Day Eleven: If it’s clear you have nothing to fear

Yes, this photo is real. You know you are in Texas when the posted speed limit on a narrow two-lane road is 70 MPH! But who am I to argue with the experts at the TX DOT? I had little choice but to attempt to maintain the posted limit.

And what a difference a day makes. Today I racked up 642 miles which should resolve yesterday’s shortfall. Beginning in Little Rock, AR, I am now in the little town of Vega, TX, about 30 miles from the NM line. An early start obviously helped, as well has higher speed limits in TX. The real key was making it through the hot part of the day by taking numerous breaks of about 30 minutes each. That helped reenergize me.

“If it’s clear you have nothing to fear; if it’s yellow you’d better mellow; if it’s brown you’re going down.” Yes, I am talking about urine. This saying has been around the outdoor activities and survival community for a long time. Basically, it is a gauge of how well hydrated you are. Yesterday when I arrived at the Mississippi rest stop after just 100 miles, I was seeing brown. Passing out from heat exhaustion is not a great thing when you are screaming down the highway on two wheels. That is why I needed the nap. Today I kept my camelback on and repeatedly sipped from it while riding. Great improvement!

The bike performed flawlessly today. Well, except for the fact that the Brake Failure light never stopped flashing and the Speedometer sat on zero all day and the odometer says I have not moved an inch. Hey, do you remember that movie with Bruce Willis a few years back where he died and didn’t know it? Could that have happened to me? Perhaps that is why the speedometer and odometer say the bike hasn’t moved. Could the last two days have been some state of purgatory that didn’t actually happen? Hmm, with the intense heat I have experienced over the past two days I am going to hope I am still alive. You better hope that too because it is just plain creepy to think you may be reading a blog from “the other side.” Hope no boys come up to me and say “I see dead people.” Robbie – don’t get any ideas!

The road temperature was a bit more bearable in OK. The road work in OK is being done with concrete instead of asphalt. The new concrete was so white that the white lines for the lanes only showed up because they were a different texture. I have never seen a road surface that white (without snow on it). In addition, there was a strong cross wind most of the day which blew the surface heat off the road. Big help!

Most of you know that I love bread and simply cannot resist a good biscuit. Since I committed to eating only at local type restaurants for this trip, there was no way I could pass up the Biscuit Hill Restaurant somewhere west of nowhere in OK. Had a great Chicken Chef’s Salad with NOTHING! They were actually OUT OF BISCUITS! To be fair, I was their last customer of the day, hence the closed sign in the window as I was leaving. Fortunately, that was the low point of the day.

I spent much of my youth watching old western movies. Seems Oklahoma is the home of every Indian tribe known to Hollywood. The signs reading “Leaving Nation Of _____” and “Entering Nation On _____” almost seemed like old Burma Shave signs lining the highway. Then I even crossed the Chisolm Trail. Of course, most of those old movies were shot on a Studio Ranch in Simi, CA. I don’t see any terrain here in OK that looks like those movies! Digressing for a moment, when the studio stopped actively filming there, the main ranch was rented out to an infamous person. Any guesses? Charles Manson. But back to today’s journey.

When was the last time you saw gas pumps like these? I stopped to fill up at the last exit in OK before crossing into TX. These old pumps had no credit card input or selector buttons. Come to think of it, I don’t even know what octane it was as there was no choice. The numbers were the old roll kind that just flip past the little viewing window. Just drive up, put the nozzle in the tank, flip the lever on the pump and let the gasoline flow. Remember to wonder into the old building to pay for the gas before you drive off.

That was a bit of an odd collection of observations but it was one of those days. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.