 |
| Layered up for the start of Day 36 |
The Northern winds certainly cooled things down in Texas. We woke to a chilly 44 degree and an overcast sky. The sun was due to come out but winds were still blowing out of the North and it was not going to get warmer than 63 degrees. We layered up and got ready for some major hill work.
On our second morning ride in Texas we saw a man dressed in camouflage standing next to his truck which was pulled off to the side of the road. He was obviously getting set to go hunting. As we biked by, I yelled, “Good morning. What are you hunting for?” He replied, “Deer and pigs.” Deer OK, but PIGS? Yes, there are wild pigs here in Texas and I didn’t believe it until today. We were about 15 miles into our ride and in the middle of no where when I heard Kevin say, “what is that?” I looked up the road and saw some sort of creature on the side of the road rooting around. It wasn’t tall enough to be a deer and it’s head was larger than a dog. As we got closer, we must have startled it because, just as we realized it was indeed a pig, it (and 3 of it's friends) scurried across the street. What a sight.
 |
| Boots, lots of boots |
Soon after we left Hunt, TX we came across another an amazing sight. On top of each fence post that lined the road was a cowboy boot. There were all different sizes, colors and styles and it went on for about ½ mile!
 |
| The Boots! |
The roads were again rough and the vibrations even sent my bike computer into a tail spin. I think I'm going to give up on the bike computer and just use my Garmin watch from now on. Too much drama!
 |
| Approaching Hill #1 |
 |
| Cruising along a plateau |
The second half of today's ride was all about hills. And not some little ones. Beginning at mile 40 we began a series of what would be 4 steep and long climbs that led us, eventually, to our campground in Camp Wood, TX. The skies had cleared by the time our climbing started and the sun thawed my feet. Needless-to-say, the climbing finished the job of warming the rest of me up. It was a day much like our day climbing the good ‘ol Blue Ridge Mountains. After the final ascent we enjoyed a nice 10 miles trip DOWN hill to the camp ground.
 |
| Downhill coming up.... |
Jeff found us a great spot right next the water in the campground. A beautiful place to relax and recoup from this tough day. 78.5 miles in the saddle with lots of hills. We are over 2,500 miles into this amazing journey. Tomorrow looks to be mainly down hill. What a nice reprieve that will be!
 |
| View From the RV Camp Wood, TX |
