March 27, 2023: Comstock to Bracketville, TX. 74 miles and 1,754 feet of elevation

Well, they told me there would be days like this. Today was rough, not necessarily because of the early morning showers (our first of the trip), but the difficult trek out of Del Rio into Bracketville. The name of the game today was simply to survive the 74 miles, and regroup and hope and pray that the world might end overnight, negating the need to ever ride a bicycle again. (Only kidding about the world ending…though I’m told they are expecting severe thunderstorms and hail around 7:00pm, so I am typing furiously, in hopes of getting this in before we must take shelter).

Actually, the first half of the ride was fairly pleasant. Overcast skies shielded us from a lot of the blazing sun, and relatively cool but not cold temperatures aided us as we crossed the Amistad Dam with an escort. At first, I thought by “escort” they had secured the services of an escort service, and wondered how the spouses at home would feel about that. My fears were unfounded, however, when I discovered that they simply bunched us up and rode behind in a van, shielding us from crazy drivers in pickup trucks who seem to enjoy scaring the life out of me from time to time. Our first major SAG stop was a WalMart in Del Rio, followed by a lunch at Rudy’s a Texas barbecue institution. This is where the fun began.

As you may remember, there is one man on this tour from Holland by the name of Piet. (He pronounces his name like “Pete”, and who am I to correct him, since he’s had this name nearly all of his life. Well, maybe ALL of his life). He was the guy who flipped over the guardrail back in Arizona, but has fully recovered, and has maintained a very good attitude. As a quick background, Piet runs a small car repair shop in a small town in Holland. He went to work there at the age of 20, and has worked at the shop for 44 years. He now runs the place, which apparently is tremendously successful. Piet also is a very successful long distance ice skater, and holds some records in Holland for his performance in the 200 kilometer ice skating races. Yes, 200 kilometers, which translates to about 125 miles. (I asked him how long it takes to ice skate for 125 miles. His answer: “All day”). For all of his success, Piet has not traveled extensively in the US, so I’ve taken it upon myself to help guide him through some of the nuances of the good ol’ USA.

My first stop with Piet was at the Del Rio Super WalMart. I explained to Piet that our Super WalMarts might be just slightly bigger than his car shop in the Netherlands. Having never darkened the door of any Super WalMart, Piet’s jaw dropped when the automatic doors slid open to reveal the cavernous store, with bright neon lights and acres and acres of merchandise. I quickly explained to him that it is a tradition, well, maybe more of a requirement, that upon your first visit to a WalMart, that you must stand at the door and greet at least 10 other customers as they enter. (Why should Piet have all the fun in Del Rio, I figured. This could be pretty entertaining). Piet seemed a little confused and pensive at my instruction, but I proudly demonstrated, sticking out my hand to the person entering after me. All you have to say, I told Piet, was “Hi, my name is Piet. Welcome to WalMart.” So, being a good sport, Piet tried out this approach on the next customer. Since he was already wearing a reflective jersey with his name etched on the corner, he looked almost official, despite the fact that his jersey was actually a cycling jersey, in neon yellow. His first “customer” he welcomed seemed a little surprised, but seemed to accept that Piet was just another greeter, and went with the flow. I stood back and watched for a while, until Piet appeared to get the hang of things, and then left him at the door to join the others in our group, who were intent on buying every last bit of sunscreen the WalMart carried. I lost a little track of time, and after about 15 minutes, wandered back to the door to check on Piet. He was a still there, but didn’t notice me, as he appeared to be helping direct a lady to housewares. I left for the bike center to see if there was anything else I needed, and came back to find him after another 15 minutes. He was so engrossed in helping another lady with a return, I really hated to pull him I away from his adopted job, but finally felt he had had enough OJT (on the job training) for one day. He seemed to really enjoy his time as greeter, and I am convinced that he will be up for employee of the month, (once his standard 2 week probationary period is up).

After his first day of work at WalMart, I walked Piet over to Rudy’s, a Texas barbecue institution. He was amazed at the selections, and I demonstrated by ordering a baked potato with chopped brisket. Piet’s eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the finished product, which was about the size of an NBA basketball, heaped with butter, sour cream, and about 4 pounds of chopped brisket. I paid the $8.50 for this super potato, and ushered Piet over to the table to join the rest of the group. After taking a few bites, I passed the colossal mound of found to my left, where the next person, and then the next each took a few bites. At the end of the lunch, I am proud to say that this super-stuffed potato fed all 24 of us. Not bad, for only an $8.50 investment. It was worth every penny.

Del Rio, which I believe literally translates to “the town before the road becomes tremendously bad and the wind hits you in the face” was quite an experience. One of the biggest towns we have cycled through, (population 35,000), Del Rio is located about 150 miles west of San Antonio. During September 2021, as a part of the ongoing Mexico-US border crisis, approximately 30,000 Haitian migrants illegally entered the United States at Del Rio. The border patrol moved many of these people into a camp underneath the Del Rio Ciudad Acura International bridge, a bridge we cycled over on our way to Bracketville. The area is dotted with numerous small springs, which provides a constant flow of water to San Felipe Creek. The creek supplied fresh water for drinking and irrigation to early settles of Del Rio, and the springs are still the towns water supply. It seems like a really nice town, and I would urge you, if you get into the area, to pay a visit, at least to Rudy’s Barbecue and the SuperWalmart. And if you go to the Walmart, keep an eye out for Piet, who might still be there.

Tonight, we are staying at Fort Clark Springs RV park, in tents. Fort Clark was a US Military Fort in operation for nearly 100 years, but once abandoned, was turned into a camping and RV area. The camp is truly very pretty, with huge oak and pecan trees surrounding the grounds. Fort Clark is probably one of the greenest places we have seen thus far on our trip.

The motto for tomorrow is “no rest for the wicked”. We have another 74 miles to cycle tomorrow, with Concan being our destination. I am told that “Concan” should not be confused with “Cancun”, so am trying to lower my expectations. I’m sure I’ll have plenty to write about tomorrow.

Sanderson, Texas is known for it’s dinosaurs!