Day 18: Tucumcari, NM to Dalhart, TX

https://give.michaeljfox.org/barbarasbigride

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/122112436

Today's Ride

The Stats

95 miles (for the record, I'm rounding these)

2,152 ft. climbing

Milestones: Crossed Texas state line

Challenges: Headwinds and hamstring

Miles Completed: 1,214

Miles to Go: 2,182

States Visited: 4 of 15

Feet Climbed: 49,353

The Ride

Take a left out of hotel. Ride 95 miles on Route 54 against relentless 10-20 mph winds. Stay in shoulder to avoid fast moving cattle transports. Cross Texas state line and into Central Time Zone (so, lose an hour!). Moo at cows and neigh at horses. Do not pass go or stop to smell the cattle feedlots. Turn left into hotel just in time for dinner but not in time for any remaining hot water for the shower. 

Yes, it was a taxing day, with mostly monotonous scenery, slightly too much traffic, mostly too narrow shoulders, and way too much wind directly in our faces all day long. Exhausted enough at the moment not to say too much more. Except that we may doing the same thing tomorrow!

Today's lean

A few other notes. Crossing a state line, though seemingly arbitrary, is oddly impactful. We travel through 15 states on this tour. We've now entered our 4th. Seems like progress. Best thing is that the next two days will each involve state crossings, as we have found the most narrow parts of Texas and Oklahoma to cross. The only downside to this crossing was that it also crossed a time zone, meaning we lost an hour in an already long ride day. 
Notably, both the Garmin and the iPhone immediately recognized the "crossing" and adjusted the day's time accordingly. What the Garmin didn't do, however, was (once again) calculate the "distance to destination" when there was no or spotty cell service. This time, instead of telling me I had more to go than I did, it misleadingly told me for much of the ride that I had 8 miles less to go than I actually had to travel. At some point, I realized the math was off. It accurately told me how far I had traveled and I knew the total mileage. But it was making ME do the math while I was fighting the wind. It was all oddly disconcerting and added to the mental challenges of the day. 

Alternative SAG car seat lean

As for the area where we rode, it was similarly remote as yesterday, just not quite as scenic. Most was apparently unoccupied ranch land, but for some horses and cows. I did enjoy that we continued to track the railroads, and saw a couple cool birds (whose long tails looked cooler when they were flying)!

The only "towns" we went through were Logan, NM, where I appreciated the Whiskey sign and chatted with a clerk at the Allsops (a gas station chain I've never heard of before), and Nara Visa, which seemed not to be nary much of anything other than an historical marker by the community center. Both towns seem as if they had seen better days, though Logan at least had a cafe where some others had stopped along the way.

Ahh, THAT's why I drink vodka (and beer, and wine, and tequila!)

We were warned we would smell Dalhart before we crossed the town line. That was an understatement, especially given the wind blowing from the east (the direction we were headed). I began to see the source of the stench, with penned cattle crammed together as far as the eye can see in "cattle feedlots." The name seemed ironic, given this is where they come to get fed only then to be shipped off for slaughter. It was enough to (almost) make me a vegetarian. They looked very sad. There was an even larger feedlot across the road, where there were so many cattle it looked like a rocky landscape. As I was racing some thunderstorms that were threatening from behind (despite that the wind was from the east), I didn't stop for any more photos.

Others in the group had a true Texan experience, and were stopped roadside to allow some cowboys to lasso an escaped bull. I was too slow to witness it, but it was iconic enough to report about!

Today's Soundtrack

Our pre route rap rap was Christopher Cross' "Ride Like the Wind" -- with a minor lyric swap -- "We've got such a long way to go, to make it to the border of New Mexico..."  If only we knew the rest of the lyrics a bit better. Struggling to find tomorrow's soundtrack, though I have some ideas for the days ahead!

Employee of the Day

We didn't encounter many other people today. The clerk at the Allsops did inquire about our journey, and when she heard where we were headed, all she could say was, "DAMN!" I enjoyed the chat, but didn't get her name.

However, when I arrived at the La Quinta Inn in Dalhart, Sonja was at the front desk. I was pleasantly surprised and relieved to find that unlike every other hotel "concession," this one actually sold beer. Sonja quickly got out the opener, and promised to replenish the fridge supply (which she did). And while it wasn't her fault that there was no more hot water by the time I arrived, and had a cold shower, she did comp me a beer after I mentioned it. So thanks, Sonja!