Best host ever!

Athens to Dallas 77.7 miles

The day began with a wonderful wake up in Toni's house. She made us a breakfast of pancakes, sausage, bacon and fruit. Yum! I really enjoyed the food and even topped it off with a little bit of he cake that her daughter had left for us, just so Toni could truthfully say that we had eaten it and that we had loved it. It was very delicious. The message that she had written to us on the tinfoil covering really made me smile. We got all ready then loaded into the car and drove back to the church for route meeting. 

After a tough previous day, we were all looking forward to two days of building in Dallas. After 90 miles (101 in my case) the day before, 77 seemed like nothing! As we started there was a slight windy breeze. As the day went on it kept getting stronger and stronger. First lunch happened just after we got off of a rather busy and hilly highway. It was in a nice shaded spot across from some beautiful pastures. I really enjoyed looking at all of the horses while I had my snack. Setting off from lunch we encountered a bit of a grasshopper plague. The massive drought in the area had led to massive grasshopper population. In this area of the country, they haven't had rain since last winter, leading to many problems for the farmers, including the grasshoppers. They would jump up at you as you rode past. Some even tried to cling to the bikes for a little while. We made it past the worst of them and onto Frontage road. Pretty much every service road that runs parallel to the highway is named "Frontage road" which makes it really easy to find! These roads have less traffic than the highways so we can usually ride side-by-side which is wonderful, but they are never paved as well as the highways. As you bump and shudder on the chipseal road it is still possible to see the smooth concrete of the highway only feet from where you are now. Making our journey harder was the gusting winds that blew us sideways. Few trees exist to buffer the area next to the highway, and those that are there don't do much. I felt like someone had tied a rope to my right side and was playing tug-of-war with me. I never fell over so I guess I won, but only by the slimmest of margins.

40 miles in I was feeling completely drained. We were still chugging along with the wind on our sides when suddenly I saw it...the road turned...into the wind. The flatness of Texas let's you see everything that is coming at you, including the bad bits. Our little posse made the turn, almost immediately suffering the consequences of the wind. Jillian, Prachi, Lama, Christine C and I were forced to take a break only a few hundred yards into the road so that we could continue to fight onward. We struggled and struggled pushing slowly forward. Coming up on a big hill I was really struggling, so Christine and I stopped to rest while the others pushed on. I was so mad with the weather I took a video of he wind bowling over all the grasses so I could prove that it was really happening and I wasn't just being a wimp! We got to the hill and started our slow accent. This road had no shoulder and lots of unsafe blind spots, so we decided to take the road. We went double file so cars could pass without at least slowing down. One car was very much not happy with this. They started tailgating right behind us, honking their horn and making rude gestures. When it was safe for them to pass, they honked again and came within inches of Christine. Angry face! I have previously stated my dislike for honkers, and that dislike goes double for that car. Luckily the stop for 2nd lunch was just at the top, so we had some food and took a little break. Biking into Dallas was a lot less eventful than I thought. The roads were still pretty rural 10 miles out. Even the wind didn't seem quite as bad (although still not pleasant) going into the city. Arriving in Sunnyvale (the part of Dallas we were destined for) we walked up Sally's gravel driveway to one of he best post-ride greetings I have heard, "do you want a chocolate milkshake or vanilla?" Sally and her husband Peter are legendary Bike & Build hosts. Stepping into her kitchen I was greeted by her adorable dogs and a huge array of food. She had sweets, fruits, pasta salad, milkshakes, deli meats and sandwich materials laid out and ready for us. After I grabbed a few bites I was ushered into the backyard where everyone was swimming and hanging out around the pool. I sat down to relax and swim for a little bit. This set-up alone would have been enough to make my evening one of the best of the trip, but I didn't know what else lay in store. After we had cooled off and most people had arrived we traveled two blocks to the  school where Sally had arranged for us to stay. We unloaded the trailer then ran back to Sally's without even showering. We were going to the rodeo! Sally helped to shuttle us all there in her cars. We had dinner included in our tickets so we all got to go to the Eight Second Club for all-you-can-eat BBQ and brisket. We finished eating a few minutes before it started, so we rushed over to our front row seats to watch. They had so many things to watch. There was barrel racing, bronco riding, cattle roping and more. The night ended with the main event, Bull Riding. Sally and Peter transported us back to the school for a night of rest before our big build day in the morning.