Missing the long days on the Road

Posted by Mark on March 13, 2013
Posted in: Mark.

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A road runner on a stone wall.I got this picture while in Las Cruces in May 2012.

We rode on many busy streets to get to our motel in El Paso.

We rode on many busy streets to get to our motel in El Paso.

Here are some pictures of a ghost town not far from Kingston NM. It is Chloride, NM.

Here are some pictures of a ghost town not far from Kingston NM. It is Chloride, NM.

I visited this old town with my friend Jack in the summer of 2012.

I visited this old town with my friend Jack in the summer of 2012.

It must have been a hot, dusty place in the 1890's. The last people left the town in about 1920.

It must have been a hot, dusty place in the 1890’s. The last people left the town in about 1920.

Well, it is Wednesday and I am back to my regular routine. Work has been good and bad. Good because I’ve been so busy and productive after 10 days off. Bad because I miss the wide open spaces of the desert and mountains I grew accustomed to seeing everyday. I just re-assembeled my bike. It took about 30 minutes including installing a new Brooks B – 17 saddle. I rode it on the street at the end of my driveway for a minute or two and it felt great to be on two wheels again. It feels good to sleep in my own bed, too. And the home cooking… well, Holly has been unbelievable with the fresh fruits and vegetables I missed so much out West. We had lots of Mexican food and hamburgers during our ride, but not much in the way of green veggies and fresh fruit. Since returning home I’ve had Kale, Swiss Chard, spinach, tomatoes, acorn squash, lentils and I see there are fresh yellow and red beets on the menu tonight. Why can’t we get Holly to come and prepare all our food for us on the road? Brian needs his spinach! Let’s start a petition to hire her as the bike ride chef!!
We spent the rest day in El Paso driving to Fort Hancock, the next town we will ride to on L3. We used Google Bike Maps for directions but it was a road different from Adventure Cycling Route Map Section 3. West Texas seems more desolate than anything we have encountered yet. (We will start our ride about 7 miles from downtown El Paso as that is the extra distance we needed to ride to get to the Courtyard Marriott near the El Paso airport. The streets in El Paso don’t make much accommodation for bicyclists. It will be safer that way.) After Fort Hancock, we visited The Border Patrol Museum. What a waste of time…enough said. Wasn’t my idea!
I will try to blog about our summer rides just because I don’t get any other chance to write.

Mark

One comment on “Missing the long days on the Road”

  1. Mark, I just stopped by the blog, thinking I would write about my trip withdrawal. But I see you beat me to it. I am all for Holly coming on as bike ride chef / SAG Lady buddy. Please?

    I still might do a recap entry, too — someone needs to talk about the constant presence of that sinkhole story every morning on CNN!

    Missing everybody and the wide open west…

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