Day 21, riding day 19, April 11, Van Horn TX to Ft Davis TX 90.5 miles 1,131.5 miles cuml

Sunday's ride was without doubt the hardest ride of the trip. It was 90.5 miles and had nearly 4,000 vertical ft elevation gains in total. We started with about 39 miles along I-10 (the shoulder riding is great) getting passed by many NASCAR semi-trucks going from one race to the next with their gaudy paint jobs for Target, Aflac, M&Ms, etc. We then turned off at Kent, TX and headed uphill for three chances over 6,100 ft, topping at just under 6,300. Phil and I were together to Kent, and then we got separated as Phil was taking more time than I wanted (Mr. Patience here). It turns out he ended up having 2 flat tires after that point. Well, I maded it over the top and down into Ft. Davis in nice sunshine with very threatening clouds to the east arriving about 2:20p.
The entire rest of the group got stuck in thunder, lightning, hail, rain, hail, more of each, with survival stories under trees, rocks, culverts, etc. Janet took cover in a ditch. Becky was under a tree, and was worried when there was no gap between the lightning and thunder. The van made 2 trips back up about 20 miles to rescue the groups as the road was unrideable (see picture of Becky's tracks in the hail residue). The foot in the picture belings to Alice. I was warm and dry down in town at the motel with a Lone Star as the hail storm hit, watching the Masters and waiting for the rest of the group. Luke had another flat and was one cold rider. Dave, the leader riding sweep, had real tire problems, going through 3 tubes and 6 patches. Since it was raining so hard, he could not get the patches to stay, and had to pump air in every 1.5 miles. He noted that the Froot Loops he had eaten for breakfast had given him the super extra energy to perservere. Becky, Phil, Frank and Luke kept going and made it through, arriving between 430 and 630. Phil got to the motel with newspaperstuck to his chest that he had procured to keep himself warm. Luke said he rode with both hands in his shorts since they were so cold...how he steered braked is a question. Sharon was in the first van rescue, and wearing cotton and no gloves was hypothermic and it took nearly 2 hours to warm her up. Steve was smart and only rode the first 25 or so miles and was already in the van for the storm. He did have to stay at the McDonald Observatory with the baggage that had been unloaded while the van made its first rescue trip. Eli rode in the van for the first 39 miles and was saving his riding for the hill portion. He rode about 30 miles up the hill before being picked up again.

Well, once everyone made it, we had texas bbq at good restaurant, courtesy of Dave. Monday is a day off, and Dave is being a great leader and offered to take Janet and Sharon back up to their stopping points yesterday, as they had aborted the ride with about 20 miles to go, to finish their segments to keep their EFI alive, re-joining Bruce, Phil, Becky, Frank and Luke. (Alice did the transam last year so EFI is not that important to her.) **update, 1230pm Apr 12, Alice and Sharon have returned from their rides and completed yesterday's rides in sunny weather.**