October 23, Lubbock, TX
I really needed the day off in Plainview; I think I must be getting some kind of a cold. I have been really tired lately. Because of this, I opted to spend my second Plainview evening in a hotel. Sitting in a McDonald’s Resturant, I Googled “Cheap Hotels” and typed in Lamar. The cheapest hotel in Lamar came up at $45*. The asterisk after the 45 must mean $11.50, because I ended up paying $56.50 for the room. I don’t know why they don’t just give you the real price on these sites. I also don’t know why I keep trying to find the cheapest hotel.
More cotton fields
Have you ever noticed how two normal words can go together to make a very unpleasant-sounding phrase? For example, the words “cheap” and “hotel.” No real impact individually, but together they create a very negative picture.
Another example are the words “bed” and “bug.”
After spending a couple of hours in the hotel, I noticed a very suspicious-looking insect crawling near the baseboard. Ever since a friend of mine got attacked by bed bugs, and another friend took them home with him, I’ve learned to look for these. I confirmed with photos on the internet–these were the real deal. I didn’t actually see any on the bed, but you can’t take any chances with these critters.
Bed bug (badly focused)
Fortunately, I had not unpacked anything from my bike. The bedbugs would have to climb up a tire, and shimmy out on a spoke, in order to find my gear. I did, however, set my backpack full of clothing on the bed–not good. So, I took the backpack and its contents and placed it into a sealed bag. When I got to my destination that evening, the backpack and everything in it went into a washer, and then a drier on high heat. In order to protect myself from the bugs in the hotel room, I slept in my tent. The tent is made of a fine synthetic mesh with no open seams and no place for an inset to hide. After these precautions, I am 100% certain that the critters have not joined me on my journey.
Pitching a tent in my hotel room
Another scary two-word combo is made from the words “saddle” and “sore.” Yep–my two very long days resulted in a small pressure sore where I contact the bike. A phone call to my friend Drew Clark–an endurance cyclist–netted me some good advice and the sore is now nearly gone. Sorry, no photos.
The ride to Lubbock was a bit tiring, since I had a mild headwind the entire 53 miles. But it was fun to see the TTU campus again. The entire neighborhood where I lived for three years is gone (good riddance!) and has been replaced by some very upscale housing. The old hangout, Spankys, is still there!
Spankys
My Warmshowers host in Lubbock, Pete, treated me to a nice glass of scotch–the oldest I have ever tried. It really was a remarkable drink!
40 year old scotch
That same evening, I met with Tom and Monica Gibson. Tom is one of the professors that I had when at TTU, and is still teaching there. This evening, I hung out with Charley Myles, who falls in the same category. It was really great to see both of these guys! Tomorrow, I head to the university to get some planning done, and to give a seminar at 5:30. Then, Tuesday morning, I will head to Abilene.
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Glad there were good friends to go with the bad word combos and that you found creative was to deal with the challenges. May the wind be at you back on the way to Abilene.
Love,
Heidi
We’re following you on your journey!
Huge blessings to you, Scott,
Larry and Dede
Woke up early this Morning it was very dark and I was still a bit tired.
Was trying to decide if I should bicycle commute from Southwest Longmont to Boulder.
Read recent Texas blogs.
Scott would go!
And also remembered, Eddie would go!
So I went!
Livin the dream.