Wichita Falls TX and Lawton OK

The ride into Wichita Falls was very complex. There was a lot of different ways I felt about it but the good thing is that the end of it was great! It started off tough because of my stomach and the wind but the worst part was when we got on a big, fast road that completely freaked me out. That's why I wasn't such a fan. But the second half of the ride was amazing. The whole thing had a huge tail wind so we were going 20 without pedaling for some time and there were long rolling hills, which are the best hills there are. We stayed at a YMCA that night and were free to use any of their facilities. Some people went down and did some upper body weights but I just stayed upstairs and relaxed till dinner. For dinner, we were taken to Pat's Drive In which is a famous burger joint downtown. One of the people that works with the Hotter 'n Hell Hundred race treated us to the dinner which was really nice! The race he works with is the largest century race in all of America and is put on in August in Wichita Falls. There are usually anywhere from 10,000 to 14,000 people that participate in the race every year! Another interesting fact is that there was a huge tornado in Wichita Falls in the 1970s (I think that's the right year) and it was destroyed and never fully restored. There were a ton of business and buildings that were abandoned and destroyed so when we were riding in, it felt a little bit like a ghost town. It was definitely an interesting and new place to stay in. I've never seen anything like it. 

The next morning, while getting ready to head out for Lawton, Oklahoma, we found out that all of the tires on the van and the trailer had been slashed in the middle of the night and it was not drivable. I was seriously upset to have heard this because such a simple and stupid crime that someone committed cost us over $600 to fix and that was the money that we had raised as individuals and were going to donate to the cause. Fortunatley, the mishap didn't put a dent in the progression of the day for the riders, though, the leaders did have to stay back and take care of the flats for the entire day. We started the day off with some of the people that work with the hotter n hell race and they led us to mile 16 where we had a police escort again! We went across a bridge that was on I-44 so we got to ride on an interstate!! It was exhilarating and so much fun! The river that the bridge was supposed to go over was completely dried out and empty because, apparently, Texas is going through a huge drought. The entire ride today was amazing. There was a tail wind and all of the roads had been recently paved so it was smooth, fast, and fun! The weather was beautiful and the landscape changed dramatically. we had been going through terrain that I was used to: lots of trees, some rolling hills and a mix of suberbia and the country. But, today was AWESOME! We were riding through the prairie and there was miles and miles of huge open fields on either side of me all day. We were passed by maybe 30 cars so it was just us and the road all day. We got to the host really early that day so we went down to the mall and got some frozen yogurt and then went to a restaurant for lunch! I got a quesadilla and fries. Which was perfect. The night was a typical night. We had a bike clinic and a presentation to give so nothing too crazy! 5:00 wake up tomorrow again so I'm already dreading that and about to sleep! I'm excited!