Day 5
   
   5/2/01
   Mile 561
   Midland, TX
   
   I was packed by 7:30am today.  I sat down on the bike and...ouch.  The
   butt's getting pretty sore.  It will be this way for another week or
   two.  After that, calluses will have built up in all the right places.
   
   The air continues to get drier, and not a cloud in the sky means way
   too much sunshine.  There's little shade to be found out here, mostly
   just brush.
   
   Caterpillars by the millions try to cross the road, their squashed
   remains staining the pavement.  Butterflies swarm around me as I ride,
   perhaps attracted to my yellow jersey which is the same color as the
   wildflowers.
   
   I stopped at Sterling City for lunch.  The only place in town is a
   Dairy Queen.  Figuring I should eat healthy at least sometimes, I got
   a chicken taco salad.  I don't seem to be eating as much today; maybe
   I'm adapting, or maybe it's too much sun.
   
   After lunch things started getting tougher.  At 2pm I must have passed
   a front, for it seemed as if an oven door had opened.  The temp shot
   up what felt like 10 degrees, and the sun beat down on me, sapping my
   strength.  To boot, a headwind was now gusting at me, and my progress
   slowed to only 8 mph.  By the time I got to Garden City, I didn't feel
   very shipshape.  But a burrito and 20 minutes rest (along with a couple of
   Mountain Dews) and I felt back up to snuff.
   
   The sky was looking a bit unsettled ahead of me, and it soon got
   worse.  Lightning began flashing in the distance, in front and on both sides
   of me.  The was a hole moving past; if I hurried I might be able to stay
   in the hole.  I poured on the steam for an hour, but it started
   raining and the lightning got progressively closer - 2 miles, then 1 mile.
   Then the rain hitting my helmet started making a different noise.  And
   hurting.  Pea hail.
   
   I kept going, even in that.  If I stopped to wait it out, I would
   likely be there for hours.  I kept searching for shelter, but this was
   the open plains with no buildings and no place to hide.  Another 20
   minutes I spent biking in a windy, wet tempest - while the lightning kept
   getting closer.  I had to drop all the way to first gear to fight the
   headwinds (I later found out that the wind had blown a truck over on a
   nearby road).  When the lightning got to under a half mile away, that was
   well below my safety threshold.  I had to just hunker down, pull my parka
   over me and get bombarded.  Even if I had to stay there all night, at
   least I would be alive the next morning, and if I were sitting on my
   bike I would be one of the highest points around, a prime lightning target.
   
   That lasted about 20 minutes, and then the rain slowed up as another
   hole blew overhead.  Time to get out of here.  Meanwhile several
   police cars and a fire truck went screaming in the opposite direction.  I
   suppose the lightning started a fire.  Again I pushed as hard as I
   could sustain speed; this time, it eventually worked, and I rolled into
   Midland around 8pm...
   
   ...and went to work at 9pm!  Yes, believe it or not, I had some
   systems work to do for Pure Resources, so I went into the office after
   checking into...The Hilton?  What?  What kind of rough-and-tumble cross-country
   trip is this?
   
   The answer is: today I weathered the first storm of the trip.  There
   will surely be more to come.

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