Day 16

Day 16: October 14, 2021 (Esperanza TX to Van Horn TX)

We were going to get an early start today; about 30 minutes before sunrise.  We got the bikes loaded up on the RV and everything else ready to go.  I started off on my gravel road bike and it wasn’t shifting correctly.  At the end of day 15, I leaned the bike against a pole and a gust of wind blew it over.  Didn’t think anything of it.   

That bump on the ground changed the derailer alignment enough so it didn’t shift right.  The bike has electric shifting, and I watched a video on adjusting electronic shift bikes before I left on this journey and it seemed pretty easy to adjust.  It wasn’t for me.  

First of all, it was a different type of electronic shifting; so, the video was useless.  I spent 20 minutes playing around with it and only got it more out of alignment.  I was quite frustrated.  I decided to the use the road bike.  

A good bit of today’s ride was a frontage road that paralleled I-10.  It wasn’t a pleasant ride.  A lot of noise from I-10 and the frontage road was bumpy.  The gravel bike handles the bumps well; the road bike transferred the bumps to my body well.  My hands went numb a few times from the vibrations.

We got to our stopping point.  I pulled up next to the RV.  I unclipped my right foot and put it down.  I thought I had my left foot unclipped, but I didn’t and down I went.  Fortunately, the rocky hard ground broke my fall.  This is the second time I’ve fallen at the end of the ride.  My knee was just heeling from the first time; now it’s a big strawberry again.

We drove to the RV park in Van Horn.  It’s a nice park.  Bruce and Darin decided they did not want to stay the night in the RV, so they got a hotel room in Van Horn.  I’m only 5 minutes away.  We ate lunch near the hotel and after lunch, I went back to the RV.  I finally found a video for the exact type of electronic shift I have on my bike and was able to fix it.  It took about an hour and a half.  

I’m taking a cab between the RV park and the hotel.  I’m digging staying in the RV.  The bed is more comfortable than most of the hotel or motel beds I’ve slept in.