Sanderson - Seminole Canyon State Park, TX
Daily Route
Daily Elevation
Sitting here in my tent right now, this morning seems like a long time ago. We knew today was going to be challenging with the hills and the wind, so we wanted to get an early start. The alarm went off at 6:15 AM, 50 minutes before sunset. It wasn’t too cold this morning, so it wasn’t too bad getting up so early. Amazingly, we were all ready to leave right on time at 8:15 AM. Here is a nice morning shot at the start of our day:
Bill and Mel riding into the morning
The ride started out great. The wind was out our back and the road had a downward trend with only a couple of climbs. We arrived at our 20 mile break in under 1 hour and 10 minutes, averaging almost 17 miles per hour. Our stop was the ghost town of Dryden. We hung out on the curb of an abandoned general store. We appreciated not having to stop on the shoulder of the road and having a curb to sit on.
Our next scheduled stop is at mile 40 where Patrick is going to meet us. Everything was pretty good until a headwind began around the 30 mile point. It wasn’t too strong, but you knew it was there because we were peddling downhill and not going very fast. Plus, the road is a chipseal road, so it is not very smooth. We finally made it to Patrick around 11:30 AM.
Luxury break thanks to Patrick
It was a nice half hour break when we all knew that we needed to leave and face the climb that is in front of us. Mel and Bill took off first, followed by Tim:
About to climb
The next 10 miles were a lot of rolling hills that would have been easier if it wasn’t for the wind and road surface, but it was still pretty fun. I made it to the top of a climb and decided to stop and wait for the others. Jackie pulled up and said that Tim had a flat a bit back and that Bill and Mel were assisting him. Jackie, Jim, Mary, and I decided to push on to the next scheduled stop 10 miles ahead at a store and wait for the there. It was safer and more comfortable then to wait on the shoulder of the road.10 miles and many climbs later, we arrived at the Wagon Wheel Store just outside of Langtry, TX. By the way, Langrtry is the town where Judge Roy Bean had his saloon and practiced law during the days of the Wild West.
We thought we would have to wait for Tim, Mel, and Jim for a while, but only 5 minutes later they arrived. We took a nice30 minute break before hitting the road for the last 20 miles of the day.
We thought we would have to wait for Tim, Mel, and Jim for a while, but only 5 minutes later they arrived. We took a nice30 minute break before hitting the road for the last 20 miles of the day.
Another nice place for a break
We still had almost 1,000 feet to climb, so we knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but the end was near. The first good climb was almost immediately after the break:
We are going up there?
The second and last of the big climbs for the day came after the crossing of the Pecos River Bridge. Even though we had some momentum going over the bridge, we all had to stop to take in the view:
Beautiful
Finally, after 8 hours on the road, we pulled into Seminole Canyon State Park just before 4:30 PM.
Mary, Jackie, and Jim arriving at the state park
After a rest, a couple of beers, setting up camp, a shower, dinner (Barbacoa and comfort curry), everyone was pretty beat after waking up early and riding a challenging 81 miles. Bill, Mel, Tim, and I retired to our tents around 8:15 PM.
Tomorrow is only 37 miles, so we agreed to leave at 9:30 AM. There is some climbing, but hopefully the wind will be more favorable. We assume the road surface will be the same, but if we have a tailwind, everything else is tolerable.
Tomorrow is only 37 miles, so we agreed to leave at 9:30 AM. There is some climbing, but hopefully the wind will be more favorable. We assume the road surface will be the same, but if we have a tailwind, everything else is tolerable.
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