That said, getting to San Antonio was quite the adventure…
I left Carlsbad, NM early in hopes of getting to San Antonio early enough to get registered for the convention and wander around a bit. Then someone else had other plans for me…
Evidently I was meant to set a new personal best for miles ridden in a day, and 551 miles later I arrived in San Antonio. The amazing part is that it didn't even feel like it until I stopped.
So here's what happened:
I made the run from Carlsbad to Pecos, TX without any problems, the day was looking wonderful, although a little rainy, and once I hit Texas traffic was nonexistent. When I stopped in Pecos for a quick rest I encountered a drunk Indian intent on telling me a story of some kind. I can't, for the life of me, tell you what the story was about. Between his drunkenness, lack of teeth, and Texas accent communication was a lost cause. I mostly just stood there and nodded, occasionally throwing in a little chuckle once in a while to make it seem like I was following him word for word. Then his ride showed up and he was getting in and I understood him perfectly, this was the important part for him, he said to the driver, "I need a beer." The words came out clear as day, and I was immediately grateful that I did not have to be searching for a drink at 10am just to feel ok with the world.
I got back on the road and headed for Fort Stockton where I stopped again for some food. When I was getting ready to leave I encountered Oswaldo, a fellow motorcyclist headed East. I asked him where he was headed, and he said San Antonio. We had a brief talk about it being nice to run into each other, and he introduced me to Raphael, also headed the same place.
Oswaldo, as it turns out, was coming from Juarez and Raphael from Tucson. They spoke to each other in Spanish and I tried to hop in when I could in English. We all said that we hoped to see each other over the weekend and off I went. This all seemed fairly innocuous, but a nice exchange given our family bond.
A little way down the road I stopped at a rest area to get my raingear on because the sky ahead was looking ominous. I got caught up talking to a trucker about bikes and meanwhile watched Oswaldo ride by on his bike and Raphael pulled in for a break. We said hello and then went on East.
This is where things started to change. I was on track to get to town about 6:30 despite the long ride. I was excited and had been keeping my talks with people short to get back on the road. About 20 miles past the rest area I was about to pass Oswaldo and he waved me over to the side. He pulled up next to me and pointed at his gas tank - he was out of gas. I had just enough to get me to Ozona so couldn't help.
Because I had seen Raphael at the rest area we waited for him. We talked a bit about the program while we waited. Raphael showed up and he had just enough gas to get him to the next stop too. We all looked at each other, puzzled, and then they started talking in Spanish and looking at the back of Raphael's truck. They wanted to load the bike into the truck. (Keep in mind here that the truck is a 1980's Toyota, and the bike is a big stretched cruiser.) I looked at the bike, and then the back of the truck and my senses told me that there was no earthly way for it to fit, so I offered to make the run to Ozona to get gas and come back. Raphael said, "You'd do that?"
I said, "Well, we all need to get to San Antonio, right?"
They both shrugged, and I rode off to the east leaving them there in the rain.
It turns out that Ozona was 28 miles down the road, so I made a hot pit stop to fill my tank and the empty water jug from Raphael's truck, and headed back to the west. This is the point where I started to be amazed by the way things work. Under most circumstances I would have been a little irritated by the delay, but instead all I could think about was the two of them out there waiting in the rain. As I approached them I didn't slow down. I had to go up the road an extra 8 miles to turn around. When I finally pulled up Oswaldo said to me, in his broken English, "I thought you weren't coming back." I explained the delay, and we all had a little laugh about it.
I parked the bike and Raphael filled me in on the conversation they had been having about simplicity and service. They had covered a lot of the topics that I had covered in my head. Amazing! I was delighted to know that they had been able to have a little meeting while I was gone. From there we planned to ride together and stop in Ozona for gas and food. (Oswaldo thought he owed me a cheeseburger. He didn't. And still doesn't.) But somewhere in the wet mess of cars and exits I lost them coming into Ozona.
I got gas again, tried to find them in the small town, ate some food, and got back on the road.
Meanwhile, I found out at the next rest area, they had looked for me and decided to eat at a restaurant four doors down from where I was! (Oswaldo had also run out of gas agin coming into town...) We had just missed each other. We talked a bit, and I got a phone number for Raphael so we could meet up later, and off we all went.
Then I made one last food stop and they rolled in shortly after me. We said hello again and they left. I finished my food, talked with a group of women from California who were also headed to San Antonio, then geared up and made the final run into town. The moment I came over the hill and saw lights of the city, I got excited. This was going to be great!
I didn't make it to a meeting today because I was spent by the time I got into town, but I was on the path with a bunch of other folks in the fellowship today, and I think that counts. (And no, Brian, I am not going to start the 60 over. Mandy would hurt me. Severely.)
To top it all off, I had a place to stay with Betsy and Whitey again, and got to have a terrific talk with them on the porch before going to bed. (Thanks again, guys. It means a lot!)
Today was an incredible day! I was surprised with myself the whole day, that I didn't once get irritated with how long it took to get here. I was just really grateful that I had the chance to do today just the way it happened.
P.S. I didn't take a single photo today except this one when I got to the hotel.
I never go to touch the cat. He just stood there staring at me and then ran the second I moved.
