On day 42 I was determined to get an early start despite the festivities of the night before.  I just have to get some miles in before the wind finds me.  We were up before the sun getting ready in 35 degrees.  The crew wanted a hot breakfast but, they would have to wait until they dropped me off 6 miles east of Marathon.

I put the shell on my helmet, wore long sleeves and a windbreaker to start.  There was not a breath of air.  I rode well for a couple of hours before the breeze started to tease me.  Some cross, some head and a little tail breeze took turns keeping me guessing.  The breeze continued this game most of the rest of the day.

The night before we met Ron and Natasha headed the same way I am on their bikes.  This morning I cheated by starting where I left off the day before 6 miles and 50 minutes ahead of them in the race (not really) to Sanderson TX.  As it turns out I rolled into Sanderson about 5 minutes ahead of them.  I think they were a little surprised they didn’t see me sooner.  Of course my crew beat us all and had already sucked down a chilidog.

We all took a lunch break at the only open café in town.  I was pretty much done for the day but decided to ride with them for a few miles.  They seemed a little impressed as they watched me struggle with the building winds, and my cruising speed when not hampered by the wind.  They were riding on for another 30 miles.  I am always very impressed with the self-supported riders touring the country.  They can’t just quit any old place, have to carry everything with them all the time, and don’t always have a very good place to camp.

Dave, Ron and Natasha

Leaving Sanderson

Me, I’m a baby just stopping whenever I feel like it and calling the crew to come get me.

We came across another cross country rider coming from the outer banks area of North Carolina.  He had no particular destination in mind.

Stats for day 42:  Rode 51.51 miles (second highest to date, first back to back 50 mile days) at 12. 1 mph, Max=15.8 mph, Ascent=513’, Descent=1957, Max elevation=4297’, Min elevation=2680’, Ave heart rate=103, Max heart rate=146, Ave temp=65 degrees, Calories burned=1148.   Total trip miles=1194