Today’s 91 mile ride from Jasper
to Kinder is the longest of the trip, so it feels really good to have that one behind
us! We knew rain was in the forecast, but were surprised (and disheartened) to
find it already falling pretty substantially when it was go-time this morning.
Fortunately, the rain let up about 10 miles into the ride and only briefly pelted
us a few more times throughout the day. We really lucked out.
We spent the majority of the ride
drafting to combat the ~10 mph headwind. While it allowed us to finish the ride
in good time and feeling strong, I think drafting is the worst. When you’re out
front, you have to focus so much on the mechanics of riding – steady cadence, steady
line, avoidance of traffic and obstacles for two – and when you’re in back, add to that looking at nothing but your mirror and the backside of the guy in front of you. You
change your position very little, don’t want to interrupt the pace to drink
water, and can’t look around or let your mind wander. Bo-ring. And uncomfortable.
But, fine, it’s effective - it just yields boring blogs!
Halfway through the ride, we
traded the rolling hills of east Texas for Louisiana’s flat ground, densely
wooded on both sides of the road, and humid air, abuzz with the sounds of insects.
You could practically feel the transition at the border. As though accenting our break from Texas, just as we crossed the state line we startled a deer, who
took off down the road to our right and ran just ahead of us for about ¼ mile before
ducking into the trees. She must have been excited to leave Texas as well.
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| Welcome to Louisiana! |
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