Day Nineteen | March 18, 2021

Sanderson, TX to Del Rio, TX

Sunrise was at 7:55 and quite stunning.

For the first time, we could not see a ridge nearby. It was cold and we were hyped up to ride 119 miles, so we started out strong and hard. Rolling hills were actually kind of fun. The wind also gave us a boost. There were rolling hills, then the hills got steeper.

We are in limestone country. Wished many times that we knew more geology.

Around mile 68, Ken was having trouble with tight neck and shoulder muscles. He was listing to the left and having trouble keeping the bike in the shoulder! We made it to our lunch stop at mile 72, ate, rested and took off again.

Ten miles later, we stopped for water on our own and we couldn’t get started. It takes some real balance to get started on a tandem and we couldn’t do it. Ken fell twice in the roadway!

Fortunately, Tom came back to check on us. We said we were done and waited for Dennis to pick us up in the van. It was disappointing, but clearly it would have been dangerous to keep going. We think we started out too fast and didn’t stretch enough.

Aborting the day with 37 miles to go, our pace was 16 mph (maximum 41.5 mph). Our hardy (and younger) fellow riders cycled in bravely at a 14.5 mph pace. We were proud of their gutsy finish. KG

Thirteen miles from Del Rio, border patrol agent Reyes stopped and chatted with us because he is a triathlete and he was intrigued by our van with a few bikes on top and the logo on the side. He was really nice and informative.

Today’s blog is contributed by Ken and Francie Gass of the Gass-Powered Tandem.