Weather:
The morning was grim as we started the
ride in 60 degrees and driving rain. The wind was, of course,
in our face.
At mile 50, we started to see small patches
of blue sky and by mile 92 we were bathed in sun and warmth (high
in the mid 80's).
There was a nice mild breeze, a little
humid and clean fresh air.
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Points of Interest:
Many very small towns surrounded by large
cattle ranches. We spent most of our time on "Farm Roads"
- 2 lane rough asphalt with very little, if any shoulder.
The local drivers continued to be very
polite and would gesture hello with a wave or, more often, by
simply lifting their index finger off the steering wheel like
they were pointing to their windshield. We learned to respond
by lifting our index finger off the handle bars.
The terrain changed rather dramatically
from flat, dry, brown earthscape to plush, green rolling hills.
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Highlights:
Brian had two more flats today - his 3rd
and 4th. He is nowhere near the leaders who are now above 10
in total flats. Nevertheless, it was demoralizing to have so
many flats when the mileage and weather were so challenging.
Ed took a fall today in another "pace
line" accident. He suffered road rash on his legs and a
sore shoulder. He is a very tough individual and was able to
keep riding.
Brian U. is back - he was able to complete
the entire ride today and is feeling confident about a full recovery
from his severely strained Quadriceps.
Bill sustained a fall yesterday that we
hadn't heard about until this morning. Apparently he slid off
the road in the rain. This AM he had significant swelling and
was unable to ride.
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People We Rode With:
Bruce and Brian rode together the entire
day. We hooked up with Ed after his fall (mile 15) and helped
nurse him back to health. Since Brian lived most of his life
in Michigan, we offered him membership on Team Michigan and he
accepted.
Brian and Ed were a great help to Bruce
during the final 54 miles. Bruce was feeling the pain from yesterday's
hard ride and needed both moral and drafting support.
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Comments/Quotes:
There seem to be more dogs than people
in East Texas. We were continuously chased today - but no dogs
successfully dined on our calves. Due to the rain, Ed's chain
was emitting a squeaky, high pitched noise which the dogs could
hear 5 miles up the road. They were usually perfectly positioned
to pounce on us by the time we arrived. We learned from Lon that
if you raise your arm as if to throw something, the dogs briefly
retreat giving you a chance to get around them and accelerate
to 27 mph. (none of the dogs we've encountered are able to sustain
27 mph and get their teeth in the correct biting position).
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