ST: Day 39

Daily Miles: 60

Total Miles: 2065

Avg: 11.3

Max: 26

Time on the bike: 05:17:30

Today will be a day to remember, to look back and say: I survived this day. This day with the wind advisory and the 40 mph wind gusts. This day with the dodging of tumbleweeds the size of Volkswagens. This day with a crosswind so severe I had to fight as hard as I could to stop from being thrown off my bike. 

I don’t say these things to sound tough. I say these things with complete and unwavering terror. I was on the edge of my seat all day, either trying to pedal forward somehow or hang on for dear life as the wind swept me away to unimaginable speeds. I don’t ever have to bycicle through a hurricane to see how that must feel because I’ve already done that today. I felt like a piñata getting the guts beat out of it by David Ortiz. It was like an army of a thousand Excelsior hand driers you see in the bathrooms of interstate rest stops blowing fiercely into me, blowing my hair and face so hard it looked the way a sky divers face does when he jumps out of a plane and plummets headfirst to earth. 

After cycling 30 miles with intense headwinds, at speeds of only 7-8 mph, I finally reached the town of Alpine. I was so beat and tired. At times during the ride I felt like I was on a stationary bike, just pedaling hard but not moving anywhere. It was frustrating and defeating. Sitting outside of McDonalds thinking about my next move I honestly didn’t know if I could keep going on like this. I wanted to go to Fort Davis, but that was northward and uphill, and more in the direction the way the wind was comming from. It would be almost impossible to get there and keep my sanity and legs. An alternative option I was mulling over would have me staying on 90 and going west/ southwest towards Marfa. I would have mostly a tailwind this way or at the very worst a crosswind. From Marfa it would still only be a day’s ride to Van Horn which I would have gotten to from Fort Davis as well, and was actually about 15 miles shorter on 90. I didn’t want to stay in Alpine because it wouldn’t work logistically with what I had in mind, so I suited up after drinking a coffe at a convenience store and headed back out on my way to Marfa. 

Now I had a tailwind. I was soaring. I didn’t even need to pedal to cruise at at least 15 mph. Going uphill was easy and a breeze. I just pedaled a little bit and up and away I went. It felt like someone’s hands were on my back pushing me. I thought, ‘wow, this is great!’

And then I made a turn, and the worst case scenario cross wind became a reality, and everything changed again. I was thrown off my high horse of excitement and thrust into survival mode, for the wind that had boosted me forward was now trying to throw me off my stead. I leaned into the wind to try and stay on. I kept getting pushed near the lane and out of the shoulder and it was quite unnerving not being able to fully control myself as cars passed me on my left. 

And then the tumble weeds started to roll across the highway. They were big and burly things rolling and lumbering along. They were slow and unpredictable and I had to pay attention not to run into them. If I did it would not be good. The wiry branches of these things would get tangled and stuck in my drivetrain and wheels, and infact this happened, as I was unable to maunuever away from the awkward ball of dry vegetation fast enough, and clipped a small weed. A few twigs got stuck in the rear cog set and I had to stop and remove it. 

Soon I turned more west again and  was in a predominant tailwind once more. The last ten miles into town were spent not trying to go too fast. If I did and a rouge crosswind clipped me I would have been flung into traffic or off my bike. I never thought of going too fast as an issue but it was. I clenched on and rode the break every now and then and finally and safely made it into Marfa after a very intense 60 mile day. 

I’m staying at a motel near the edge of town and it feels great to be inside and away from the wind. I’m going to spend the day here tomorrow to check Marfa out. It’s supposed to be an intersting art town. A prior co-worker actually grew up here (Hi Rich!) and urged me to check it out, and Mathias the writer guy had a lot of neat things to say about the town, so I think it will be a fun town day tommorrow. Plus it’s going to rain and thunderstorm so it wouldn’t be fair to subject myself to another day of drudgery and misery. One day of this is enough.