Well it started pouring down rain about two hours ago. I had to throw on the reindeer just keep moving. I don’t mind ride in the rain so much but not necessarily rain and traffic once I get out of the city you’ll be a little bit better.
1 Comment
I finished up last night around 140 miles and just outside Oklahoma city limits. The winds never really let up. Riding I all day winds really takes its toll. Pedal constantly for 17 hours makes you neck, shoulders, palms, knees, and butt ache. I could use another night of good rest to get back to somewhat normal
I am stopped for lunch and to rest a bit. I can see and here the winds outside, crazy. I’m going to take a bigger breaks every sixty miles or so to keep making progress. I don’t want to keep getting behind my planned schedule. But wow. I’m headed due east and These are out of the east. A real killer. Here is a cool longhorn I saw this morning
Hit the road a bit ago. I forgot to mention these rumble strips. This went on for 20 miles last night and about 5 miles this morning . Every 25 feet. All I can say is my palms, feet, and rear are not happy. Now that those are gone I am just muscling through another day of headwinds looks like. I noticed this morning that I am pedaling quite hard just to go downhill. Although I am watching an awesome lightning storm off to the east
Head winds all across Texas so far. Probably the worst thing about headwinds is that you have to pedal the whole time or you basically stop. My strategy was to keep my pace up and just take more breaks every 15 to 20 miles that way I was resting my legs more often. All said and done basically peddled nonstop for 16 hours I’ll throw in a few extra pics since I am a bit tired still to type. Looks like I have another day of the same terrain and winds so………….I stopped in Shammrock TX makes you want to watch the movie “Cars”
Great temps this morning. A heavy mist was in the air and anything plastic was wet. Took a bit to get through Amarillo. The winds are picking up now and the the sun is out. Th Dolan is to make it to the TX / OK border. I plan on extra breaks today to keep fatigue down while muscling through the wind.
The time change has thrown me for a loop this morning.
it was time to repack and change the location of things. I now will keep my rain gear closer at hand and the thermal stuff can go to the bottom. Also because of the recent rash of flat tires I moved all of that to my bag up front just in case. It’ll be quicker and easier to get to. looks like decent temps and headwinds all day. After sleeping under a tree by McDonald’s in Santa Rosa I was getting ready to leave and noticed both my tires were flat. They had picked up these tiny little bird things with a Needles sharp enough to go through the tire and puncture the tubes. After changing both of them I headed out.
as I was writing into Tucumcari it was starting to feel really hot. That’s when I noticed it was 105°. After taking a break and lunch I went out cup on the bike and noticed both tires are flat again both of them have the same little burr stuck in them. With the heat kicking up I got as many drinks as I can carry and headed out again. 12 miles later another burr and I was changing the front tube again. Needless to say that set me back quite a bit on time I was determined to cross into Texas today regardless. Now I’m only about 45 miles out of Amarillo and I am at mile marker 1120. Then I had a headwind the last twelve miles. just one of those days I guess! Whew it is heating up quick. I am in Tucumcari right now for a long lunch. I was starting to feel drained. I am still aiming for Amarillo this evening. Around 115 miles.
20 hours on the bike. I think it was 175 miles. Camping for the night and heading for Texas in the morning.
I am at around 985 miles total so far and about 145 per day. more later I’m going to sleep In case you noticed my dot going all over the place, here’s what happened.
My brain is so tired I try to develop routines to not forget things or lose things. well I was getting into the small bag on my frame a lot. To avoid losing my wallet I decided to keep some hygiene stuff somewhere else. Well I forgot to zip the small bag and my wallet bounced out climbing out of Albuquerque. I had climbed for a few miles went to get a drink and noticed my wallet was gone. PANIC!!!! I rode back down the mountain a few miles and made my way back up and found it. It’s taking me forever to make my way through here. Lots of traffic. Had to find a safe place to eat where my bike would still be around. I should be heading into the mountain pass shortly and out onto the second half of NM
Pretty good morning so far. I’m about 20 miles from Albuquerque. Temps have been nice hills just kind of rolling along. Light traffic. I’m just gonna go with it as long as I can. The first ic is just how dark it was out in the middle of nowhere. The second, well, I like trains!
Looks like I am at mile 808. I went over the continental divide today. That always means lots of climbing. I also spent some time getting a few tubes and co2. After the four flat day I do not want to take any chances.
I was also missing the gps routing from flagstaff to Gallup. Starting in Gallup I am on the next map so looks like I have my purple line back to follow. I have had some glitch in gps data every year I have done one of these. Don’t know if it is a heat hiccup or what. the terrain gets a lot neater when you enter NM. More if these rock formations and more to look at. I’m in Gallup New Mexico right now. The scenery has changed quite a bit. I am trying to track down a few tubes which is setting me back timewise. If I don’t make it to Albuquerque I need to stop a bit shorter at some casino. Mm
The temps in the high desert have been dipping down to the low low 40’s then the day was 102. Needless to say in order to get sleep I’ve been getting cheap hotels to be able to rest. Looks like Albuquerque is more even so hopefully heading into Texas thing balance out. The key is is I’m getting hotels it changes where I stop for the day and can make it during the night.. There are more options when you can sleep outside.
I wasn’t keeping track but Richie said he’d about 165 miles. It got really hot about 102° but there was a nice cooling wind off my shoulder. For a long time I was averaging probably 20 miles an hour. There was also a 9/11 memorial with I beam structures from the twin towers. This is desolate art of the country. Now for the bad news, I had four flats starting in Flagstaff and almost all the way to Chambers Arizona. They were all four on the rear tire which is a pain to change with all the stuff on my bike. Needless to say I’ve patched all them just so I have extras in case I have more days like this one. The hardest part was staying out of the desert on the side of the highway changing tubes at 102°. It looks like I should make New Mexico early tomorrow morning
Well I’m standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona. I’m not a fine sight to see. ( dirty and I smell bad). I wish I had a JCS sticker to put in the truck though.
I had two flats this morning. I was able to get a few more patch kits but no tubes. I’ll have to keep my eye out for a bike shop just to have a few extras. The temp is around 40 degrees so I decided to fuel up On Some Denny’s
I was getting ready to head out the door and noticed my back tire was flat so I changed innertube and now I’m just gonna hang tight for my semi daily call in to RadioNemo. Then I’ll get rolling
|
Don ForthBeginning May 29, 2022 I will embark on a 3100 mile solo bicycle ride with no support vehicles following. As with my rides in the past I am raising money and awareness for The Joshua Chamberlain Society Categories |