Tucumcan, NM to Dalhart, TX. 95 miles and 2400 feet of climbing

 Today's ride really was something special. It seemed that around every turn, there was spectacular, breathtaking scenery. It was hard to keep my eyes on the road with such stunning beauty all around. No, wait, I'm sorry.  I got mixed up; that was a dream I had last night about riding in a beautiful place. Actually, today's ride could win an award for being one of the most boring bike rides I have ever experienced in my lifetime, 95 miles on the same road, US-54 East, through the plains of New Mexico and Texas. Other than an occasional train going by ( the road parallels the train tracks), there is literally nothing but flat, undeveloped arid plains on either side of the road. No hills, few trees, no towns, no services, nothing. You can't even see any mountains in the distance. The horizon just looks flat. One really has to question the route planning on this trip. 

Also, we were fighting a steady headwind all day. I literally put my head down and looked at the road in front of me and my Garmin cyclometer, which calculates the miles ridden. Basically, I was just counting down the miles until the next SAG stop and then the end of the ride. I would look up every once in a while, but the scenery never changed. About ten miles out from Dalhart, there are some feed yards for cattle. But that was pretty much it for 95 miles. Upon entering the town, I saw a sign that said, "Liquors." The Lord works in wonderous ways. I bought two beers which I felt I deserved after knocking out all those miles against the wind.  

Dinner tonight was Bar-B-Que from a local restaurant. It was good, and it filled me up, which is the most important thing. I am not sure how many people completed the ride today. Headwinds can be demoralizing to a cyclist, mile after mile. Combine that with today's barren landscape, and I know some riders decided it just wasn't worth it. 

Despite today's nondescript ride through the plains, I'm still having a wonderful time. I like the daily routine. Get up, get breakfast, prepare to ride, drop your bags at the truck, and then ride all day. Shower, eat, write a blog entry, then go to sleep. Then get up the next day and do the same thing, but on different roads that you've never been on. What's not to like?

Tomorrow we ride 72 miles to Guymon, Oklahoma. On my last cross-country ride, I remember enjoying riding in the middle part of the country, so I'm looking forward to that.