OFFICIAL WORLD WANDER STATIONARY

May 14, 1995

San Angelo TX to Cades Cove in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park TN

Lots has seemed to happen since my last entry while at San Angelo, Texas. First of all we've put on some miles. Up to about 3500 total now. A slower average than when I traveled alone, but it's hard to get a group moving and keep moving.

Took 17 days to ride across Texas. I now have appreciation for the difference between east Texas, the hill country, and west Texas, oil derrick filled dessert. The highlight for me was stopping in Fredricksburg, a German theme tourist town, a treating myself to a restaurant dinner. Heading out of town to find a low profile (camp in the woods) campsite we ran across some cowboys practicing their roping at a rodeo. We stopped and watched and talked to them. Of the dozen or so who were there only one was a "real cowboy". The others were cowboy want-to-be's.

One was the national sales manager for a local tack shop, two were veterinarians (horse doctors). Others owned land but had real corporate jobs to pay the bills. They were just out for the afternoon having some fun. They practice two or three days a week. We finally asked if we could pitch our tents on the grassy area behind the snack building. They said No 'cause they were going to let the cows graze there tonight but you can pitch your tents in that field on the other side of the fence. It belongs to the bank, they won't care, we use it for overflow parking all the time. We talked a little more cowboy talk while they roped and drank beer. "Gotta be careful how ya handle the rope. Get a finger caught between it and the saddle horn, and you'll be minus a finger..."

Ole is big into visiting National Parks, and state capitals. Since he does most of the route planning for my little group we get to see a lot of them. My group was down to three for awhile: Ole, Regina, and myself. We seem to get along very well, and have similar riding speed and endurance. The 'B' Team, 3 strong, is known by the other groups as the history group. We stop at all historical points of interest. Sometimes even go out of our way to find places to look at.

The A Team is far ahead by now, contact is scarce, so were not really sure who is in it anymore. There's been a little changing around. Ric (the strongest and fastest) went to Houston to visit his sister but has now met up with Spy & Gene, and maybe Kevin. Jodi rode down the Natches Trace to meet us after flying back to Maine to quit her job. We'd planned to ride up the Natches Trace so she said she'd just ride down till she met the group she wanted to ride with. We found a note at one of the bulletin boards on the Natches Trace saying that Ric, Gene, Kevin and Jodi were riding together.

Apparently Spy has sprinted ahead to meet with his wife before heading overseas. Spy and Brad have made plans to fly to Portugal and meet. Christine, Jodi's friend has met a guy in Austin TX she really likes. Stayed with him for a few days while waiting for "the group" to catch up. She'd left Silver City NM as part of the 'A' Team but couldn't keep up, so went a shorter route to Austin to meet everybody else. The Austin Hostel was supposed to be a group meeting place, but the fast group arrived a week before the slower ones, and took off before a meeting could be held. Three days out of Austin, Christine turned back. She's now exploring a new adventure in Austin.

Michael and Tim have decided they are not going overseas. They'll just ride until they get to the east coast then hang out there awhile. Tim had broken both braze-ons on his Bianca Mountain bike that hold the rear rack on next to the axle. One he had brazed back together at a muffler shop. The other welded a couple weeks later at machine shop. The second was a much better job. Reason for the breaks? From Day one Tim's bike has had an uncontrollable wobble. Probably from (1) soft frame, (2) loose fork or (3) bad weight balance. I'd helped him tighten the fork bearing. That helped some. In Austin we put his front panniers in back, and the back panniers in front to get more carrying capacity and weight up front. Both seemed to help, but he still has a detectable wobble.

The 'C' Team now consists of Jim, Helen, Liz, John and Cynthia (the Alaskan couple), and Sally. Louise has joined our 'B' group. She keeps up with us on the flats but falls way behind on the hills. At least she'll do the hills, the rest of the 'C' team will go out of their way to avoid hills. Very boring in my mind! Louise is learning about low fat meals, you can tell by looking at her, it's a new experience. She's an Iowa farm girl. Very strong, a little heavy and very talkative. I have to pedal out of earshot sometimes for some relief.

Visited The Big Thicket in Saratoga, TX area. Got rained on real hard. We, the 'B' team, were catching up with the 'C' team who had squeaked ahead of us by short cutting around some hills. Stopped at a little store at the intersection of two highways and found that there were six cyclist ahead of us that had loaded into a truck heading for the next town big enough to get a motel. the 'C' group is also the Motel and Restaurant group. We found a pavilion to camp under but it didn't matter as we didn't get much more rain that night. The next day we'd planned to rent a canoe and paddle around a bit. It didn't work out logistically although the weather was good for it. The canoe ride waited till a couple days later.....And we didn't even get wet!

Across Louisiana to the Mississippi River to the beginning of the Natches Trace in Natches Mississippi. Here the 'B' and 'C' group camped together. The 'B' people wanted to go up the entire trace as planned. The 'C' people wanted to go only part way then head to Atlanta to avoid the hills. It may be the last time we see them till some time in Europe. They want to meet us over there. We're wondering if they are expecting that all the sudden our traveling styles will be compatible once we are over seas.

The trace is an historic trail. The boat men of the cotton era used to walk back home after floating their cotton crop on a barge down the Mississippi river to be sold. They'd sell the barge too for lumber then start the trek back home. There's a paved road there now with a swath of trees and wilderness varying from 100 to 600 feet on either side of the road which is National Park. Being on the trace is dream like on a bicycle. There's very little traffic (on week days). No commercial traffic. Good road and shoulder, and the wilderness around you is perfectly manicured by the park service.

Extra bike camps have been added so you can do the 500 mile stretch in 50 to 70 mile days. Some of the bike camps aren't too well thought out. One was a mud hole surrounded by Poison Ivy. We camped on an abandoned dirt road that night rather than in the bike camp. I've gotten poison ivy once already on this bike trip and I don't want to get it again!

The trace took us through Jacksonville Mississippi, then through a little corner of Alabama, and into Tennessee. Louise wanted to see the "Grand Ol' Opry" so we spent a night in Nashville in a Motel to see this wonderful performance. Well it's a tradition which has grown, become popular, and now is ready to die. Indeed most of the performers have died or are close to it. There were some interesting country western musical displays that were worth looking at. Nashville home of the country music stars. Lots of rich homes, even saw a castle. A grand display of wealth.

Eastern Tennessee has presented some hills indeed we did an 800 foot climb yesterday to arrive at Cades Cove in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Today is a rest day. I spent the first two hours of the day being lulled to sleep by a fierce lightning and thunder storm only to find out later I'd parked my tent in what became a river. When the sun came out at noon I spent a couple of hours drying the tent and thermorest, luckily most everything else stayed pretty dry.

Our 'B' team has made plans to leave the states from Washington DC on June 13th. Another couple will be joining us, Charles and Lisa Chancellor. We've been in phone contact with them from the beginning. They plan to do the cross country part of the trip last instead of first. Ole knows Charles from an American Hostel training workshop they were in. Lisa actually found our tickets at a discount broker for $339.00. Not Bad!

While in the hotel at Nashville I got to take a look at my rear wheel. It had felt a little mushy since the day we loaded three days of food and Nine liters of water out of the last convenient city we expected to see for quite some time. The rear wheel's spokes were loose and the rear brake was grabbing when applied lightly. I checked the wheel for trueness. It was out a bit. I got out my spoke wrench an set out to true it. I got it true, but later while riding the brakes still grabbed. While camped in the shelter of a church pavilion waiting for the rain to subside a couple days later I got to take a closer look. The wheel was breaking down. Hairline cracks radiating along the center line of the wheel from all but two cluster side spokes. In the next town I stopped to talk to a bike mechanic about it. We both agreed that it wouldn't fail catastrophically, or immediately so I had some time to deal with it.

I'm impressed that the wheels have held together for the last 150 miles with these cracks in them. But I'm disappointed I made a poor choice in wheels for this trip. I'd gotten the wheels MAVIC 217's on the suggestion of three different bike shops. They cost me about $200 with Shimano XT hubs and 14 gauge stainless steel spokes. Now I've seen that they are too light for the job, indeed , now I've been shown the Mavic Catalog, they are the lightest Mountain Bike Wheels they make. I've ordered from a highly recommended wheel builder in California (Dave Thomas) the heaviest Mavic Mountain Bike Wheel the Mavic 121's. They are wider and 580 grams per wheel (vs. 410 grams). Double eyelet instead of single eyelets for the spokes. I'm also getting Hugi sealed bearing hubs front and rear. 14 gauge stainless steel spokes, straight gauge on the cluster side of the rear, butted everywhere else. The bills is $642.00, but it will be worth it to have wheels that hold together. Traveling cheap appears to mean traveling heavy. The last snap shot Food Store weighing we did, I was still the lightest bike at 129 lbs. Regina's was 136, Ole's was 145 and Louise was not around but I know he's is heavier than mine. I look forward to getting my new wheels, visiting the outer banks before we leave the U.S. and then starting the European part of this journey.

Thanks to those who have written and I do enjoy hearing about what's going on back home. I'm behind in returning letters. I don't get much time to myself to do that. Most comical mailing award goes to Dave Menicosy who sent an article about a fellow who invented a prop pusher back pack for bicyclist. It looks like a giant fan enclosed in a protective cage. Worn like a back pack it has a chain saw engine. The inventor says it works on bicycles but local law enforcement don't know the street legal ramification. The inventor is anxious to try it for cross country skiing but is a little concerned about the ramifications of doing a faceplant.

Best comment heard on the road so far came from a construction worker on a bridge we were hustling across. Half the bridge was closed and being reconstructed so flag men were allowing traffic through on the remaining lane one direction at a time. As we hustled across to avoid meeting traffic head-on the worker yelled out.... "Hey, it's against the law to pedal your Ass."

Well, with that I'll close. Thanks again for your interest and if you want to write send your letter to Dad. He'll forward it to me. For me to get it before I leave the country be sure to mail before June 1.

John T. Purdy

c/o Gil Purdy

P.O. Box 648

Shady Cove, OR 97539

Thanks for your interest and thoughts of me.

John Purdy

May 16, 1995

PS. Late Breaking News. My cracked wheel made it over NewFound Gap in the Great Smokey Mountains, 3600 ft. climb in 3 hours, 13 miles. YEA!