Roadie Blog, Week 4, Fast Fuel

It's not a tropical vacation for us like I had hoped. We've rolled into Dallas from Oakland. I took some pictures through the bus windows of the sun setting through low slung clouds under a blue sky. The clouds were streaked purple, pink and orange and as tired as I am it made me smile and think of those songs about being under the big Texas sky.

Day 1 Texas

It's another beautiful morning as we gather in a field before Michael Irvin of the Dallas Cowboys. He issues the challenge and the next thing we know our teams are taking part in a cattle drive through Fort Worth's stockyards. It's quite a sight - tons of livestock strolling down the street with their long horns bobbing along, all followed by Tommy and Luda's giant shiny tour buses. The sheer amount of bull$#i* being spewed out on this journey is overwhelming - and I'm not just talking about Tommy and Luda trash talking each other. So far this morning we've already learned that each cow drops about 120 pounds of manure every day.

Neither team found the challenge to be to their taste - they were to shovel the manure into giant tubs where it could ferment and produce enough methane to power a barbecue. When cooking with that kind of gas, I am not sure if I want to partake of the food, no matter how good it smells on the grill. They powered through the shoveling, though, with a bunch of kids helping them.

Two of the kids invited Tommy and Luda to the rodeo for some calf roping. While everyone is over the smell of cows and their byproducts, neither of them is willing to refuse the invitation, especially after the kids helped out with challenge. So off the rodeo we all go. The Rodeo is an interesting place. It's Friday night and the place is half full of people who come here every weekend to watch cattle get roughed up by men and women in Wrangler jeans. After the ecorages compete with the little kids in a mutton chase (this is where they run around in the pen trying to pull a ribbon off the ear of a terrified sheep), Tommy and Luda take the podium and lead the kids in a green pledge. The kids are game, though when Luda mentions alternative fuels the adults boo him.

After the rodeo we go next door to Billy Bob's. Travis Tritt is performing and he invites the guys on stage, uniting rock, rap and country. Travis puts on a good show, and as he told the guys, he lives in a house that runs on geothermal energy. That's energy and heat from the Earth's core harnessed to run electricity, heat water, all kinds of stuff most of us use the non-sustainable fuels to provide. I'm going to look into that more when I have a chance. After that it's party time. We all relax, ride the bulls, take silly pictures and let loose. This is what happens on tours, every now and then we have to decompress from the road stress.

Day 2 Texas

It's the next day and the tour buses are almost out of fuel. The next challenge is given to the teams by MeatLoaf. MeatLoaf, a gentleman and scholar, details a contest for the guys wherein they are the employees of the legendary Keller's Drive In and for every food they sell they will get points which correspond to an amount of used fryer oil. The first one to collect the most oil wins. This waste veggie oil will be mixed with diesel to become the biodiesel that will power the tour buses.

Biodiesel can be blended in any percentage, usually starting with 5% veggie oil to 95% diesel. Blends with 20% or less veggie oil are best in cold weather as veggie oil can tend to coagulate and make it hard to start the bus in winter. The most typical blend, and what we are running on, is a 50/50 blend. That oil is clean burning and is recycled, since it's already been used to nourish the crowds at Keller's with burgers, fries and corn dogs.

The scene was crazy all day as each team kept going further and further to top the other and get the most people to support them. Things escalated from cheerleaders and marching bands to low riders and hell's angels. The party was out of control until someone won and we shut the place down.

We wrapped up the day at a local car show where Luda took the stage and brought the house down. Tommy was rocking out on the sidelines, enjoying the music. We all had a great time and you could see the mutual respect they are developing for each other as musicians and as competitors. I wish I could have been on that stage too. Maybe one day.

Till next time,
~Roadie T