Del Rio Night Riders

when I last saw andy montoya, it was in the mountains of blackjack pass on the border of az and nm. Andy passed me while I was visiting my mother in albuquerque. Andy cut a tire on road junk and had to buy a new tire, tube and other supplies in el paso. He was down to his last hundred bucks... And thought he could make it to del rio where he was to get money wired from his brother.
Long story short, I found andy on the side of the road in sanderson tx - out of money and out of food... In the middle of the longest stretch of this cross country ride without towns or services.
I started the day in marathon and was hoping to make it to langtry. This would have been 115mi. - an impressive ride. There were steady headwinds and it was rolling hills. I was reconsidering a shorter day when I found andy.
Andy had to make it into del rio by sat to arrange a wire transfer from his brother.
I loaned andy a spare tube. I made some of my macaroni, peas and tuna stuff and some coffee.
We were still about 120 miles from del rio. It was about 5:00. I suggested a night ride to del rio. Andy was up for it.
We put on our night lights at dusk. The air was crisp. The sky was huge and clear. I saw dozens of shooting stars. We did well until about 3am. Andys front tire was losing air.
We stopped - I made more macaroni and coffee. Andy fixed his flat.
As we got closer to del rio our headwind became stiffer and the hills became more rolling -- fatigue set in.
At sun up we were still about 40 miles from del rio... Ironically, I felt somewhat revived by the sun. Andy was falling asleep on his bike.
At comstock, andy was taking a nap. I felt that if I would have stopped, I couldn't have re-started. I told andy that I was going to ride on in and get a room. Andy had to reach his brother and find a bank. But he couldn't go on without a rest.
I made it to town against very stiff winds. I had ridden 180 miles in 24 hours. I checked into a comfort inn at 11:30 and contacted andy. He was two hours behind. He had fallen asleep on the roadside.
I felt better after a shower food and a couple beers.
Andy finally showed, he had made contact with his brother -- I had just ordered pizza.
We made it.
Today, i'm cleaning the bike, sorting gear and preparing for my next leg to navasota via austin. I feel pretty good after a good night sleep.
Texas hill country is on the horizon...