfectly legal for you to ride in the road if there are hazards (thistles) on the shoulder. Pertinent law:
§ 551.103. Operation on Roadway
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a person operating a bicycle on a roadway who is moving slower than the other traffic on the roadway shall ride as near as practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway, unless:
(1) the person is passing another vehicle moving in the same direction;
(2) the person is preparing to turn left at an intersection or onto a private road or driveway; or
(3) a condition on or of the roadway, including a fixed or moving object, parked or moving vehicle, pedestrian, animal, surface hazard, or substandard width lane, prevents the person from safely riding next to the right curb or edge of the roadway.
(b) A person operating a bicycle on a one-way roadway with two or more marked traffic lanes may ride as near as practicable to the left curb or edge of the roadway.
(c) Persons operating bicycles on a roadway may ride two abreast. Persons riding two abreast on a laned roadway shall ride in a single lane. Persons riding two abreast may not impede the normal and reasonable flow of traffic on the roadway. Persons may not ride more than two abreast unless they are riding on a part of a roadway set aside for the exclusive operation of bicycles. motor vehicle to safely travel side by side.