March 25, 2023: Marathon to Sanderson, TX. 56 miles

Today’s ride was a quick and easy one, thanks to a very prolonged descent from Marathon to Sanderson. We left at 8:00am, and by 12:15, entered the town of 650 people. The downhill was a big help, and worked in conjunction with a fairly cooperative tailwind to make the pedaling relatively easy. While we are on the subject of wind, I must make a note of the wind storm we experienced yesterday. For those of you “playing along at home”, you might remember that yesterday was a “layover day”, which left most of us wandering around the RV campsite in Marathon, trying to find something to do, even if it meant trouble. Trouble came to us, however, in the form of 40 mile per hour winds, gusting to 60+ miles an hour. I am not exaggerating (I would never do THAT, right?), but the winds started at 11:00am, and did not subside until around 10:00pm. The poor tent poles were stretched to their maximum, and miraculously held up, though several times, while lying on my inflatable mattress, the tent bowed all the way to the floor of the tent, covering me like an extra blanket. By the end of the day, we were so exhausted from trying to endure the wind that most of us collapsed in our tents, at least those of us whose tents had not collapsed themselves.

The town of Sanderson is known for many things. The first, most obvious thing, are the huge dinosaur replicas adorning the Main Street coming into town. Standing about 20 feet tall, I saw 3 or 4 as I pedaled into the center of town, and also noted huge metal statues of Don Quixote, camels, rhinos, and alligators, which is what you might expect to see in this remote little town in the middle of the desert, right? For you movie buffs, it is important to note that Sanderson is the location of the trailer park where Llewelyn Moss lives in the 2005 novel and 2007 film No Country for Old Men. How could anyone forget THAT, right? 🙂

We were instructed to meet at the Ranch House Cafe on the opposite end of town. The Ranch House is known for it’s abrupt handling of patrons, and it’s gun-toting waitresses, and this visit did not disappoint. I shyly asked the waitress if she would mind, very kindly, to bring me a hamburger, providing it was not too much trouble. Then, after ordering, I decided to add cheese to the burger, and asked politely if she could accommodate that. She frowned, rolled her eyes, and instructed me that that sandwich was, in fact, known as a “cheeseburger”, not a hamburger. Well, when you are right, you are right. About that time, I saw her slowly reach for her waist, and was sure she was about to pull her 57 magnum out and shoot me, but in fact, she was only reaching for her order pad, so she could make the change, and then, scribble something like “imbecile” on the pad, with an arrow pointing toward me. I only felt lucky to get away with a mild reprimand, and promised her I would no longer speak for the rest of the time I sat on the picnic table.

From there, we rode our bikes back to the Sanderson High School, were we are residing for the evening. We were told that dinner would be early tonight (4:30pm), since the kids agreed to serve us before they realized that tonight was the night of their high school senior prom. I’m pretty sure this is going to be a relatively fast meal, but secretly am hoping that I might be invited to attend the prom festivities, if only as a chaperone. In fact, I would even be willing to wander down to the hardware store to see if they carried clip on bow ties, so I could better blend in. We also were told that the kids agreed to serve us breakfast tomorrow morning, however my best guess is that most of them will be so hung over from the big dance that tomorrow’s breakfast might be the most memorable one of the trip.

Before I proceed, I must discuss something that is obviously of utmost importance to the townspeople of Sanderson. The topic I am referring to is WATER PRESSURE. Apparently, the administration in this desert town is extremely serious about providing the highest water pressure possible. After enduring several weeks of cold, very weak showers, the showers in the high school locker room created quite a stir. As I turned on the showers, I became a little concerned that, should there be a fire in the town, the burning structure might suffer from lack of pressure from the fire hoses, since it appears that all the pressure in the town is directed to the school. Despite all of our efforts, we were unable to reduce the pressure. I began to think that this was a new way of exfoliating, since layers and layers of first dirt, and then layers of skin began to quickly slide off of our bodies and down the drain. Sort of a shower and loofa all at once. After enduring a 5 minute shower, I rushed to the mirror, in hopes that the pressure washing I just received would make me look like an 8 year old boy again. Alas, no so such luck, but I thought the idea was sound, at least in principle. Perhaps if I had stayed in the shower a little longer, it might have worked, but then again, I could have sustained a concussion. It’s no wonder the Sanderson High School nickname are the “Sandblasters”.

I must close now, as the high school prom-goers want us to report pronto, since they are paying by the hour for their limousines. I promise to post more after dinner, and perhaps a few pictures.

Dinner was a huge success! All of the seniors, (all 7 of them), were in attendance, and shoveled chicken and beef fajita meat as fast as they could at us, so they could leave to don their tuxedos and prom dresses. There was a enough food to food twice as many as were in attendance, and they have begged us to take the food with us when we go. I’m just wondering how I am going to strap this fajita dinner on my bike tomorrow morning.

Speaking of tomorrow, the ride promises to be a very challenging one. We have over 81 miles to ride, from Sanderson to Comstock, through a route described as one where there is “absolutely no way to spend any money”. The biggest landmark apparently is a town called Langtry, which is the home of Judge Roy Bean, a former saloon keeper and Justice of the Peace. Roy described himself as “The Only Law West of the Pecos, which in many ways does not provide me with a lot of comfort, particularly after observing the territory Judge Roy was in charge of. I’m sure we will find ways to make the ride an enjoyable one. Sleep well, knowing that your favorite cyclist is safely nestled safely beneath the visitor’s basket in the Sanderson gym, (home of the Sandblasters).