Day 9 - Hereford Texas to Sayre Oklahoma

In what seems to be a recurring theme, the favorable winds made a 180 mile day in to a much easier trip than it could have been. A group of 4 of us, Tom, Jeremiah, Bruce and myself, rode the 180 miles in 8 hours and 55 minutes including stops for an average of 20 mph. The route today was flat with occasional rolling hills. We rode a lot of the day on old Route 66, which has very little traffic and is a great road to ride on. I got two flat tires and the three guys were kind enough to stop and help me fix them. That was highly appreciated. I've had four flat tires so far since leaving San Diego and each time the culprit has been a short piece of the wire that is used in car and truck tires. It comes from riding on the shoulders of the roads because that is where all that junk collects. But on the busy roads you don't want to ride out in the lane of traffic so you have no choice but to ride on the shoulder. It's just part of riding out here.

The group dynamics of riding Pactour can be interesting. Because it is easier to ride with a group than solo(because the rider in front of you blocks some of the wind) most of us spend most of each day riding together. It takes a while to find the people that are at your ability level that you can ride with. Once you get in this group, you just take turns at the front so that the work is shared throughout the day. Over the course of a long mileage day like today, it is a huge help. I would guess riding in a group all day like I did today is at least 20 percent easier than riding solo. Bruce rides a recumbent which is a bike that you lie on your back and pedal. Riding behind him doesn't help you much because he is too low to the ground to block wind. But Jeremiah and Tom are on regular bikes and are extremely strong and fast. Tom especially has massive speed and endurance. Several times today I was at the front riding as fast as I could at maybe 27 mph and as I would drift back to let Tom lead, he would come to the front and hold 29 mph for 3 or 4 miles at a time. And he was doing this all day today. Truly amazing. When you find your group and start riding with them, it really makes it a lot of fun. We had multiple sections today where we rode along at 30 mph for miles at a time watching the mile markers flash by every two minutes. I also ride with Mark, Will, Scott, Brett and Steve sometimes and they are all excellent as well.

Tomorrow is the longest day of the trip, a 205 mile ride to Ada Oklahoma. I expect it to be a very long day. If the wind does not cooperate, it could easily go 12 plus hours. Hopefully that doesn't happen but I'm ready if it does.