Windblown in Texas

We got up at 6:15 am in darkness to get ready for the long ride today. It was 36 degrees in the morning and was hard to see as we were pumping up tires and loading luggage. Linda did her usual great breakfast so we were able to get on the road slightly before the sun rose. As it was supposed to get up into the 80's I didn't dress as warmly as I could have. I wore my toe warmers instead of my booties and a headband instead of a balaclava. Luckily I did have my full fingered gloves so the only part that was really cold was my face and my bottom. We watched the sun come up as we left Sanderson heading up over the hill south toward the border of Mexico. There were many rolling hills, that you couldn't quite climb up without an effort. I was out in front of my two friends, leading the way, feeling strong, taking on the wind that was starting to wind up. For miles the wind gusted about in cross winds and headwinds. I knew it was going to be a pretty long day anyways and the wind did not help us.

We stopped briefly at about mile 30, for a quick stretch, and potty stop but when I got back on my bike, my legs were like lead and I found it so hard to continue at a pace that kept up with my friends. We were trying to do a pace line, saving energy by riding close to each other, but I just couldn't keep up and I was having trouble shifting. They slowed the line down for me and let me sail behind them but I knew that I was not up to the task today. When we got to the SAG stop at mile 40, I asked to be bumped up to the lunch stop at mile 60 and said I would decide after lunch and a break if I was up to going on. Michelle took my bike down off of the car rack and said, do you know your back brake was rubbing? Go Figure! No wonder I was having trouble. I couldn't hear the rubbing because of the wind and thought I was having a hard time because of the wind. When I laid my bike down to go off in the bushes, it must have kicked the brake over a bit. At least I had a reason why I wasn't getting anywhere fast and why I felt so slow!

After lunch, Liz and I thought we would try and do another 20 miles. The wind is still howling and blowing us about a little. It was very slow going and depressing to only go 7 mph on a steep downhill. That's how hard the wind was blowing. I even walked for a bit when I thought it was too dangerous to ride safely. The cross winds and head winds made it difficult to proceed with mush haste.At about mile 59, we flagged down the SAG vehicle and got a ride in. The van was filled with people and paraphernalia. Half of the people said, enough was enough and came in out of the wind, too.

I'll find out tonight how many people make it in. Even though I really wanted to complete a century today, it just didn't feel right and we have a lot more riding to do over the next month or so. My "good" knee was hurting and my body kept saying "why?" There is no need to get hurt at this point. I'll just have to do a century back in Massachusetts some other time.


We're having pizza tonight. Last night we had curried chicken, broccoli,brown rice and a green salad.

Hopefully the winds will die down for tomorrow's ride.
Hugs,
Robin