Northern Migration; Bizarro Bikes in an Odd Town
At long last and after many false starts, I have finally departed my little desert paradise. The plan is to head north, west and north, visiting the state of New Mexico on the way to Salida, Colorado. Although, to be honest, considering I’ve been warned of snow in Salida, I’m not quite sure why we(my travelling partner, Mariah, and I) are so keen to leave the sun and warmth of West Texas. Oh well, some things are best left unanswered. Sunday morning and with the van packed, we hit the road; first stop, Marfa, Texas.
A bit more than three years ago, as I neared the end of my US west coast bicycle tour, I rolled through this quirky desert art town and stayed the night. It was a brief visit, seeing none of the sights this place had to offer. This time, staying at a friend’s home with running water and a big ole bed, we decided to spend a couple days in the oddest town I’ve ever been to.
There is no town centre or core, no plaza or square to draw folks together, making it difficult to meet and engage with people. The highway and a railway parallel each other, cutting through this little town that seems otherwise to sprawl like a cracked jar oozing its contents. Restaurants have the most awkward hours, seemingly never open when you’re actually hungry. Many of the buildings appear dilapidated on the outside but within, the walls are painted white with large stainless steel abstractions in their midst. It is home to several iconic contemporary art institutes, juxtaposed with an immense barbed-wire wrapped Border Patrol compound. No-one seems in a hurry, least of all the many young hipsters in tight pants and large black-rimmed glasses. But there’s gotta be something to keep people here, to keep them coming back for more.
Before our hosts left town Sunday afternoon, we enjoyed a very tasty meal at Fat Lyle’s food truck; grilled brussel sprout sandwiches, greasy french fries…excellent. Monday we got up late, went for coffee at Frama and rode around town, double-riding David’s green Huffy cruiser. Eventually I needed food but everywhere we went, restaurants were open later that afternoon, or the next day, or not until the weekend. At long last we found Marfa Burrito and it was OPEN! After placing our order three times in my broken Spanish, we mused about the oddities of this town. “Is it just us; are we missing something here?” Recognizing the couple sitting at the table next to us from the Wrong Store the day before, I had to find out.
“Uhh, hi, I don’t mean to be rude but, uhm, what’s with this town?!” I enquired. Nima and Jessica–visiting from Dallas–and their local hosts, Cody and Jenn, laughed with sympathy. Nima agreed that nothing here seems to make sense, like everyone is on a different frequency, one too obscure to tune in. That said, the sense of community here is strong, just not on display or advertised. Everything happens by word-of-mouth. What was the place to be last Wednesday may not be the same this week. But it works, at least, if you’re willing to make the effort. With that in mind and our bellies full, Mariah and I made our way down the street; a new bike shop was opening its doors!
Bizarro Bikes had it’s soft opening a couple weeks ago but Monday was its raucous hard opening, replete with free beer, cupcakes and local post-punk thrash band, Solid Waste. Adrian is young, excited about bikes, committed to his community, supported by his mom and the local chamber of commerce…who’s president owns the coffee roaster next door to this white garage doored building. But this isn’t a bike shop full of carbon super-bikes or fat-tire full suspension down-hill rigs. Rather, it has a full set of tools and an owner keen to keep this town riding.
As Solid Waste excreted heavy riffs, folks gathered in the parking lot, drank beer and chatted about bikes. Mariah sold a few of her super-cool and very stylish inner-tube ear-rings while I geeked-out over a few of the little gems that rolled up to take in the fun. Soon enough, Nima and Jessica appeared. We exchanged phone numbers and agreed to meet later that night. They were fortunate enough to have scored tickets to the sold out XX show, playing that night at the Chinati Foundation.
It’s as if the young brain is a fast-hardening Jell-O into which a fruit cocktail of facts viagra india price and behaviors is poured. Treat it from 50mg viagra sale the very beginning to avoid unwanted situation. generico levitra on line discover this It may accomplish them feel abominable and incapable. These pills have the success rate of around 85%. sildenafil generico online Dining at home–nothing is open for food on a Monday night–we cruised over to the Lost Horse Saloon where a local band raged, beer flowed and the local scene was in full swing. Many of the people we’d met the past couple days or seen around town were there, as was our Terlingua friend, Jessco, who spends half her time in Marfa. Again, the conversation of this strange town consumed us and an interesting observation was raised.
Tourism in this town is a fairly new phenomenon; the people and businesses slowly adjusting to the new reality of servicing the needs of out-of-towners. People here have long enjoyed life on their own terms, businesses only opening on the days that suited them, closing when necessity took them elsewhere to work. “Everyone knows that Bill doesn’t like to work on Monday’s, so folks simply act accordingly. But now there are tourists here, hungry tourists with money to spend who only have a few days to take it all in.” So while those odd shop hours work for locals, they don’t work for visitors. As a result, local folk are having to adapt….an understandably slow process, likely more frustrating for locals than it is for demanding tourists. Well, maybe; I’m still hungry.
Tuesday morning many valiant efforts were made to have brunch at a local eatery. We spoke with friends and decided on Future Shark. Oops, maybe not, we were told; a note on the door advised they were closed for breakfast the rest of April. A while later, Mariah went for a walk while I typed away at this posting. She returned about an hour later. “Hey, let’s go to Squeeze. It’s just around the corner and it’s open!” I quickly checked their menu online and confirmed they were open until 3pm. Within 30 minutes and by about 2pm, we were there…standing outside a locked gate with the open sign conspicuously absent. Seems brunch just wasn’t going to happen. Instead, we drifted over to Future Shark and happily dined on a variety of lunch dishes, all very tasty.
It is now Tuesday evening and we plan on hitting the road early tomorrow morning for the three hour drive to Carlsbad. Considering the luck we’ve had in this strange town, cooking at home seems the best plan….
