By ALEXANDREA
BAILEY
editor@portisabelsouthpadre.
South Padre Island, now existing at the forefront of space travel, has always attracted those with an aptitude for adventure and an affinity for curiosity. With that in mind, it is no surprise that Craig ‘Mac’ Hines, 54, found himself biking hundreds of miles to the southern tip of Texas, in pursuit of witnessing history unfold.
Hines, an avid cyclist since 16, formally owned a hostel in Eugene, Oregon for 15 years before selling it, and traveling to the Netherlands, amongst other adventures. In 2022, while visiting Eugene to reconnect with former bandmates, he departed for South Padre Island to witness Space X launch its Starship, which at the time, he believed was set to occur in late Nov. of that year.
“I didn’t have time to ride my bike the entire way,” recounted Hines, who had been following Space X for a while. “It was going to take a couple of months.”
He arrived in San Pablo, California by overnight train. He described this as a “bad” experience, due to unruly people aboard under the influence.
“They had to stop and kick somebody off of the train,” said Hines. “That was probably the worst section of the trip.”
Then from San Pablo, Hines rode his bike, a Yeti 575, to Santa Cruz. Hines said this portion of the trip was beautiful.
Following this was a long stretch of cycling, between eight and nine days says Hines, to San Luis Obispo California. Hines also happily enthused on this section of the journey, describing it as “amazing.” During this period, he met a couple from the Netherlands who were in the midst of a “huge epic trip” that spanned multiple countries and continents.
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