Push On And Power Through

Waking up early to beat the wind hasn’t been an entirely successful strategy. At best, I’ve been able to get an hour of riding in before the wind unleashed its fury. Part of the issue being that it’s too dark to ride much before 8:00. Another part of the issue is that the wind doesn’t seem to take much of a break. That said, an hour of slight headwinds is better than a full headwind.

With that in mind, I was awake well before daylight kicked in which gave me plenty of time to pack up my bags and have some breakfast – a breakfast which consisted of about three bowls of Mini-Wheats. I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing but, between dinner last night and breakfast this morning, I once again polished off a full box of Mini-Wheats and two litres of milk. I can’t help but feel it’s a good thing. Thank you Dollar General!

I was on the road by 8:00 and by 8:30 I was pedalling into a very bright (and beautiful) sunrise. The biggest downside to riding towards a sunrise isn’t so much that I can’t see the road but rather that I become significantly less visible to traffic approaching from behind. Fortunately, there wasn’t much traffic at that hour and the shoulders continue to be nice and wide. That said, it was a nicer ride as the sun got further from the horizon.

As much as the wind continues to assault me on a daily basis, the first half of today’s ride was about as close to enjoyable as I think I can expect for the next while. And by “while” I mean 4-5 weeks. It’s no wonder most people start the Southern Tier in Florida.

My first major stop of the day was in Alpine, about 40 km and two hours into my ride. As far as I can tell, Alpine is the last town I expect to see for the next few days with significant services. And yes, included in “significant services” is Subway.

In some ways, this section of Texas reminds me of the ride between Thunder Bay, ON and Kenora, ON. Certainly not in its terrain or winds, but in the sense that it’s a pretty isolated area and the options for stopping along the way are pretty minimal. The towns are spaced about 100 km apart and there’s even a Dryden, TX along the way. Texas also reminds me of Ontario in the sense that it will take about three weeks to cross it. With the winds I suspect it will feel like ten weeks!

From Subway my day followed what has become a typical day in Texas. Wind, wind, wind. And yes, I’m fully aware of how much the wind has dominated my updates lately. Well, what can I say? The wind has dominated my rides a lot lately. And yes, I knew (or at least suspected) that I would be facing a lot of headwinds on my ride to Florida. That said, I think my first two weeks since leaving San Diego may have given me a false sense of hope regarding those headwinds. They’re here. And it seems they’re here to stay. That said, I have little choice but to push on and power through. Even if it drives my crazy in the process.

Despite the winds, today certainly had some very scenic elements. Not all of which translated well to photos, but fortunately some did.

I didn’t really have much of an accommodation plan for Marathon. Actually, I didn’t have any kind of accommodation plan for Marathon. All I knew about Marathon was that it is small and that it has a grocery store. Not much to go on but it was a start.

As I entered town I noticed an RV Park along the way. I suspected that would be my home for the night; however, I decided to continue on to the grocery store since my food supply was a bit low. The grocery store was just a block from the highway and easy to find. Hardly surprising considering the size of the town.

In addition to getting some food, I learned from the people at the grocery store that, in addition to the RV Park, there’s a cycle-friendly hostel in town. I decided to check it out.

The hostel is an interesting place and seems to be a bit of a work in progress. It’s actually listed on the Warm Showers website (sort of) but the hostel seems to be in a bit of a transitional stage. Apparently they were recently considering closing the place down after having a few unfortunate incidents with guests. Some cyclists. Some not. In the end I decided to stay there.

Despite essentially having the place to myself, I don’t actually have my own room. But that was by choice. Stan, my contact at the hostel, pointed out a sheltered area on the deck which was a great place to camp. I say, “camp” but really I would just be sleeping in my sleeping bag on a mattress that was on the deck. The area was completely open on the west side but other than that it was completely sheltered. With the winds blowing from the east, it seemed like a good spot. Spoiler alert: It was.

As far as I can tell, tomorrow’s ride appears to be very similar to today’s ride. Yes, including the wind. We’ll see what the morning brings in terms of what time I’ll get on the road. Until then I’m going to enjoy my night under the stars.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 92.90 km
Ride time: 4:32:41
Average speed: 20.44 km/h
Maximum speed: 45.63 km/h