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Many years ago I heard about a mountain bike race in Lajitas, Texas, a semi-ghost town just outside of Big Bend National Park. The race was at the end of February
and watching it seemed like a good reason to make the 600 mile ride out there. Since then it has become a yearly ride for me, and
even though my original riding partners have changed, it is now usually the same group of guys that ride out there with me.
Temperatures throughout the 800,000 acre park vary greatly, and the weather there in February is always unpredictable. A couple of
years ago it was 85 degrees on the ride out there, but when we woke up in our tents the next morning it was 32 degrees.
The weather was comfortable and stable during last February’s ride, and I finally decided that I would have to make the trip out there more than once a year.
It turned out that two of my GS riding friends, Joseph (TinStar) and Chris also wanted to ride out there, so we made plans to go on October 25-28.
Unfortunately, Chris found out at the last minute that work commitments just wouldn’t allow him to go. But we will drag him away from work on our next ride.
Since I was going to work ½ a day on Wednesday the 24th and then head to Joseph’s house in the Hill Country I decided that it would be easier fighting
the traffic in my truck, so I trailered my GS the four hours to his house.
(these photos were taken by both me and Joseph)
UPDATE: TinStar's (Joseph's) report on this trip can be found here: http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22333
After packing up the bikes on Wednesday evening, we were ready to roll.
After some breakfast tacos, our wheels were rolling early Thursday morning. The closer we got to Big Bend, the less populated
the land became and it was easy to become mesmerized by the humming of the bike and the many miles of open road.
One of my favorite rest stops is the overlook at the Pecos River, near Langtry, TX. This is where the land really opens up and you can stare
into the distance and even see parts of Mexico.
The view of the Pecos River bridge from the overlook.
At the end of the cliff you can barely see where the Pecos runs into the Rio Grande. On the other side of the Rio Grande is Mexico.
Joseph at the overlook.
Me at the overlook.
After a relaxing break at the overlook, we took off again and headed to the next gas stop in the desolate town of Sanderson.
Since we were going to be camping at our friend Roger’s place near Terlingua I called him to let him know that we would be there in a couple of hours.
Getting gas and calling Roger from Sanderson
The motel across from the gas station in Sanderson.
When we arrived at the park we had to take the customary photos at the entrance sign. A man and woman pulled up after us, so I took their
picture and they took ours. We must have looked like a couple of aliens to them. "Greetings earth people. We are here for your pulled-pork sandwiches."
Paying the park entrance fee.
When we rolled into Roger’s place he was there, so we visited for a few minutes and then set up our tents. The view from Roger’s is
incredible, and I often found myself looking out towards the Chisos mountains and wondering about the animals, the people, and the history of the area.
After setting up camp we headed to a local restaurant/bar, ate dinner and drank a few Shiner Bocks.
The long day of riding
tired us out, so it was time to head back to the tents. After getting into my tent I found that the slope I was on made me roll off of
my sleeping pad. I guess it wasn’t a very good idea to setup my tent near a cliff. Oh well, I just put my riding jacket under the downhill
side of the pad and it held me in place.
Roger's fantastic place
Joseph's tent in front, mine in the back.
Roger looking out across his land
The view of the sunset from Roger's place
The next morning we were up before the sun and anxious to get breakfast at Kathy’s Kosmic Kowgirl Kafe. Kathy makes some fantastic
food in her small trailer, and sitting around the fire drinking coffee and eating a huge breakfast burrito is a great way to start the day.
The early morning moon going down
Kathy, me and Roger
Joseph sitting in the "dining room"
Kathy and me visiting
There isn't anything like sitting around a good campfire.
This dog magically appears when Kathy starts cooking. But Kathy's food is too good to toss any to him. His name is "Brown Dog"
Roger was busy on Friday, so Joseph and I decided to make a loop through the park. We would start out on the dirt Maverick Road and
stop at Luna’s Jacal, and then Santa Elena Canyon.
...more later ...
and watching it seemed like a good reason to make the 600 mile ride out there. Since then it has become a yearly ride for me, and
even though my original riding partners have changed, it is now usually the same group of guys that ride out there with me.
Temperatures throughout the 800,000 acre park vary greatly, and the weather there in February is always unpredictable. A couple of
years ago it was 85 degrees on the ride out there, but when we woke up in our tents the next morning it was 32 degrees.
The weather was comfortable and stable during last February’s ride, and I finally decided that I would have to make the trip out there more than once a year.
It turned out that two of my GS riding friends, Joseph (TinStar) and Chris also wanted to ride out there, so we made plans to go on October 25-28.
Unfortunately, Chris found out at the last minute that work commitments just wouldn’t allow him to go. But we will drag him away from work on our next ride.
Since I was going to work ½ a day on Wednesday the 24th and then head to Joseph’s house in the Hill Country I decided that it would be easier fighting
the traffic in my truck, so I trailered my GS the four hours to his house.
(these photos were taken by both me and Joseph)
UPDATE: TinStar's (Joseph's) report on this trip can be found here: http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22333After packing up the bikes on Wednesday evening, we were ready to roll.
After some breakfast tacos, our wheels were rolling early Thursday morning. The closer we got to Big Bend, the less populated
the land became and it was easy to become mesmerized by the humming of the bike and the many miles of open road.
One of my favorite rest stops is the overlook at the Pecos River, near Langtry, TX. This is where the land really opens up and you can stare
into the distance and even see parts of Mexico.
The view of the Pecos River bridge from the overlook.
At the end of the cliff you can barely see where the Pecos runs into the Rio Grande. On the other side of the Rio Grande is Mexico.
Joseph at the overlook.
Me at the overlook.
After a relaxing break at the overlook, we took off again and headed to the next gas stop in the desolate town of Sanderson.
Since we were going to be camping at our friend Roger’s place near Terlingua I called him to let him know that we would be there in a couple of hours.
Getting gas and calling Roger from Sanderson
The motel across from the gas station in Sanderson.
When we arrived at the park we had to take the customary photos at the entrance sign. A man and woman pulled up after us, so I took their
picture and they took ours. We must have looked like a couple of aliens to them. "Greetings earth people. We are here for your pulled-pork sandwiches."
Paying the park entrance fee.
When we rolled into Roger’s place he was there, so we visited for a few minutes and then set up our tents. The view from Roger’s is
incredible, and I often found myself looking out towards the Chisos mountains and wondering about the animals, the people, and the history of the area.
After setting up camp we headed to a local restaurant/bar, ate dinner and drank a few Shiner Bocks.
The long day of riding tired us out, so it was time to head back to the tents. After getting into my tent I found that the slope I was on made me roll off of
my sleeping pad. I guess it wasn’t a very good idea to setup my tent near a cliff. Oh well, I just put my riding jacket under the downhill
side of the pad and it held me in place.
Roger's fantastic place
Joseph's tent in front, mine in the back.
Roger looking out across his land
The view of the sunset from Roger's place
The next morning we were up before the sun and anxious to get breakfast at Kathy’s Kosmic Kowgirl Kafe. Kathy makes some fantastic
food in her small trailer, and sitting around the fire drinking coffee and eating a huge breakfast burrito is a great way to start the day.
The early morning moon going down
Kathy, me and Roger
Joseph sitting in the "dining room"
Kathy and me visiting
There isn't anything like sitting around a good campfire.
This dog magically appears when Kathy starts cooking. But Kathy's food is too good to toss any to him. His name is "Brown Dog"
Roger was busy on Friday, so Joseph and I decided to make a loop through the park. We would start out on the dirt Maverick Road and
stop at Luna’s Jacal, and then Santa Elena Canyon.
...more later ...
, we shared information 
I knelt down to get a closer look and realized that it was a child’s hand print. Whew…
