102 miles in 6hrs 59mins (incl. pancakes at halfway house)
Total Distance - 2,910 miles
It wasn't til about 40 miles down the road today that it dawned on me that what had woken me at five this morning had been someone trying to get into my motel room. With no car parked outside the guy walking around the car park looking in the bins had, obviously, also been trying the room doors. Well, the noise had woken me only 5 mins before my alarm was due to go off as I got up in time to set off at 6.06am in the hope of reaching Amarillo, 95 miles down the road, before 1pm when the Man U vs Barca game was kicking off. It was a big ask but I was feeling confident (about the trip, not the game).
After three hours on the road, having crossed into Texas, I took the slip road off into Adrian in search of the numerically-significant mid-point cafe where today's pic was taken. The best pancakes of the trip (and possibly even best welcome) set me up well for the 50 miles into Amarillo. This stint was quicker than I thought it would be as, for the first time all trip, the wind forecast was wrong in my favour being NNW instead of the forecast NNE. While it sounds a trivial difference, as I was heading due east it was enough to add a significant few mph to my speed.
I hit the east of Amarillo after 82 miles at 11.50, in plenty of time to find a motel before the game started. And then the problems started - after 8 miles and 40 mins of cycling round the downtown city centre and I hadn't seen a single motel/hotel and only a handful of bars. Now I challenge anyone to show me a town where you can travel that far without finding suitable, or any, lodging. More like 'Show me the way IN Amarillo', Peter. I decided to head for the legendary Big Texan inn on the far side of town, home of the '72oz eat it all and get it for free' steak. I finally found it just after one and it was showing the football, though I now wish it hadn't been. I opted for the 21oz steak which was more than ample for me but I'm about to pop back in for dinner and watch the challengers take on the beast (there's a webcam of it as well which is actually more compulsive viewing than it sounds).
There's a reality tv film crew here at the restaurant filming a Route 66 roadtrip mockumentary. It's been amusing talking to the tv crew telling them that I'm cycling most of what they're filming.
One very good point raised on the menu here though - who the hell tried the first mountain oyster?
Meanwhile, I'm feeling good and the weather, wind and topography are all looking promising for tomorrow. I've got that calm excited feeling I had on the beach at Santa Monica again.
