Day 39...Happy Halloween!

My Halloween jersey!

Happy Halloween!!! Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to buy myself a wig for the ride, so the only way for me to show my Halloween spirit was to wear my Sleepy Hollow jersey c/o my friend Charles Whalen (and his brother Rob of course)....

Cruising down a long stretch

It was a fairly restless night for me. Every little sound woke me and the big sounds, like the train passing through town several times through the night, did too. We were pulled about 50 feet off the road behind the local grocery store in Dryden, TX. This was our view from the RV...

Yes, that IS in fact an elliptical machine. This morning Jim hopped on it for a while....

The first 20 miles were tough. Kevin and I both felt fatigued. We stopped in a little town called Sanderson and I downed a cup of coffee. That helped a little and we pedaled steady for the next 25 miles until we met up with Jim + Jeff and the RV. We were in for a little Halloween surprise when we arrived...

Jeff..aka the headless well digger

Jim..aka the candy-giving clown 

We made it to Marathon, TX today and rode 75 miles. The town's population is only about 450 but it has a pretty well known and high-end (?!?!) hotel called The Gage Hotel. The town is buzzing with tourists!

We are parked in a nice RV park and, as has been the theme of our trip, can easily hear the train rolling through town. Now, where did I put those ear plugs??.....

=======================
I thought it would be a fun idea to post photos of my friends and family on their bikes at the end of each of my blogs. So, please, send me some pictures!

The first photos I will post will be of the wonderful Hubbell Family. Unfortunately, these photos exclude Ali, who is the photographer, and Zuzu and Weezie, their very adorable French bulldogs. The family is currently in the Florida Keys and sent me a few pictures yesterday which I love! Thanks guys!

From back to front:
Abigail, Caitlin, Jackson and John

John on his mini cruiser
(perfect form John, perfect form)

Day 38...Now THIS is feels like Texas!

Start of Day 38!

It was 10 degrees warmer this morning…a balmy 49 degrees. It actually felt warm to me so I knew that mid-day would be a sizzler. The sun was out with all her force by 8am. We hit the road at 9am. The start to our day has become increasingly later since we changed time zones and the sun is rising later. I guess fatigue has something to do with it too ;-)

Texas open road

We set out knowing the land would be baron. But, the sun was out and the wind was surprisingly at our back. We both felt great and flew for the first half of our day. Jim and Jeff drove ahead and we met them 50 miles later for lunch in the RV.

Jim about to go through a pass

Jim joined us for the second half of our ride.  I had a hard time getting my legs back after lunch and my lower back started to ache a bit. I concentrated on the gorgeous scenery around me and grunted through 40 more miles.

Jeff had found a place to park in a very small town called Dryden, TX. He was, of course, chatting it up with the locals. What a friendly guy!

Today we rode from Del Rio, TX to Dryden, TX. We passed The Rio Grande (although didn’t actually see it), rode over the Pecos River…

Pecos River, TX

saw a few cargo trains traversing the land (pulling 100 cars each)…

Trains..

and rode through passing upon passing that had been blasted out hundreds of years ago to make way for the roads… and us of course.

Cruising through a passing

Close up view of the rock

Today we rode 90 miles...phew...I am definitely feeling the miles now.....