Days 5 and 6 - Comfort to Kerrville-Schreiner Park

I decided to take it easy since the ride to Comfort was quite hard. Kerrville is less than 20 miles from Comfort. I left at about 3pm and reached at about 6. Thankfully there were no hills! Here's the ride and Kerrville in pics:

I missed that when I arrived in the dark. Wish every place in the world could say that :)

This time it's a skunk

Guadalupe River

Guadalupe River on the right

I am using wifi at a place called Brew Dawgz. And they are playing Battameez Dil - a Bollywood song. I did not expect that in friggin Kerrville! Rotfl. (To clarify: they played only one Bollywood song.)

I ordered a Cinnamon Horchata Ale at the bar. A drunk man, Anthony, sitting next to me asked me where I was from and what I was doing in Kerrville. I told him about my journey. He offered $2. His girlfriend, Rebecca, said to him that I won't be able to buy anything with $2. Anthony retorted, "It'll buy him water," and instructed me to put the bills in my pocket. I obliged. Another rotfl moment!

Then I saw this at the bar table. The manager told me that it was an organisation instituted by a man whose (19-year-old?) niece committed suicide because she got pregnant. She tried to contact him to talk to him. He did not have the time. So he feels guilty. A lady commented that suicide is a major problem in "their" society.

The manager, like Penny, said that I would meet a lot of nice people, that the news is not to be believed. I hope she's right.

I leave tomorrow for Lost Maples State Park. 50 miles and a lot of hills ahead.

UPDATE: Later in the night, two friends, Tristan and Keegan, camped next to my spot. They were setting up their tent and making bonfire. That woke me up. They're taking time off from work to make a road trip to the Grand Canyon (by car). They were quite curious about India. We went fishing in the dark. I held a fishing rod for the first time. However, we didn't catch any fish. We spoke at length about the modern education system and its pitfalls. Both of them dropped out of regular high school. For their senior year, they went to a school where students could set their own pace for their preferred courses of study and the teachers did not lecture. I wish there were schools like that everywhere. They now work at Whole Foods. People here are lucky that they can secure jobs without college degrees with wages that are high enough to support themselves. In India, unless your family has enough money, dropping out of school would mean very low income jobs.

Day 4 - Blanco to Comfort

I wanted to leave at 10. But ended up talking to the old couple whom I had bothered to figure out where to pitch my tent. They're from Wisconsin. The husband told me that looking at me brought back some good memories of his bike trip that he had undertaken with his friend 35 years ago. I forget their route but they covered 1400 miles in 13 days! I was embarrassed. I covered about 35 per day on the first two days.

Then an old lady came up to me to talk to me. She was the "Park Host" (staff that stays behind in the park to assist the guests). She lives by herself with her dog- most probably a wire fox terrier because it looked like Snowy. She asked me questions about me and Brownie. She told me about a guy who was there at the campsite a few days ago  He was planning to walk all around Texas visiting all the state parks- about 90 or so. She asked me something because of which I ended up telling her about my recent experiences- about Pete, Sarah, Yellow Bike, Kimberly and Ray. She offered some chicken soup. But I had to leave. I had decided to get to Comfort. That was about 45 miles away, and it was already 11 o'clock.

I saw some breathtaking scenery and a dead raccoon. 

But I had to bike in the face of the wind. That was not nice. But it was a good first lesson because I will have to do that pretty often.

See those flags?

With the wind and the sun becoming unbearable, I decided to put on my glares and try the "third eye" that Pete gifted- a tiny rear view mirror that can be attached to any pair of sunglasses. A very useful gadget!

At some point the front derailer gave up. I was shifting from the second to the first gear and the chain got jammed in a way that I panicked. Even the pedals did not move. But thanks to Pete's training, I figured it out at this spot. Had lunch, rested for a bit and moved on after spotting a llama.

Can you spot the llama?

There was this 10-mile-long road that I had all to myself. Only one car passed me by. Just one! But it was an extremely hilly road. I did curse Ray a little for including it in the route. There was a mile-long hill to climb among many others. I could only manage half of it. I had to walk Brownie for the second half.

This is the point from where
I had to walk Brownie

The view from the top of the hill

Downhills make me so happy. Some things about bike touring are not like life.

I was about 12 miles away from Comfort when it got dark. Animals start coming out at dark. Normally, deer would be scared to come close but this one doe came up almost as if she wanted to say something. But I had to keep moving. There weren't too many cars either. It was just me and Brownie (and a hare or a skunk crossing the road here and there and some green, glowing eyes on both sides of the road too scared to come close) under a swarm of stars in the dark- an unforgettable ride.

I arrived in Comfort and found the RV Park that Ray had shortlisted for me online. I asked an old lady for directions to the office. She asked me where I was from. She said, "Welcome to the United States!" Seeing Brownie and all the luggage, she then asked me where I was headed. I told her. She very nicely said, "I'll pray for you!" I went to the office. Penny remembered that we had called. She asked me about my trip. She said I would meet so many nice people along the way. She noticed my gloves. Hers were just regular gloves with holes in the fingers. I told her mine were a gift from someone. I told her how I had already met so many nice people. How, in fact, Ray was somebody I did not even know. How Kimberly had invited me over. When it was time to pay, Penny decided to waive off the camping charges. You see, kindness is contagious.

I could afford a nice taco salad and a hot fudge shake at DQ. I needed the calories. Did not have the energy to cook anyway. Had a long warm shower and snugly went to bed.

Day 3 - Blanco State Park

Woke up to this pulchritude. Not sure if the camera could capture the beauty of Blanco river. 

Tried to leave for Comfort but I needed more sleep. So went back to bed and spent the rest of the day walking around the village foraging for free wifi.

Oh, and on my way back to the park, I walked into a convenience store looking for some solid camping fuel. There was a Mexican lady at the counter. She called out her husband to enquire if they had it. They didn't. Going by how he pronounced "fuel" I thought he was from India. I asked him if that was the case. He said he was from Kerala. He asked me where I was from. I said New Delhi. He didn't show any interest in talking any further. Not sure why.

Day 2 - To Blanco State Park

After sleeping for 10 hours, I made some wheat tacos with scrambled eggs. I then decided to lighten up my bag and reluctantly took out a book (after finding its ebook version), the red beanie I had purchased in Norway, the gray neck wrap I had bought in Montenegro, my green sweatshirt that I was hoping to camouflage with while stealth camping, the soft saddle cushion (both Pete and Ray had advised that I ditch it) and a chili garlic sauce jar. Kimberly suggested that I could shift the almond butter and marmalade into zip-lock sachets. That addressed the imbalance in the front bags. She also gave me some hot spice powder and curry powder. I left Kimberly and Ray's place at about 12:30 pm for Blanco State Park. Here's the ride in pictures:

Oh, look, another hill to climb!

That's no cattle guard. It's more of a
cattle crippler so they wouldn't run away.

Check out the wind!

See that water on the road. Those are the kind of roads that get flooded. I crossed several such roads in "Hill Country". Fortunately, not even one was actually flooded. Ray told me how cyclists had hurt their collar bones while crossing such flooded roads.

One of the many horse ranches I crossed

The most handsome cattle ever! I bet they're bred for some beauty pageant in Texas. I couldn't get a better shot 'cause was too scared of them charging at me with those horns.

A dead hare. I spot dead animals on the roads all the time.

Brownie basking in the sun

That valley down there looked so beautiful!

This cow was at least 50 feet away. Yet it was scared of me. She stopped drinking water as I came downhill and continued staring at me till I left.

As I told you before, Texans hold massive plots of land. It's all private property. Some of them also let loose some exotic species on their land. I guess for game hunting. There was this one stretch of road where it seemed like biking in the Serengeti. There was a herd of deer (possibly including an Indian black buck) pacing with me and Brownie a few feet away from the fence. It was beautiful. Sorry no pictures of that. I did not want to ruin the moment by capturing it.

I reached Blanco at about 7pm. I had to bother an old couple in their RV to figure out where I could camp since the Park's office shut at 4:45. Made some oatmeal and had it with canned crab meat. I needed a shower after that ride in the heat. But I could not figure out the code for the showers. The temperature dropped to about 0°C. I could hardly sleep in my new sleeping bag. My plan of leaving early the next morning was ruined.

The Actual Big Day

It rained. As soon as I bid goodbye to my friend, César, took a deep breath, and started pedalling, it started to rain. Such an auspicious start!

I forgot to record the exact point but it was, per chance, at a gas station somewhere on Slaughter Lane in Austin. A very apt name for the street to begin your dream journey on, isn't it?

It was at about 12:30pm. I should have started much earlier in the day.

I did not put on a raincoat or cover my stuff with a waterproof cover. Somehow that did not dampen my spirit. (I have become a little too patient. Need to be more human.)

Before I left Austin, the only training I had had was biking around Austin without my luggage. With all that luggage on my bike, I struggled. The bags in the front were imbalanced. So my handlebar wobbled. I had to cover a long distance in a short time. There was no choice but to pedal on.

I had decided not to cycle in the dark. So I did not buy expensive head and tail lights that would make car drivers go blind. But there I was cycling in insufficient light on the very first day. Brilliant planning, no?

See the overcast sky and insufficinet light?

Pedernales Falls State Park was my destination. It was already dark at about 7pm. I was still around 5 miles away. My navigator had asked me to take a right turn in 500 meters. I thought it had been 500 meters and I hit a right turn. I took it but immediately felt something was not right. It seemed like someone's private property to me. I had been warned that Texans do not think twice before shooting a stranger on private property. I took out my phone to check. I was right. I needed to turn back. But as I was turning back, a car turned up wanting to turn into the path I was blocking. I hurried. I did not want to piss a Texan off.

As I turned around ready to bike off, I mumbled an apology for blocking the way to the lady in the car. She asked me what I was doing there. I told her, "I am on a bike tour. I started today in Austin. I am heading to Pedernales State Park. I think I took a wrong turn." She looked at me. (Remember this moment! There was something about the way she looked at me.) Then she asked, "Where are you from?" I replied. Meanwhile, another car turned up behind hers. She had to clear the way for that car so she instructed me, "Don't go anywhere! I want to speak with you." I thought she's miffed. She took her car about 20 feet away. I could make out she was calling somebody. "Is she calling the police,"  I nervously wondered. I shat bricks in my pants. I remembered Ben's words of caution: "In small towns in Texas, the police will just frame random charges against brown or black strangers." A part of me wanted to run away. But running away would have aroused even more suspicion. Her call went on forever. Finally, she got out of the car, came up to me and said, "Hi, I was talking to my husband. We are cyclists. We would like to offer our place to you for tonight. It is too dark. One of the roads ahead is flooded. Pedernales is quite far."

That's where it all happened in the dark

I was dumbfounded. For a split second, irrational fears took over "What if she is a psycopath? Is she going to take me to a hillbilly? What if there are hillbillys where she lives? Am I about to be...???" I shut my mind up and accepted the offer. She asked me to follow her. It was a dirt road and it was completely dark (lit up only by the car's lights and my headlamp of 17 lumens). It wasn't private property after all. It was, however, lined with several private properties (that in Texas usually means large tracts of land) on both sides. She was patient enough to wait for me after every few meters as I caught up with her car exhaustedly riding my wobbly bike.

Those irrational fears were back again. Perhaps, because it was dark. I inhaled deeply and shut them up.

We finally arrived at her place and got a chance to introduce ourselves to each other. Her husband came out to greet us. She had been away to meet her son.

They're Kimberly and Ray.

Ray turned out to be quite an inspirational figure. He took up cycling at 49. He was determined to lose weight through physical exercise and managed to do that in one year. I am not sure how much he lost but he definitely looked a lot younger than 50 in the pics he showed to me. He now looks for road loops with elevations and plans to climb one million feet of elevation by bike this year. He even went on a 7-month long solo trip across the United States at the age of 52! (There's a facepalm for all those listicles that include a long, solo trip as one of the top 10 or 20 or 30 things to do in the 20s.) He even helped me enthusiastically to plan my routes online for the next 6 days. He gave me all kinds of advice, especially about how I could reduce my luggage, and gifted a pair of padded shorts!

Before all that, Kimberly offered Texan barbecue dinner with hot apple cider. At dinner, while all of us were having conversations about our lives, cycling, travelling, and religion, Kimberly said to me something that I will never forget. Remember, I told you how she looked at me while she was in the car? She told me that when she looked at me, she felt that the spirits asked her to protect me because my mom had asked them to. She asked me to let my mom know that she got her message. Ray instantly burst out laughing. Before I started travelling, I too would have laughed if somebody said something like that, but in that moment I could not.

I don't know what would have happened had I declined Kimberly's offer and carried on to Pedernales. Maybe I would have reached safe and sound, maybe not.

But I think I am going back to being  agnostic from atheist. I am definitely grateful to the International Telepathic Communication Network of Moms.

So, Ma, Kimberly got your message. Thanks for looking out for me from the other side of the world!

Kimberly and I before I set out for Blanco, TX (Wish Ray were in the picture too)

The Birth of Brownie

I have christened my bike Brownie. I thought of Brown Man initially. But riding a Brown Man did not sound quite right. This is how I found Brownie.

I was in New York when I felt the Force (not the one in Star Wars) pulling me towards it yet again. (The Force exists somewhere in Latin America. I have been feeling the Force for several years now. Whenever I was feeling burnt out at work, it's this Force that kept me going to earn more and save more. Maybe it's just a figment of my imagination.)

I checked the cheapest flight tickets from New York to Texas. Texas would have been the best state in the US to start biking towards Mexico. The cheapest ones were for Dallas. But Dallas was on tornado alert. Austin and Houston were more expensive. I had to wait only for a few more days. Finally, I bought the ticket to Dallas for January 5th. $68 only (and $25 for check-in luggage). 

I looked for hosts in Dallas. Sent two requests. Was about to send more but the first person accepted. His name's Ben. I was hoping that he would accept because he had done a biking tour in Europe. I was also hoping to buy a new bike in Dallas and start biking by January 10. But on my first day in Dallas, I found out that I could not afford a new bike in the US.

I ended up staying at Ben's place the entire time I was in Dallas. He, his roommate, Adam, and Adam's band member, Spencer, helped me in so many different ways. Ben spoke to his friends and family to help me find a bike. One of his friends, the owner of a bike shop in Arlington, had a good second hand bike. We went to check it out. Unfortunately, something was wrong with its handlebar. Also, it wasn't a 26 incher. The shop owner felt bad and gifted me some flat tyre patches, chamoix cream for my butt and glowlight stickers for riding in the dark.

At Ben and Adam's place

I tried to make Shahi Paneer for them. Ended up making something completely different. I now call it Texan Paneer Curry.

Meanwhile, Ben's mom told him about the Yellow Bike Project. It's a social enterprise dedicated to bikes. They had a learn-by-doing program wherein one could go there to refurbish a donated bike. Do that for 24 hours and earn a bike! I decided to go to Austin and bought the cheapest bus ticket.

A couple of days before I was supposed to leave, Adam's band Trai Bo were playing a gig. (They are one of the best indie rock bands I have heard. Check them out here!) Adam tagged my picture on facebook and invited people to give me advice about my trip at the gig. Someone I met there added me to a facebook group of Dallas biking enthusiasts where people posted second hand stuff for sale or exchange. A day before I was supposed to leave for Austin, somebody posted the picture of a bike- a Giant 90s steel frame, redone in 2006, with front and back racks, four panniers, handpump, rear view mirror, some other spare parts. All of it for $200. I was a tiny bit skeptical: in India, I could easily get a new bike for that price! Adam advised that it was a great deal by US standards. He drove me to Fortsworth, where the seller lived. When I test rode the bike, I knew it was I had found my bike! However, I, being an Indian, obviously could not have bought without some haggling. I quoted $180. The seller agreed! And just like that I had my bike for my long haul trip to Argentina!

What Brownie looked like when I bought it

I ended up going to Austin anyway. Ben and a few others strongly insisted that I learn some basic repair work before commencing my trip. Ben even arranged for me to stay at his parents' for the first two nights!

There was one glitch- I could not take the bike with me on Megabus. Ben, the Batman, offered to bring the bike by car the following weekend!

I went to Yellow Bike on my first day in Austin. I met John at the reception. I told him my story and why I wanted to volunteer at Yellow Bike. (By the way, John, very surprisingly, knew about my namesake. He even said to me, "You have big shoes to fill in." That made me so happy.)

He suggested that I start learning how to fix flat tyres. He took me to the puncture desk and introduced me to Pete, who was working there. He was taking tyres off the rims. Since that would be the first step to fix a flat tube, he asked me to learn that. We started talking. John had already told him my story. But Pete wanted to know why I was doing it. I told him about my dream and how I got my bike. He was amazed at how the bike managed to find me and came with everything I needed. He asked me where I was staying. I told him how I had a place for two nights at Ben's parents' and three nights at another host's place but was having difficulty finding more hosts. He immediately offered his place to me. Everybody at Yellow Bike was excited about my trip. Pete said, "Don't worry, we'll set you up and get you ready for your trip!" It was decided that it would make sense for me to bring my bike and start working on it. 

Yellow Bike Project's Entrance

Ben got the bike on Friday to my host's place- at Jordan's. But he had had to disassemble it to fit inside the car. On Saturday, I could not find a way to get the bike in that state to Yellow Bike. Surya, Jordan's roommate, offered to take the bike in his car on Sunday. But Yellow Bike was shut on Sunday and Monday. Surya found a spare screw that I needed to attach the front wheel. It was not in the condition to ride. But I could take it to Yellow Bike by bus on Tuesday. Pete was there. He requested one of his colleagues, another John, to guide me. I got the front wheel and the handlebar fixed. Then somebody taught me how to fix flat tyres. It wasn't that difficult. I even taught two girls how to do it.

I stayed at Pete's from Tuesday night onwards. Pete and Sarah gave me an entire room! I guess as bike tourists, they knew it would be hard for me to find comfort again. Over the next six days, they offered all kinds of advice- everything I needed to know about travelling by bike. They taught me so much and gave me so much that I could not fathom why. Pete said, "I like to be a part of dreams such as yours." I was planning to leave Austin on January 25th. On the 24th, they took me out for dinner to an Indian restaurant. Pete said that he did not want me to feel any pangs for Indian food on my way. We went to a nifty one called Nasha. I ordered a chicken biryani. It was so spicy that I definitely won't feel the urge for Indian for a long time now.

I learnt a lot from Sarah and Pete about bike touring and life. 

Sarah and Pete with their dog, Laika

At some point I started thinking about what to call my bike. I somehow knew that it must be customary to name one's bike in the world of bike travellers. It makes sense too to treat it like a person and care for it. I decided to call it Brownie simply because it's brown in colour. On the eve of the Big Day, Pete happened to ask me if I had thought of a name for my bike. Hah, I already had!

Pete, Sarah, and I just before I said goodbye

Anyway, that's the story of the beginning of Brownie's story. I hope she will not give up before getting to Ushuaia.

When I left home for this trip, I had no idea how I was going to find my bike. I knew nothing about repairing a bike. All I had, and I quote from one of my instagram posts, was my willingness to subject myself to the tyranny of chance and rejoice in it. 

I owe these people so much that I will never be able to pay them back enough. Thank you, Ben, Adam, Paula and Bob, Pete, and Sarah! Without y'all, Brownie and I would not have got on the Road.

(I could not leave on the Big Day. I'll explain why in another post and introduce you to my friend, César.)

Innate Dreams

They say that in the moment just before you die, some people see their entire life in a flash. These days, sometimes when I close my eyes, I am able to see the last 6 months or so of my travel memories in a flash. 2015 has been the best year of my life. 2016 is going to be even better. I am a very happy man, and I know I will be for the rest of my life. 

I hope the same for you. If you are not happy, I would urge you to figure out your dream and pursue it. Not the "dream" that most people refer to these days- mostly in relation to one's career. I am referring to your innate dream- a dream that is unadulterated by others' expectations of you. A dream, the pursuit of which, requires you to pay no heed to what any other person would say or think about you.

About the time I finished school, I asked myself, "Where do I go from here? What do I want from my life?" Several answers popped up in my head. I started eliminating them to narrow down to the one that I believed was my innate dream. I knew it was innate because it was what I used to dream about as a child. I had forgotten about it, but it all came back in that moment of introspection.

I used to dream that in my previous life I was born in a country where people spoke Spanish. Gradually, that country became Mexico. Ludicrous, I know. I have no clue why. But that led me to read more about Mexico, and later, Latin America. I learnt that Spanish is spoken in most Latin American countries. The history, politics, and nature of the region started to fascinate me beyond measure. I wanted to experience Latin America.

I decided to work towards realising my innate dream. I did not share that decision with anyone for a long time. Dreams are too brittle to be shared. When you share your dreams, people love to poke holes in them. That was especially likely in my case since I was going to blithely chase a childhood dream. Childhood is synonymous with immaturity. So I started sharing my dream with friends and family only when it seemed like it was possible to make it happen.

I learnt Spanish because to truly experience the people of a country one must speak their language. It can be fun and an unforgettable experience to use signs and talk like Neanderthals. But speaking the language of a country takes travelling through it to a whole new level. 

I also started saving money. 

And here I am about to start living my dream. I am making it sound like it was a walk in the park and the fruition of only my efforts. No, it was more like what happened to the protagonist in The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I am not a huge fan of the book. But I agree with the moral of its story- when you want something badly, the universe conspires to make it happen for you.

Ugh, that sounds straight out of a self-help book about chasing success and career-related dreams. But like I said, I am urging you to chase your innate dream.

You won't regret it. 

I was standing on the edge of a cliff in Scotland. I could see Great Britain's northernmost point from there. The natural beauty was overwhelming.  There was nobody around me for several miles except a lot of birds, intermittently strong gusts of wind and the indifferent waves of the ocean. The coastline there is vulnerable to constant erosion. I observed the ocean waves relentlessly chipping away the land. While I was trying to soak in the view, our obsession with living our lives to be considered successful by others was reduced to an inconsequential, puny pursuit. I chuckled like an infant when the wind whispered an affirmation of my new-found realisation.