Wyatt Earp via the Dalton gang

normally on the tour there is one group starting at 07.00 and another at 07.30,this has not really happened on this tour yet,but yesterday Paula announced that today there would be two start times.A real boost for Elizabeth's confidence and a tribute to her increasing strength that we were put in the late start group.So we set off at 07.30 in bright weather with only a mild breeze and a non jacket temperature.60 Kms to the first stop,and that fairly whizzed by with a light tail wind and a decent pace line.Just as well we had the distraction of concentrating on the wheel in front as the scenery was just enormous wheat fields or grassland broken only by the occasional nodding donkey

Plenty of land and very green but there were fields where maize had been harvested last year,and nothing more had been done.In a lot of depressions there was standing water,so it looked as if the ground has been too wet up to now to prepare for a new crop.

After 60 Kms we reached the first stop which was situated at the Dalton Gang hideout.A family of bank robbers that ran riot for 18 months before being gunned down.They used an underground tunnel from one barn to a small house,both of which are still extant,but renovated.In the lower picture you can make out the vague shape of the barn beneath the trees.

The house was furnished with bits and pieces from the 1860s,I particularly admired the small sewing machine.And just for Elodie(grand daughter)a couple of animals

A Bobcat

An albino racoon
Having refreshed ourselves at the stop we raced along to get some lunch in

A small mexican restaurant provided a sensible sized lunch ,after which we turned onto a delightfully surfaced road that was pretty flat and very straight.

On the way we saw some happy looking cows,Elizabeth very pleased,that tried to race along beside 

me,but I was too fast for them.The wind was by now a quartering sidewind,so still keeping us cool,despite an average temperature of 25°C.There was a sudden and welcome appearance of more roadside flowers

And the the long awaited sign

And so our hotel,with reminders of Wyatt Earp everywhere,both inside the hotel and outside.A very enjoyable day,with an average speed of 26.7Kph and 1416 miles completed. 

Dorothy's House

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A short day spoilt

Last night over dinner I learnt that not all of the snakes that we saw dead on the road,were dead ! One rattlesnack that we passed was very much alive.One cyclist saw it move when he was only two feet away and another brave soul stopped to take a photo of the beast,about four feet long and on the move.There were still quite a few on the road today and I looked more closely for movement!The other wild feature of the last few days has been the birdsong,no idea what species is singing but lovely to hear.
 On paper today was much easier than the last three days,but yesterday was just too good to last.So we awoke to find the wind had shifted to the North and we had to head north east all day. The wind also bought in the cold,so only 12°C when we set off and 16°C for most of the day.So we assembled a long chaingang first thing and rode off .After a few miles we cought up with two chaps who had not joined the line,so they stayed at the front and spared Elizabeth her turn.That line lasted all the way to the refreshment stop at 30 miles and made a hard task manageable.Had a temporary stop to aknowledge Mr Tex

 On the way we passed a good few windmills,if you look closely at the picture you will see a tiny windmill dwarfed by the others.

After 50 miles we passed the stateline and moved into Oklahoma

By the time we reached Oklahoma the line had shrunk as folk gave up(Elizabeth stopped after 30 miles) or stopped to take extra photos.Five of us rode into Texhoma ,two rode straight on and three of us(Greg,Tom and I) stopped for a sandwich and a drink.And the three of us completed the 72.3 miles to Guymon together.Made a horrible day acceptable.The other feature of the day was the lorries,for once they proved a benefit,because as they swept by they produced a short vacuum into which our bikes leapt,giving an all too temporary relief from the wind,but when Four swept by together-boundless joy-for 2 seconds.

Now over one third of the journey has been completed-1291.6 miles and there is still time to sponsor us ,just go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/howard-reece-smith1

Had a lovely email from Bernard,whose building we are helping to build, this morning,helps us keep focused on the task in hand.

Texas

Texas deserves to be the title today as we only spend one night in the state.It is the second largest state by both population and area,the name comes from the word TAYSHA which means friends in the language of the Caddo people.Anyway more importantly we had orange juice for breakfast today,as well as other stuff.Set off at 07.00 with a tail wind that blew steadily all day,and made the 96 miles fly by.

 The terrain was pretty featureless all day ,just pretty flat grasslands,with ,for the most part,just the occasional cow.After 5' miles we crossed the state line and took a photo.

Judi and Linda in the photo.At the last refreshment stop Dana asked me why I had a piece of cloth hanging from my mouth.The answer is simple,my lower lip was sunburnt in the desert on the fourth cycling day,and no amount of factor 50 suncream will protect it.If anything it makes it worse as the cream gets into the cracks and hurts....a lot.So I protect my lip with a flap of cloth and it is healing steadily.Whilst on the subject of aches and pains,I do not think one can cycle these sort of distances withot some aches and pains.Sore tail ends are pretty inevitable and only' how sore ' matters.In my case it is sore but no skin loss and not requiring any treatment,which is excellent.Not so my right great toe,which became painful right at the start,I think because ones feet swell with both the flight and the heat.The swollen toe then rubs and it is difficult to get over it whilst continuing to cycle.But it means that I have an extra highlight to my day-when I take my shoes off!
 Eventually we reached the outskirts of Dalhart to find immense numbers of cows all clustered together in 'feeding stations'.The american beef farmers like to feed the cows on sorghum grain for their last month before slaughter to make the meat more tender.But to the passer by the stations look like concentration camps for cows.

Poor cows.There are an awful lot of them in a small area.Few miles past and we arrived at the hotel.The entrance of which is marked with two horses.

Escaped to the jacuzzi to soak the weary body,but an average speed today of 27.4 Kph is good for the morale!

Yucca Day

Today was simply very hard.Started with a decent breakfast but for the second day running no orange juice.I asked the waitress if I could buy a glass,to be told there was none in the hotel ! I suspect there was more to it than that.Cool when we set off and pretty flat,but heating up rapidly.We spent most of the first 40K sitting on Barry's wheel( Barry joined the tour in Santa Fe)he went at a very good pace for Elizabeth.The road we followed all day was beautifully quiet and in places spectacularly beautiful.all along the road side were Yucca plants just coming into full flower as well as an assortment of other wild flowers.

The countryside was wide open plains with cows and horses scattered sparsely.

There were some magnificent rocky outcrops  and a superb descent ,fast with sweeping bends that did not necessitate braking.My maximum speed 76.4Kph,could have done better.

After the first refreshment stop we rode with Bill and Linda,until the descent separated us-Linda does not like descending,so I have christened here Thibault Pinot.She climbs very well but like Thibault thinks too much about the potential for disaster on the way down.She likes the analogy and even searched TP on

the internet last night.Just as we set off with B&L the road took a turn so we were heading south into an ever increasing southerly wind.Was a struggle to make decent headway,but after about 10 Kms the road slowly swung back to heading east and so we only had to cope with the crosswind.There were two hard but reasonably short climbs today and a myriad of rollers.Sadly one of the climbs came with 10 Kms to go and as the temperature was 36°C by then it proved taxing to us all.Worse was to come as we crested the hill expecting to roll into town ,the road turned back to south,the wind was by now very strong and our pace over the last 10Kms very slow,even funereal.
 But we made it-a fantastic ride for Elizabeth in the heat,her bete noir.109 miles ,giving us a current total of 1123.3 miles or 1807 Kms,and 43692 feet climbed.Now for a well earned dinner

A day of ups and downs

Todays title should be taken both ways,literally as we cycled a lot of ups and downs and also metaphorically as there were high and low points.
 We started with breakfast at 6.00,as usual most of us arrived by 5.50,but there was only bread and butter,coffee and water! Eventually at 6.00 some scrambled egg and bacon arrived,but no cereals,fruit or juice-not a good start for a hard cycling day.Paula explained that it was the hotel at fault,and not as she had ordered.
 We cycled off with some steady climbing for about 17 Kms ,never steep but persistent.A pleasant descent then a bit of interstate.When we turned off the interstate we had an excellent ride through wooded countryside and up to the highest point of the tour.Glorieta Pass at 7500ft in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains .Sadly there was no sign to aknowledge this feat so instead you get a photo of Peyton.

Sorry that it is not my best photo.

          

On the descent we came to a sign marking the frontline from the battle of Glorieta pass from the American Civil war.The Confererate forces originally pushed back the Union forces but had to retreat after their supply train was destroyed and as a result had to leave New Mexico completely.

The photo below shows the place of the frontline and the tomb of the unknown soldier. Then the lovely road,a photo of Bill,Greg and Tom and a small stream.

Two refreshment stops and plenty of up and down,along roads generously supplied with wild flowers

At the second stop we celebrated having cycled 1000 miles,but I could not help thinking that it was,in some ways a rather premature celebration,as we not even one third of the way there!

By now the temperature was rising rather quickly,it peaked at 37°C before settling a liitle to 33°C,hot for cycling up hills,although we had a good few rollers today that could be ascended with just a quick whizz of the pedals.

Eventually we cycled up to the hotel in time for a late lunch,but the service was sloooow,so 15.00 by the time we finished.And then the next down of the day,rooms not ready.Had to wait until 16.30 to get a shower,which was particularly annoying as other folk arrived and were given a room straight away.Anyway this was followed by a good dinner,although I have little idea as to what we ate,spicy with beans and a lot of cheese,very tasty.

So we are now in Las Vegas,New Mexico,not Nevada ,and have completed 1014 miles and 40,875 ft of climbing.reday for a good nights sleep.