Flying into Van Horn, Texas

We rode through more of Texas today. There is a lot of griping about Texas. It's BIG, for one thing. It's windy, for another. And it's, well, BIG. But today was a stellar day. Just as perfect as a day could be if you were to plunk yourself down in the middle of the Western part of this huge state and decide to get on a bicycle for a spin.

We were graced with a light and then a moderate and then a whipping good tail wind all day today. This means that we flew along with no effort. And the day was and still is a bit chilly and that was also a relief. We are pretty well exposed out here. Today's route was the frontage road next to Interstate 10. Not exactly what you might select as the most scenic choice. But I guess there are not a whole lot of choices and really, if you look at the landscape and not the road, the view can be pretty nice.

And then, riding with that tail wind is a spectacular experience. To give you a little bit of perspective, I usually ride at 15 miles per hour when I am home. Around here, with the help of the team, I've been riding a bit faster. On a steep downhill I have gotten up to 39 miles per hour. And on the sloggiest of days with the steepest uphill, I can go as slow as 7. Well, today we were floating along at 18 - 20. No effort. No troubles. Oh joy.

Also, the tv clip that appears just before this entry is the bit that appeared on the NBC station in San Diego just before I left. Dara, the wizard from Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, posted it for me. Thanks Dara!

And the interview from Silver Springs is now viewable too but I haven't yet seen it. I'll look and figure it out and will tell you how to do it as soon as possible.

Anyway - I'm VERY happy to be here. Tomorrow we ride for 90 miles and it is supposed to be beautiful. We'll end in Fort Davis and I am going to spend the evening with Tex Harrison who used to own Complements to the Chef in Asheville. Fun!!!