Del Rio, TX

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/611873530

It has been another busy day on the road.   I slept great in the state Park, but woke to high winds that I thought were going to break my tent poles.   I broke camp early and headed to the Metropolitan city of Del Rio.   The first Starbucks sighting in weeks.

The wind was at our backs and in the 20 mph range, so the 38 miles went very fast.

My mission in town was to get a new tire,  get the spare tire I had shipped in by Amazon and finally feel good about the rubber on my bike.   The delivery was right on time of the spare (and a few extra tubes).   The spare is foldable and not meant for every day ridding (like the spare on a car).  

So I headed off to find a permanent tire.   Strike one was Walmart.   The tires were very wide and low quality.  Strike two was the high end bike shop.   The open sign was on and no one was there.   I think that is they might have been closed for Columbus Day.   That left Lujan's bike and lawn mower repair on the far south side of town.

I got to Lujan's and it was indeed a lawn mower and bike repair business, where very little English was spoken.  Mr Lujan (see the photo) went into his house to look for the tire.   After a few minutes, he can out and motioned me in to look.   Every room of his house was filled with tires.   It took 30 minutes of searching to find what I needed.   It was a very off brand,  very heavy and a little but wide, but it fit.   I put the tire on my bike,  paid $15, and thanked him for his help.   I had a nice chat with the fellow hanging around the shop.   He went to high school with a fellow I knew 20 years ago (he was the Human Resources guy I worked with in New Zealand).

After that, they directed me to a few sites in town for photos - the courthouse and the town Plaza.   Notice the Mexican flag.

Tonight was my night to cook.   I made an Asian Salad and Thai Curry chicken.   We washed it down with Shiner and Loanstar beers.   It was a hit.

Like I said, it was a busy day.