Elevation gain: 3100 ft
Biking across America is hard and not for sissies. This was a hard day for me again and I only rode 67 of the 94 miles. The weather gods were not really with us today. It was hot and there was a strong crosswind which was occasionally a tailwind and more often a headwind. The lightweight Trek is great most of the time but not in a crosswind. I was fighting against the wind all day.
We were on I40 all day today. It is quite desolute, uninteresting country the whole way as you can see from the pictures. I must admit I was feeling a bit sorry for myself when we left the hotel this morning and everyone left me in their dust. So I was riding alone all day and wondered at times why I was doing this trip. It is just a mental hurdle I need to cross. I will be riding alone a lot because I am the slowest rider. Just a fact and I can deal with it. Between the heat and the wind, I think I got a bit dehydrated. At 67.7 miles, I just couldn't go any farther and got in the van. I had nothing left to give.
These towns out here are pretty bad off. A lot of Winslow is closed down. This is part of Route 66 and I kept thinking about the movie Cars. The Jackrabbit picture is from a trading post out in the middle of knowwhere. The owners daughter has been greeting the riders since she was one year old. She is now in high school and took the day off to greet us.
Tomorrow is another day and I will be back out there.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Go Jan, go! Hang in there. Don't let the wind get you down. Repeat after me, "The wind is the wind. There's nothing you can do about it." Drink lots of fluids - stop every half-hour and drink, even when you aren't thirsty.
ReplyDeleteJan,
ReplyDeleteTake it one pedal stroke at a time and make it to route rap at 5:45 (that was my goal last year). You are not competing against anyone. Enjoy each day and the challenge it brings.
Jan, I miss your happy smile and your drive. I wish I was there for the 1000 mile mark. What a great job you are doing. I am telling all my friends about you. Way to go. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteSandy