Day 25

Wow, what a day. Rode 95 miles today and the last 68 were in a strong thunderstorm; pouring rain, lightening and thunder, style storm. They were expecting 2 to 4 inches of rain, I haven't heard the official tally but it was a lot of water. While it was a challenging day it wasn't as bad as it may sound. The winds were moderate, not really a factor. We averaged over 16 mph for the day which is pretty quick considering the weight we are carrying and the rain. It helps that it was mostly flat. I think when it's raining like that you quickly realize there is really no other reason to do anything other than ride as hard as the conditions allow, so we were focused on riding and made good time. Finally out of TX !!!

I joined the three guys I met last night, for todays ride, and probably a few more days as well. Jon, Ryan and Caleb are three young guys, just out of college. Great guys, very easy to be around and it was clear to me early that they are having a blast. They know each other well and like to have fun at each others expense. All solid riders, don't seem to have any worries and were talking and laughing during almost the entire days ride, even in the pouring rain. At one point when the rain kicked into high gear I noticed everyone was quiet and just focused, grinding it out one pedal stroke at a time. If they were thinking what I was thinking they were probably wondering, just how hard is this day going to be. And just as I was focusing on the suffering of riding in that weather, I heard Caleb, the musician in the group, who was riding behind me, start singing, quietly, to himself. It was perfect timing, actually caused me to smile and it put a whole new look on the ride, at least for a minute or two. It was great to ride with a group. One of the things I realized so abruptly over the last few days, when riding in the wind, was that I didn't have anyone to alternate with to get a break from the wind. It was great to have 4 of us in a pace line. We each took 5 mile turns out front and then "relaxed" in the back for the next 15 miles. Good communication all around, everyone had a role and delivered.

I am aiming to get to Baton Rouge on Wednesday. Brad is coming back out and arrives there Thursday night. We will ride for a few days and then meet Hutch, a lifetime friend of mine, in Pensacola. He has been planning to join me in FL from the beginning of the planning stages. We were in Las Vegas together this past March and I caught him at a weak moment and after saying yes, he has never looked back. He's totally fired up about the ride. His training has consisted of strapping a huge belgium block on his rear rack and filling his saddle bags with the heaviest power tools he can find in his garage and then riding whenever he can. That's a classic Hutch move. Although, he did call me the other day when he was fixing his first flat to ask me which side of the patch goes against the tube. At that particular moment I did briefly wonder "what was I thinking in Las Vegas last March". I am really looking forward to spending a bunch of time with him. Many of you probably know that he and I have known each other since I was 10. We went to Junior high, High school and College together. He was one of the primary reasons I went to John Carroll. We also had a business together during the summers of our college years. He and his wife Lucy have moved around a little over the years. They have 4 boys and Hutch is a stay at home Dad, another classic Hutch move and the 6 of them seem to make it all work . Although Lucy may have another way of expressing that last thought. Hopefully Brad will stay to the end because he and Hutch will be a riot. I'll be able to just sit back and watch the show.

OK, enough for one night. Looks like another rainy day tomorrow but I am only 105 miles from Baton Rouge and I am going to take two days to get there so it should be a more mellow day. It will be interesting to see what the three stooges have in store for tomorrow. After only one day I can tell there will be comic relief watching these three youngsters enjoy the freedom of a great adventure post college but prior to work life.

Day 24

Well as predicted, I had a bunch of wind in my face most of the day. I rode from Cold Spring to Silsbee TX which was just 72 miles so it really wasn't too bad. The last 10 miles were when the winds were the toughest. There was a stretch where it was all I could do to sustain an average speed of 11 mph on the flats. The gusts of wind would blow and almost stand me straight up on my bike. But the first 60 miles were manageable. I stayed down low and kept a fairly low gear and just tried to spin through the wind. It was a perfect day, other than the wind for riding. I pulled into the Pinewood Inn, as I was getting my room, three other bikers walked in. They are doing the same basic ride as I am. We ended up having dinner together and shared stories of the first 1,700+ miles. They are taking a slightly different route to Baton Rouge and I may join them. I will be out of TX tomorrow and will give LA a big high Five hello. Still don't have good WIFI to post pics but I will put some more up soon.