April 16, Day 26, riding day 23, Seminole St Park to {Brackettville}, TX, 74.5 miles, 1,396.5 cuml miles

[Brackettville], TX. Actually a nice little town, and we are staying in an old fort area. We had a nice rolling ride this morning through rainstorm patches, getting through Del Rio, our first city since El Paso. We have been roughly following the Rio Grande River since New Mexico, where we crossed it something like seven or nine times, starting on the west, and ending on the east, or north, or US side in El Paso, at 4,000 ft. At Del Rio, we were at about 1,100 feet where the Rio Grande was dammed and has a nice Bass Fishing Lake, Lake Armistad. Last night was the first night under 2,000 ft elevation since Phoenix.

There are still border patrol vehicles everywhere as we are still very close to Mexico. The US government must have purchased multiple thousands of Chevy Tahoes, Pickups, Ford patrol cars, etc. as they are everywhere. We went through another road stop check station. I play Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” on my ipod with speakers each time we have to go through one of them just to tweak the patrols. I have gotten a mixture of laughs and stern looks, but no issues.

I pushed it today and got in about 1:40, after having left at 7:55. My friend Mary Kay Burdick, who is fighting breast cancer as hard as she can, pushed me on, and I felt no pain and my thoughts are with her and Don.

Unfortuntely I pushed right into a thunder storm, and got wetter than I’ve ever gotten. When the lightning and thunder was about 2 seconds apart I surrendered and went under a tree for about 15 minutes until the distance was greater. Of course this is not advised but where else would you go? There were floods in all the shoulders, so I did not want to lie low there. Anyway, I survived. Others arrived all afternoon, with the last batch at about 5:30. They were slower, but they did not get wet.

Tomorrow's ride will have a change since there is a bridge out on Rt 334 so we have to take a detour using Rt 90, which will add at least 15 miles, maybe will change the route more.