On the way out of town I stopped at the post office to mail two SD cards with pictures back home. I just haven't been able to find the places or the time to upload them so I'm sending them to Heather, who will be able to upload them much faster than I can.
While I was at the post office I talked to Bettina, one of the postal workers. She's a bicyclist and knows the area very well. She told me about the two routes to Ozona... One of them is down I-10 and the other is down Highway 190. The I-10 route has a lot of trucks. The 190 route is hillier and more scenic. I took 190 because I wanted a challenge.
Oh, and she might've said it's five miles shorter.... I don't exactly remember.
A couple of miles out of town I found the biggest hill of the day. Here are pictures from the bottom and the top.
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| From Mark on a Bike 08 2 |
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| From Mark on a Bike 08 2 |
It was about 50 degrees and overcast when I left. I was traveling east and the wind was blowing hard from the north. I averaged about 11 mph until I turned the corner 30 miles later.
The temperature never got above 58 while I was riding. It was supposed to get up to 69 today, but I don't believe it did. I stayed cold most of the day, not so much because of the temperature as because of the wind.
Because of the distances between towns, I bought some stuff to make sandwiches for my lunch today, but I never saw a good place to stop. My definition of "good" is ANYplace out of the wind. Unfortunately, I never found even the smallest windbreak. So, I just kept riding, and kept looking for someplace to hide that would block the wind. I was almost warm enough while riding, but got cold pretty fast when I stopped. While riding, I could work up enough body heat to keep from being too cold, but stopping made it more difficult.
Consequently, I had only eaten two Clif bars and an orange by the time I rolled in to Ozona 52 miles later.
Not real smart.
Pictures from along the way...
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| From Mark on a Bike 08 2 |
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| From Mark on a Bike 08 2 |
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| From Mark on a Bike 08 2 |
This is a picture of an old beer bottle. Someone pulled apart the barbed wire and stuck it there. I wonder how long it's been there, because I'm out in the middle of nowhere. It looks old.
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| From Mark on a Bike 08 2 |
I arrived in Ozona at 2:30. At 3:00 I saw the sun for the first time today. By 3:15 there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Apparently, I left Iraan too early.
I asked the first person I saw where the best place to eat in town is and was directed to Pepe's Cafe. I passed my motel on the way so I checked in, took a hot shower to warm up, then went to the cafe for a very late lunch.
After eating, I pulled a chair into the sun AND out of the wind while I answered some long overdue emails.
Reflecting on the events of the day, I realize that not much happened. Some days are like that... you climb on a bike and ride. Sometimes, at the end of the day, that's about the only thing that's happened.
I talked to a grand total of three people: Bettina at the post office, the motel manager, and my waitress. And I really didn't even have conversations with the last two.
Some days are just like that, especially in West Texas where there really AREN'T any people between the place you leave from in the morning and the place you stop in the evening.... just wind and barbed wire and beer bottles. I'm sure there will be more people-filled days ahead.
52.87 miles
12.2 average
31.4 max
4:49:14 time
1227.6 total
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