By David Freeze

There are good things even on bad days!

  My ride started out in Van Horn early, but not early enough. I was in the Central Time Zone and had to wait forever to get enough light in the sky to ride on Interstate 10. Even with another great burrito for breakfast, I felt behind all day.

  I watched the sun rise while facing it amid light traffic and cool temperatures. While my map called for 89 miles without services, there was a truck stop at 20 miles. Nothing afterwards for the rest of the day. I was hauling extra water and food.

  My only goal of the day was to cover the 89 miles between Van Horn and Fort Davis. I knew it had a bunch of climbing, but I had no idea how much. From 37 miles on, I climbed and climbed, always on a rough road. Near the end, I wanted to see the McDonald Observatory. Top elevation was 6,000 plus.

  There was so much climbing that I fell behind time wise. I saw the observatory from a distance only, as I was still riding at 9pm. More on that later. I will get my story done, grab a shower and then turn in. It has been a very long day, but something good happened near the end.

    Mindi Falls stopped and asked if she could take me to Fort Davis, the next town. In fact, the only town for miles. I had a sort of reservation at an unusual motel. Mindi got me there in time, just in time as he was about to close for the evening. I really enjoyed meeting her. she prayed over my ride just before leaving.

  Only 86 miles were completed since Mindi picked me up in the dark. I will go early and ride that part tomorrow morning, then head on at least to Marathon. The supply point issue is going to be big for several days to come.

  This morning as I started to ride, I thought the weather was the best yet. Clouds came and went, helping to keep the temperature down. Kent and Fort Davis were the only towns. There was no cell service and no radio reception. But I did get caught in a brief downpour.

    So, I am going to grab a late shower and hit the bed. I need to do both!

Thanks for riding along. See you tomorrow!