No Country for Old Men (2007)
Anton Chigurh: What’s the most you ever lost on a coin toss.
Gas Station Proprietor: Sir?
Anton Chigurh: The most. You ever lost. On a coin toss.
Gas Station Proprietor: I don’t know. I couldn’t say.
[Chigurh flips a quarter from the change on the counter and covers it with his hand]
Anton Chigurh: Call it.
Gas Station Proprietor: Call it?
Anton Chigurh: Yes.
Gas Station Proprietor: For what?
Anton Chigurh: Just call it.
Gas Station Proprietor: Well, we need to know what we’re calling it for here.
Anton Chigurh: You need to call it. I can’t call it for you. It wouldn’t be fair.
Gas Station Proprietor: I didn’t put nothin’ up.
Anton Chigurh: Yes, you did. You’ve been putting it up your whole life you just didn’t know it. You know what date is on this coin?
Gas Station Proprietor: No.
Anton Chigurh: 1958. It’s been traveling twenty-two years to get here. And now it’s here. And it’s either heads or tails. And you have to say. Call it.
Gas Station Proprietor: Look, I need to know what I stand to win.
Anton Chigurh: Everything.
Gas Station Proprietor: How’s that?
Anton Chigurh: You stand to win everything. Call it.
Gas Station Proprietor: Alright. Heads then.
[Chigurh removes his hand, revealing the coin is indeed heads]
Anton Chigurh: Well done.
[the gas station proprietor nervously takes the quarter with the small pile of change he’s apparently won while Chigurh starts out]
Anton Chigurh: Don’t put it in your pocket, sir. Don’t put it in your pocket. It’s your lucky quarter.
Gas Station Proprietor: Where do you want me to put it?
Anton Chigurh: Anywhere not in your pocket. Where it’ll get mixed in with the others and become just a coin. Which it is.
[Chigurh leaves and the gas station proprietor stares at him as he walks out]

Hello Everyone,

I have several pics that i will post later but our first SAG on the road to Tucumcari NM was at the now decrepit gas station that supposedly served as the site for the above exchange. This is a day that is hard to describe. It is long at over 108 miles. We pass through some of the most spectacular vistas of the ride. We ride through a desolate desert and have some pretty steep climbs and descents. Perhaps the cue sheet says it all, “No Restrooms or Services fro 74.1 Miles.”

The day was cool as we started and I had to play catchup as most of the folks left while i was making a last minute rest room stop. I started with some stomach issues and was unsure if I could last the first few miles let alone 108. I guess the Imodium kicked in and did its job. Anyway, I kept seeing riders down the road and with a favorable wind, I was approaching and surpassing my fastest speeds of the ride thus far. I almost hit 45 MPH and averaged almost 19 mph while riding.

Mile 33 of the ride treated us to perhaps the most wonderful view of the entire cross country ride. Kind of hard to describe, but you go around a bend and the whole world opens up to 3 mile decent into the desert. In some ways it is akin to the Grand Canyon but it isn’t a canyon – it just opens up. IF you want to get an idea do an internet search on “Canadian Escarpment” and select images. Theme of this region is Canadian Escarpment. Once you complete the descent, you are in the desert. It did look like the desert had received quite a bit of rain as it was greener than I remembered. Another good thing was that the wind was coming from behind most of the day.

The second SAG was at mile 47 and I decided to loose my sleeveless jacket as it had warmed considerably by  then. At mile 66 we encounter what is known as “The Wall”, a 3/4 mile climb that is steep and hot. Tracy and company are at the top taking photos and handing out drinks as we crest the top. I was up there drinking a V8 when Howard and Lou crested and just blew on past without stopping. That was all the motivation I needed.

WE rode into the 3rd and last SAG at mile 75.5 which coincidentally was the first stores/ restrooms we had encountered. It was getting hot and the wind was shifting to a more unfavorable stance. Lou said his Garmin registered over 100 but mine never did but will fully admit it was hot.

The three of us were hitting the rolling hills pretty hard and most of our tome our speed was well into the 20’s mph. I knew we still had a couple of good climbs ahead. At some point Lou dropped back to take a photo or stretch and Howard and I hammered on. We hit the hotel at a shade past 2 which is pretty good for the terrain, heat and overall road conditions. Howard, I and a few others have promised to back off the pace on our 97 mile ride tomorrow.

I almost forgot, at our first SAG we hit the 1000 mile milestone, not quite 1/3 of the way through our journey.

Thanks for reading

~Chuck