Day 41...Wind

Leaving Valentine, TX
Day 41

It was one of those days where most sane people would have chosen to sail, NOT ride a bike. That's what my friend Charles wrote me after he saw the video I posted on Facebook. To say we had no choice is wrong. But we are on a mission to get to San Diego and we CHOOSE to go from East to West and with that decision came the very good possibility of hitting head wind, and a lot of it.

30 miles into our WINDY ride  

We were due to travel Northwest today and, as luck would have it, the winds were blowing NNW in the a.m. and WNW in the p.m. between 15-25mph. Smack dab in our face. At least it wasn't raining - the sun was out in full force...and at least it wasn't boiling hot - it was a nice 70 degree day. But the wind. She was merciless.

The Flags Are BLOWIN'

After lunch we found ourself forced onto a major road for about 8 miles. We pedaled as hard as we could to get off it but when we finally did we were pushed onto a very old, half-paved road that paralleled the highway. For 4 miles we grunted over this rutty road more suitable for a cyclocross or mountain bike. My carbon frame was rattling and I was cringing.

Not a road for a road bike

When the road finally smoothed out, the wind calmed a bit. Phew! And we only had 20 miles to go. This last stretch was along the railway (as most of the roads have been in Texas). We heard a train approaching and, like always, we waved in hopes of getting a response from the conductor. In the past, he/she has waved and even honked the horn (do you honk a train's horn?) but today was even better. This conductor opened his sliding window and waved us on like, "come on you two, hurry up!" We laughed and pedaled harder, at least for a bit.

End of Day 41
Sierra Blanca, TX
(see light-colored mountain range to the left of me)

The ride today was short but tough. 71.5 miles, brutal miles. We rode from Valentine, TX to Sierra Blanca, TX and entered a new time zone: Mountain! The best news yet is that we are about 88 miles from El Paso, TX!  

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Some fun things we passed today included...

A Prada store in the middle of Valentine, TX (aka nowhere) .....

A Pecan Farm in Van Horn, TX ....

And a "Jesus Christ is Lord, Not a Swear Word" tractor-trailer...