Texas border ride (Final Report Added)

[Codger]

Probably within the next two weeks, I will start a ride around the edge of Texas.  Including the roundtrip to connect to the perimeter and a family mandated side trip, it should be just short of 4,000 miles and 8 total days.  It is not necessarily on the premium riding roads, but it has been in the back of my mind since ~'83.   So most of the ride will be making mileage. 

Anybody near the rim that wants to roll down the road with me, send a PM on your location and I will get back with you as the plan solidifies.

[weaselnoze]

the perimeter eh? gonna see any mexican trains?

[Codger]

out here in the perimeter there are no stars.

By mexican train do you mean dominoes or choo choo?

[Kerry]

Wow ... 8 straight 500-mile days.  More power to ya! 

[Codger]

I see the IB riders with 11,000 miles in 11 days and I feel pathetic and weak.

[Kerry]

I know what you mean!  But still ... if you're planning to work up to that kind of marathon, this trip should be a great building block.

[Codger]

I suspect that after this, I will be looking forward to lower rather than higher mileage days.

[Codger]

After weeks of droughts and burn bans for dry conditions, my launch day for the trip has 60-80% chance of thunderstorms over 3/4 of the route. 

[Mandres]

yea, bad luck my friend.  We're in for a nasty weekend.

-M

[trumpetguy]

I just got back from accompanying Codger on a small part of his epic journey.  I rose at 4:45 AM and got on the road by 5:00 in order to meet Codger at 7:00.  Then I rode with him for about 50 miles in the Texas panhandle and headed back home.  All in all, about 300 miles for me and home before 10:30 AM!!  It was fun to roll down the road with another GS; definitely worth the lost sleep and long miles.

Codger is almost halfway done with his "lap of Texas" ride.  He plans to bunk in Kermit, Texas tonight.  He's holding up pretty well for someone trying to do 500 miles a day for eight days.

[Codger]

Left home morning 16 June, arrived back home noon 23 June.

Thanks to the assistance of others:
Trumpetguy, thanks for the east panhandle escort.  This was the only stretch of the ride that I had company.  It was good to have you along.
Mandres, thanks for the road information to correct my erroneous 5 year old memory of east coastal part of the route. 
Makenzie71, thanks for extending every invitation to stop by Gruver.  Once I discovered that I was overextended, I ended up taking the cowards way out and cut off the NW corner.  I cut Spearman to Dumas.  This still left me with a 621 mile day, which hammered me.

Statistics:
8 days
3321 total miles of which 2939 were on the periphery of Texas.
76 gallons of gas burned, 43.4 mpg avg, 34.0 worst 55.0 best.
Daily miles maximum 621, minimum 247, average 415.

Things I learned:
30-40 mph cross/head winds can beat the hell out of your gas mileage.  Deadsticked into Vega with 163 miles on a full tank.  With the high winds, I was paranoid on fuel consumption after that.

Apparently the life of a BT45 rear tire is 8,000 miles.  Rolled home almost to the wear bars.
Discovered the issues of fuel valve starvation.  With the high winds and occasional long uphills in west Texas, I spent extensive time in prime to keep enough fuel.  I also spent 200 miles in 5th gear just to be able to run 70.  No more juice left in 6th.

Even if your engine does not use significant oil, it will if you run it hot and hard.  70mph with 30 mph head winds and 104F temperature, I had to add oil for the first and second time.

The GS saddle is crap and gets worse over the miles.  Even with my gel bike shorts on, it wears you down.  If it were level so you wouldn't slide forward and straight so you could slide back to stretch out a bit, it would be significantly better.

Don't strangle your bike, it knows what to do.  In Point Comfort, on the last day the traffic stopped for an accident in the rain.  I usually only use the rear brake for trail braking and low grip conditions.  I rolled into a smooth section of road and the rear end started to swing right.  I released the rear brake and I was loose on the bars, so the front end tracked to the right.  I remember thinking that it was where I wanted to go anyway since it had coarser gravel.  Note: when rear braking in low traction, keep the clutch pulled.  Had I not, the rear probably would have stayed locked.

If think they are long mileage days when you are planning, they are a lot longer when you are riding.

Give me mesh, you can keep your leather.

Ferries aren't as bad as you would expect.

Grain elevators are the skyscrapers of the plains.  They may be the only sign of civilization that you see for 30 miles. 

Good experience with construction:
Between Guadalupe Mountains and Van Horn, I ran 25 miles and saw the gate to only one house.  When I thought I was all alone, I ran into a construction zone.  The were running a pilot car over about a 10 mile section.  After the pilot car came through and released the oncoming traffic, he stopped next to me to tell me about the conditions.  He said that there was a long section of packed gravel up to 1-1/2 dia with loose on the edges and between the tracks.  He said that he would be running pretty slow, but to take all the time I needed.  Considering it was a 104 and this guy had little motivation to get out of the car, I thought he was pretty cool.

Pictures:  I'm not much on pictures, keep your complaints to yourself.
http://www.gstwins.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/14250/normal_PHTO0001.JPG
Loaded prior to departure


http://www.gstwins.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/14250/normal_PHTO0008.JPG
http://www.gstwins.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/14250/normal_PHTO0006.JPG
Tried to head toward Chillicothe, but the storm shifted and when I saw pea sized hail, I turned tail and ran.  I tucked into a semi's wheel track until I saw the picnic area.  Jumped the curb and road straight into the shelter.  I was wondering how the shelters handled lightning.  I didn't know about the guy getting killed till the next week.

http://www.gstwins.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/14250/normal_PHTO0010.JPG
This must have been named by a developer to bring in more men.  It was No Man's Land and was renamed Beaver County.

http://www.gstwins.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/14250/normal_PHTO0011.JPG
Wind farms are nothing new

http://www.gstwins.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/14250/normal_PHTO0012.JPG
Dunes near Kermit

http://www.gstwins.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/14250/normal_PHTO0022.JPG
Nothing but miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles, near Marfa.

http://www.gstwins.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/14250/normal_PHTO0024.JPG
Moby duck in the desert.  Long range aerostat for radar.  I've used these at sea, I've seen a couple of shore stations shut down, I thought that they were all decommissioned.


If you have any specific questions, I'll answer to the best of my ability.

[KJB: Changed URLs to static file paths]

[Kerry]

Left home morning 16 June, arrived back home noon 23 June.
[...]
Statistics:
8 days

By my count that's barely over 7 days.  Give yourself some credit! 

I cut Spearman to Dumas.  This still left me with a 621 mile day, which hammered me.

I know whereof you speak, my friend. 

30-40 mph cross/head winds can beat the hell out of your gas mileage.

Amen!  Not to mention your body and your spirits. 

Apparently the life of a BT45 rear tire is 8,000 miles.

Sounds about right.

The GS saddle is crap and gets worse over the miles.  Even with my gel bike shorts on, it wears you down.

I wonder how the pre-'01 seat compares with the '01+?  My '99 seat gets plenty ... uncomfy ... after a few hours, but yours sounds even worse somehow. 

If think they are long mileage days when you are planning, they are a lot longer when you are riding.

Heh heh.  Truer words were never spoken. 

Grain elevators are the skyscrapers of the plains.  They may be the only sign of civilization that you see for 30 miles.

I think I know one of the areas you're talking about.  Here is my 2nd full day from a 3-day, 3-hour, 2000-mile trip I made from Orem, UT to Decatur, AL back in 2001.  The first section, between Map Points 1 and 4 was pretty much like you said. 



Congratulations, Codger!  That's quite an accomplishment ... and a bundle of memories to boot. 

[makenzie71]

Dude between Dalhart and Pampa you're lucky you saw elevators.  shaZam!..you're lucky you saw cars...or trees...or anything living.

Sorry I missed ya Codger...no bggy, though. Glad to ehar you made her around!

[Codger]

Thanks.

I have more memories now than when I got home.
I think the worst issue on making mileage is that you just don't have time to absorb it all.
I tell my wife about places and she asks if I took a picture, she's the photographer, and I have to say ," nope, I was making mileage".

If I had to do it over, I would do it in 2 weeks.