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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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...
