Last year John, Erich and I biked the Santa Fe Century. It set the standard for difficult biking into the wind, until today. Today was 78 excruciating miles of unrelenting 15-25 mph headwind. It was made even less bearable by the total lack of scenery. Distant views were obscured by blowing dust and the nearby scenery was unrelenting scrub brush dead grass. I pondered why, exactly, did Mexico and the U.S. fight over this land?
By mid afternoon 11 of us had found each other on the route. We encouraged each other by looking forward to the motel stop and Anne's cooking. Anne is the chef trained by the Baltimore Culinary institute. In groups of 3, 4 or more we took turns pulling and drafting. We debated which was a better treat: a real bed, real towels, a private bathroom with a shower that didn't need to be held on, or the promise of an open bar.
We crossed into Texas and climbed the hill to the motel and dinner, al fresco, in the motel parking lot.
Ah Texas, Bob Wills is still the king... for the next 18 days of riding.
Note: the video of days 13 and 14 are included today.
