Finally on our Way

We are finally on our way. Today we rode for 11 hours and ended the day in Dumas, TX. I was sure glad to get here. An hour into the trip this morning I stripped off my rain gear because I was hot and it hadn't rained much. 10 minutes later I was riding along in a very heavy downpour and wondering what the heck I had been thinking! To make matters worse, I was on the wrong highway, which was no big deal since it was going north, but when we corrected course we ended up wasting 40 miles by zig-zagging through the hill country when there was a more direct route. Oh well, we saw some really nice countryside, even if it was flooding.

A few hours after it stopped raining I finally dried out, but once we passed Lubbock we hit a very heavy rainstorm that was 30 or 40 miles across. I just kept the bike pointed straight down the lane and kept going as fast as I could and hoped it would end. It did eventually, but the wonderful mid-80s temps had fallen to the low 60s and I needed to dry out or I'd freeze to death.

At our final gas stop I put the rain gear back on and felt much better for the final hour until we made it to our stop for the night.

Dad and I had a nice steak dinner (what else would you have in North TX?) I did a couple hours of work on some plans and now it's time to go to bed. It will feel really good to lay flat for the night!

Tomorrow we are going to try to get to Ft. Collins, CO. Hopefully not nearly so much rain.