Day 22 (5/15/22) Good News, Bad News

Start:                  Tulsa, OK

End:                    Miami, OK

 Mileage:             80 miles

Elevation:           1,833 feet

The good news is my new rain gear works.  The bad news is I needed to use it today. 

For the first time in 22 riding days, I had to battle rain.  It started raining about 50 miles into the day.  I was being pelted pretty hard and was getting pretty wet, so I donned the rain jacket and rain pants (we knew rain was in the forecast, so it was packed for the day).  Within 5 minutes however, the rain stopped for the remaining 30 miles, so I guess it was a good “dry” run for what I might encounter as we venture further east.  With the rain, though, came the winds which made the last 30 miles more difficult than the first 50. 

After yesterday’s century, I’m beat, and it’s only the second day of the “riding week”.  I do get a break tomorrow.  Tish and I decided to go beyond our originally planned stopping point today to get better accommodations in Miami, OK.  We’re 30 miles beyond where we thought we were going to stay, so I’m only going to pedal about 35 miles tomorrow.  Yesterday’s budget motel turned out to be a bit of a mess.  A non-smoking room which was not, neighbors who decided to have a barbeque outside of our room at 10:30 p.m. (also the neighbors with a confederate flag on their radio antennae), and just a general ick factor convinced us to be a bit more selective. 

Not a lot of pictures today.  The first 50 miles were all about grinding it out as fast as possible given the added mileage we tacked onto the day.  The last 30 was all about grinding it out as fast as possible to get to the hotel before any more rain fell.

One more thing.  I forgot to mention frog roadkill yesterday. 

What I’m Grateful for Today

• Tish continues to be so incredibly supportive for something she did not sign up for.  I so value her and completely appreciate everything she’s doing.  In just the past 24 hours she moved everything we needed from the van into the rooms we stayed at each night, picked me up from the end of my ride yesterday and brought me back to the motel, drove me to the starting point this morning, came back to the starting point this morning when I realized I left my cycling shoes in the van when she dropped me off the first time, did the laundry while I was pedaling, downloaded all of the GPX files I need for navigation for all of the routes through Virginia, figured out a better route for me on Wednesday based on the downloads, made arrangements for accommodations for most of the nights this week, continually checked the weather while I was pedaling, and generally made me extremely happy just by being in the same room as her.  I can’t see this crazy trip happening without her.  Sorry ladies, she’s already won the 2022 Wife of the Year award. 

P.S.  Happy birthday to my niece Ann.