Back from Lubbock
So I'm safely returned from my bike trip. First day out was fantastic. We cleared the first 70 with out me even blinking an eye. Ben was in front cranking away at around 18+ mph. We ended the first day (for me tired as shit) 14 hours after we first got on our bikes and 190 miles away from Lubbock. The Lubbock canyons were absolutely beautiful. This old guy at one of the stops said that we were crazy for attempting the ride in the first place, but gave us a bit of nice news with the comment "Well it's all down hill from here to Dallas". How wrong he was. I swear the trip "down" from Lubbock to Dallas is alllllll up hill. You get maybe 1/16th of a mile downhill for every 3 miles up hill. Still the wind wasn't that bad and the sun was nice and hot. That was the first day. We stopped outside of Olney and camped with the mosquitoes (who loved me the most) and woke up the next day to what presented itself as more of the day we had before. Well, by the time breakfast was over, the clouds had come out and the rain was falling. And not just any rain, but small bits of hail and really fucking strong head winds. It sucked. 40 miles to Jacksboro and I was done. The downward spiral came fast. The wind and the rain defeated my spirit. The flat tire at the bottom of a hill with a 1/4th mile ascent killed my will the continue; although continue I did. The last straw was the 14 miles I did to get into Jacksboro. My left knee felt like it had shards of glass in it and with every pedal stroke it seemed to get worse than better. 80 miles from the "finish line" and I had to throw in the towel. The worst begin that the sky was finally clearing up. Big f-ing suck!