Lean to in Abilene: Days 7 and 8

As the sun peeked over the horizon, my husband stocked up on Sprite, lemons and limes at the local grocery there in Rotan. I started the rehydration process. By 1 p.m. I thought I was capable of getting back on the bike and continuing onward. Our plans were to bike to Sweetwater where Rick’s brother, Randy, would pick us up and take us to the home he shared with his wife, Karan, in Abilene.
Forever diligent about our tires’ air pressure, Rick stopped at a gas station as we left our hotel. So help me, there sat Goober, Gomer, Andy, Barney and Floyd straight out of Mayberry RFD shooting the breeze. These 5 jovial men, lounging after their lunch, good naturedly hoorayed and ballyhooed us as we told them about our trip.
We made surprisingly good time to Roby which was only 10 miles away. We stopped to recoup and visited with Bonnie at the Old West Antieks there on the main drag. As we consulted our thermometer, I was greatly disheartened as it reported 97 degrees. The oppressive heat was taking the wind out of my sails.
Outside of Roby, I declared “calf rope.” We called Randy and it was a relief to hear that he was on his way to intersect with us. Stopping to rest in the ditch, here came a half grown pup of a black Labrador who planted himself on my belly with a friendly smile. Smiling and panting the pup wouldn’t budge.
After we shook this dog, another one picked up the baton. This one had some cow dog mix in her and was warted all over with ticks. Oblivious to the traffic, she trotted down the middle of the road. Nothing would deter her. Our half hearted efforts with the billy club and yelling just made us feel bad.
8 miles north of Sweetwater, we intersected with Randy. Exhausted and thankful, I piled into the backseat of the pickup in the wonder of the air conditioner.
On our drive to Abilene, we passed “Bike across America” bikers on their expensive bikes in their fancy gear with their huge “sag” wagon and sheriff department escorts in the front and rear. There weren’t any dogs tagging along with them as they traveled down I 30 heading east. That’s one way to “do” a bike ride but Rick and I had chosen an entirely different way. Up close and personal with Texas and Texans, I wouldn’t have changed a thing! To each his own.
That night we dined out with the Duwe’s. I managed to eat some mashed potatoes but my stomach said “no” to anything else. As the sun set, it dawned on us that it would be wise to rest a day in Abilene. I took a long and deep bath and we called it a day.
Day 8 was spent regaining our strength and rebuilding our reserve. We knew there would be daily challenges ahead of us and it would take mental and physical preparation to complete our bike trip across Texas. I stayed at home base resting, revising our itinerary and communicating with family and friends. Rick had his “to do” list. His highest priority was purchasing some biker’s padded underwear. Other necessary acquisitions included bike tubes for more inevitable flats and a bike fender to put on Rick’s bike to downsize the load we carried on our backs. As an afterthought, I told Rick to check out the local Goodwill for some white, long-sleeved shirts to protect us from the harmful rays of the sun. The sun and heat were becoming more and more of a threat.
We had a pleasant and much needed day of rest there in Abilene. Tomorrow it would be back in the saddle again as we resumed where we left off north of Sweetwater.