So it wasn't quite 126...

Day 1.

The road lied to us. The first twenty miles were beautiful flats and small rollers. Then things got interesting.

Ian dropped his chain (to you non-cyclists that means basically, it fell off. Next John had an issue with his trailer, then my chain dropped, then It did again, and finally John's deraileur wouldn't shift of out of the small sprocket. Basically, we had a few minor issues.

We stopped in a sneeze and you'll miss it town of Evant, TX for lunch and conversation with the locals. Just as we were going to fix John's bike and get wheels to the road, thunder and pouring rain followed.

We waited for an hour and as soon a it let up we took off. The next 15 miles were wet and a little hairy. I'll refrain from details for the families I the Cavalcade. It wasn't that bad just, bad timing.

After riding some more miles and seeing two female drivers blast a shredded tire we entered hill country.

And we stayed in hill country for the rest of the day.

We decided we couldn't make the camping destination so we are staying at Hico Hotel in. Before making that decision we met Paul, a retired PE teacher, who heard about us riding and stopped over at the Rangler (Griz that is real) gas station to say hi. Apparently, he rides himself, but he turned down an offer to ride tomorrow.

We had some great food (the Koffe Kup, ranked as one of the best small town cafes in TX) and conversation with John's colleague Vicki and her husband JD. Two fabulously nice Texans, that drove quite a ways to help us out. The helped entertain us and lift my spirits*. The also helped adjust our route for tomorrow. Thanks guys!

We only made 95 miles due to weather and bike issues. Tomorrow we are taking off at 6:30 to try to make an even hundred to make it to Jacksboro.

Five unknown facts learned on
today's ride:

1) Texas automobiles are 85% (jacked up hemi) pick up trucks.
2) Hamilton County seceded from the US in the Civil War.
3) If you look down and see salt lines on your shorts and jersey it's time for a Gatorade.
4) *I felt great all day... then my legs died on mile 87.04. I know this because I checked my odometer.
5) There are really nice people out on there. We've had tons of help and well-wishers here in TX, as well as on our Facebook group the Cavalcade and via the blog. Thanks.

Town of the day:
Hamilton. Hembry says it had the best and was the coolest. I confer with co-council. We are taking pictures of every historical site/marker and town sign from here to IA. Why? A reason to stop rising I think. Or maybe Ian is a closet history nerd.

A for sure 100 tomorrow instead of the near miss 95. We should have 70+ done by lunch, so if you think about it soak up some AC for us.

Ian says, "Today was pure unadulterated Americana."

That's it from the Republic of TX.

Until tomorrow,
KRS