JOANNE + JOHN

Tonight (Saturday May 18), we are double crashing with these guys. They've got one half of the deck, we've got the other. We ran into them doing some repairs in Ft. Davis TX and it turned out we were both headed up to the McDonald Observatory to stay with John Khune. They knew who we were right away because they've been just a few days behind us for the past couple of weeks, staying with some of the same people we have. It's a small world. They are going West too, which is rare--everyone else is headed East for the most part. John and Joanne have done a few 5 month tours and sound like they have no plans on stopping. They've toured all over the US, Europe and beyond. Their first tour was 30 years ago, and I guess they just fell in love....

HILARY DUPONT

Hilary is the cousin of our friends Sarah and Stefan (who just completed an around-the-world trip, not on bicycles, but totally awesome, see their blog HERE). We got in touch with Hilary the day before we reached Marfa TX and she put us up in her spare room for a couple of days while we waited for The Chain-Ring to arrive. She's just bought a little house on Murphy St and is fixing it up--its going to look amazing in no time. We got to hang with her freaky little dog Harriet, her roommate Jana, friend Rosa and it was all good. As we were leaving we saw our first scorpion of the trip. Thanks for letting us stay Hilary! 

THE BISHOP

Henry Dougherty rode in the Tour de France for two days before his knees blew out (in the 1950's), he co-founded Habitat for Humanity, friends with Jimmy Carter. Need I say more? Met him in Marfa.

MARK

Mark. Marfa Mark. He has a bicycle with a drive-shaft, no chain. He keeps Marfa looking spiffy. He had a spray bottle of vinegar in hand and a lot to say about bicycling and touring and all the rest of it. We chatted with him while the train passed. I want those suspenders!

MIKE ROEBUCK

Alpine, TX. Coffee shop. Cigar. Little green motorbike. Canvas paniers with sticks and leather. 

JOSE AGUAYO

Met Jose at Plaine Coffee in Alpine TX. Works with the west Texas DA. Rocked the bike-commuter look.

TED + CAROL

Driving their cute-as-a-button, 17 foot little nugget of an Airstream to a wedding. We were both staying at the Marathon Motel and RV Park and they started talking with Zach while he was charging his iPad. Friendly, sweet people form Huntington Beach CA. Two dogs. A son who lives in Costa Rica. Good perspective on life. They bought a necklace before we said our goodbyes. We may have to get our tools sent to us so we can make some more!

THE ELKS

The Elks Club in Del Rio TX lets cyclists camp for free in their pavilion. We got to hang out with these two in the Elks Bar. Steve treated us to a few birthday drinks, and Sheryl served them up with a smile and some extra bright, metallic yellow eye-shadow. Some good company in an unexpected place. Thanks Elks.

THE GOAT QUEEN + MIKE

  

Ingrid, Goat Queen, Mike and Guil (not pictured), run El Lomo Del Chivo Hostel in Marathon TX. Its a crazy little place with chickens, experimental buildings and a whole lotta love. Free stay for cyclists for a night. We watched a storm roll over the mountains in from one of the viewing decks and used the communal outdoor kitchen to cook ouselves a gourmet meal. Drank a little too much wine. Caught Mike mowing his patch of lawn with some scissors. A sign in the living room read Welcome to Texas Babylon. Pics of this place will be posted in the photo section soon!

NEIL LOCKHART

Neil. Venetian Plaster Master. Electric motorcycle. Loves water, lives in the desert. Wealth of knowledge about the mountains, and the beautiful places to see in this great land of ours. Good company, we'll get a drink tonight at the historic Gage Hotel. Working on a little house next to the hostel where we stayed on May 11th. Marathon TX, gateway to Big Bend. 

LOUIS + LINDA ALLRED

We stayed in the BEAUTIFUL little guest house of Louis and Linda in Hunt TX, it was like this: Open the door. Lights are on low. Oldies playing low on the radio. Temperature is perfect. Bowl of trailmix on the table. Big old bed nested upstairs. Balcony. View. Four slices of bread in a little baggie in the fridge with butter and apricot jam in little dishes. A bowl of fruit, chilled pitcher of water. Yogurt. Coffee. Clean towels. Have we died and gone to heaven??? Use the kitchen in the house, mi casa es su casa, go ahead and do your laundry, keys are in the truck if you need it. They were off at a Jimmy Buffet concert in Austin the night we rolled in, and we didn't get to meet them until the second evening. These two are angels to cycle tourists. What sweet souls! We had a few drinks and good conversation with these renegade Texans (not at all the Big Fence kind), and had to be on our way after the second night to open the place up for the next lucky travelers.  Louis is 68 and headed out on tour on June 10th, and I just know he's going to have a good time--he's got the fighting spirit of an ex-football coach, and an excellent sense of humor so he will be just fine. So many thanks! 

DAVID + NATE

Fellow travelers. These two guys were camped out at the same place we were, but they rolled in at about 9pm, setup in the dark and we didn't get to talk to them till the am. They made me feel old. We have a french press. They were going the opposite direction we were, seemed to be having a good time. We shared terrain info. They were just coming off the desert into the trees--Seattle boys, looking forward to a little greenery. 

GREG + HEIDI

For this little leg of our journey we've jumped onto the Adventure Cycling Association's Southern Tier Cycling Route that goes from San Diego to St. Augustine--so we've been passing more cyclists on the road. We're a dima a dozen on these roads. We met these two on top of a plateau. We compared notes and they made fun of my hat(s)--and just for the record I only have ONE! And its purely to keep my face from burning off, the other is Zach's. Fellow Yanks. They hail from Madison Wisconsin and are writing a blog called Greg + Heidi Bike. They're funny, check out their blog!

LISA

Lisa brewed a fresh pot of coffee for Zach when we stopped in her little grocery in Camp Wood TX. We were in and out a few times and after a bit she came out for a smoke and chatted with us for a while. She asked us about our adventures, made us take some TastyCakes for our upcoming BIRTHDAYS, and gave us some beers to go with them! She sent us off with a Via Con Dios! If I went home today this trip would be a success because I've experienced the Kindness of Strangers. People are welcoming, interested, generous and well...just sweeter than hell about 95% of the time. We live in a big old world full of sweet, kind people. Remember that. 

JOE, NAKED CYCLIST

While riding around with Kripal, Zach spotted this guy, Joe, riding down the street. We thought he was a fellow bike tourist--but it turns out he just loads up these bags and rides around for exercise. He bought them for a tour long ago, but didn't go. It was worth stopping to chat anyway--he's clearly rocking it! I love it when people just do their thang, whatever it may be. Just do it with conviction and you're golden.

KIRPAL + YUSUF

   

Introduced by our friend Tianna from home. Kirpal kidnapped us from our mundane “planning” day and took us to Barton springs and got Zach totally drunk. Kirpal himself is just like a dip in the springs—refreshing and fun! Since we couldn’t get our route planned because we were having too much fun tearing around town in an ’89 Honda Civic, Kirpal let us set up camp in the very cute little side-yard of the cottage where he lives with his brother Yusuf. Also an enthusiastic and kind soul.  Thanks for oatmeal and showers and showing us around!

TAY + 'DRE

These two work at Billy Reid in Austin. I recognized the name of the store, but didn’t know why so we pulled over and went in for a look. The store was very cute, and the two people manning the floor that Sunday afternoon were even cuter. We browsed around for a minute and checked out the merchandise, then got to chatting with Taylor and Andrea. We talked about Andrea’s upcoming wedding and our tour and had a beer. They loaded us up with Texas tips and places to check out while we were in town. Our first afternoon in Austin (which was already going well) was massively improved by spending a half an hour with these lovely welcoming people. 

NORMA FLORES

   

Last night we stopped by a shitty looking little red food trailer and had The Best Tacos I’ve ever eaten. They were served in deceptively-common-looking tin foil with little red and green bags of scorching salsa. Tacos are normally a predictable experience—even in good authentic places, even in Mexico… I usually like them just fine, but I’d never write home about a Taco unless it was truly amazing. These really were. Norma warned us that we’d be back, and after trying them I knew she was right. I’m going back. These had personality. They had zing. I really don’t know how to describe them. I’m going to go back there and quiz her, and get her name and take a picture. I can’t stop thinking about them. If you're in Austin go find El Mana Luncheria at the corner of Berkman + Briarcliff. Beef Fajita. PS: I went back, the only thing she'd tell me about the tacos was that the secret ingredient was LOVE. 

JOHN HALLIGAN

John and his roommates put us up for 3 nights in North East Austin. John was a virtual encyclopedia of $1 beer scores and he knew all the spots for good eats too. We rode together, dined together, drank together and he just made it all so relaxed and easy. It was all-good with John, great laugh, easy company—it was a real pleasure to stay with this nearly-graduated, soon to be bike-touring guy. Safe travels John!

HUCK + LIZ + ZOE

Semi-distant family of Zach’s. Kindly put us up for a couple of nights at the last minute. We had a cozy cozy bed, a sweet Miniature Pincer named Zoe to take on walks, and some good tacos for dinner one evening. Huck is one of those musicians who actually plays music as his job-job, he plucks the stand up bass in a couple of bands around town, and has a band of his own called The Biscuit Grabbers. We sadly missed the chance to see him play when a gig was cancelled due to impending rain. So nice to get to know these guys, if just a little.