Day 24 - Sanderson, TX - Fort Davis, TX

First off I would like to thank everyone that reached out to me in one way or another today to help support me in the decision to not ride today. Everyone from family, friends, and co-workers - You guys are amaze me and helped me through today more then you will ever know.

It was extremely rough to wake up and not get ready to ride. I am not ashamed to admit I shed a few tears watching the boys roll out of the parking lot. But I was obvious that my legs need the extra time and as the day went on I was thankful that decision was made to not ride.

Once Shane and Shannon rolled out I was able to experience the support crew goes through each day. Our RV driver Les went around checking all the tires and making sure everything was ready to roll. We pulled out of the hotel and drove ahead approximately 15 miles and found a spot to park. The morning was nice and cool this morning, the sky was clear and there wasn’t a sole in sight. We were on the side of the road waiting for the riders for 45 minutes or so and only saw 3 vehicle drive by in that time frame. Something that is also interesting in the area we were in the morning was a canyon that we were working our way through/over/around. A train came roaring by and you could hear it 5-10 minutes before you could see it and the same when it left. It was so quiet out there it just roared through the valley for what seemed like forever. Once they rode out of the morning stop we pulled out and headed to the lunch stop.

We stopped at a small town named Marathon, TX. It was a cool place. Because I was in the RV we got there 2 hours before the riders. We got out and walked around the town. Everyone is friendly here; we stopped and talked to lady that was working at one of the little shops. She was very pleasant to talk to and seemed genuinely interested in what we are riding for. Then I stuck my head in a book store and struck up a conversation with the owner and another couple that were in there shopping. The couple was interesting, the girl was from Belgium, and the other guy was from somewhere here in the states. They live half the year on a boat in FL, and the other half the backpack around the United States. It was fun to chat with them for 15 minutes or so.

The guys made great time today and pulled into lunch just before noon, we ate our sandwiches and talked for a few minutes. Once they were ready to leave I did what I could to help Bill with getting there water bottles filled and ready to go again. It was the least I could do today since they were doing all the work. They rode out with smiles on their faces which brought a smile to mine.

After they left, Mona did some dishes, and since I was on a wireless connect from the hotel across the street I caught up on some e-mails and uploaded a few pictures here and there. Once we were done with that stuff, we fired up the beast and drove on down the road.

Today was also fun because I saw 3 animals that I haven’t seen on this trip yet. I saw an elk, wild pig and a turkey. All from the comfort of a leather chair at 65 mph! Even though my saddle on my bike is leather too, I have to admit the seats in the RV are much more comfortable. They just aren’t as rewarding at the end of the day.

We pulled into Alpine and found a grocery store and loaded up on food for the next 5 days. I pushed the cart for Mona and did what she told me to, it seemed to work out pretty good. I was even able to reach a few things on the top shelf to help out. After the grocery store we headed to our end destination today to try and get a jump on laundry. So we knocked off 2 things that we normally do on our day off already. This will aid in resting as much as possible tomorrow! The guys pulled in right before 5pm tonight, and had a great day that sadness I experienced this morning by not leaving with them was gone. Because of the support I received I was smiling ear to ear that they made it safely and in good time.

We had dinner downtown at The Drugstore. That is what the restaurant is called. Shane wanted to buy Mona a shot for her birthday however the restaurant didn’t sell any alcohol; it is actually a BYOB place. Never heard of that before? So our waiter Daryl brought her out a shot of vanilla syrup…he actually brought 2 of them and took a vanilla shot with her. I was sitting right across from her and it looked and smelled really gross, I can’t believe she did it! It was fun to watch, not sure I would have done it. I think Shane recorded it, but you will need to check with him on viewing the footage. The waiter brought out another shot of coke to rinse it down. Back to our waiter Daryl, he is a minor league baseball player from Mississippi. He plays for a team in Alpine that is an independent farm team. Best of luck to you Daryl!

After dinner we headed to the Prude Ranch northwest of Fort Davis. This place is pretty cool; we actually had deer on the property walking across the field that is a stones throw away. I will get you more details on the ranch tomorrow. It is late here and I need to sleep going into my rest day. I know that sounds weird but I need to stay on a schedule.