Getting back to where I left off
I’ve still got my tan lines from the Trans Mexico de Norte tour, and plenty of new scrapes and bruises. As with every tour, I’ve been a nervous wreck in preparation the Southern Tier part 2. I’ve actually been getting ready for two tours at once. In late May I’ll be starting the Great Divide Bike Packing Route, and I’ve purchased a new gravel bike along with new bags. The past few months being winter, I haven’t been training as hard as I should. I commute to work by bike and have been doing occasional rides with the Century Plus Crew. An additional complication is that I’ve had to arrange subs and prep assignments at both of my teaching jobs. Last year I conducted my classes from the road, but I won’t have time this year. I need to pedal over 1500 miles in 18 days. It’s gonna be tight, and I might not make it.
My tires have just enough tread to make it to my destination. They carried me across the Western Express and Empire State Trail last summer, and should start wearing thin about the time I hit goat head territory in western Texas. I replaced my front wheel that had been badly dinged in the Sierra Madres, and I swapped out my chain and brake pads. I reached out to Crazy Cat Cyclery in El Paso who will have a bike box ready when I arrive. They’ve warned me about head winds and cross winds. I’ve been watching the storms down south and vividly remember the one I drove through last year the day my Southern Tier tour part 1 ended. I’ve been following fellow Southern Tier cyclists on Crazy Guy and the Southern Tier Bicycle Route Support Group on Facebook. The ACA recently changed the route, and it now goes through New Orleans. I have last year’s paper and digital maps and will be sticking to the old route.
The start of this tour was blessed with visits from cross-country cycling buddies Jeff from Team Spokane and Eileeny Beanie and Klaus from the Trans Gang. The evening before I departed, I dropped Blanka off at the Kono’s and then went to bed. My Uber driver, Karim, picked me up the next morning at 5:22am and drove me to JFK for my Delta flight to New Orleans. The last time I flew out of New York with a bicycle it was a disaster. American Airlines held my bike at Laguardia for three days because they thought it was an eBike. This time I put labels on the box specifying that it was a bicycle and that there were no electronics or batteries inside. It was $40 to ship the bicycle and $30 for the gear. After boarding I nervously checked my baggage status and could see that my bicycle hadn’t been loaded onto the plane. The pilot called the terminal and was assured that there was a bike on the plane. My fingers were crossed the whole flight.
The bike and gear were on the carousel when I got to baggage claim. I took a shuttle to the rental car place. It was warm out and extremely windy. A thunderstorm was forecast for later. I drove over to Massey’s Outfitters where I purchased camping gas for my stove. Unfortunately they didn’t have the small 3.9 ounce MSR tanks and I had to get a larger 6.1 ounce tank. I walked across the street to CVS where I purchased sun screen and Deep Woods OFF. I then walked around the corner to Creole Country Sausage where I purchased a few links of Smoked Chalice Sausage.
It was a ninety minuted drive to Ocean Springs. I gained an hour because of Central Time. It had been overcast, but the sun broke when I hit the Mississippi line. The radio said that the storm would begin around 4PM but my phone was telling me that I had more time. I dropped off the car and returned to Popeye’s where I changed into my short sleeve jersey, cycling shorts, cycling sandals with no socks, and my cycling gloves. Lathered myself with sunscreen and made the finishing touches on my bike. The ride began shortly after 3 PM. I was back on the ACA Southern Tier!
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