What a day today was!
This was a super hard day. The problem was not so much the mileage, but it was the relentless, brutal, and remarkably strong winds. In particular, the crosswinds were horrific. We had strong and randomly gusty crosswinds, almost always from the right side. At times it was really unnerving. At the proverbial end of the day, my fatigue was probably as much due to the tension associated with the winds, as anything else. I had times when I was finding myself in the left lane of the road, due to these nasty crosswinds. We did 108 miles today, and this was unequivocally the most difficult, and the most stressful, day of the trip so far.
What made this especially hard for me was my stupid acrophobia. There were times that we had steep downhill runs, on winding mountain roads and a whole lot of nothing to the right side of the guardrail. I spent a lot of time riding my brakes, clicking out of the pedals, and trying to think happy thoughts.
Enough complaining!
One highlight of the trip today was passing our official 1,000 mile mark! That was neat. This happened at mile 27 into today's ride.
Today's ride was truly scenic. I marvel at the endless beauty of this part of our country. If I have any regret, it is that of my profound ignorance in the field of geology. It really would be nice to better understand, and thereby appreciate more deeply, all of these truly remarkable rock formations.
Tomorrow we cross into a new state, and a new time zone also! We do 96 miles tomorrow, to end up in a place called Dalhart, Texas. At that point we will enter into the Central Time Zone.
Texas tomorrow, and Oklahoma on Wednesday!
Hopefully the winds tomorrow will be more merciful.
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1000 miles, what an amazing accomplishment!!! Glad to hear your legs are waking up around mile 5 everyday!! I hope todays conditions were better and you enjoyed the ride. Look forward to your post
ReplyDeleteI wonder how biking in the Midwest will compare to biking in the Southwest. Although Missouri is less hot than the desert, it's much more humid, so I suspect that it may be more arduous.
ReplyDeleteSounds like an exciting adventure. I am happy the trip is going well for you. I am still, fat, pregnant, and sober at this moment. We are thinking June 22nd. I am more than ready. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're having the time of your life! I envy your drive and cycling prowess. After this trip you will be the Cycling God of GL! Ride on, ride on....Gene
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