Reporting on: Wednesday, May 26, 2009

Riding Route: From Dalhart, TX to Guyman, OK via Route 90

Temperature: 43-75 degrees/Winds: 10-30 mph

Elevation Climb: 500 Feet

Miles Ridden Today: 76

It was 43 degrees when we began our ride today...sunny with light winds. Not a bad start! By noon it was 75 degrees and we were meeting 30 mph head winds...reminiscent of yesterday! In Texas, Route 90 is only two lanes with very little berm riding area. The minute we crossed over into Oklahoma it became a 4 lane road, wide berms and a grassy median strip between the lanes. I want to thank my friend Faye Norton for paying lots of taxes so we could enjoy the good roads!

When we left Dalhart, TX this morning we were immediately in a big wheat producing area. The land was irrigated, the green fields were refreshing - and we couldn't keep count of the number of silos we saw. All day the roads were FLAT. (I only used three gears the entire day). Definitely easier terrain today than yesterday! Yes, the wind was still tough, but having a divided road made a huge difference! (We passed miles of wind farms today also - very appropriate for this area)!

I sprinkled my good luck sand (the riders call it "fairy dust") at the base of the "Welcome to Oklahoma" sign. Margaret and Mac, two of our support people , are in the above picture with me. Margaret's from Florida - and Mac's from England. Both of them have done this ride...and now are back as volunteer support people. We couldn't do it without them!

Four of us arrived in Guymon about 2:30 and stopped at the "Burger Barn" for lunch (pictured above). The owner, Albert, was genuinely interested in our adventure. He took our picture and said it would be up on his wall next time we stopped by! Guymon is best known for it's Pioneer Days Rodeo which has been celebrating our pioneer spirit every May since the 1930s. The Rodeo is the 5th Largest Outdoor Rodeo and the 10th Largest Rodeo in Prize Money in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. The city's largest employer, a pork processing plant, processes 16,000 hogs daily, and its 2,300 employees make up about 20% of the entire city's population. You can thank them when you have your bacon tomorrow morning!