Cross-Country Ramble 26: We Declare Victory

Sent: 96-06-09 21:20:28 EDT

We had the best weather of our trip yesterday as we pedaled east from Galveston along the Gulf coast. A storm and weather front had come through the day before, taking both the temperature and humidity down from their accustomed 90's and the day was bright, clear and breezy.

We started our day with a 20-minute ferry ride to the Bolivar Peninsula, where we found that our route was a flat coastal road lined with places to stop and snack every 5 or 10 miles. During our previous two months' journey in sparser parts, we'd learned to go inside and pig out every chance we got. Now, we had to resist the urge to go into every cafe we saw. But we didn't resist much--we indulged ourselves at several with a variety of fresh-baked pastries.

Many parts of the route were lined with summer beach homes up on stilts. As we rode side-by-side on the broad shoulder, we discussed which ones we wanted. By lunch time, we'd finished our short 27-mile trip for the day. We rolled into High Island's restaurant and had catfish baskets, featuring hunks of fish coated on the outside with crispy cornmeal but tender and juicy inside. Just up the road, we checked into the Birder's Haven B&B. This area is on a migratory flyway and is apparently a birders' paradise. However, the migratory season is over and we have the whole place to ourselves.

This was one of the best days of our trip, except for two little things: my knees. After first experiencing knee problems near Del Rio, I asked for and got lots of good advice from bicycling colleagues on the Internet. I had hoped that resting my knees for a week, getting to flat ground, using my new low gears, moving my seat back, keeping my cadence up and never pushing hard would solve the problem, but it didn't. Only a few miles into the day, the pain under the kneecaps was back again and after only 27 miles, even with several rest stops, it was worse than ever.

Last evening, we briefly noted a common thread that ran through the advice we'd gotten: Continuing to bike on hurting knees risks permanent damage; stop if it hurts. We went to bed still planning to bike eastward along the Gulf in the morning.

This morning we confronted the reality of our situation and decided to declare victory here and now, 1763 miles and 59 touring days from Ventura.

We rode down to the Gulf, dipped our tires into the water, sprinkled and blessed one another (without benefit of clergy or aspergillum) and thankfully recalled the support we've gotten from so many of you on our journey.

We've arranged to take the train back to Ventura and should arrive there Wednesday. This tour is over; reflections will follow.

Ken

Itinerary

• Day 55-57: Galveston, TX
• Day 58-59: High Island, TX

Ramble 27: Reflections.