A grey, and cold Spring day here in NYC, and a week of rain in the forecast. A good time to pull out the road maps, and dream about future bicycle trips.
Seven years since my last, long bicycle journey. I had hoped to go on more over the past years, but work, and life had other ideas. Time now to take corrective action, and gear up to getting back on my bicycle.
Whilst on the subject of my bicycle let me update you on some changes that I have made since my last cross country adventure. before moving to New York City had made the switch to tubeless tires. So far they have lived up to my expectations, but as anyone who has toured the SouthWest, the true test will be in goat thorn country. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of encountering these little devils, especially when out for a nice bicycle ride, they are horrible little things.
An invasive species, the Tribulus terresttris is well established across the globe, growing in dry climates where few other plants can survive. Like many plants it goes by various names. Cat’s head, devil’s eyelashes, and my favorite, Puncture vine. The plant itself is not the problem, but rather the fruit, which when dry fall apart into burs that have very sharp woody thorns. I remember one particular day, somewhere just a few hours West of Van Horn, TX, where I managed to get a total of ten flats over a few hours. My tubes looked more like rubber quilts by the time I made camp for the night. I went to sleep that night under the stars, exhausted both physically, and emotionally. Were the next few weeks going to be a nightmare of flats? I would need to buy new tubes, and stock up on patches. I closed my eyes, and listened to the sounds of the night. Owls, dogs barking in the distance, the mournful whistle of a freight train, and the low hissing noise of air escaping from my mattress.
Webster’s Wet Plate 