October 4th (dia cuatro) - Houston, we have a problem -- several!
I swear, Mihai must be training for the channel surfing olympics! I have never seen anybody with such a talented ability to flip through so many channels and actually comprehende what's going on!
This day the dice weren't rolled in our favor, but we have arrived in Houston at last!
We actually managed to get packed up and on the road by ten today! We were expected for dinner at my friends house in Houston and I was determined to get us there! At least our bodies have finally become accustomed to the road and we can put some miles behind us with ease. The weather is getting hot, the roads are full of trucks plowing their way along the interstate as we feel like ants in comparison.
Welcoming us to Texas was a school bus full of highschool girls at the first gas station. We must have been quite a spectacle to them, a bunch of dirty motorcycle riders covered in bugs and filth, lounging outside in the heat sipping at our drinks. The shy glances and whispering from the girls was a good reminder that despite all of this, we were still attractive to the opposite sex! Another great welcoming was a fat juicy bug splattering across my face, up into my nose and mouth filling my nasal senses with the strong smell of guts for miles. Welcome to Texas, and yes... there are a lot of fast truck drivers, there are bugs, and oddly enough I felt at home. Having spent a lot of time already in most major cities in Texas, I have come to love these rednecked hill billish people. Houston was almost like a second home for me, waiting with warm arms in the distance. Once again attracting attention everywhere we went, it was nice to hear the all-to familiar 'where y'all going? I'll tell you whut'
However we have not been so fortunate this day. The first problem occurred when I noticed my left rear-view mirror started wobbling like crazy and nearly came off. Something must have hit it and cracked the plastic, nothing a little duct-tape wouldn't fix ;-)
After those minor repairs we must have made it only ten more miles when I noticed Mihai fade into the distance behind me. I quickly pulled over while he caught up to me pointing to his tire -- our first flat. We got off the highway, into the shade where we could repair this as well. Dumping all our gear into the grass, we got right to work. Yanking off the rear tire Mihai quickly pulled out the tire-irons and got to work. I can't express how glad I am to have a mechanic on hand, because if it were to happen to me I'd have been left stranded.
We had some fun getting the tire off the rim and discovered his inner-tube has somehow split, causing this flat. We have both brought spares though and went about getting it installed and back on the bike. All said and done, an hour later we were done. After retrieving our gear I noticed right away that we had made the mistake of leaving them near a huge nest of red ants! They were crawling all throughout the helmets eating up the remnants of dead bugs from our visors. And let me tell you what a chore it was trying to clear them all off the helmets, and even then riding down the highway I felt the telltale crawling of an ant across my face and near to my mouth... He made a quick meal!
Next stop at the gas station I made my first friend on this trip... a cute little donkey that loved a good scratching behind the ear. Well I offerred him a cigar because we didn't have any food, but he didn't seem to like the idea. Off to the distance there were some sheep and I was tempted to chase a few down....but a phone call from Dru in Houston reminded me that we were already sorely late.
It was hot! Real hot! Even riding 120 km on the highway, it was hot! We were so glad when the sun finally started to set, but we still couldn't make it to Houston until eleven thirty. Another eleven hour ride, but we have arrived!
The way to Dru's house will forever be imprinted into my mind and I was quick to bomb down the highway dodging cars in my excitment to finally get some proper rest. We planned the next day to relax and take care of the final things that needed doing before entering Mexico. I could hardly wait. thirty-five hundred kilometers behind us and now we could finally take it easy.
We pulled in and she was there waiting for us with a couple of steaks and some good old fries. Finally a meal other than the hamburgers we've had almost every meal! I don't know how badly this trip will ruin my diet, but I can already feel my muscles fading as we have spent almost every single day sitting on ours asses for hours on end! I promised myself to do some pushups and situps every morning.... but no such luck accomplishing said goal yet ;-)
Shot off a few quick emails to let my parents know that I'm still alive and time for some much required rest!