-good thing my tent passed its first rain test
-Good thing it was such a light rain
-I don't want to get out of my warm sleeping bag and enter the cold desert
-My mind is being very indecisive today
-What does a car feel like to ride in?
-What does a computer feel like to use?
-I guess I patched that tire tube properly...yay me
-Ha ha, of course Ricky, Paul, and Nadine are staying at the same hotel/hostel as me! We shall ride together once more
-I think this supermarket is technically in Mexico...and it's closed :/
-Southwest Texas might as well be in Mexico. Everything is in Spanish and there is more Mexican restaurants than cars
Today was a day of indecision and more easy riding thanks to a light tailwind. I wasn't sure about where to end my riding today. I had a whole lot if options and there was a reason for and against each one. I knew I would have a slight tailwind all day and I woke up actually feeling good after my epic distance yesterday. So, I had a warmshowers set up but I knew I could easily go further so I canceled that. The next question was if I should try to get to the warmshowers host I had set up for Monday, but that would be another 120 mile day...possible but silly. So now my options were wether to go through El Paso or around it like i originally planned. The options were to go to a campground, but there were no options in my distance range. I could get a hotel room, but they were all expensive. I could also stealth camp again, but where would I go and did I really want to not shower again? Plus I wouldn't have electricity again so blogging would fail. The last option was to go to the hostel in El Paso for a reasonable $23 for a bed in a room of 4 beds that share a bathroom. Then I texted Ricky and found out that they were staying in El Paso tonight as well (they were here last night too). I figured they would choose hostel and that was obviously my best option so I decided on that. Luckily it was Sunday so El Paso wasn't too busy and the riding was pretty easy. It was neat to ride down the main drag of the city and see a huge mountain looming behind it. It was kind of cool to ride under the bridge into Mexico too, even though the city it led to is widely considered as "the murder capital of the world.". I'll avoid that thank you.
I rode with Rim and Noah until the outskirts of El Paso when they stopped to figure out somewhere free to stay for the night. I arrived at the hostel and put my bike in the basement lock room right next to...ding ding ding...Ricky, Paul, and Nadine's bikes. Small world really. Ricky saved me tonight too so I owe him a special thanks. Since that supermarket was closed, I had only PB&J but wanted to save it. Then he texted me and said he would get me some pasta, sauce, chocolate milk, and blue bell mint chocolate chip ice cream (he even surprised me with donuts!). Savior, and he told me not to pay him for it! What a class act, but I definitely owe him!
Tomorrow should be a tough ride. Forecasts call for 25mph winds with 40mph gusts...out of the west this time :(. I guess I'm due; at least there will be 4 of us to draft each other and switch off who's in the lead. It will be quite challenging no matter what though. Sat least I get to go to a post office so I can finally mail the thank you notes that I finally wrote.
If you want to check out Tim & Noah's website, the address is: www.americarecycled.org
Oh by the way, I will be out of Texas tomorrow morning! You're welcome.
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