Daily Diary 17: Van Horn TX back to Marfa - 75 miles 1500 ft climbing

Round two! Got up early and headed to Marfa for a second time. Sun is rising and it was pretty cool, around 40°. The wind was gusting about 25 to 30 miles an hour, but this time it was a cross breeze and not in my face. Being from California now I completely forgot about windchill. I certainly remembered when I got a bike though. It was cold! The sun was out and the wind was pretty crazy. I had to make 75 miles with no services or ability to buy food or water so I had to load up. I had heard that the road, 90, had a wide shoulder and was a good road to bike on. Unfortunately while the shoulder was wide, it was chip and seal and pretty bumpy. The first half was surprisingly tiring, the cross breeze seem to drag me down and the road conditions seem to slow me down as well. There were moments when I was pretty exhausted and wasn’t sure how the day was going to go. I made it to the halfway point in the ride, Valentine and the weird and funky Prada store art installation which attracted a bunch of people to take pictures. Valentine actually has a little coffee shop but only open certain days and not today! I rested for a while to regain some strength and then took off again. The wind was still strong but not quite slowing me down as much. It shifted to be a little bit behind me which was great. The wind gusts did create some sand storm that I had to dodge but they weren’t too bad. I regained my strength and finish the day strong. Marfa is a really cute town and I had a great meal at a very busy and popular restaurant. Seems like a hip cool place to come visit again. Locals were fun and nice to talk to you. I did an Airbnb for the first time and it was great. It’s funny how expectations about how a ride should go and how it actually goes can create either a positive mental attitude or a negative one. Negative mental states have a direct and powerful impact on your physical abilities and how you feel. I am almost always strongest near the end of my rides now, because I’m excited to finish and have completed such a long distance. Channeling that mental energy earlier in the ride is the challenge!