The wind blew all last night and increased from the day before.  And anyone who plies the water knows the longer and harder it blows the bigger the waves get.  That was just the case today with the wind on my nose again only stronger, the waves (hills) were bigger.   I reefed down to low gear and never shook the reef out all day.  And just to make me feel like I was at home and on Lake Erie I could feel the spray in my face.

The spray was coming from the overcast skies.  The precipitation was the first I had felt since starting the ride.  I know it won’t be the last, but they typically only get about 8 inches a year around these parts so the fine rain was mystifying.  I never really got wet, but I could have used some wipers for my sunglasses.

Near the end of my ride I was working up a long hill barely moving against the wind which always seemed to get stronger at the top when I broke a spoke.  As I walked over to a sign to prop the unicycle up to work on, my crew showed up and made a wind block with the truck so I could work in peace.

Today I met a young couple riding from Austin Texas headed for San Diego, and a retired couple on a tandem riding from Jacksonville Fl.  They were all enjoying the wind at their backs.

Unfortunately this day broke my string of eight 40 mile plus days in a row.  I rode 32 miles to just before the Pecos river about 45 miles west of Del Rios.  It was a very tough day.

Stats for day 44: Rode 32.73 miles at 8.4 mph, Max=11.5, Ascent=1378’, Descent=1566, Max elevation=1841’, Min elevation=1310’, Ave heart rate=106, Max heart rate=138,  Ave temp=60 degrees, Calories burned =1219.  Total trip miles =1267.