Day 2- June 23

Day Two: June 23. 29,095 on the odometer

It is hot today. The temp gets into the high 90’s. It doesn’t take long for it to get there either. Fortunately it was cool enough at night in the tent that we were able to grab some sleep. Ceci is suffering a bit in the heat, her face stays red. Tomorrow I think we will stop using the riding pants. The risk of her suffering heat stroke is beginning to outweigh the risk of road rash.

At the first fill-up today it starts to look like I’m getting really good mileage. It is just an illusion though, as I have to switch to reserve at only 140 miles on that tankful. By the end of the day, average consumption for both of us is still around 49 m.p.g. With gas around $4 a gallon, every last mile per drop counts.

Ceci’s Vulcan seems to be getting better. No more reeking of gas every time we stop, and it is idling a little better. Just as I think maybe I should cut Bubba a bit of slack, I notice my master cylinder is leaking brake fluid. Wonderful. Damn you Bubba! Fortunately, the leak is out the cap. I’m hoping that expansion from the heat is causing it and that it also will eventually fix itself. The brakes still seem to be working just fine.

We spend most of the day on I-10. The speed limit is a whopping 80 m.p.h. Not good for the mileage at all. We stop briefly in Ozona, home of the Davy Crocket monument. Odd, since he never made it this far west. This is also the furthest west Ceci has been in Texas. She is getting her first taste of desert.

I hate Texas. The roads today are hotter, straighter, and flatter than yesterday’s. We exit the interstate for a brief jaunt on 190 to visit Fort Lancaster State Park. At first it didn’t seem worth it, but there was one somewhat scenic spot with a curve as we came down a hill. There’s not much left of the fort, but the visitor center is air conditioned and has a water fountain.

We head back to I-10 and Balmorhea. I start to notice lots of police cars. Mostly state highway patrol cars, but some locals as well. There are more of them than anything else on the road. At one point I count 15 in a one hundred mile stretch. Considering the almost complete lack of population and the insanely high speed limit, I fail to see the point of this. Our tax dollars at work.

It’s not that we have much to fear from the law out here, we’re not speeding at all. Ceci has never been anything more than a passenger at ton up speeds, and it’s been quite some time since I’ve gone there. It’s not like the bikes can’t do it. On the Bike Week trip in 1998 I was going 115 in Florida on the Bandit when Brent blew past me on his Daytona. Ten years later it doesn’t seem so prudent. The bike isn’t the same. I’m not the same. Did I mention $4 a gallon gas? Still ,we are going fast enough for the itinerary I spent weeks working on to blow out of the map pocket of my tank bag. Oops.

It is still quite hot when we get to Balmorhea State Park. There isn’t a shade tree anywhere near the camping area. The wind is building, as are some ominous looking rain clouds. Balmorhea has one of the best pools I have ever seen. It is naturally fed by a cold spring, and its overflow is used to irrigate area farms. An oasis in the desert. The water is crystal clear and ice cold. Too cold for Ceci’s taste, she doesn’t even want to dip her toes. That despite the high temperatures of our grueling ride.

We eat dinner at a local restaurant, and enjoy a colorful sunset. We set up the tent using the picnic table as a wind break. It’s looking like we’ll have thunderstorms tonight. I hope the tent survives it.

We covered 270 miles today, but the heat made it seem like more.