West Texas Bike Tour

486 miles in 4 days. Lockhart to Marfa. Not slow.

Day 0: (Prep and packing day…)

Ohhhh! I have to carry all my stuff… okay…

When I was presented with the opportunity to go on this bike tour, Colin persuaded me by saying I would get to draft the whole way and he would carry everything. All I had to do was ride my bike a lot for 4 weeks to ensure my fitness was up to par so I could keep up and develop some saddle callouses. My ability to suffer for long periods of time was not in question, which is probably why I made the cut to be invited on something so far outside my comfort zone.

Digesting the new level of difficulty of carrying up to 3L of water and all my gear the day before we left pushed me. I began to feel anxious about the new variables and wished I had done some practice rides carrying weight. Was I strong enough? Would my muscles hold up? Would I be able to keep up? I had never carried more than a few water bottles and some snacks before… Colin had no clue if I was strong enough because he’s only ridden with me while my bike was light…

Being agile and accepting this in the final hour didn’t come easily, and self-doubt added to my preexisting athletic imposter syndrome. I was feeling frustrated the night before, but slowly I accepted my fate and tried to think about how this would make me stronger and more independent.

We changed the aero bars on my bike in the morning, and it was really tricky to try to tell Colin what angles and positions I wanted because I wasn’t used to riding in aero bars. I just had to make some good guesses and hope for the best. We wouldn’t be able to adjust them later, but I figured it would only be 4 days… I can do anything for 4 days…

I did a thorough pack shakeout now that we had solid weather forecasts and I would be responsible for my weight. I’m used to packing super light from backpacking endeavors, so this wasn’t hard. I was so relieved to leave behind much of the cold weather clothing and gear, as it made my situation more minimal. I decided to bring two pairs of bib shorts (and not 3), as each one would have two nights to dry after handwashing them before having to wear them again.

Colin got his bike ready and I had to take some work calls in the afternoon/evening. We didn’t end up packing our bikes until it was dark. By this point, I was pretty anxious about my set up. We were making adjustments to my water carrying system and there was no time at all to do even a test ride to see what it felt like. I also didn’t have a front light on my bike, which I knew would be problematic. I had a headlamp with me just in case, but I couldn’t imagine our long day would end in the daylight. I tried to release the worry and just trust Colin to manage our safety and lighting situation at this point. It was too late to do anything else about it.

We ate pasta, checked the weather again, and did a thorough turn-by-turn review of tomorrow’s route. I looked at the map while Colin explained each turn and I visualized and memorized the route. Tomorrow is our “easy day.” 90 miles to Comfort, Tx.

Background: Why this trip? Who is my “sidekick?”

Colin is my friend from high school and spent many years as a professional cyclist. He has done this bike packing trip out to Marfa twice before and invited me pretty last minute (for a non-cyclist) to join him on the adventure. I hemmed and hawed, but my training rides were encouraging and I was loving the excuse to reconnect with my bicycle more intentionally (it had been since 2018 since I've thrown down these kinds of training miles in the saddle).

This was the first time I can remember where someone has invited me to do something that has really pushed me beyond my comfort zone. Typically, I am the one pushing myself. It was an interesting thought exercise to trust my friend’s judgement that I could, indeed, do something like this. The added layer of trusting someone else with my life (as cycling can be very dangerous at the high speeds we would be going) as well as to lead the trip was enticing. My modus operandi is to be the one in control. There was some element of releasing this control and trying something new that excited me as I was experimenting with a new edge in vulnerability. I reflected and realized how much faith Colin had in me to invite me, as my success also determined his success and enjoyment. He wouldn’t invite me to do something I couldn’t do. And I knew I could cover the distance… no matter what… but I didn’t know if I could go at his pace and keep up (which was critical!). If I fell off his wheel (fell behind), I would be working twice as hard by fighting the wind, so I HAD to commit to myself to not get dropped and be very communicative about my needs.

I rode my bike as much as possible for 4 weeks. Saddle sores slowed me down early on, but I joined different group rides on different days and just tried to spend many hours every day on my bike. Colin and I did two medium-length rides together to practice drafting and test out our dynamic.

Day 1: 90 miles. Lockhart to Comfort

Whoa. This was not just a regular 90 mile ride. It was SO much harder! Every pedal stroke was significantly more challenging due to being loaded down with weight (it wasn’t that heavy, but I felt it. My bike was much heavier than I’ve ever experienced). I felt like I was lifting weights with every push and pull. This was going to get some getting used to…

About 18 miles in, Colin and I exchanged some words pertaining to mansplaining. We came to an understanding and totally moved on, but I think we were both a little concerned that this might be a very long trip… luckily, the rest of the day our dynamic was peaceful, collaborative, and fun.

We stopped at a coffee shop in San Marcos as a fun but very early pit stop. The next break spot was at Devil’s Backbone, about 35 miles into the ride. Colin was eating a LOT and said this was our lunch break. It felt so early to be eating lunch, but he reiterated that food in the body early was needed. I snacked a little, but mostly I was concerned about my emerging saddle sores. Why so early? I had already been over this hump in early “training,” so why now? And at 35 miles only? I figured out later that I was positioning myself differently in the saddle with the weight and spending more time in aero bars, which affected how I was riding. Unfortunately, there were tourists at the Devil’s Backbone overlook, which made my whole first aid situation a bit tricky to do in total privacy… but I needed to address it then and there and not wait.

We had done a thorough route debrief the night before and I felt familiar with the upcoming turns and roads. The weather was pretty ideal and the Saturday morning traffic not too bad.

We rode on a beautiful road — little Blanco Road(?) Old Blanco Road(?), and I savored every bit of it. Colin forgot that we didn’t go to Blanco, so he ran out of water before Sisterdale (mile 75 ish). We were so happy when we rolled into the fire station at Sisterdale to refill with water, eat snacks on a picnic table in the shade, and I even washed the salt off my face which made me feel so refreshed.

We pushed on to Comfort and rolled in at about 3:00 pm. We checked into a nice hotel, showered, and ordered 2 pizzas and a salad for dinner. We had a lot leftover and I wasn’t impressed with my vegan cheese-less pie, so I resisted packing any to bring with us for the next day. Colin encouraged me to take it anyway because he thought I would be VERY happy with it the next day. I wasn’t yet convinced…

I spent quite a bit of time with the hair dryer trying to dry out our kits. I brought two pairs of bibs, so I just needed to make progress on drying out the chamois so it would be dry enough for day 3. I also wanted my sports bra and jersey to be dry for the morning. I’m not sure how females who bike pack and camp keep the bacteria in the chamois at bay to manage saddle sores. Cleanliness in the saddle region was my number one priority (along with not crashing into Colin and not losing Colin’s wheel). Staying in a hotel made washing/drying the chamois much easier.

Overall, I felt I ate and hydrated well today. We had absolutely beautiful weather — bluebird day, sun, tailwind and crosswind and only a few moments of headwind. Beautiful hill country roads. Left wrist and right shoulder hurt, but I figured they were niggles that would disappear the next day. I really tried to think of “light hands” while standing out of the saddle. My broken rib bothered me a little, but it wasn’t as bad as it had been, so hopefully it becomes a nonfactor.

I went to bed focused, as I knew the real test would be tomorrow. Our plan was ride 165 miles all the way to Del Rio. I looked for early bail out options but all lodging was sold out, so I came to terms with the longest bike ride of my life, while carrying weight, and in the middle of a multi-day effort.

Day 2: 165 miles. Comfort to Del Rio

We started at 7:30 am out of Comfort. The first 30 miles were challenging due to some head wind. I was able to draft pretty well, but I still felt it. We had overcast skies and I was dialed in for the longest day on a bike (by far) for myself. I had only ridden 100 miles twice before in a supported environment with feed zones and other riders. But my endurance brain knew that barring catastrophic issues I would make it. I also had surrendered to the fact that we would be riding at night and I relied on Colin to lead and troubleshoot the lighting and safety situation.

The hills began around Medina and got longer and steeper. My bike is not geared at all for climbing, which meant I was pushing a very hard gear (as my easiest gear) to push up the big hills. I was out of the saddle and audibly breathing. The hills were no joke. They pushed me. But it was good.

By mile 50 we rolled into a gas station store in Vanderpool where Colin and I had previously coincidentally run into each other nearly 7 years ago on separate bike rides. This time, we sat on the bench, ate leftover pizza, and I sang Patty Griffin’s song “when it don’t come easy” to him. The lyrics “stay by you, when it don’t come easy” kept repeating in my mind as I found myself needing to stay by him to get a draft “when it didn’t come easy.”

We laughed and ate our pizza and enjoyed our “Sunday brunch.” I asked him if there was really a world where he would have let me leave Comfort without that pizza?! Answer was of course “no.”

Leaving Vanderpool we had some big hills to Leakey. I felt discomfort in my stomach as I ate too much in one sitting. I need to eat smaller amounts spread out throughout the day, because I felt too full and as a result it made drinking water and electrolytes more of a challenge and I felt sluggish and full.

The hills were BIG! The one leaving Vanderpool was probably the longest climb. It wasn’t as steep as the climb just before arriving in Vanderpool, but it seemed to drag on and on. I was out of my saddle and breathing loudly the whole time, pushing my gears to the edge.

We had a few more serious rollers and a gigantic downhill leading us into Leakey where I hit 51 MPH! I felt so lucky we didn’t see a single car on the downhill, which made it feel safe, although it was still pretty scary. Colin was a little bit ahead of me so I mostly tried to follow his line.

We stopped in Leakey at a little cafe and got some coffee and an avocado/arugula sandwich to go.

After the Leakey stop, we still had 100 miles left to go for the day and it was around 1:30 pm. The hills lingered after Leakey, but they eventually tamed down some as we neared Camp Wood.

We made a quick pit stop at the gas station in Camp Wood, took a picture to send to my friends Michelle and Jessica who have a cabin and family there, and we were off. We probably could have carried less water between Leakey and Camp Wood, but if something had happened out there it would be good to have full water bottles (even though water is heavy!)

I began to have a salt bonk at mile 105. We also turned from headwind to cross/tail wind and Colin cranked up the speed to 28-30 MPH since he was no longer fighting a head wind. I was struggling to maintain that pace with no real draft benefit. We took breaks at mile 105 and again at mile 125. This 20 mile stretch was my most challenging of the day due to the salt bonk situation. I ate my sandwich at mile 125 and by then had caught up on electrolytes and I got a second wind.

The sun set not too long after and we rode in the dark for a few hours, which was interesting. Traffic picked up as we neared Del Rio and I became hyper focused on Colin’s wheel in front of me. He was excellent at calling out every minor road hazard with minor body movements and we moved as one, in sync. At this point, I felt like I was really mastering the art of the draft and could read and anticipate his moves. I trusted his steady pedaling and wheel so much. I had to. I found the night stretch meditative. I regained new energy by being able to just lock in. At one point, I blurted out to him, “Why stop at Del Rio? Let’s go all the way to Sanderson!” At this moment, my ultra endurance durability was verified for both of us and I knew I would make it on the trip.

Today was beautiful and hard and fun! Great spirits all around.

Leakey hills in the first 50 miles of the day were a slow start. The tailwind the last 30 miles was a godsend.

Upon arriving in Del Rio, we made the decision to go to a grocery store instead of try to figure out a restaurant. We didn’t know what to do with our bikes, so we walked into H-E-B, bikes in hand, and wandered around in our cleats raiding the whole store. When we were checking out we filtered our selection some as we had grabbed too many things.

We checked in to a dingy motel and my immediate order of business was to shower and wash my chamois. My chamois from day 1 was still damp, so I hung them both hoping day 1 chamois would be ready to go in the morning. Luckily, we were in dry dessert air at this point, so I felt pretty confident it would be dry for tomorrow.

I then made delicious dinner and lunches for the next day out of olives, bread, microwaveable rice, beans, salad, hummus, vegan cheese, and avocados. Yum!

We had a pretty late night, which meant we would have a later start tomorrow to have adequate recovery.