Rolling, rolling, rolling - 208 miles in one day!

Day 10: 
  • Tucumcari, NM to Dalhart, TX, 96 miles for the day, 2078' up, 2221' down, with less than 500' from the highest point to the lowest point. AND
  • Dalhart, TX to Liberal, Kansas, 113 miles, with an elevation drop of about 1200'. 

Total: 208 miles, done in less than 11 hours total elapsed time, average speed - 22.6 mph, starting in New Mexico, going through Texas and Oklahoma, and ending in Kansas. Wow! What a once in a lifetime day for the team!

The guys were off and riding at 5:30 - first light. The winds were favorable right from the start, but grew increasingly so during the day, with winds from the southwest, ideal when you are riding northeast. The plan was to at least go to Dalhart, and play it by ear from there. They reached Dalhart in less than 5 hours, so were off again, with a potential stopping point in Guymon, Oklahoma at 170 miles. But, the winds kept pushing them on to Liberal. At one stop, Jerry said, "You only have to pedal if you want to go faster than 20 mph."

The route began on Route 54 in Tucumcari and the guys stayed on that road all day, heading constantly northeast. It was a two lane road with lots of truck traffic and with some rough spots, but tolerable. Vern said he would have preferred to be on the freeway, but they only had one flat all day, many fewer than they would have had on the freeway.

The day started at 59 degrees, reached 65  by 8:00, and topped off at 88, so a favorable start, but it would have been challenging if it had not been for the tailwind.

Welcome to Texas.
They were so eager to get back on the bikes, they didn't want to pose.

Welcome to Oklahoma.

The scheduled route for tomorrow is from Liberal to Dodge City, Kansas for only 83 miles, with less than 400' elevation change from the highest point to the lowest. The following day, is only 87 miles, losing about 800' of elevation. Let's see what the guys are game to try tomorrow!

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