I've been without connectivity for nearly a week, so I have some catching up to do. The ride out of Ft.Hancock was greatN We had a 13-15 mph tailwind, and on the second of the 2 mountain ranges we went over I could actually feel the wind pushing me up the hill. I was actually upshifting on the climb--what a way to ride!
The next day's ride was just the opposite. -e started out before the sun was over the horizon, riding on I-10 into a headwind and on a chip seal road surface. ' only made it to the first sag stop (21 mi) before quitting for the day. t his day was one of the most difficult riding days because of the amount of climbing to get to Ft. Davis.
We had a rest day here and stayed in the lodge at Ft. Davis State Park about 4 mi west of town. We had a shuttle into town and I got to visit the old fort. While there I hiked the nature trail up Sleeping Lion Mountain. Great views and Ilearned tthe identity of a number of the plants I've seen along the road. i also visited the Overland Trail Museum which had little about the trail, but the dirt road in front of the museum was part of the original trail.
To give you an idea of the ares we are riding thru, Jefferson Davis Co. is the size of Rhode Island and has a population of 1200, 800 of whom live in the town of Ft. Davis which is the county seat. No rain in the area since last September. Humidity around 5%.
Glad to see you back online - I was worried about you. It is pretty amazing how sparsely settled the southwest is - at least parts of it. I loved finding remnants of the old trails - some of them are visible from the interstates, which is rather ironic. The West really does come alive when you can see it up close and personal - and how better to do that than on a bike?
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