Day Twenty-Four
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As soon as I opened my big mouth, we were hit by a shift in fortune. The winds blew hard from the east today, making it almost impossible to ride. Topping off an already difficult day, Alan of the Old Bones Crew, was unable to patch his final spare tire. Ron, Carl, and I waited for hours at a rest stop, but Alan was nowhere to be found. None of us had cellphone reception, so communication was difficult. We decided he must be having troubles with a tire, so I sent a spare tube with a driver headed west bound, hoping this would solve Alan’s dilemma. It worked, as Alan appeared a couple hours later cursing the winds. We pushed on for another hour or so, before we called it a day at a picnic area off the side of the highway. The winds were gusting to 40 MPH, so we were unable to put up our tents. We ate up all of our emergency rations and huddled in our sleeping bags for a windy night of tossing and turning in the concrete. The winds continued throughout the night, as none of us were able to get much sleep. I am still finding joy in the challenges of the day. My spirits are still high, but I do on occasion feel like I am in a sort of “Sophomore slump”. I don’t expect it to last, as I am now in Texas hill country, and trust excitement is just around the corner.
Starting point: Hotel in Marathon, TX
Ending point: Picnic Area west of Langtry, TX
Total miles on this day: 50.37
Total miles to date: 1272.17
Average MPH: 9.1
Max MPH: 27.7
Saddle time on this day: 5:29:30
Saddle time to date: 124:19:06
