Day 12

                                                                         Day 12
                                                              Dalhart, TX to Liberal, KS
                                                                        113 miles

     This was a hard day.  The tailwinds that we've been treated with for a few days turned 180 degrees on us and we were now faced with 20 MPH headwinds or near headwinds for most of the day.  It started off cold, about 37 degrees, and the fact that I had chosen short fingered gloves didn't help matters.  I didn't sleep well the night before, partially because our hotel was right next to a railroad track which not only meant that trains would rumble through every 10 minutes, but each was required to blow it's whistle 3 or 4 times just as it passed within a few yards of my window.  In full disclosure, the hotel offered earplugs on check-in, which I passed on.   I've always liked the romance of hearing a train whistle far off in the distance, but this barrage got me to thinking of ways I could derail a train.  We started at dawn 6:45, and I think the ride leaders, anticipating a difficult day,  would have had us start even earlier if light wasn't an issue.  As the sun rose, the song, "Here Comes the Sun", played on in my head.  Periodically I would yell, "Come on sun, do your thing".  Sure enough, the orb rose; it started to warm up and after awhile I was able to get reasonable sensation from my toes and finally my fingers. 
     A couple of days ago I had mentioned that the road I was on was the straightest and longest I had ever cycled on.  Today's topped that.  The entire 113 miles of Rt. 54 was on a road that never turned or twisted as it traversed Northeast through Texas, then the Oklahoma panhandle, and finally Kansas.  Yes, I biked through three states today, something I've never done before. 
     The wind made for a long slog of a day.   With the initial cold, we were moving at 11-13 MPH, but as the day warmed up, so did the speeds.  For most of the time, the wind came from about the 10 O'clock position if you can imagine 12 O'clock as a dead on headwind.  This made working together in groups on the narrow shoulder relatively difficult.  With a true head-on wind, you can just line up behind the person in front of you and stay protected.  To do the same with this type of wind, I learned that you needed to line up to the right and slightly behind the person to the left of you.  As the shoulders were narrow, only about 2 people could do this at a time.  If we had more room we could have formed a true echelon, which is the same concept but with more people.  So the last 30 miles, UK Steve as he is known to us as he is from the UK, (as opposed to Ohio Steve),  and I worked together this way, alternating positions every mile.  It was really fun and also a good way to tap out the remaining miles.  After awhile, Manny, (aka as Eric Mansfield who is commercially sponsored bike racer and probably the fastest person in our group) joined in at the point the road widened and we had a 3 person echelon going for the last 15 miles, which was even more fun and even less work for me.  I finished with an average speed of 15 MPH. 
     Although one of the harder days, this was also a really great day.  Not only did I get to ride through 3 states, learn a new biking skill to deal with offset wind, get my chain cleaned an lubricated, go out with a group for a great steak dinner, but I also got my laundry done....an achievement tantamount to winning the lottery considering the number of riders that want to use the single washer and dryer that they have here at the hotel.  Finally, although there was no sighting of Dorothy or Toto, there was something  more important that we found here in Liberal......a bar.....where a few of us toasted today's adventure with a multiple rounds of Coronas.  I plan to sleep well tonight.  There isn't a train track within miles. 

-Grinner

                                      (Apologies on the shortage of pictures, the camera battery died)

Thumbs up for Oklahoma