October 19, 2008
the push mower guy, leaving I-10, texas hill country, craig
Day Twenty Eight
"I stayed in a lovely hotel. It has a dressing robe behind the door and lovely, fluffy sheets. It took me half an hour to get my suitcase closed."
- Frank Carson -
"The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public."
- Sir George Jessel -
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By the end of the day yesterday I was considering taking a rest day. I'm starting to feel the miles, and it's about time to take a day off. However, I decided to ride one more day because a day off in Fredericksburg, a resort town, sounds better than a day off in Junction. Not that Cooper's "You Can't Beat Our Meat" BBQ isn't great, but I've been to Fredericksburg and know it's a great place to hang out.
So, I woke up early and packed quickly. After a brief stop at the convenience store for some powdered donuts and water for breakfast (no chocolate milk today: they're changing vendors), I started riding.
Again, there's no town to stop at for lunch so I stuffed some edibles into my bags.
Two miles outside of town a semi slowly passed on the far side of the road. I heard a light tap on the horn, more of a "hello there!" rather than "get the hell off the road!!" When I glanced to the left I saw Ken's truck passing me. I smiled and gave him a big wave.
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Twenty two miles later, after 281 miles of pedaling alongside semis and dodging strips of radial belted tires, I finally got off I-10. The difference in decibels was immediately apparent when I turned onto 290. I had forgotten how quiet pedaling normally is.
The huge trucks are a double-edged sword, offering a tailwind every time they pass, but eliminating the possibility of a peaceful ride. In West Texas, the traffic on the interstate was sparse, but the farther east I travelled the more congested it became.
290 has a really wide shoulder. Since there aren't many cars, it has very little debris.
This is "The Hill Country" of Texas. There are groves of oak trees, and the scenery was becoming prettier with each passing mile.
Around lunchtime I was pedaling down the road, lost in thought, when I saw someone in the corner of my eye as I was passing. I glanced over and saw a person resting in the grass under an oak tree, about thirty yards off the road, a push mower beside him. I continued pedaling, and about a hundred yards later my brain slowly processed the information and asked,
"Why would a guy have a push mower way out here? There is literally nothing around, and certainly no grass to mow." There wasn't a house within miles of my location.
My brain re-processed what it had seen and, after filtering through the weeds, determined that what I saw was probably another bike tourer. By the time I figured that out, I was already well past him.
A couple of miles down the road I pulled over at a covered rest stop to eat lunch and waited for him to show up while I ate, but he never did.
Lunch was a peanut butter and honey sandwich, accompanied by a large can of tea and some cookies for dessert. I also had some beef jerky. It felt like a picnic.
While at the rest stop I made some calls to a few of the hotels in Fredericksburg. I've been staying in the cheapest hotel I could find in each city, and decided to splurge on tonight's hotel.
Once in Fredericksburg, I checked in and took my bags upstairs. The hotel doesn't allow bicycles in the room so I kept it in a locked storage area. Apparently they've had problems in the past with grease stains.
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While waiting for the elevator, a man asked a few of the frequently-asked questions and we began talking.
His name is Craig Zablocki, and I learned he’s a motivational speaker. For the next couple of days he’ll be talking to some of the region's high school superintendents. He uses humor to positively motivate his listeners to be better at their jobs. Motivational speakers have to be very engaging; otherwise, they'd be terrible at their jobs. It sounds like a great job, except that, you know, I just can't get motivated to do anything like that. Plus, there's that public speaking thing, which is difficult for an introvert.
He's planning on going to New Zealand with his son in the next few weeks and although he usually hikes, he’s been considering taking or renting bikes to tour the country. We talked about bike stuff for a while, then he had to go prepare for his evening meeting. Before he left, he invited me to come listen.
At the reception desk, I asked Shirley and Pat where the best place to eat in town is. I always ask someone local and even if don't always get unbiased recommendations, it's a good way to strike up a conversation. The downside of asking is that small towns sometimes have only one place to eat so it's a moot question, and if there is more than one place then the person you're asking is likely related to the owner of one of the places and might be biased.
They directed me to The Nest, which is within walking distance, so I made a reservation, took a shower, then strolled down the street and devoured the best meal I've had since I've been on the road. That includes Ramoana's Burrito.
As I reentered the hotel, I checked the time and realized that Craig's meeting had started about fifteen minutes ago so I decided to sneak in the back door.
I slipped silently in and no one noticed me except, of course, Craig, who acknowledged me with a nod and a smile.
Watching him, I was unsurprised to see he's quite a dynamic speaker. He encouraged audience participation without calling out the introverts, and the forty or so people there seemed to enjoy it.
At the end of his presentation, he introduced me and told everyone what I was doing. He explained to everyone that I was an example of "You can do this if you want to," which is something I really believe.
Back in my room I did some catching up on my blog (aren't I always?!?!) before calling it a night.
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distance: 64.6 miles
average speed: 11.9 mph
maximum speed: 28.6 mph
time on bike: 5:23:02
cumulative mileage: 1384.3 miles
Today's ride: 65 miles (105 km)
Total: 1,384 miles (2,227 km)
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