Pedaling for Patriots

So, I don’t like to think of it as losing.  He was just more persuasive.  Yes, I had to sit out today and Rob rode alone.  I know he was much faster without me, as he covered 92 miles in about 6 hours – and that’s with a lot of hills!  He left Anson this morning a little after 7am and said he froze for the first couple of hours.  He saw a couple of dead wild boars on the side of the road, but it was mainly just mile after mile of uphill climbs.  He saw a two Blackhawk helicopters flying in formation and four C130’s flying in formation at low level.  He found that quite motivating.  There were also lots of wind turbines as he passed through another wind farm.  A state police officer stopped to ask him if he was OK a few miles outside of Snyder.  When he said he was, the police officer commented, “We don’t get many bicyclists in these parts.”  The last 20 miles he put on his headphones because the ride was just so boring!

I, on the other hand, got to enjoy the “White Buffalo Days” in Snyder and shopped in a number of cute stores.  I got very excited when I read that they were having a “Bikefest”, but quickly learned that they meant MOTORcycle, not bicycle.  We all ate lunch together at the Big Apple Deli, housed in part of the historic Manhattan hotel (thus the name “Big Apple”), where the food is good but the restrooms are great!  (That’s what the menu says.)

For dinner we went to the Sky-Vue drive-in theater in Lamesa.  It was established in 1948 and is one of only 14 remaining drive-in theaters in Texas.  “The survival of this cultural landmark is largely due to the excellent food available in the snack bar. The “Chihuahua” sandwich (stacked fried corn tortillas filled with homemade chili, onions, shredded cabbage and pimento cheese with a jalapeño pepper on the side) is a specialty of the snackbar and many local residents order takeout even when they don’t watch the movie. Before he became famous, musician Buddy Holly once performed on top of the concession stand building.”

Stats:

Time:  6 hours

Distance:  92 miles

Live Animals:  Horses, Miniature Horses, Cows, Goats, Dogs

Dead Animals:  Boar, Hawk, Snake, Porcupine, Frog