Day 12: Thursday, April 28 - Dalhart, TX to Pampa, TX. Rode only 48 of the 112 route miles for the day, 2232' up, 2992' down

Today dawned cool (about 41 degrees) and sunny - AND windy, about 17 mph from the east, the direction we would be riding. But first we rode southerly along a highway that they were grinding down to level the existing pavement and texture the surface to allow the 1 or 2" asphalt overlay to adhere. What that meant to us was lots of bits of asphalt on the shoulder and some in the air. But that stretch was a piece of cake compared with what followed.

Photo courtesy of America By Bicycle

Once we turned east, we were hit head on by a 17 - 20 mph wind. We put our heads down and pedaled on - I was going from 6 - 9 mph. Once the wind died a few seconds, and I was elated as I hit 10 mph! The stretch was quite flat, and the ride profile showed a gentle decline, but the wind more than negated any advantage.

To minimize the wind resistance, I rode quite a bit with my hands in the drop handlebars, and saw lots of lovely black asphalt about 8 feet ahead of me. Anyway, I rode 32 miles, then was bumped ahead to the SAG at mile 39. Because the fast riders were again already ahead of me, they bumped me further to mile 52.7. From there I rode 16 miles, then got bumped ahead again to lunch at the 82.2 mile SAG.  By this time, the wind had picked up to about 23 mph, still a head wind.

Oh, during that 16 mile stretch, I got the chance to demonstrate (except no one was watching) my sprinting ability, as a junk yard dog came at me. I thought I might actually run over it, but gained enough speed to just barely get ahead of it as it was coming at me at a 90 degree angle. Wow, after Brett getting dumped and hurt earlier in the trip, I surely did not want to eat the pavement today.

I decided to apply the maxim, "When it stops being fun, stop what you are doing", and decided to just ride the van in the rest of the way. So, that added up to a 48 mile training ride for me, but due to the wind, comparable to perhaps twice that.

Most of the other guys managed to finish the hard day. Many rode in pace lines taking turns drafting on each other until the last 30 miles with a lot of up and down which made pace lines very difficult. We have a lot of exhausted guys tonight, as this was our hardest day since the first, and maybe harder than the first day due to the accumulated fatigue. But, I am in the midst of some awesome riders.

Heads down, grinding it out!

Not long after the last riders came in, it started to rain and thunder. The weather forecast to the east showed storm warnings. Tomorrow is likely to be a challenge for us, either in the rain or taking cover from the lightning. If worse comes to worse, we will be shuttled ahead. But, all of that will be determined tomorrow. Now it is time to rest and recover.

Day 13: Friday, April 29 - Pampa, TX to Elk City, OK 102 miles for the day, 1,400 so far, 2,100' of climbing.

Next page

For our ride leader's take on today's events, go here.