sn't great (when the only two words a mother says to her daughter all trip is 'Shud Up", in that accent, makes you sad. Even sadder when, if only the mother had kept her own mouth shut she wouldn't have eaten enough to become the size of a house. Literally - she was HUGE. A lasting memory was of two men, their poor hands straining under her fat-laden butt cheeks, trying to push her up a moderate step back into the carriage).Yet the views from the train were worth it, particularly near Alpine, TX, the gateway to Big Bend National Park and the Davis Mountains. And, what's more, we weren't having to peddle to enjoy it.
We arrived in Austin, the capital of Texas, the next morning at 9.30am (the train actually splits in San Antonio, with our train, the Texas Eagle, heading up to Chicago and the remainder heading onto New Orleans. Our carriages sit at San Antonio station from 9.30pm through to 7am the next day when it leaves. They allow you to stay on board and sleep in your seats).
Austin was a stark contrast to many American cities. Bike friendly, laden with trees, and a Downtown that engaged its populace and had attracted many even on weekends. The houses, for the most part, were simple one-storey homes clad with timber or Hardie-type cladding products. An abundance of trees added so much to their character; maybe its the drooping branches heavy with leaves that helps gives the place that relaxed, almost lazy feel. Youth pervades most aspects of this cit
y as well, the result of the local university - the University of Texas - the home of the Texas Longhorns football team. Unfortunately (for me) they weren't playing at home this weekend although just seeing the stadium, a monolith on the university campus, showed just how much the team meant to the city.Austin is also the home of Lance Armstrong, and he has a bike store located Downtown which we visited. No, not to score some artificial 'enhancements' for our own bike trip but to simply see some of his Tour de France yellow jerseys and bikes. We're both big fans of Lance, so we enjoyed the visit immensely. Contrast this to our visit to the Austin capital (parliament), and the portrait of George Bush, former Governor of Texas. Austin may be a liberal oasis but it remains surrounded by Republican Texas.
We spent five days in Austin before commencing our ride southwest to San Antonio, where we were due to catch a train to New Orleans. After consulting with a local bike expert we took the most direct route south, via San Marcos (where we spent the night) and New Braunfels. I have to admit it wasn't an enjoyable ride, as we basically followed Interstate Highway 35 on various frontage roads. The initial part of the two-day trip, through the Austin suburbs, was probably the nicest part. After that the roads rarely had shoulders, were almost always busy, and had countless numbers of trucks due to the prevalence of crushed limestone (used in concrete) quarries along the way. Our entry into San Antonio was the worst part, with us riding the final 20 miles along sidewalks as the traffic was that intense. We may have been tempted to stay on road if we didn't have large panniers on our bikes - at least cars can squeeze past you when you don't have big fat bags making you that much wider.
Despite a solid 54 mile day from San Marcos to San Antonio, we had more riding to do later that night. We just didn't realize it until around 9.30pm when Alia noticed a rather large bed bug making its way for her. This thing was huge. We think it had just brushed its teeth, put on its PJs and was making its way to bed. Further investigation revealed at least another six bed bugs, and a series of bites along my legs and arms (Alia escaped the bites for some reason). Long story short, we obtained an immediate refund from the owners and headed to a nearby motel we knew was better; upon entry to our new room we were careful to keep all of our bags away from the bed. The next day was spent washing everything we had, including our sleeping bags - so much for bed bugs being limited to the north east of the country (for those who aren't aware there had been a major outbreak of bedbugs in, amongst other places, New York City).
San Antonio, once you make your way through the outer suburbs, is a great city. It's famous for its river walk, a beautifully landscaped and pub/cafe heavy walkway along the San Antonio river through the heart of the Downtown, and the Alamo (pictur
ed below with yours truly in front), where the Mexicans defeated a small heroic band of 'Texans' fighting for independence in 1836 (Texas, or as it was known Tejas, was then a part of Mexico). It was to be the last Mexican victory, and not long after Texas became an independent country, the Lone Star state. It wasn't until 1845 that Texas, burdened by the heavy cost associated with running and developing a country, joined the U.S.Running south of San Antonio is a series of Spanish missions, set up in part to help repel an attempt by the French to grab some of the US for itself. The missions, run by Franciscan monks, also had their religious aims of course, primarily in turning the local Native American population towards God. Self contained, we visited four of five of the missions, riding along the San Antonio river for the most part along a designated 'path' (the path will actually be next to the river from 2011 onwards when they finish construction of a bike
way) for 10 miles or so. It was a pleasurable afternoon, topped off by an unplanned visit to a local bike store that was still (surprisingly) open at 6.30pm on a Saturday evening. My rear wheel had a very slight wobble and fearing some bent spokes, I simply put my head in to ask whether someone could look at it for me. Within five minutes not only had a mechanic fixed the wobble without charge but he had given us two free water bottles to take with us. The bike store's name - S. A. Cycles Bicycle Shop at 1804 St. Mary's. Give them a shout if you're ever in town!My next blog will focus on the New Orleans, Louisiana to Gulf Shores, Alabama leg of our trip. Stay tuned!
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