Memphis and Amarillo TX

Back in Texas! Both of these days were long rides but luckily, we were riding to a rest day so we were all really excited. Riding to Memphis was really beautiful. I rode with my scavenger hunt team again so that we could continue to check off items we had to do. At one point during the ride, we stopped for a quick break and a group of three riders rolled up with huge bags on their front and back wheels, clearly also doing a cross country bike trip. It was fun talking to them for a little while because they were just a group of older guys with normal jobs that do a trip every couple years when they get enough money for it saved up. All together, they saved $16,000 for their trip and they funded themselves. They also stay in holiday inns and hotels along the way but they don't have a support vehicle. I tried to pick up their bike and I guessed they were 50 lbs but they said it was actually 70! I can't imagine trying to get a 70lb bike up a hill and through the winds we were experiencing. When we got to lunch, my group and the leader group for the scavenger hunt got really competitive and tried to get as many things checked off as quickly as possible. We still haven't tallied up who the winner is but I think we won. We got a loooot of things checked off! The rest of the rode after lunch was very quiet. We were on a road in the middle of no where and there were almost no cars. There were also very steep and intense hills! I really enjoyed that part of it. Our host was actually the city of Memphis which was pretty cool, so we got to stay in the town hall. I also had some of the best brisket I've ever had when here. That night, we met a man named Paul who was going to ride with us from there into Amarillo. He's part of the church we will stay at and is also very into biking so it was really cool getting to spend some time with him. 

The ride into Amarillo was the hardest, mentally, and also the most fun I've had. I rode with Dan K, Gaurang, Greg, and Colleen. We are all about the same speed so there wasn't anyone holding anyone else back and we were able to move well as a group. The morning started off beautiful.. Slightly overcast but we biked through the sun rise and were able to watch the sky change colors. I've never seen anything like a Texas sky, especially out on a country road in the middle of no where. The sky looks like it was animated and digitally created. It's was so gorgeous. I had really great conversation with Colleen and Dan all the way into first lunch. I liked being able to talk with Dan and this was my first ride with him. During lunch, a huge storm was on its way and was supposed to cross right over us. We were able to wait it out for a little while at a gas station and managed to miss the largest part of the storm. Really all it gave us was a looot of seriously heavy head winds and cross winds. It also rained a little bit so that stretch of the ride was really hard for me and I did not enjoy it. When we finally made it out of the storm, Colleen cranked it to second lunch, holding 21 for like 8 miles. It was really awesome and we were smoking the guys :P. Also, at second lunch, I had subway for the first time and it was amazing! I had a footlong with 35 miles left to go but I didn't even care. The last third was a lot of fun. Everyone was biking as hard as they could but the wind was so incredibly strong that we had to take frequent breaks and were also going like 11 miles an hour. At one point, we hit straight head winds and I was passing Colleen and we just started laughing hysterically from the disbelief in how hard the ride actually was! Right after that, we took a break and had a huge dance party on tr side of the road to the song Summer by Calvin Harris. That was definitely my favorite part of the ride. The last 7 miles into Amarillo was all tail wind and we were so relieved and were FLYING!! I've never felt so good! We finally got in at 6:30 (latest arrival yet!)

Our host was awesome but we also had another host that night. We walked over to an alumni's house who's been feeding bike and build dinner for the past four years. I got to play with their dogs and they made Mexican food along with ice cream for dessert. It was a perfect end to a crazy day. 

The next day, we had a day off and a lot of people took this time to sleep and run errands. Some people got hair cuts and went shopping. Personally, I went to a diner and got a huge breakfast and then went thrift store and boutique shopping with JoBeth while everyone else got tier hair cut. Afterwards, we went to the bike shop, bought tubes and then got ready for a picnic we were having until dinner time. The picnic was really relaxing and I fell asleep on a field in the shade. Dinner was a massive potluck put on by the church. The best part of the day was after dinner when Greg drove a bunch of us to Cadillac ranch so we could spray paint old Cadillacs that are half buried in the ground. We also had a dance party here and then Greg and I chased a herd of cows through a giant field. I think that was one of my all time highs on B&B on the hyper scale! It was a lot of fun and it was my first time going crazy to the song Turn Down for What, which is our official bike and build bonking song. I also died Megan's hair purple that night! It looks really good. In glad I had a chance to take a day off and relax! It was a fun couple days.