Day 6: One of those days (in the life)

Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head. Made my way downstairs and drank a cup, and looking up, I noticed I was up awfully early. Found my coat and grabbed my hat, walked across the street to find Sonic CLOSED.

As Gedde Watanabe saith in Sixteen Candles, "The Donger need FOOD!"

Settling for Holiday Inn Express' version of breakfast, I ate as much as I could before settling in for the day. It was just one of those days where not so much one big, bad thing happened, but lots of little, annoying things happened, not the least of which was in the middle of tonight's post, encountering the Big Bad Blue Screen of Death, brought to you by Microsoft. Physical memory dump.

Without going into excessive detail as to what went wrong, let's focus on what went right.

Since I am not going to make my initial estimate of the entire trip on two wheels (750 miles), I have accepted that the mileage I do finish with will raise money for a good cause, and that will be ok. While this could be seen as a failure, I choose to see it as a learning experience. When all is said and done, if all legs of the journey were to be laid end to end, I will have travelled past Amarillo from Colorado Springs, and that's an achievement. Mom says it is a success for her that I have not tried to kill myself by sticking to the original flight plan as it may've placed me in great peril. It is also true that the prominent purpose for me coming down here is to see my kids, and I will be doing that as well. Another good thing. It is good exercise, chalk up another positive, and seeing Mom is always good. Hey, one more thing is that many people will receive post cards from me, and that's always fun, isn't it? Controlling the grasshopper population by rolling over them from time to time is a useful public service, and quality time away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life helps clean out the attic and reset the body for winter.

With that many good things going on, it makes lack of breakfast burrito and headwinds seem insignificant, although headwinds still stink to high heaven (see sour milk-drinking/battery-licking reference in Day 5 post). Geez, I could write a thesis on headwinds and compare them to all things sucky for eternity. Nothing gets under my skin like a good headwind and the occasional mosquito, but mosquitoes you can squash or chase away. Headwinds persist and wear you down from the outside in. You get my drift...

Anyhoo, Wichita Falls tonight. It seems every third day is the one that just gets me down. Two solid days followed by a day of mental and physical exhaustion. Only 21 miles today (did I mention the ferocious headwind?), but tomorrow represents the beginning of the end of the pilgrimage. One might think that the physical demands far outweigh the mental, but I am here to tell you that as fun as riding a bicycle is for me, with no outside stimuli aside from grasshopper target practice and the sound of the grasshopper orchestra in the trees, there's not much else to occupy oneself with. Perhaps tomorrow will be Count Out of State License Plate Day, who knows. Lesson learned in the keeping focused portion of the trip. It's harder than I thought it would be.

Today's PS from the Driver/Mom/Chief - the driving is routine - watching the landscape and keeping a look out for road/shoulder hazards, stopping often enough to read part of the paper or a chapter in my book - I am enjoying the pace. While the Rider expresses frustration from time to time the clock says he is making consistent good time - physically it looks effortless (easy for me to say) but as he says - mentally it is a challenge. From a Mom's vantage point it is rewarding to be an ovserver as he figures it out. Tonights accomodations are great and tomorrow will be another and even better day. Night all...

TOTAL DISTANCE TRAVELLED: 301 MILES