Daily Diary 18: Marfa TX to Sanderson TX - 110 miles 2000 ft climbing

Big ride today! 110 miles and 2000 feet of climbing. The Day started great, slight breeze behind me to push me up the hill to Alpine to stop for breakfast. The road and the shoulder between Marfa and Alpine is fantastic, smooth and wide. After that the breeze continued although the road wasn’t as good but I was able to cover the distance to Marathon, the halfway point of the ride. Things were going well and I was not expending a lot of energy, it was great! I decided to celebrate with a leisurely lunch and some coffee. As I hopped on the bike to begin the second half though mother nature had another idea. Tomorrow winds were forecasted to shift to the north east and east, A headwind but they decided to come early! Second half of the ride was long and much more difficult. 55 miles of nothing but mountains and canyons and headwind. But it was pretty! Ran into another guy doing the southern tier, his wife was following along each day with his gear. I was definitely jealous that he didn’t have to lug all the weight and the panniers which caught the wind! But my mind was in the right spot and after a little frustration with the wind I settled into enjoying the remainder of the ride. Near the end the guy I had passed waiting for his wife, caught up to me and we rode the last 10 miles together. We went to dinner and have a nice conversation. Sanderson does not have much in it, only one restaurant to speak of but I had a great Texas steak again and that was really all I needed! Tomorrow is 88 miles to Comstock facing head winds and more climbing so it won’t be very fun. After that another hundred miles to the next stop also with a headwind. Really need to focus on keeping positive and enjoying the experience despite challenging conditions!