October 15 - 309 miles

Morning at Gatlin Point. There were a group of rednecks staying in a site down by the lake. They were loud, drunk, and setting off fireworks. Oh great. Luckily they knocked it off at around 11. I used my earplugs anyway.

On the road leading back to the main road, there was a weird little cemetery with PVC tube grave markers. Most of them didn't have any identifying plaque. I'm not sure why they were there. Maybe early settlers who used wooden markers which rotted away? Anyway, there was a sign that said "No camping within the perimeter of the cemetery." Yeah, right. Like I'd camp there? No way. Talk about spooky.

Graceland.
Well, at least the gate. I didn't go in. I was concerned about leaving my bike and gear in a parking lot. Plus, it was kind of a shit neighborhood. Strip malls, crappy food places and hotels, all with Elvis-related names. Love Me Tender Diner; Heartbreak Hotel... ugh.

Memphis was also kind of a let-down. I don't know what I was expecting, but I definitely expected more from the birthplace of rock. It was a pretty miserable place.

I figured, since it was lunch-time, I would try some Memphis BBQ. Not bad, though some nurses I spoke to told me not to believe the sign: Tops is not Memphis' best. It was good, especially since I'd been eating a lot of oatmeal and canned soup with rice. Mmmm... soup with rice.

Las Vegas? Nope. Memphis. It's some kind of convention center, or something. I was about to get on the bridge to take me over the Mississippi River, into Arkansas.

Never having been to Arkansas, I didn't know what to expect. It was flat. Very flat. Very agricultural.

I picked the nearest place to camp after crossing the Mississippi. It was St. Francis National Forest. It took me a while to find the campgrounds. No one I stopped to ask at a fishing lake knew where it was, even though it turned out to be only a few hundred yards past the lake. That should have tipped me off that something was up.

I found it, picked out a site, payed my fee and set up camp. It was starting to get dark and I was making my dinner. No one else was staying there, but I figured that since it was out in a very rural area there wouldn't be much to worry about.

After dark a pickup pulled in and drove around the campgrounds and left. Then another. Then a young couple (I think) in a SUV pulled in and parked in a site. A little while later some people in a sedan pulled in, shined their brights at the SUV, then peeled-out and left. I had had enough. I didn't like the idea of waking up surrounded by rednecks, with my tent on fire. So I packed up, and went to find a hotel.

It was actually nice staying in the Best Western in West Helena. A bed! A hot shower! Oh boy! Though it cost more than I budgeted for a whole day of traveling, it was worth it.

October 16 - 253 miles

Not that exciting of a ride today, so I took a picture of my head.

Since I was in Arkansas, and couldn't think of when I'd next be in Arkansas, I thought I should visit the hometown of my friend Andrew Tedder. Searcy. Anyone who knows Andrew has heard a million stories of Searcy. That boy's got hometown pride up the ole wazoo.

A cute little town, that old Searcy. Here's a picture of the old movie house downtown. The Rialto. Sounds majestic, huh?

Ouachita State Park, near Hot Springs, AR.

I was feeling a bit fried from the long days on the bike, so I was hoping it would be a nice place. It was. I decided to stay here an extra day. I wanted to do a little work on my bike and repair a small tear in my rain gear, as well as sleep in and just relax.

It was a gorgeous place, despite the massive RV's and campers.

October 17 - 55 miles

The second day there I decided to take a hike. There was a trail that wound around the point that stuck out into the lake. It was a gorgeous day. Warm and sunny, and the exercise felt great.

Mmmm... rocky.

October 18 - 332 miles

I had tried getting in touch with my high school friend Rob Avsharian before I left. He lives in Denton, TX, about 30 miles north of Dallas. Stupid me didn't think of calling information. I got his number and left him a message the day before. He doesn't check his home messages much and thought I had already passed through. He left me his cell number, and I called him from Texarcana, on the Texas/Arkansas border (get it?). He was in town and didn't have plans. He also offered to put me put me up for the night.

For the whole trip I avoided fast food. Around lunch-time I would get into a town and search around for a little diner of sandwich shop. Plain and Fancy Sandwich Shoppe, in Sulphur Springs, TX, was one. Much better to have a real meal than some processed crap.

Here's Rob coming out of his house. It was great catching up with him, as we hadn't seen each other in years. He's an amazing drummer (we played together in high school), and has toured a lot with various bands. He's also, obviously, a big fan of the Detroit Red Wings. I think he just likes the shirt because it looks cool.

October 19 - 224 miles

Unfortunately I didn't take my camera with me when I went out in Austin with my friends Donna and Tad. Bummer, because I really liked Austin a lot.

They gave me the quickie tour of Austin, then we settled in at Stubb's for some amazing Texas BBQ. It was out of this world. If you're in Austin, go to Stubb's.

Donna and Tad were gracious hosts, and I greatly appreciated their sofa-bed. Comfy. I would liked to have stayed longer in Austin, but I had to meet Doug in San Antonio the next day, and had an appointment at Alamo BMW to get an oil change and a new set of tires.

October 20 - 260 miles

I had a set of Continental TKC80's fitted to the bike at Alamo BMW. Those guys were great (should have taken a picture!) and had me out of there in an hour and a half.

I was torn about which tires to put on the bike for Mexico. Knowing that we would be on paved roads most of the time made me think of getting a "dual-sport" tire, but these tires are pretty useless off-road. We were going to the Copper Canyon and would be doing some other off-road adventures, and after my frustrating experience in Michigan riding off-road with a dual-sport tire, I knew I would need something more capable.

The issue with a more knobby tire, though, is that it tends to wear out a lot quicker than a street-oriented tire. I figured that we would cover around 3000 miles in Mexico, and reports that I've read about the TKC80 said that that's about all you could expect from the rear tire if you're mainly riding on pavement. I was torn. Luckily Matt came to my aid and convinced me that I should go with the TKC80's. It was sound advice.

I arrived at the Forward Air depot near the San Antonio airport and waited for Doug to arrive. He had shipped his bike from San Francisco since he wasn't able to take off as much time as me.

Doug arrives, clean shaven and smelling pretty. That was about to change.

His bike was there, too. I was amazed that all of this came together, and the bike arrived on time. This was my main concern. I was afraid we would have to wait in San Antonio for his bike to arrive, losing some of the precious time we had for the trip.

After we unloaded his bike from the crate we had to sort through his stuff. He had brought way too much. Luckily he had a duffel bag with him, so we loaded it up with his extraneous stuff and mailed it back to San Francisco.

Just about ready to hit the road.

Blasting through southeast Texas on our way to Eagle Pass, and the border.

A stop in the middle of nowhere to grab something to drink. It was pretty hot. An older couple asked us where we were going, and gave us this warning: never drive at night. Good advice. We promised we wouldn't. A promise we didn't keep.

Doug, heading into the setting sun as we approach Eagle Pass.

October 21 247 miles

Our cozy accommodations.

Packing up, getting ready to cross the border. Doug still had too much stuff. But what a sexy blouse.

Sunrise over Pizza Hut.

About a block from the border we hit a casa de cambio. I wanted to get some pesos before crossing so we wouldn't have to search around for a bank on the other side. Border towns in Mexico tend to be a little unsavory.

I was very excited to get into Mexico. I felt that I had already been on an adventure, having come from New York to Texas, but the real adventure was about to begin. What was it going to be like? What kind of troubles were we going to run into? Would we be held up by banditos? Run off the road by an overloaded truck? What were these places I'd been reading about in my guidebook going to be like? Would I make it to Troncones in time to meet Lisa when she arrived?

I had 8 days to get to Troncones. From Eagle Pass to Troncones is about a two thirds the distance from New York to Eagle Pass. I figured I could make it.

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