Three different wheel touches leaves minor injuries

So what happens when you bump the tire of the cycle in front of you? Any rider that has done pacing, knows that the person in front usually remains unscathed while the person in the back takes a tumble. All three of our riders have been the person in the back. Dan went down after nicking Colleen's tire. Colleen went down after touching Wynn's and Wynn somehow wobbled out without going down after nipping Dan's tire. We are indeed grateful that no one was more seriously injured than a few scrapes and bruises. All are still riding, antiseptic creams have been applied and all are thankful that the accidents took place on open roads with no cars around. I was close enough to check in on Dan and the other two were fine without me coming to see. As you know, Wynn and I do not believe in coincidence or good luck. We truly believe that God is watching over us, is not surprised by things that happen in our lives, and that when people pray for our safety- that it makes a difference. Please continue to cover our riders (and the Sag Master too).

The riders got out at 8:00am and rode right thru the middle of Lubbock with no problems. The road to the city outskirts has been very rough. We had heard that Texans are proud of their Chip and Seal...but it is not a favorite for cyclists. The team was able to stop back at the LaQuinta hotel in Lubbock for morning break.

After meeting the ponies and topping off water bottles, I went on ahead to every cyclist's dream...Levelland. And it was Level land. I found gas for an unbelievable price...lucky Colleen...it was her turn to buy. And of course the cactus was by the wayside as well.

Today I was fortunate to get into our next hotel at 12:30. I guess there were only a couple of rooms left. Over the weekend there was a large pig auction that had the rooms full and starting tomorrow the is an oil rig convention in town. The team rode in for lunch and we were able to get lighter clothes on for the remainder of the ride. We checked out Colleen's arm and helmet and all looked OK. I am staying here for a while and the riders will see how close to the NM border they can get in two hours. I will sag them back to Levelland for the night. We have been told of a good TexMex restaurant just down the road...so guess where we are going for supper? ( yeah, Dan!)

We had a surprise guest on the road today. Arthur Pare, father to Jen ( that picked up Karen) made a surprise appearance outside of Lubbock. He showed up on his bike and rode with the group for a while this morning. What an incredible man. We found his advice invaluable last night as we were able to get our oil changed and a tire replaced on the van. He also gave us the number of a bike shop in town. Then after riding, he hunted me down and caught up with me at an Arby's. Here comes a guy up to my window with a Diet Coke and a card in his hand. He told me to pass these on to the Pony Riders. I was honored to meet Arthur today. When the team showed up for lunch, I showed them the card and coke. Yes, there were actually some tears as we read the card, filled with names of folks wishing us well and praying for us. And we wondered at the "luck" of Colleen not getting seriously hurt. I believe it was because people were praying this morning for the riders.

I think the riders were very encouraged today to be back in pace lines with a little flat ground to cover and no Cat 5 climbs. Stats for the day include:
85.4 Miles
14.4 mph
5 Hours and 56 mins in saddle
1,559 miles under our belts (woohoo)
New Mexico, here we come!

Looking forward to resting up tonight,
Brenda and the Pony Express.

Colleen would like to write a bit about logistics...

Hi Colleen here. Thank you for following our adventure. I wanted to write about the logistics of making a trip like this happen. It takes a tremendous amount of behind the scenes work to keep us pedaling every day toward our destination. We have our support/ride angel Brenda who spends her days tracking us on the road and meeting us at our rest stops to provide water and sustenance. In some of these remote desolate areas out here in the west it is not at all unusual to go 80-90 miles without any services along the way. Without Brenda we would be dried up like a raisin at the side of the road before too long. Another very important job is locating a place to stay somewhere near the end of our daily ride. Many days we roll right into our hotel and other days Brenda meets us on the road and brings us to our hotel then takes us back to our stopping point to start our ride the next day. All of this is happening on roads which no one is familiar so planning and logistics is critical. GPS is also extremely helpful
Another important aspect of logistics is mapping the route which Wynn is doing quite capably. This means an hour or two in the evening for Wynn looking at maps and writing our cue sheets to keep us rolling in the right direction.
And we all have to eat of course. Brenda has planned some simple and delicious meals which we are able to eat in our room. Other nights we go out to eat. But there's not always a restaurant open or available so we have some food items stashed for just such occasions.
One surprising aspect is there is very little down time with a riding schedule as vigorous as ours. We are moving right along and believe me your prayers and support and encouragement is the wind beneath our wings. Thank you so much.