We got uncommonly lucky today and what could have been a really tough ride was a relatively easy 162 miles up to Hereford Texas. We had huge tailwinds almost the whole way. I have not been in winds this strong for a long time. We stopped just northeast of Texico and the wind was so strong it was sandblasting my ankles as I stood with a van between myself and the wind. It was blasting under the van and spraying it with dust. There were multiple dust storms that looked like small tornadoes as they blew across the road. Several times the road ahead was obscured by the dust in almost brown out conditions. I believe riding in to that wind would have been nearly impossible. I'm very glad we didn't have to find out.
Today, 22 miles from the end of the trip, we had free ice cream at Friona Texas at the Dairy Queen. Pactour occasionally will do that. Tastes really good on a hot day.
Some of the riders that were slow the first 4 or 5 days are getting stronger now. And a few of them have struggled every day. I think natural ability has a lot to do with it. Some people just have a physiology or body makeup that allows them the ability to take a lot of physical abuse and keep going and some don't. As I stated in an earlier blog post, the mental fortitude is hugely important, but just pure physical ability is as well.
Tomorrow we ride 180 miles northeast to Sayre Oklahoma. It will be another day of flat riding with hopefully favorable winds once again.
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