Day 30 - McLean to Groom, Texas

Day 30 of our tour
November 2, 2016
34.8 miles today
(1381 miles, cumulative)
2102 feet of climbing
(55,761 feet of climbing, cumulative)


As we continued across the Texas panhandle the most interesting feature today was clouds. Route 66, again a frontage road to the Interstate 40 highway for much of the ride, often followed some high ridges, and that gave us a view of horizons far away on all sides, and of the clouds that hung over the endless landscapes.

The day began with a nice sunrise:

We came upon cotton balls at the side of the road. We wondered if they blew off trucks carrying harvested cotton, or if they blew out of the fields that we had seen earlier:

Here are some photos of clouds:

Today for the first time on our ride the frontage road disappeared for a while, and our only choice was to ride on the shoulder of I-40. The Adventure Cycling Association consulted with the highway authorities when they printed the maps for Route 66, and it is permitted for cyclists to use the interstate in this area. Fortunately, the pavement is perfect, and the shoulder wide:

We pulled into an interstate rest stop and spotted this sign posted next to an area that had some grass and underbrush behind a retaining wall, one that might look tempting for a child to climb on. Be sure to catch the word under "DANGER":

Just as we entered Groom, Texas we came upon this large water tower. It caught our eye not only because it is leaning (an intentionally constructed echo of the tower in Pisa, we've read) but also because it bears the name of some friends back home. Chris, I think you need to hustle down not only to help your American cousins straighten the tower, but to sell them a newer tractor, as well:

The bike gave us no trouble again. The predicted south wind turned out to be a north and even northeast wind, and was a great help at times. The next town was a bit too far, so we called it a short day, and tomorrow we plan to ride just under 60 miles to see our friends in Amarillo.