Cycling Ellen

60 miles
1091 total

Last night at our map meeting, Michelle asked us to sum up our lives at this point in six words which we’ll share for our entertainment after dinner.  I’m still deciding what my words will be (actually, I’m keeping them a secret until dinner) but I know what my words for today would be, “Happy to be on my bike”.  After my scheduled and unscheduled rest days recuperating, I was so glad to be on the road again today.  Yesterday, I started to feel human again with a lot more energy and some occasional coughing.  I still have a lingering cough, especially at night (pity my poor roommate).   When I started to cough, I headed outside and looked at the millions of stars in the oversize, dark, Texan sky.  It was hard to find the familiar constellations with so many stars up there.  There are rules about outside lighting in this area with the MacDonald Observatory nearby.  What a difference that makes!

As we left our place on the hill, we were all surprised by how cold it was on the road this morning, especially going downhill.  I stopped in town for a few minutes to browse in a gift shop just long enough to warm up my hands.  It was an easy ride, great for getting back on my bike, through more rangelands with cattle and horses.

About half way there, we got into Alpine.  On the right was a woman standing outside talking to a couple of our riders.  She had a bottle bush on her lawn.   She explained that this was a Texas tradition (Genie in our group from Texas confirmed that she had one as well).  People hang their empty bottles on a tree upside down.  Elaine told us that the French do this to wash and reuse their wine bottles.  It has developed into its own art style now.

We stopped for croissants at a bakery in Alpine.  As we headed out of town, I was surprised to see some people holding up a huge Impeach Bush sign – not what I expected to see in Texas!

Unfortunately, the weather changed dramatically as we headed east.  There were clouds looming and a headwind for the first time that day.  Jane and I tucked in behind Ann and Micki in a pace line only Micki did all the pulling.  Micki is 23, Ann’s daughter, and a former bike racer.  30 miles was starting to feel like a long way to go when we began to notice that the winds had shifted.  Ann and I were talking and realized we were going about 25 mph and barely pedaling.  Once again, a tailwind made our day.  We flew into town, laughing and happy about the change in the wind.

Marathon is a fun town with a great Western style (think cowhide rugs and suede pillows at our hotel).  There’s a natural food store, a great bookstore, a soda fountain where you can get a veggie burger and some great hotels.  My friend, Megan, has a place here and it was fun to seek it out on the edge of town.  We loved it, Megan!

Tomorrow is an easy day (isn’t it cool that these 50-60 mile days we are considering “easy” now) so we get to sleep in and eat breakfast at 8:30 a.m.  We’ll all dream of tailwinds tonight.