peter brierton

Feb 2, 20238 min read

Day 16. You down with DpP? Yeah you know me!

Tuesday January 24, 2023.

Traveling from Fort Worth Texas, stopping at Walmart in Wichita Falls for a Porta Potty and a Iced Sweet Foam Caramel Cold Brew from Starbucks. Omigosh so good. Again, if anyone knows of anyone that wants me to do reviews of lattes and cold brews across the country please forward my resume to them : )

I'm still not sure how I would use the porta potty if I'm parked street side somewhere but I still feel better having it with me. I've been told now that if you are actually camping in the woods or whatever that having to deal with a cat is not so bad. You can just bury the cat in the dirt. Yup! That's what they said! Just dig a hole, drop the cat in and cover it up! Supposedly that's cool. Oh geez I know I'm getting calls from the ASPCAt. : )

But really, today I spent most of the day on the road, stopping for gas here and there ( see photo below of local gas station). The landscape is just beautiful, open and flat, albeit my drive was completely in a wet snowfall which kind of blurred the views a bit. I was still able to make out the sights that I don't see back home - like the several freight trains that seemed to be hundreds of cars long. Or the windmill farms that rose sharply from the earth and gently swirled, sending the flakes of snow into a merry-go-round motion around them.

But other than not much to speak of. So have a look at the photos below and since it's a slow news day and we talked about nicknames yesterday....

OK OK OK!

Why the Duck Pond Pete name!!??

Starting to field questions about why this hasn't been divulged lol.

To build suspense of course! That's what all us blabbers do! Bloggers I mean Bloggers!

Or to just wait for a slower news day.

Well, driving in the snow for four hours is pretty boring so....

It does seem funny now as I look back over the years I've had several nicknames. If you read yesterday's post, Papa Fox was huge in my FAA career. That one had replaced the previous one of Chia Pete. Given by my first trainer Pete also...who noticed one day that I decided to buzz cut my own hair and well, needless to say, it did look like if I went out into the rain it might grow like the famed Chia pet lol. I gotta own that. Thank God that name only lasted well...a couple of years lol.

Now as a cyclist in a group that consist of a bunch of "creative" people also..I went through two nicknames also. The first one was early on in my riding with the Liberty Riders. I had just moved into an apartment after a divorce and had what I thought was all my bike gear on hand (which is important to the story here lol). It was also February and 28 degrees outside on a Saturday morning. The Captain of our group, not to be named, but it sounds a lot like Ben but you write with it, was stoking me up to go ride. It was cold as cat outside and I didn't really want to go, but he goated me in.

I got up and put on all the layers needed for a sub-freezing ride, especially when you'll be moving at like 20mph in a group. The last thing I needed, that I could not find, was a Baclava. It's the mask thing over your face. Totally necessary in this kind of weather. For me anyway lol. I didn't have one and got creative, (which I was super proud of) by grabbing a pair of lycra bike shorts and shoving them over my head. My eyes popping out the leg hole. Creative right? And warm!

Totally proud of my quick thinking I shared this story with Captain Penn (oops!) and he just looked at me....stared at me a few seconds, while riding along side by side, and stone cold said..."you shouldn't have told me that" as his face broke into a silly third grader type grin.

Immediately upon stopping at our first rest point he shared that story with the entire group except the bike shorts were described as under-garments.

The nickname "Hanes-head" was born.

Oh cat.

Really lol!? Just can't predict things can ya Chang!?

Months went by and I knew that showing any kind of not-liking that name would only make matters worse. So I lived with that cat for a couple of years.

Fast forward those couple of years and the Liberty Riders are doing a ride from Westhampton Beach up into the Wading river area where there are a few more hills to get a little climbing workout in. Hanes-head had been riding quite a bit that season and felt pretty strong that day too! Like a really good pair of undies that last forever strong you know!?

There is a section on North Country Rd. there that dips down into a cute little town center with like six little shops and a restaurant or two in it. From there, five roads shoot out from that center, all with pretty steep climbs. So fun to use these to 'gas' yourself, recover and then repeat. Okay not gas yourself like those tacos would do...we're not burning any holes in our undies here either! But just spending all your energy getting up the hill lol. There that sounds better. Our usual schtick is to do that and meet at the lil' bakery shop down in the town center there.

So a little history on Mike Mayo, a fellow rider, who, with a name like that does not need a nickname.

Mike is one of our lead editors (for our recaps and the like) who has one of the sharpest wits and creative writing hand I know. Yes this is the shoutout before the takedown lol.

Because as a rider he is known for just sitting on someones rear wheel, (meaning drafting and saving energy) and then at the last second, in any race we have predetermined, darts out from behind for the win. A move so slick, so greasy, and pretty much completely disrespected lol (and yet delicious when used in the right amounts like mayo) that we now call that move the "Mayo". Like someone might say after a ride and losing a sprint..."Oh I got Mayo'ed". And Mike, being Mike, would eat up any little bit of glory he could garner. Even writing about it as lead editor, taking up precious print space with his own accolades.

So this particular morning I hit one of these climbs up this road that darts between two little ponds and actually has a gradient of around 20%, albeit for like 40 feet only but it hits you pretty hard lol. This particular morning my tidy whitey Hanes's were not in a bind and I crushed this climb. Like I don't know how I did it either. I think I really was hungry for a muffin at the lil' coffee shop and couldn't wait to get one so I stomped all over that hill and then totally bombed down the descent into the village. I pulled up to an outside table in front of the shop and now, realizing I have blown the doors off even just the next guy, let alone the pack, ...start to giggle inside. I'm quickly getting off the bike and into the most relaxed sitting position I can at the table for a little laugh. Who comes cruising in with a little 'well earned proud victory smile' on his face but Mr. Mayo! He's thinking he crushed everyone and is first to the shop area...

If you could see his little boy face as it sunk in realization that not only did he not win - but he was crushed by a guy known for underwear issues! The sheer disappointment on his face was epic! AND... due to several regulations and rules within the by-laws of Liberty Ridership, this story had to be re-told several million times to other riders. Embellishing is in the by-laws also...a strict requirement.

So I did!

It began with how I accelerated between those two Duckponds at the bottom of the climb - and ended with someone with egg wash, or Mayo on their face lol.

I think our Captain Dave the Penn recapped the story several times on the ride home, (as we know he loves a good story, like my Hanes head one), and began with "DuckPond Pete here goes storming up the hill..." with that same third grader grain again just barely containing his laughter inside...

The Duck was born. Duck Pond Pete lives lol!

Shortened to DpP now.

But better yet.

Hanes-Head was lost....

No more of that cat!

Inside

I listened to Christian Rock most of the drive today. The band Mercy Me has just an incredible sound.... It's legit rock music with a Jesus loving message throughout it that touches your heart if you actually listen to and absorb the lyrics . It felt good to be driving along, feeling the love of the Universe, being reminded of the spiritual teaching of His work and remembering to hone that quality in my life. Spending time with God, really does remove the "I" from the center of your focus and opens your eyes and heart to a much broader view of the world. Giving you the opportunity to love everything and everyone around you deeper...

Outside

What resonated with me is the similarity of the towns. At least the somewhat bigger ones. Same kind of roads with stoplights and fast food stop and gas stations and supermarkets or Walmarts etc. Take any one of these roads, pick em up and place 'em in another town and they would be right at home and no one would notice. Maybe a few more taco places and some of the names are different but really just no different.

The landscape however just the opposite. From the Smoky Mountains to the Florida Panhandle beaches to this flatland of Texas just strikingly different.

Seems God is so much more creative than we are huh!?

Upside

Having worked it so the bikes are in the back of the jeep. I tried it with bike racks and such...but having been through such different weather I am so glad they are not out in the elements. I mean this snow, salt and ice is all over the jeep. To think these ladies would be out in the same weather would've just broke my heart!

downside

I gotta admit the thirty degree temperatures and snow are disheartening to say the least. I mean I expected it in Colorado...but some of these more southerly states I really thought I'd be in the upper forties at least and sunny!

Every which way but east!

My radar honed in on a park called Palo Duro canyon here in Amarillo Texas. I'm going to check it out tomorrow and get the scoop. Hopefully at a minimum ride in it, better yet to camp over night in it. A few guys at the taco bar last nite mentioned the snow as maybe making roads impassable and to add another layer of stress... Mountain lions? Really?

The good news is they don't think the rattlesnakes are active now.

Great. Some good news : )

Downtown...you guessed it...Amarillo!

Wind farms in central Texas

These trains went on forever!

Wide open spaces....wow. I could do without the snow but whatcha gonna do!?

Finally, some peace of mind and a placer to store...cats?

Yeah tacos can definitely give ya gas but I didn't think it was harnessable? Texans found a purpose for taco "emissions!"

Jeep photo for the day lol

Time to fuel up! (Me, not the jeep : )

OK so back home my daughter works at a place in the summer...normally around $15 for a margarita. I had two margaritas, unlimited chips n salsa, and this huge source of taco emissions for....wouldja believe..... $22!? Two dollar margaritas Monday thru Thursday!