Dinner in Marathon consisted of visiting the Big Bend
Pizza shop. Big Bend Pizza is a rather lame excuse for a restaurant. Several
ancient non-functioning automobiles adorn the parking lot. The entrance is a
labyrinth of doors and hallways leading a customer to a single non-descript
room with four tables and a few mismatched chairs. We were the only eat-in
customers, a bad omen. And the cook/server, a woman in her mid 50s, was one of
the rudest folks I have ever met.
Susan and Sara entered before I did. As I
approached the group there was a discussion about drinks. I mentioned water and
lots of it. She said, “$17.95.” I asked about water and she reiterated,
“$17.95.” I returned to the van to continue my work and when I came back
inside, Susan and Sara had moved to the entryway to eat their dinner. They did
so because of the rudeness. I suggested moving to another restaurant, but they
were having none of it. Miss Rude One brought us what turned out to be a very
good pie. We had no utensils, no napkins, no drinks, nothing. We played Buck
Euchre while we divided up the pizza. The girls each won a game. I don’t think
I took five tricks total. Afterwards, we cleaned our table and I returned the
pizza pan indoors. With her back turned to me, I gently laid the pan on the
counter. As I turned to walk out, in a
voice of which I thought her incapable, she said, “Thanks.” I returned an
insincere, “You’re welcome.”
The half-mile ride back to Eve’s was interrupted by a
stop at the Gage, a fine dining establishment. For a top-off of the day, we
shared two desserts and three cups of coffee. It was a late bedtime because of
the short 60-mile ride tomorrow.
This morning we were treated to a wonderful B&B
spread. Alaine prepared for us a tasty batch of pancakes served with the real
thing, maple syrup. Complementing the flapjacks were cups of yogurt, dried
cherry amaretto, cantaloupe and pineapple. I had two rounds of pancakes and
would have had a third, but it was getting late in the morning and we needed to
be on our way.
We left Marathon with streaks of gray clouds. The
forecast was for no rain, but I was rather skeptical. An hour later, the clouds
were gone to menace some other part of West Texas. We were due for a fifty-mile
downhill with a 6-7 mph headwind. The wind/incline mix required us to put a
little energy into the drivetrain. The scenery was a repeat of the ride from
Marfa to Alpine, only there was more of it. The surrounding ridges resembled
morning bed sheets. With ease, US 90 meandered through it all, each time
finding an escape route downward. During the ride both of us noted the beauty
and the solitude. It was truly a great day to ride a bicycle.
Tonight we are in Sanderson, a town that is one tiny
step above Sierra Blanca. The dust in Sanderson is more urbane. We avoided the
only restaurant in town choosing to find food at the gas station across the
street. The offerings were slim, made slimmer by our dietary restrictions. We
are, after all, here where cattle are king. Tomorrow we will be riding our
toughest day yet. The distance is 88 miles with a 20 mph headwind. Being that
we are on the cusp of the autumnal equinox, I hope we can finish this ride
while the sun is up. Stay tuned.
 |
| Scenery on US 90 headed to Sanderson |
 |
| Rest stop about halfway through the ride |
No comments:
Post a Comment