Dalhart, Texas to Guymon, Oklahoma

Interesting and great ride today, once again, although there is no question that the last 20 to 25 miles of today's ride was a real struggle for me. The first 50 miles today were fun, and easy. In the last part of today's ride however, we endured the sudden development of impressive headwinds. (It may have been that a front was going through.) With 20 to 25 miles left in our 72 mile ride today, I went from really feeling well, to suddenly facing a constant 10 to 15 mph headwind, that straight on. It may be that I wasn't eating quite enough today also, during the ride. Regardless, I was really relieved to make our final destination today.

All seems to be relative. In the past, I would have normally seen a 72 mile ride as a moderately impressive endeavor. Now however, after two consecutive century rides, most of us were seeing today as a light ("recovery") ride. Whatever!

Dalhart, Texas, is probably not the showcase city of the state of Texas. It was an opportune stop on highway 54 certainly, but it is nothing to really celebrate as a special destination. There really is nothing to see, or do, in Dalhart. We ate at the Sands restaurant in Dalhart, last evening. It was, so far, the worst meal of the trip, that almost embarrassingly so. We waited for an hour just to get food. The food, finally arriving, was so bad that most of us later walked over to the nearby Dairy Queen.

Regardless, it is fun to be on the road. By now, everyone in our group knows each other really rather well. We are becoming a really neat family. I am especially enjoying the company of Michel. He is a great guy. I enjoy biking, throughout the day, with absolutely everyone in the group.

We entered Texas yesterday and we only went 41.7 miles from the state line to Dalhart. Today we left Dalhart and we hit the Oklahoma state line in 50 miles. All of that was on highway 54. Crossing the entire state of Texas in 91.7 miles leaves me with the clear understanding that Texas must be a very small state indeed! It is obviously much smaller than New Mexico, as it took us lots of time to cross that state. I haven't yet looked at a map, but I am guessing that Texas is probably the size of Rhode Island. I am not sure.

Tomorrow we enter into the great state of Kansas! We will go to Liberal, Kansas, tomorrow. That promises to be a very short ride. That will be merciful, as I see it, as I really am a bit tired now. I haven't been in Kansas since 2007, then when Bill and I did the "Border Raiders" bike trip. That trip had started, and finished, in Lawrence, Kansas. It was a great trip.

I am in Guymon, Oklahoma, now. I have showered, cleaned my bike, lightly lubricated the chain, and even washed my clothes. I am ready for Kansas!

I have some photos from today's trip, but I cannot seem to get them to upload. Oh well! Maybe tomorrow.