Tucumcari, NM to Vega, TX

July 5.

Several people went to the fireworks for July 4 in Tucumcari.  We also had some guests, whom I had not previously met, but for several it was a reunion of old friends.  The West Coast Fuller Center Bike Adventure has the same staff as the East Coast Bike Adventure, so they were traveling from the end of the West Coast ride to the beginning of the East Coast ride and they arrived in Tucumcari at about dinner time.  I got to meet the people with whom I will ride for my last two weeks from Savannah down to Key West.  Richard, one of the media interns, is also a chef and wanted to prepare dinner for us.  We had a very good dinner that evening.

I promised that I would let you know about my excellent decision to rest on the Fourth!  July 5 was my best riding day ever.  It began when we all left the First Baptist Church.  I was having a little trouble with my GPS device and had to stop.  Mark said something about me taking a cupcake break, but when I got things working again, they weren’t far ahead and were still in town.  So I rode hard and passed them!  It was super fun!  And then I was able to ride with the lead group for at least ten miles.  I lost them when a couple people decided to race against the media car, creating a big gap between me and the group.  After that I fell further and further behind.  But it was still my best day riding of the trip so far.  We are getting into flatter territory (hill-climbing is not my strength, as I have said before.  I’m getting  better, but it’s still my weak point.)  We also had a tail wind in the morning!  It was a great start to the day.  I got to the first rest stop while there was still a party going on!

We had help from the Coast ride support team for the rest stops, so the media team had a car all to themselves to take photos and videos and run ahead to special locations.  That also made a good day to be in the lead, because they take more photos and videos of them.  I heard Maddie say once that if you took every person at the same location, a video will get pretty boring—it all looks the same.

We crossed the Texas border during the day.  At that time we were on the interstate.  Much of the day we were on old Route 66.  Some of it is in great condition and some of it is terrible!  One of the highlights was in Adrian, TX which is the midway point of Route 66—halfway between Chicago and Los Angeles!  The cafe there didn’t have sandwiches, but they had great pie and good coffee.  I got myself a souvenir mug which I had shipped to my mom’s house.

As the day wore on, it got hotter.  The tar on the road was bubbly.  I got about a 1/4 inch coating of tar on my tires, and then we went through chip and seal which wasn’t fully sealed.  I picked up a ton of tiny rocks on my tires.  Not the greatest finish to the day, but we all made it to Vega safely.

Richard, with the help of the dinner team, made an excellent meal for us.  Then the Coastal group headed out around 8 pm to continue toward their Maine destination.