Day 11
Who paid the wind Gods?

Not much in the way of things to report on the route itself today though.  The Texas panhandle is pretty wide open and desolate.  The only action that was going on was lots of large cattle trucks streaming down the highway and the ever present freight trains that pass by every few minutes...we did roll through a couple of small towns today, but the key words here are "a couple" and another key word is "small."  Tonight we are staying at a Best Western motel right by railroad tracks so by morning I'm sure we'll have a new appreciation for rail commerce in the west.  And the good news...the lady and gentleman who used to work here and who were good friends to ABB are BACK!  I was really surprised when I walked into the lobby and said hi to Sue.  When the motel sold out a couple years ago, she and her husband left to pursue other things, but as time passed the new owners needed help so Sue and husband returned...great to see them again.

The traffic is never a problem out here.  Hwy 54 has wide shoulders in New Mexico and Texas and we'll have nice shoulders until we get to Oklahoma.  We also had a pleasant surprise when we crossed the Texas line as they had freshly repaved the shoulder for about 30 miles before we got back to the regular chip seal they use out here.  But even when we got to the rougher surface, the winds made it easy to keep the speed up and glide over the small bumps.  The part I like out here is there was plenty of room for us to ride even side by side on the shoulder as we passed the time in the saddle. 

We did pass our first feed lot today.  The winds today were blowing the full force of the aroma right across the road as we rode by the feedlot on the left.  It's so dry out here that the cattle were stirring up so much dust you could hardly see for a mile or so.  And the smell...well, let's just say there is probably enough methane to blow up Texas and Oklahoma combined.  For those of you who don't know what a feed lot is, it's an area where they bring cattle to fatten before they are processed and there are thousands of them in every lot.  It's sort of a sad sight because you know that in about 6 weeks, every one of them will have met their fate and a new batch will take their place.  It is quite a sight...and quite a smell especially if you are down wind like we were today, but it's what makes this part of the country prosper.  I guess knowing where that Big Mac comes from makes one feel a little different about eating red meat.

We are off the interstates now so we don't have to worry so much about the radial tire wires we pick up in our tires, but now we have the notorious Texas goatheads.  These little plants produce a round, prickly thorn that plays havoc with anything it touches.  At our SAGs, we had to be careful and not ride our bikes in the grass at all...if we did, we'd pick up so many goatheads that we might as well throw the tire away.  No end to the challenges we face on the road.

Of course after a day like today, everyone was in good spirits and anxious to do all the sights in Dalhart...that didn't take long.  It's nice to get in early and have an afternoon to rest up.  We have a couple who are a little under the weather so the early afternoon is good for them too. 

Tomorrow we head into the Panhandle...to Pampa TX.  The weather Gods are forecast to smile on us again for at least one more day...then we may have to have a little pay back for these pushing winds.  Maybe we'll decide to ride back west after tomorrow...we'll see.  See you tomorrow in Pampa.