Wichita Falls or Bust

Good day to all of our faithful followers.
We had such a good night's sleep, in spite of the fact that the Indians ended their season last night. Karen was safely picked up by her friends from Fort Worth. We shall miss her and her pictures too. I apologize in advance for the pictures I will be posting ( not much of a photographer - usually leave that to my Ryan, Jenna or Kristen. ) This room had two queens and a pullout sofa so we did not have to set the cot up for Dan. I forgot to ask him if there was a bar in his back all night long. Anyways, the team went out to pump the tires before the morning ride and were met with two flats, one on Colleen's bike and a hole in one of Wynn's that they thought needed to be changed as well. We may have to hit a walmart and pick up a few more tubes! Glad the busts were found before they hit the trail today. Hopefully no more flats today.

I spent the morning cleaning the van, making sandwiches, mapping out a few hotels for the upcoming days and then headed to breakfast. Full service was provided with eggs, waffles, fruit, ect... I also got the ice container filled for the ice chest. Supper planning was next on the list and then a run to Walmart for the needed ingredients. My service light came on to show that "the pony trailer" needed an oil change so I will look to do that while I am in Lubbock.
(Can you believe, waffles in the shape of the state of Texas?)

The team is back to riding along Rt 82. After a stop in St Jo for water and bathroom, the team and I will connect in the town of Henrietta for lunch. We get to pass through Belcherville which should bring some fun comments... Back later!

So I made the trip down Rt 82...speed limit is 75 down here and there were several times that I was riding the berm so pig trucks could pass me on a double yellow going 80+ mph. Whew, my hands were sweating. But I did get a few pictures off the berm so you could see this part of the drive.

The riders got about 6 miles outside of Henrietta when they ran out of water, absolutely nothing on this stretch, so I met them at a little roadside rest ( no water, restrooms...but did have shade) we filled up bottles which allowed them to make Henrietta for lunch. We ate at a Shell station. They had a little shady area with a picnic table. I made a little friend too...made me think of Sharia and how fortunate I am to have Bob and Evelyn taking care of her.

The team decided to forego the afternoon stop with me and I got a couple of pics of them riding through.

The riders got a taste of their first bike trail today. All concrete and out in the open...not very scenic. The riders rode into the hotel (Holiday Inn Express). They rode 88.3 miles at 14.2 mph in 6 hours and 20 minutes. The riders all agreed that Wynn did a wonderful job navigating the tour off Rt 82 and through the city, onto the bike trail and back through the city to the hotel. Hurrah for Wynn! Tonight we are staying at a nice place with a great view. We're eating a spaghetti skillet meal tonight.

So now that the Indians have lost, I guess we will try to find the Browns game tonight
Tomorrow we have a 110 mile on the slate...we'll see. I told Wynn to utilize the SAG if needed to balance out the miles. The heat is tremendous but our ponies keep pushing. I'm still so proud of them! 1250 total miles have been ridden thus far. That's 47% of our total tour.

Galloping along,
Brenda
(Happy Birthday to Jenna, our daughter-in-law)

Wynn here:

While the application is similar, I don't think that Ecclesiastes 4:12 was written for cyclists. But I think that for Dan, Colleen, and me, the verse has been very true. We all have doubted ourselves at times. With the three of us helping each other, we are stronger than each of us on our own. "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not easily broken." We peddle on.