In Rivera, I found a dead end road--it lead to a house--but I slept along the side of the road under a tree leading up to the house. Good places to sleep have little traffic, are quiet, and have little light. They are also on public property, usually, as was the case here in Rivera.

This little town of Sarita reminded me of my sister Sarah--in Spanish, as you probably know, the diminutive form of a word is formed by adding ito or ita--Sara becomes Sarita, meaning "little Sarah". So this pic is for you, sis! A town with your namesake! Thinking of you:) Hope wedding preparations are going well!

I had to take a picture of these pines to get that deep green beauty they possess. Pines/evergreens live at pretty much any latitude I am learning--They live in the tundra of Canada, the live in my backyard in Maryland, they are abundant in North Carolina, they are here in the tropics of Texas, and will be present throughout my journey, I posit (I like that word today).

A typical strech of road recently--a wide shoulder on a highway stretching for tens of miles. Plenty of time to think about things, people, things to do, etc. Farmland, and ranchland mostly on either side. I saw lots of cars towing cars, with the rear car painted with "IN TOW" on the rear window. I posit that they are people being hired to transport cars, perhaps to Mexico. Perhaps they are used cars, perhaps which have a big market in Mexico. I also saw lots of campers with car in tow, but that I think is a typical thing for Mexico vacationers to do--bring a car for jaunts out from their camper. But I just thought, "can you burn ANY more fuel? They must be getting 0.5 miles/gallon! Then I thought, well, I use zero gallons/mile, so I get infinity miles per gallon! I want to make a sticker with something like that on it!

A typical tree here--scraggly, low to the ground. Starting to remind me of the type of trees I saw in Brazil and Bolivia when I was there in 99 and 98 respectively, doing community service with Amigos de las Americas. Part of the idea of this trip is to get a sense of the gradual transition of culture and ecology as I head from my home to my destination.

Yeah, this is where we are, in the Texas tropics. Sometimes people plant palm trees in semi-tropical areas--like in South Carolina--where they wouldn't grow naturally, but because they want to FEEL or THINK that they are in a tropical location. Often these trees will wilt and brown in the winter. But here in southern-most, Gulf-Coast, "the Valley" Texas, in December, palm trees show they belong here.

A lunch stop at the side of the road going from Rivera to Raymondville. Trees for shade, and a small pond between the highway and the train tracks. I posited there may be alligators there, but seeing none, I reasoned that no food source could consistently safely reach this water source (like deer, I suppose) because of the highway and train tracks. Therefore, alligators could not live there. (Plus, it was probably too small and shallow, but the fact that I wondered if alligators were there shows that they were on my mind:))

A raptor sits at the top of this tree--one of dozens of raptors of varying species I have seen recently. Sometimes the raptor sets aflight as I approach and flies almost right above me at about the same speed allowing me a great view of its wings and gracefulness.

The future of 69. So this area wants the notoriety associated with "Highway 69?" Perhaps it is because this area has one of the more sultry climates in the United States--more humid and tropical. Perhaps it is because of the dirtiness and ambivalence they feel dealing with the border issue with Mexico. Perhaps it is the sultriness of the Latin influence. Well, if 69 gets built, hopefully it will be welcoming and accomodating of cycing tourists--or transcontinental cycing commuters.

Entering Willacy County, I was greeted by two rows of palm trees advertising the region's tropical location. They reminded me of the Palm Trees lining down the median strip on Canal Street in New Orleans.

Entering Raymondville after 57 miles on 77 from Rivera without much in the way of civilization or amenities. Finally a place to rest. I stopped at one little convenience store that adverised that it made tacos, but it turned out they weren't making food at that time of day, and they were too poor to offer me anything for my journey. They suggested I try other restaurants ahead. I wished them luck with their business.

A bridge in Raymondville, TX, where I am now. This is where Route 77 and 77 Business Split. The bridge has icons of Texas on either side--the shape of Texas, and the "Lone Star" representing Texas when it was its own country.

Me and this dude Jose who I met in Raymondville. He spoke just Spanish, I think, cuz we only spoke in Spanish. He had seen three girl-biker-tourists the week before pass through, have some coffee, and he gave them six oranges. I showed him a photo of a girl--one of the Canadians--Sasha--who I know passed through recently. Jose said he believed one of the girls was indeed Sasha. He said one of the girls spoke good Spanish and the other two did not. He also said the one girl who spoke Spanish just met the other two girls. All of these facts could describe Sasha, so perhaps it was her. Jose then gave me some fresh fruit he was selling. Thanks, Jose!

Joe of the San Antonio Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House, myself, and some of the residents of the house, including Osita who is riding on my tent on the back of my bike! I took here up and down the street, and pretended like we were going to Mexico and Brazil. I think she really wanted to go with me on the trip! A cutie, but we had to part--I am sure her mommy would have sent someone after us if we actually took off!

I helped the Dorothy Day House prepare and serve a lunch to the local homeless.

Recognizing those establishments that helped me recently

El Tapatio in Kingsville, Texas, served wonderful food, and the staff there are friendly, cheery and engaging. Walls are painted with scenes of Mexico. A must-stop if in the Kingsville area.

These are the waitstaff at El Charro in Alice, Texas. The service and food were outstanding. A superb Mexican restaurant with several party rooms, and elegant painting of Mexican scenes on the walls. Highly recommended.


The Calliham Store, run by Brian and Wesley, is located in Calliham, Texas at the Choke Canyon State Park. Wesley took me out to dinner one night, put me up in his trailer, and the next morning, Brian and Wesley provided me with some hot egg and potato soft tacos. Thank you!

Kingsville

I am in Kingsville, now, the home of Texas A&M University, where they started Texas Hold'em I think. I slept in a park last night--the town is essentially empty with all the students gone for vacation. Two more days of riding to get to South Padre Island, where I will relax on the beach a bit and research route and other bicycle journeys that may be concurrent with mine.

In Calliham, TX, the stop before Kingsville, I camped in the Choke Canyon State Park and witnessed some alligators. I took some photos, too, which I will post when I get to a place that has wireless internet. Now, I am using a kind biology prof's computer.

Long stretch of road coming up with no towns. Fifty-four miles between towns. I will fill up with food and water for that stretch in case I have to stop overnight along the way. But if I leave Kingsville tomorrow morning, it should not be too difficult a trek. Actually, I think today I will bike sixteen miles to Raymondville, the town just before that stretch.

I am beginning to keep a journal of writing on my laptop, some of which I will post here. Later.

Christmas Tree in downtown San Antonio, next to the "Alamo". Wonderfully decorated, eh? Near this tree, I ran into the Canadians again! Three of them were in San Antonio, another had gone forward and is probably in MX (Mexico) now, and the fifth is in Austin till he finishes building a new horse (bicycle) for himself. He biked four centuries (hundred miles in a day) in a row! That must have taken a lethal toll on his horse since he had to leave it to the wayside. The others will probably wait in SA for a couple more days for him to catch up.

My typical road look. Taken by the editor of the Southside Reporter, San Antonio. Next week, Wednesday, should be an article on clickitsa.com. This editor, Susana Haywood, is from Argentina, was stationed in Mexico City for many years, and will be connecting me with AP journalists along my route. How great!

I just ate at this Mexican restaurant "Jalisco"--food deriving from the Southwestern Mexican state of Jalisco--and the staff there were excellent, made me some burritos with "nopales", which are fried cactus leaves with the spines removed, and thay all took a photo with me. Then they made a donation for one of the UNDOIT t-shirts.

Here is the staff from the Jalisco restaurant I just ate at. SEXY, no?

Goals of the Trip

I scored a place to sleep tonight on this website called place2stay.net--thanks to my bro Jimmy for suggesting it. The guy hosting me is Tony and his girlfriend who once hitchhiked back home from Costa Rica. Tony asked me what my goals for the trip are. So I jotted some down:

To not cause global warming. To raise awareness of some of the solutions to global warming, particularly the political ones. To practice Spanish and Portuguese. To see Mexico and Central America. To connect my home with my new home by bike. To play lots of soccer. To meet lots of people. To hit many beaches.

San Antonio

I arrived in San Antonio this afternoon and visited the Witte museum, El Mercado, and the River Walk. Then, I was welcomed into the home of friends of friends back home--Don and Dee who are friends of Scott and Jean Wright.

I biked from San Marcos to here today, logging about 57 miles today, and 38 yesterday. Today was drizzley most of the day, and started out being somewhat chilly. Last night I camped out in a city park in San Marcos, Dunbar Park. I did not inform the authorities, and no one bothered me.

I passed through a town called New Braunfels on the way, and I really liked it. It had a couple of rivers passing through it, and it had an extensive water slide and amusement park. It had river rafting available, and the businesses had creative signs, and helpful, engaged employees. I would have taken more photos of the town if it had not been drizzling. There was something indescribable, or at least unidentifiable, about the town that I took to.

I had a great time at the Witte museum, scoring a personal, partial tour of the museum by a seasoned docent. His specialty was an exhibit on cattle riding, which describes the activity of cowboys herding cows over long distances during the summer to slaughter houses. The long-haul ride aspect of it--the cowboys were mounted horse back with a horse-drawn sag wagon--intrigued me. Once trains were built with cattle cars in the 1880's, the practice came to an end.

The docent, Matthew, also was interested in Texan ecology and geology, and in particular the limestone aquifer underlying the Hill country including San Antonio and Austin at its eastern limits. Extensive use of the water resources combined with recent drought has drained the aquifer, and now the San Antonio river must be pumped from the aquifer; otherwise it would be completely dried up. Within fifty years, the aquifer could completely dry up.

Here at Don and Dee's house, I enjoyed a dinner of "gorditas"--which are similar to the Salvadoran pupusas--and beans, and pineapple and chili sause. Don and Dee hosted a community prayer meeting tonight, and her neighbor from across the street had been a fellow parishioner at my family's church in DC. It was a suprise to meet him after many years, and I just recognized him from seeing him at Mass back when. He works with a non-profit organization that works for land rights for black and indigenous peoples in four central american countries. His current work focuses in Honduras.

Later that night, I met a guy, Jack, who rode his motorcycle from Panama to the US once, and he has contacts in Costa Rica he will give me. He particularly enjoys Panama, and the cosmopolitan, harmonious diversity there.


A shot of Ignacio and I at Munkey Wrench in Austin.

Christmas creativity at a car repair join in New Braunfels, TX.

A sight on the way out of Austin.

Some show/meat goats on the way to San Marcos.

An uncommon intersection, in New Braunfels.

Mural in San Antonio across from "El Mercado".

Stream of Consciousness

Okay, so I am here in San Marcos, Texas, between Austin and San Antonio. I slept at Patrick Rougeau's house last night in Austin--Patrick is Christian Rougeau's brother, and Christian volunteers at the Mt Rainier Bike Coop sometimes. The day before I left Austin, Christian emailed me and told me that his brother lived there, and I needed a place to stay that night so I had Christian connect me with his brother. It was fun to hang out with Patrick, meet his and his girlfriend's dog, a pug named Rocky. I got to play lots with Rocky--he is very smart with lots of energy. Very fun to play with. He knows tricks, like he can stand on his hind legs, and turn around, he can roll over on the ground, he can beg, he can shake with each hand, and I even taught him a trick--to jump into my arms. He did that this morning when he was very excited to see me after a night without seeing me.

I also got to meet Patrick's girlfriend Gloria, and Gloria's two sisters Mari and Gabbi (Patrick please correct me if I have one of the names off). Gloria's parents are from Mexico, but they all grew up in Austin. They are "Austinites". Gloria and her sisters went out to a club last night because one of Gloria's friends owns the club and she is reopening it after being shut down for a while. It now has a new name and new feel. And Gloria got VIP tickets for last night. I would have gone but I wanted to get a good night's rest since I planned to bike 70 miles today or more.

Well, this morning, on my way out, I stopped at Fedex Kinkos to finalize my route using computer maps. When there, I remembered that earlier I had submitted a design for some business cards and they should be ready. Indeed they were, and I bought the design at half-price (the manager agreed for charity purposes). I took the design and had the copy center print off four sheets (card stock) for 20 cents a sheet, and then I cut the cards. This was much less costly than having them do the cutting. So now I have real business cards that say, "Undo Global Warming" and they have a map of the Americas and a little picture of a cyclist on his way to somewhere. And of course they have my blog address and other contact information.

Getting all that done, plus talking to a professional actor on the way out of the store, plus eating lunch at "Veggie Heaven" on 21st and Guadaloupe got me on the road at 1:30pm, and this did not leave enough time to arrive in San Antonio before dark. I met some guy on the way at a gas station who told me that the roads between there and San Marcos were great for biking with shoulders all the way. He drew a map for me of the route to San Marcos, and he mentioned that he used to live there. He recommended stopping here, as did the pro actor I met at Kinkos. I needed a good place to stop anyway, so I made it my goal. I made it to San Marcos, and then I went into another gas station and asked some young guy where the center of town was, where all the activity is. He directed me to downtown, which he mentioned was pretty much near the center of campus. I said, "Campus? What University lies here? He said, "Haven't you ever bee here? Where are you from?" I told him DC, and he understood. "Texas State lies here," he said. He told me the business program was good, but they basically have everything.

Okay, so I made it to a college/university town. Now I need to find a place to crash.

Dream about Speaking to George W. Bush

So I had this dream last night that I lived in this building with George W. Bush, and I was campaigning and others were campaigning to do something about Global Warming, and Bush would make pronouncements about terrorism and wars we needed to fight, and he would make announcements discrediting the need to do something about global warming.

One day, we had a meeting, a bunch of friends, relatives and community members were in a room and George Bush was present. Towards the end of the meeting, after some of the people left, it was just me, George W. Bush and some of my brothers, and some girls from the community. I remember just engaging Bush and getting his attention and emphasizing my questions by swatting him on the forearm with a long rubber band I was holding, asking, "WHY, WHY, WHY don't we do something about global warming????!!!! I mean, if we don't do anything, we might be completely F**KED!! But if we do something, and it turns out we didn't really have to, we will at least have saved some fossil fuels and developed the technology to continue our lifestyle when fossil fuels actually do run low." He said well he was interested in doing something, but he didn't really know what. He said, really all that matters is humans, that humans survive and that they can eat.

Then, I realized his face was painted with monarch butterfy across it. And I told him, that monarch butterfly is endangered because of global warming. I told him that perhaps humans can survive global warming, but monarch butterflies and millions of other species might not be able to survive. I said, "Do you want to live on Mars? Do you want to live on an earth that is just like Mars? Just humans, and no wildlife?" I told him our existence depends on the ecosystems around us that stabilize our food systems, our water, and our air.

One of the many holiday displays at Zilker Park, Austin, Texas. Tomorrow, I will take off for San Antonio, where I will visit downtown, the Missions, the Alamo, and some of the other parks north of downtown.

The capitol building, and Congress St. decorated for the holidays.

One of downtown Austin's signature buildings.

Limestone quarry at Barton Springs. Just next to this is a pristine, clear spring you can swim in. It remains at a constant sixty-four degrees year-round.

Man (Jamis) and his handsome dog (Sam), on 6th St. in Austin, Texas. These guys have been all the newspapers and local TV stations. Thousands have taken pictures of/with them.

cool blog

Check out this cool blog I just happened upon: non-terrorist persian It has a beautiful video in it.

Biosquat

Today, I visited the Canadians where they were living: in the Biosquat. Now, this was a truly awesome place. Some folks bought a plot of land a while back, and they began to create trails among the trees and build structures and walls and stairs out of earthen materials and salvaged materials. They have solar panels and rechargeable batteries, they have wifi wireless internet throughout the property, they have created "domociles", which are structures for sleeping in--some of which are movable, on bicycle structures and wheels, and some are stationary. They have a composting toilent, they have forts and hangout structures, they have an earthen stove, and then they have the "Mother Ship", which is more of an enclosed room, perhaps it was part of a trailer, and it has a stove, bookshelves with naturalist books and cookbooks, and it has a cutting board, large windows, and a large porch for hanging out in. It has shades for the summer. Inside the Mother Ship is a sleeping board, as well.

The whole project, the whole property has a definite plan to it. It has well thought-out trails, and one of the forts has a beautiful view of the Austin skyline! Dogs and cats filter in and out of the property through its artery network of trails. I hung out with Andy and Shelagh and we discussed anarchy and how it is practiced.

A raft some of the members made, that they plan to use down the Columbia River to Mexico--sometime in the future.

This is a "yert", or a domocile with Finnish design origins. Shelagh and Andy were residing here.

One of the hangout structures constructed of clay, bottles, bicycle frames, bicycle wheels, corrugated metal, political yard signs, and love.

One of the Penthouse forts, with a view of the Austin skyline.

The view of the Austin skyline!

Another biosquat domocile!

The dishwashing station.

The shower station.

Another domocile, on wheels!

The composting toilet, taken diagonally.
What creative use of bicycle parts, to say the least. An amazing creation.

Bike Coops

Bike Coops and Bike shops have helped me tremendously throughout my journey. These images are of the Mt Rainier Bike Coop, a coop I helped form. Other coops I have visited include the Sopo Bikes, Atlanta, and Plan B, New Orleans. Links to other bike coops can be found at BikeBike.org. Bike Coops allow you to come in, work on your bike using the tools available, ask for help from volunteers, and buy cheap used, and sometimes new, parts. Coops need volunteers to run them, and sometimes volunteering is the requirement for participation, as is the case with the Mount Rainier Bike Coop. They are a great way to learn how to fix your bike, interact with other bikers from your community, and help others with their bikes, or just help the project operate.

Update

So I am in Austin, still, though I plan to head out to San Antonio, then Brownsville, then Matamoros, San Fernando, Tampico, Poza Rica, Vera Cruz, Coatzacoalcos, Villahermosa, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Brasil...soon, in the next couple days.

The Canadians will head towards San Antonio as well; one has already departed for Mexico. Perhaps I will attempt to catch up with her.

I have been researching Mexico and contacting people in Mexico. Those in Mexico City have said that things are peaceful there, but probably not as much in Oaxaca. Overall, throughout Mexico, I expect that along the border will be more sensitive because of the immigration as well as the drug-smuggling element. All throughout Mexico, though, I expect that perhaps an increased motivation to obtain posessions from travelers is present. In the very Southern state of Chiapas, which I may pass by to the North, heading towards Belize, because of the ongoing countryside struggle, a higher prevalence of weapons may lead to increased chance of getting assaulted.

However, if I play it safe and smart, I think that risk can be minimized to a reasonable level.

I am trying to contact churches along the way. I contacted one in the city of Matamoros, just across the border from Brownsville. They said to come by when I arrive in town and they will be able to accomodate me. I am also using myspace to get in touch with people my age there in Matamoros and other cities.

Cycling in Austin

One day, I visited Nelo's Pro Cycles in North Austin. Nelo is, what do you know, Brazilian, from Sao Paulo, and I think he has Italian ancestry. (Many Italians, as well as Germans, and Japanese live in Southern Brazil.) Nelo was happy for my trip, I was "doing a good thing", but he wouldn't go about such a journey himself. He has helped lots of pro racers in his day--Italian, Brazilian, American, and others. He had a big display of Lance Armstrong, seven-time Tour de France winner, who grew up in Austin. Nelo hooked me up with three water bottles with his logo on them for my bike (I had left mine in a parking lot in the last city). Above is a photo of Nelo and me in his shop.

Austin has been impacted tremendously by Lance Armstrong's success. Bike lanes are common throughout the city, and bicyclists of all types are prevalent. Commuters, roadies, racers, BMX'ers, and mountain bikers cruise the streets, hills, and parks of Austin. The driving public, since the advent of the success of Armstrong, has become very used to, and accomodating of bicyclists, often over-yielding for cyclists--deliberate signs of respect and acknowledgement. But it has almost gone too far, with cyclists in some cases abusing that respect and acting like they own the roads, ignoring the road rules, and expecting extra treatment. Some drivers have become incensed and have written editorials about cyclists disobeying laws. On the other hand, some bicyclists have been killed in accidents and sometimes drivers are drunk and other times drivers hit and run--these incidents, of course, have been followed by many editorials criticizing drivers. But cyclists do need to retain motorist's respect by obeying the road rules, learning their rights on the road, and asserting them. I again recommend the book Bicycling Street Smarts--what a tremendous boost to my confidence on the road this manual gave me. And I just realized it is all online!

Times in Austin

This is a parrot hanging out in the garden of the Cafe Mundi in Austin. There, I hung out with Andy Blum, Canadian of "Chain Break", and I also met a couple of girls traveling the country in a "Straight Veggie Oil" vehicle "with bikes on top". They get their fuel from restaurants getting rid of their used vegetable oil; the girls filter the fry grease, and put it in their modified diesel motor fuel tank, and off they go. They are living art. Their acronym is LAF--Living Art Fully. They will do singing telegrams, they sing their own songs (they performed at an open mic at "Trophies" in South Austin, and they do random acts of kindness! Go LAF--that is Kitty and Vanessa (Vanessa once wanted to be called Zoe or PJ because it made her feel like a little child who could do no wrong--interesting).

I also met Ezra there at the coffee shop, and we all talked about the "Barton Springs" natural pool that stays at a constant sixty-four degrees, located in South Austin. Andy went to swim there that evening.

At the coffee shop, I met a woman who lived near Corpus Christi. Andy wanted to know where Camp Casey/Bush's ranch was (it is just west of Waco) and she asked why we wanted to know--so we could go burn it down? Andy wasn't around to answer. I wasn't interested in visiting--though I heard Bush was making some bike trails out there on his property. Waco is north of Austin, so it would be far out of the way, anyway.

I saw a movie with one of the priests here at St. Austin Parish residence, Fr. Ed. We went and saw "Shut up and Sing" about the Dixie Chicks and their recent struggle with folks banning them for criticizing our president. They are now coming back strong as ever and are playing here in Austin on Monday night. Cheapest tickets are sixty bucks--anyone want to send me to the show?:) I have their song now playing on the Dixie Chicks myspace page. Check it out. The film was also good--get to know the Dixie Chicks, their struggle, and their rebound--the long way home.



So one day I visited the Austin Table Tennis Club, and got to play a loved sport that I hadn't played in a while. One guy, John Kim, shown in pick playing with his wife, is 77 years old and he still kicked my butt! He is going strong, rated at 1700 for those familiar with the rating system.

I played the manager there, too, Joe, and I took a game from him, even though he is rated over 1900. I also showed a thing or two to each of three highschool boys who came into the club for the first time--they weren't bad for first timers, though.



So one day after I visited my college mate's aunt and uncle to pick up some t-shirts that were sent to their house (thank you John and Mary Claire in Houston), I stopped at Austin Tricycle. Besides feeding me, they told me about their friend Drew who wanted to bike to Argentina. Everyone told him he was crazy, that it was impossible, and so when he heard my story (I called him right there from the bike shop), Drew was overjoyed as he had just had this idea like two weeks ago, he couldn't find anyone to join him, and now here was someone passing through town doing just what he wanted to do, (well, aside from the fact that Brazil isn't exactly Argentina). Drew (pic above right) works as a manager at a Tex-Mex restaurant, so he invited me over to the restaurant to enjoy a meal, and anything else I wanted, so we could discuss how to go about such a trip.


Wait, here's the image of the folks at Austin Tricycle and I.

Well, I had a great meal at Maudie's (pronounced "Mow-" (rhymes with "cow") "dees"), and I went with college mate Rebecca and her Aunt Mary Anne. (picture follows--you can see how full I got!--and she's wearing our Alma Mater's sweatshirt!)