March 23, 2025
Day 37: Marathon to Marfa
Finally at the mythical city of Marfa guarded by the 4 headwinds,
I got to bed before 10 and woke up to my alarm at 5:45. It was cold again: JE said the thermometer on his bike read 34. I understand it is because of radiative cooling of the surface. The skies are clear and there are no clouds, so nothing is radiated back at the earth. So, the surface cools faster than the air. Anyway, it was cold packing up, eating and starting the ride. I ate the usual: 2 packets of oatmeal. I packed a PBJ and a few bars. BD was driving the van and planned to meet us in Alpine at about mile 30 so we could resupply.
I got out about 8:09. It took a little longer than normal since I had to take inventory for shopping for tomorrow's breakfast and lunch and because I put on toe covers because it was cold.
A long slow climb started right out Marathon. It also heated up quite quickly as the sun came out. I took off my jacket and stuffed it in my shirt after about 30 minutes. About 9:20 the wind picked up. At one point I remember going 7.6 mph when riding at an aerobic pace. Fortunately, after about 14 miles the route turned, we went through a pass, and the winds were favorable. It was a lot more fun riding after that. I stopped at mile 20 to. take off my leg warmers and vest. I also ate an apple and a clementine. It was dry, so I tried to drink regularly.
BD had parked the van near Penney's Diner at about mile 28, right about 1/2 way. I filled my water and went in and had a 2nd breakfast of eggs, toast and has browns. I felt a little sluggish after breakfast. There was a long climb right after Alpine that lasted about 12 miles. I felt better as I climbed. There was then a gradual descent toward Marfa. The ride had nice scenery, but the roads were mostly rough chip seal. The shoulders were usually worse than the roadway, but there was a rumble strip between them so it made moving back and forth a little painful. With about 15 miles left we turned into the wind and the going got hard. I stopped with 9 miles left at the Marfa Lights Observatory stop. See the sign above for details. It was a nice place to stop. BW joined me there. From there I rode the rest of the way to Marfa. It was hard. I worked to keep my power above 120 W. For the last 12 miles or so the shoulder was really rough but there was a 12" strip of un-chip-sealed road at the edge of (see picture above). I rode in that because it was faster and let a lot better. I did go off once, but nothing bad happened. I wasn't able to ride with both hands on the aerobars because it made it a little harder to keep in that strip.
Once in Marfa I turned toward the courthouse instead of going to our campground. BW joined me and we decided to go out for lunch. We couldn't find a place that was open, but he bought me a Corona NA in the Bar at the Hotel George. It tasted really good. We then rode to the campground, about 0.5 miles away. The van was there and I set up my tent before going shopping at about 3:30. We just had to shop for lunch and breakfast stuff.
After shopping I took a shower and got ready to go out to dinner. We ended up eating at a pop-up restaurant at the site of Larry's Cheeseburger shack. The menu was bean or beef crunchy wraps (a burrito with a tostada shell inside). I was really hungry so got one of each. After dinner we went to Dairy Queen and I got a small caramel Sunday with peanuts.
I have been looking forward to getting to Marfa ever since we left Austin 9 days ago. There have been a lot of hard rides and big headwinds. For a while I seriously thought about quitting. It was just too hard and not fun. However, now I think I will make it. I might still have to ride in the van for a day or part of one, but I don't want to quit. I am especially looking forward to my son, Ethan, meeting us in Lordsburg and riding with us for 4 days to Mesa, AZ, the last of our rest days. That stretch will have some of the hardest rides of the trip. Maybe he can pull me through :)
I have a few things to do on my bike on the rest day. I will change to a new chain. I think the current one is o.k., but I have 2 unused ones, so any not. I also need to change the valve stem on my rear tire. It was a little gummed up this morning, and would not spring seal after I pumped the tire. I tightened it manually and it held air, but it seems like something to fix. I also would like to straighten the left break hood. It was twisted a bit on my crash in the gravel a few days ago.
I have to serve breakfast tomorrow, but it is not until 8:00, so I have time to sleep in. That will be nice. We are staying at El Cosmico. It has a kind of hippy vibe. I will show some pictures tomorrow. It has some nice indoor and outdoor seating space. However, it is still dry and dusty like everything out here.
Today's ride: 57 miles (92 km)
Total: 1,881 miles (3,027 km)
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Enjoy your day off!
1 month ago
“ I have been looking forward to getting to Marfa ever since we left Austin 9 days ago. There have been a lot of hard rides and big headwinds. For a while I seriously thought about quitting. It was just too hard and not fun. However, now I think I will make it. I might still have to ride in the van for a day or part of one, but I don't want to quit. I am especially looking forward to my son, Ethan, meeting us in Lordsburg and riding with us for 4 days to Mesa, AZ, the last of our rest days. That stretch will have some of the hardest rides of the trip. Maybe he can pull me through :)”
-Martin
1 month ago