August 8th
After a large breakfast at the Holiday Inn I patched up my bike tire once again. As I pulled into the hotel the day before I got a flat, just after thinking I had gone a whole day without getting one. I have had at least one flat tire every day for what seems like forever. Pretty frustrating! Got all packed up and headed on down the road. Made a quick stop at K-Mart but they didn't have my tube size so I stopped at the visitor center to see if there was a bike shop nearby but no such luck. It was getting hot out and I headed on down the road for Capulin, NM. The ride was only 30 miles but I was fighting a headwind and many small hills. There once again was no shade as I had left the woods but the scenery was still nice with many mesas and hills and the distant Rocky Mountains in my rear view mirror. As I pulled into the tiny town of Capulin I got another flat tire. I thought I had fixed my rim so it would stop cutting my valve stems but once again it did just that. After working on it some more and putting in a patch covered tube I biked over to the Capulin RV Park and set up my tent. The ride had me pretty exhausted so I decided to lay down for a minute and woke up 2 hours later. I guess I needed the sleep. There was a store across the street which seemed to be the only other business in town so I got a microwave burrito and some tea for dinner. Nothing special but it did the trick. Next up I did some laundry at the RV Park and used the free wifi to take care of a few things. Not a whole lot to do here but I figured I would just enjoy the relaxation. The Capulin Volcano National Monument is just a few miles down the street but I can see it from my campsite and that is good enough for me. Spent the evening watching the movie Interstate 60 on hulu.com and got a good nights sleep.
Bear?
Another "interesting" sign
Nice soft grass - great for sleeping!
Capulin Volcano
August 9th
I woke up in the middle of the night laughing really hard! I had some very strange dreams and was laughing so hard that it kept me from falling back asleep for a while. Strange! I started my ride pretty early today and got my tire down to a slow leak so I had to stop every few miles to pump it up. It was kind of a pain but it worked. Less than a mile into the road I came upon some road construction. After talking with one of the workers I was told I could bike on the closed brand new road that the cars were not yet allowed on. It was nice having the whole road to myself and it was very smooth being brand new! It was very hot and I was fighting a headwind all day. 10 miles into the ride I stopped at a cafe and had a tasty breakfast before heading on down the road another 45 miles. I got a phone call from Victoria Baker who works at the museum in Clayton and she had arranged a room for me at the Holiday Motel. Thank you so much Victoria!!! She also invited me to a barbecue at her mom's ranch and we arranged to meet up later in the afternoon. I checked into my room and took a much needed shower and relaxed until Victoria and her husband Rick and daughter Michaela picked me up. We drove out to the ranch and had some good conversation along the way. Victoria and her family were very nice and a lot of fun! When we got to the ranch down a long dirt road I got to meet many more of Victoria's family and everyone was so nice. They cooked an incredible feast for dinner and I had one of the best meals I have had in a while. I even go to try "rocky mountain oysters". For those of you who don't know what that is, rocky mountain oysters are deep fried bull testicles! I have to say that was a first for me! They were actually pretty tasty as long as I didn't think about it. After dinner we had a couple beers and some marshmallows on the ranch and talked and joked around. It was really nice hanging out with Victoria's very friendly and fun family! They dropped me back off at the hotel around 10 and I went to bed shortly after. It was a pretty exhausting ride and a really nice night! Thanks Victoria!!!
http://www.herzsteinmuseum.com/
I woke up in the middle of the night laughing really hard! I had some very strange dreams and was laughing so hard that it kept me from falling back asleep for a while. Strange! I started my ride pretty early today and got my tire down to a slow leak so I had to stop every few miles to pump it up. It was kind of a pain but it worked. Less than a mile into the road I came upon some road construction. After talking with one of the workers I was told I could bike on the closed brand new road that the cars were not yet allowed on. It was nice having the whole road to myself and it was very smooth being brand new! It was very hot and I was fighting a headwind all day. 10 miles into the ride I stopped at a cafe and had a tasty breakfast before heading on down the road another 45 miles. I got a phone call from Victoria Baker who works at the museum in Clayton and she had arranged a room for me at the Holiday Motel. Thank you so much Victoria!!! She also invited me to a barbecue at her mom's ranch and we arranged to meet up later in the afternoon. I checked into my room and took a much needed shower and relaxed until Victoria and her husband Rick and daughter Michaela picked me up. We drove out to the ranch and had some good conversation along the way. Victoria and her family were very nice and a lot of fun! When we got to the ranch down a long dirt road I got to meet many more of Victoria's family and everyone was so nice. They cooked an incredible feast for dinner and I had one of the best meals I have had in a while. I even go to try "rocky mountain oysters". For those of you who don't know what that is, rocky mountain oysters are deep fried bull testicles! I have to say that was a first for me! They were actually pretty tasty as long as I didn't think about it. After dinner we had a couple beers and some marshmallows on the ranch and talked and joked around. It was really nice hanging out with Victoria's very friendly and fun family! They dropped me back off at the hotel around 10 and I went to bed shortly after. It was a pretty exhausting ride and a really nice night! Thanks Victoria!!!
http://www.herzsteinmuseum.com/
Riding into the sunrise
My personal road!
On my bed at the Holiday Motel!
Victoria's Mom and Me
( she makes incredible tortillas! )
August 10th
Woke up to dark clouds and 35mph winds! After getting some good coffee and a bagel from the motel lobby I turned on the weather channel to find out there was a chance of severe thunderstorms in the afternoon. I quickly re-patched my flat tire and hit the road hoping to beat the possible storm. The headwind was very strong and my ride started out pretty slow moving. I made a stop at the Crossroads Coffee Shop in Clayton and had a gigantic cookie and another cup of coffee. The nice woman working gave me a free donut for the ride. My lucky day! Next up I stopped at the Herzstein Memorial Museum where Victoria works. I spent some time looking around the exhibits at the museum and then continued on my ride into Oklahoma. The temperature was cool and comfortable in the 50's and eventually warmed up to the upper 70's. As I crossed the border into Oklahoma I entered the central time zone and took a break at a roadside picnic table. It is always exciting crossing into a new state! New Mexico was great and I have made my own motto for the state, "Friendly Folks and Fantastic Food". I am excited to see what Oklahoma has to offer. The road I was riding on was nice and flat, smooth, and had very little traffic. Good bicycle riding conditions. As the day went on the winds died down quite a bit and the sun came out making it a really nice day. I biked past grass and corn as far as the eye can see while listening to Old Crow Medicine Show and Old And In The Way, great music for the scenery! By late afternoon I reached the town of Boise City, Oklahoma. I explored the town and made a stop at No Mans Land Beef Jerky and picked up a delicious bag of beef jerky! The Weed Chamber of Commerce got me a room donated by the Townsman Motel. The owners were really friendly and set me up with a nice room. Thanks Townsman Motel!!! Took a shower, had some dinner, and relaxed and made my plans for the rest of Oklahoma.
http://www.herzsteinmuseum.com/
Woke up to dark clouds and 35mph winds! After getting some good coffee and a bagel from the motel lobby I turned on the weather channel to find out there was a chance of severe thunderstorms in the afternoon. I quickly re-patched my flat tire and hit the road hoping to beat the possible storm. The headwind was very strong and my ride started out pretty slow moving. I made a stop at the Crossroads Coffee Shop in Clayton and had a gigantic cookie and another cup of coffee. The nice woman working gave me a free donut for the ride. My lucky day! Next up I stopped at the Herzstein Memorial Museum where Victoria works. I spent some time looking around the exhibits at the museum and then continued on my ride into Oklahoma. The temperature was cool and comfortable in the 50's and eventually warmed up to the upper 70's. As I crossed the border into Oklahoma I entered the central time zone and took a break at a roadside picnic table. It is always exciting crossing into a new state! New Mexico was great and I have made my own motto for the state, "Friendly Folks and Fantastic Food". I am excited to see what Oklahoma has to offer. The road I was riding on was nice and flat, smooth, and had very little traffic. Good bicycle riding conditions. As the day went on the winds died down quite a bit and the sun came out making it a really nice day. I biked past grass and corn as far as the eye can see while listening to Old Crow Medicine Show and Old And In The Way, great music for the scenery! By late afternoon I reached the town of Boise City, Oklahoma. I explored the town and made a stop at No Mans Land Beef Jerky and picked up a delicious bag of beef jerky! The Weed Chamber of Commerce got me a room donated by the Townsman Motel. The owners were really friendly and set me up with a nice room. Thanks Townsman Motel!!! Took a shower, had some dinner, and relaxed and made my plans for the rest of Oklahoma.
http://www.herzsteinmuseum.com/
Leaving the Holiday Motel hoping to dodge any storms
This caught my eye while biking through Clayton
Crossroads Coffee Shop in Clayton
Herzstein Memorial Museum
One of the many museum exhibits
Dinosaur footprints and fossils
Map of the Santa Fe Trail
Oklahoma!
The Open Road
Mooooo!
Thought now would be a good time to bring out the cow!
Boise City, Oklahoma
Good stuff!
Thanks Townsman Motel!!!
My room at the Townsman Motel
OMG the cow hat has emerged!!! I can't beleive it took this long to come out =)
ReplyDeleteHaha yeah, I was saving it for Oklahoma! :)
ReplyDeleteMore great pics. Enjoyed them. I'd like to hear the story behind the cow? Is it a bag of some sort or just a cow head?. Remind us in your post what state you're in. I loose track and I've discovered my geography is terrible!
ReplyDeleteAngie
The Cow is actually a hat but it fits really well in my handlebar bag. haha I don't know if there is much of a story behind it other than I like it! I am in the middle of northern Oklahoma right now. :)
ReplyDelete