Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Day 18: Tucumcari, NM to Dalhart, TX

Distance: 94.49 miles

Elevation gain: 1,943 feet

Avg speed: 17.5 mph

Max speed: 29.6 mph

Moving time: 5:23:04

Although today’s ride was a relatively long one, today’s blog post will probably end up on the shorter side. I did not take many pictures today, and didn’t really feel compelled by most of the pictures in our photo-sharing group. 

Not the first Texas sign we encountered, but this one was nicer and I believe more famous than the other one

Today’s ride was once again on a highway, but not an Interstate. Still, it was very busy with truck traffic. I did get one flat today, but this time the puncture was caused by a thorn instead of a wire, for a change of pace. Luckily, it was the front tire, which is easier to take on and off of the bike (as compared with the rear wheel, which requires messing with the chain). We had favorable winds today, which made for a pretty quick ride. 

When we eventually got close to Dalhart, we encountered a huge cattle feedlot. I’m not sure which was worse - the smell, or the bugs! It seemed like every time I’d stand on the pedals (either to get more leverage for climbing or to accelerate, or just to give my rear end a brief break from the bike seat), a bug would land on my face and start crawling on me, causing me to sit back down so I could use one hand to steer and the other to brush the bug off of me. We had a similar experience passing several feedlots in California earlier in the tour, only the bugs in Texas seem to be much BIGGER than their California counterparts. 

Cows as far as the eye can see!

Eventually, we made our way into Dalhart itself. 

Shortly thereafter, we arrived at the hotel, and our dinner tonight was a catered affair from a local barbecue place. Everything was delicious!

And, of course, what would one of my blog posts be without the day’s video? (There is a special feature in it regarding the state line crossing.)

Well, that’s all for now! Tomorrow is ANOTHER big day - we cross into Oklahoma! Have a good night!

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Final Thoughts and Reflections

Total distance: 3,431.14 miles Total elevation gain: 107,642 feet Total moving time: 229:58:10 (That comes out to 9 days, 13 hours, 58 minut...