Day 30 Tyler, Texas

Stats
Daily mileage 57 Ride time 4hr 38min
Avg speed 12.28mph Total mileage 2000!

Thank you Angela from the Alba Hardware store and Lee and David from the Elite Bicyles shop. Yep, you guessed it, another broken spoke in the middle of nowhere but I am now currently sitting in my luxury room on the outskirts of Tyler after having a miserable day. I packed up and was on the road at 0705hrs. Pleased with my early start, I thought I would make a quick stop for breakfast and get back on the asphalt. The wind was hitting me head on so I got down onto the drop handle bars to minimise the drag.

57 miles down highway 69 and I heard that dreaded sound, “Ping”. I looked down and my wheel was wobbling around like a local a pre-teen on a drunken Friday night. I decided to just carry on and not look down as there was a town called Alba 4 miles down the road. I wasn’t expecting a bicycle shop there but I was hoping something would evolve from visit. I headed to the general store and spoke to the owners Angela and Dean. They confirmed the closest bike shop was 40 miles away in Tyler but Dean believed he knew someone could fix it. He gave the man a ring and I spoke to him. I explained the predicament I was in and that a special tool was required but he reckoned he could remove it with some pliers. At that point, I realised he was not the man for the job so I thank him for his offer and decided to get to the bike shop somehow.

Angela and I banged our heads together and called the Greyhound (National Express coach equivalent). They laughed down the phone and said “No”, implying you are in the middle of nowhere. Angela then suggested calling a council representative and offering him 50 bucks to drive me to Tyler. I reluctantly agreed as I had no choice but I really didn’t want to pay that much. To prevent me from making the same mistake as last time I called the bike shop and spoke to a lovely lady called Lee. She confirmed the shop was open and they can help.

Angela introduced me to Wade, the council rep, and we said our goodbyes. I was very grateful for her help. The 40 miles took about 45 mins to drive and I could not help think that would have taken me 4 hours to cycle with the current wind situation. I walked into the bike shop and was greeted with a lovely smile and the stress lifted of my shoulders. I explained the problem to the Boss, David, and he did his thing on the wheel. He gave the rest of the bike a brief going over and offered me lots of advice. His staff were very interested in my trip and asked me lots of questions.

By the time we had finished talking I had about 90 mins of sunlight left. David only charged me 20 bucks and Lee gave me some dosh for a burger. I thanked my new friends and decided to head for the rest area some 25 miles away. I got about 2 miles away and thought “Sod it”. The wind had made it a physically tiring day and with the broken spoke my moral was exhausted.
The first hotel I came across was a Best Western so I thought I would enquire about the room rates. The lady said, “Well, as I am a sucker for accents I can offer ….”. I stopped her in her tracks and laid on the sob story of my eventful day and what I am currently doing. She offered me 70 bucks for the night and I accepted. I received a business suit with sofas and everything! Of course breakfast is included and all my regular readers know how I will tackle that!

I spent the evening catching up on emails, researching how I am going to fly home and tending to my rashes. I came within a cats whisper of making the most dangerous mistake of my life. I put some tiger balm on my ankles and then I placed some rash cream on my bits. If it was an action movie you could imagine my fingers moving down to my bits in super slow motion. Everybody would be shouting….“no, change hands!!”. At the very last minute I remember I still had tiger balm on my fingers and I was about to cover my balls with it. I have done some stupid things in my life but that would have topped the list. There needs to be some sort of government advice on those Tiger Balm pots, I suggest: WARNING: KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN AND TESTICALS!

Total spent: 150 bucks ouch!