January 26, 2016 – Overcast, 40 degrees

Miles Today: 68

Miles to Date: 10,891

States to Date: 28

No way was West Texas going to let me off the hook with a week of cool nights, sunny days, and gentle winds. I will be pedaling from tiny map spot to tiny map spot for the 600 miles between El Paso and San Antonio. That’s a long stretch with few people; desolate as the Dakotas. Just as those were strategic and often difficult riding days, so too was today.

The day started cool and overcast and only got cooler and cloudier until it was downright cold. The route was one-third near I-10, one-third on I-10 frontage and one third on I-10 shoulder. At one point the frontage road (parallel to west bound traffic), ended abruptly and sent me facing the direction of westbound traffic. Thankfully, within a mile I found a culvert that crossed under the interstate and got me on the right side of the road.

Climbing a grade with trucks whizzing by at 80 mph (the Texas speed limit) with the wind in my face, my fingers numb, and the temperature dipping into the thirties, I had plenty of time today to be thankful for all the things that didn’t go wrong. No rain, no snow, no flats, no accidents. Not much fun either. I left one ugly Texas town, ate a mediocre lunch in another, and seven hours later I landed in a third. West Texas is a place to be respected and persevered.