Day 24 Marathon to Sanderson

56.6 miles 835 ft of climb

Todays ride promised to be a real change from yesterday. The winds had died down and were not expected to be a factor for most of the day. With only 56.7 miles to go, we expected to be in Sanderson before the winds picked up. The winds were still coming out of the SE, but were not expected to be strong.

The landscape began to change. We were still in the desert, but it was greener and the surrounding mountains began to look more like mesas with flat tops. We had climbing the first part of the ride and then at around mile 25, we would begin a gradual descent of about 2,000 ft. The day started in the low 40s, but it promised to be warmer in Sanderson because of the drop in elevation. This was ranching country and it also meant that there were no towns or even gas stations for over 50 miles. We were still on Highway 90, but traffic was very light.

Here's a video of the changing landscape along with a little music from James.

It seemed otherworldly to be in a place, on a highway, with literally no signs of human habitation. No homes, no abandoned buildings, no nothing suggesting human habitation. I counted less then five homes along this whole stretch until we got to Sanderson.

The ride was not as easy as it looked on the GPS. There were no major climbs, but lots of little undulations in the road, and lots of very long grades. The downhill was also rolling so there was not a real chance to descend very quickly.

With about ten miles to go to Sanderson, we picked up a crosswind that steadily became stronger as the day wore on. It was not the fierce gusts of yesterday, but the winds negated any downhill coasting and it was just as hard as peddling up a grade.

We made it in a reasonable time and James needed to stop at a hardware store to purchase a flashlight that he had lost. The hardware store turned out to also be a n artist's emporium and there were large metal sculptures along the whole front of the store. Inside was crammed from floor to ceiling (and later Steve told me there was a second floor also filled with stuff). In the rear was the hardware store, also crammed from floor to ceiling. There was a large metal sculpture of Don Quixote on a horse outside in front that was at least one story high. The owner told me that he had just put it out and within hours he had sold it to a rancher for $4,000. (He had not yet picked it up.). The rancher was going to install it by the road to identify the turn into his home.

Tonight we are staying at the First Baptist Church. They not only graciously allowed us to sleep in their building (not the sanctuary this time), but also cooked us dinner in the parsonage next to the church. Pastor Mike and his wife Kelly could not have been more kind and dinner was wonderful!

Tomorrow promises to be a challenging day going from Sanderson to Comstock. 81.5 miles long and with several short, but steep (or steeper than we have experienced lately) climbs. Hope the wind gods smile favorably upon us, per Pastor Mike's request.