Periodic Progress Report Southern Tier Cross-Country Bicycle Tour

Date(s): Oct. 16, 1999
Day: Saturday
From: Fort Davis, TX
To: Marathon, TX
Lodging: Marathon High School
Segment Mileage: 60.6
Cumulative Mileage: 1408.0
Actual Riding Time: 4:09
Average Speed: 14.5
Weather: Mild, cloudy
Temp: Low 80's

We had our first cloudy day today, which helped to keep the temperature down. With so much sun we are all looking rather weathered, despite the liberal application of sunscreen (at least for most of us). We left Fort Davis rather late, passing the remains of the old fort built to protect wagons that used the old route from San Antonio to El Paso in the late 1800's. Craving real coffee, Cyndi, Suzanne, and Jimmy were pulling into a coffee shop in town as I passed them. I rode mostly alone to Alpine, passing Todd's friend who was waiting for him just outside of town. They were going to ride together into town and then have lunch with other friends that Todd had met when he worked at Big Bend National Park. We passed through mostly desert terrain, although it is giving way gradually to grassland pastures. The route was mostly flat, with a slight headwind that made for slow progress.

Alpine is a very nice small college town with several coffee shops, bookstores, and restaurants (my criteria for a decent town). I stopped for a steamed milk and talked to some college kids about our trip and about life in Alpine. Apparantly the town is home to several good chefs, like Taos, NM is home to artists, and the cuisine is particularly good. My peanut butter and jelly sandwiches would have to do for me, although I had my own culinary treat. Mostly out of curiosity I tried one of Oliver's concoctions; peanut butter, cheese, and tomato. It was edible but I'm not sure I'll have it again anytime soon.

I took a quick look at the small Big Bend museum and met up with Oliver when he spotted my bike there and waited for me. We rode together into Marathon. Marathon contains a surprising number of galleries and what appear to be good restaurants for a town of 600. From speaking to some shopkeepers it appears that several artists and writers have moved here for the expansive views of the desert and mountains, fresh air, and inexpensive cost of living. We're camped on the football field and it feels very luxurious to be on grass with no thorns. During the evening we watched rain approach but only a few drops hit. The wind whipped the tents most of the night (at least until now, 1:00 am as I sit here in my tent and type this while eating Mexican wedding cookies). Tomorrow we ride downhill for 70 plus miles with what appears to be one store to an uncertain campsite. There may be no telephones for a while so reports may be delayed until Del Rio, a few days away.