Day 35: Comstock to Sanderson

March 21, 2025

Lots of these around last night's campground. They look like air mattress killers.

There was less water on the south side. Perhaps there was a dam under the bridge?

Lots of chip seal like this. The roadway was better than the shoulder, so I would ride there until something was coming.

I went to bed at 9:30 and woke up at 5:45. I did wake up at few times during the night so my sleep score was only 71. There was a southeast wind in the morning and it was cold. I think the actual temperature was in the upper 40's, but the wind sure made it cold. I ate the usual oatmeal breakfast and packed a PBJ, banana, clementine, and trail mix. I forgot to put on my HRM, and thought I left it in the bathroom, so I didn't leave until 8:00. I started riding with a long sleeve shirt, my jacket, my vest, leg warmers, and medium plus light weight full finger gloves. The jacket became too much pretty soon so I took it off and stuffed it in the vest.

We crossed the Pecos river a few miles from the campground. It was a pretty impressive canyon. The town of Langtry was at mile 20. It is where Judge Roy Bean dispensed justice west of the Pecos. There was a free museum sponsored by the Texas department of Highways. They had free postcards and I sent four of them. There was a post office across the street where I mailed them. There was also a nice cactus garden. I spent quite a bit of time there. The first 30 miles were very easy because, I think, there was a pretty good tailwind.

There were no services before Sanderson, so BD arranged to stop at about miles 30 and 60 so we could resupply. At mile 33 he stopped at a picnic area. My rear tire was soft, though it hadn't leaked over night, so I pumped it up. I ate my fruit and filled my water bottles. I left my jacket there. I stopped again at about mile 50 at another picnic area and ate my sandwich and some trail mix. I think I took off my leg warmers there. The other guys stopped too. Benny met us at mile 56. I didn't need much except water so didn't spend much time there.

I stopped briefly at mile 60 to drink some water. I stopped briefly a few times to drink water. At about mile 77 I stopped to eat a goo and drink a bunch of water as I was pretty tapped out. My average power was 98 W and my NP was 118 watts. My rear end was a little painful at the end and I took some ibuprofen with lunch.

We are staying at the First Baptist Church of Sanderson. We took showers in their house and the Pastor's wife (a local magistrate) made a spaghetti dinner for us. It was quite good and filling. After dinner he told us a little about their church and about Sanderson. He said illegal immigration is a real problem. The illegals tap holes in water pipes and it causes leaking of very precious water (he said walls have to be 800 feet deep). There are also a significant number of them who die. When asked what needs to be done, he said that there needs to be more money for enforcement. He also agreed that a better system to make sure employers hire legals would help.

My rear tire has had a slow leak in it. I couldn't see anything in the tire, so thought it might be low on sealant. I tried adding some, but couldn't reseat the tire. I put on my new tire, but couldn't seat it either. I discovered that some rim tape was damaged. Perhaps I did it when I had the crash, or perhaps there was a bubble and sealant got under it. In any event, I replaced it and the tire seated. I also found a large piece of steel wire in the old tire. I am sure that was the cause of the slow leak. I'm glad I didn't have to fix it on the road, though it did take a lot of work to get it to work tonight. God willing, I should have good rubber to last the rest of the trip.

Tomorrow is a 54 mile ride with modest elevation gain. The wind will not be as strong or as favorable as today. There is nothing between here and Marathon, so JG will stop with the van at a picnic area at mile 30.

Today's ride: 81 miles (130 km)
Total: 1,769 miles (2,847 km)

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