Day 18 - 117.7 miles - Ozona, TX

What to do? My cycling friend Kevin, is taking a rest day to wait out these strong winds we have been getting. What should I do? Well my dilemma is that today is over 100 miles with just one gas station for services the whole day. Now add in the headwinds, and what the locals call the Texas Hills and it spells trouble. I left Fort Stockton just before dawn with what I thought would be enough food and water to rough camp in case I can't make it to the next town of Ozona. At 35 miles, I came across the one and only service station for today. Of course I stopped and topped off my water bottles. I got talking with the woman behind the counter. I told her what I was doing and the reason. Her name was Emily. Emily then went on to tell me that a man had stopped in the store a few days ago, and he was walking across the country. I was instantly all ears. Wow, I guess I can't complain about anything if there is a man walking across the USA. She then went over to the counter and said, "here he left me his business card". As soon as I saw it, I said "I know who that is". It's Nimblewill Nomad! I just read his book (Ten Million Steps) a few months ago. It's about his Florida to Canada backpack on the International Appalachian Trail, which is about 4,500 miles. Only a handful of people have completed the IAT. Nimblewill Nomad, of course is his trail name. Just as mine was Y-Knot and Bonnie's was Balance.  Nimblewill, is world famous in the backpacking community. He has a backpacking resume to make your legs start shaking. I just can't believe this. He is just a few days ahead of me. Of course he is walking and I am cycling, but we should cross paths over the next few days at most. I left the service station all excited. I can't wait to come across Nimblewill. I can spend hours talking to this man. I just hope I don't somehow pass him, without knowing it. That would be a huge disappointment. That news gave me motivation that I needed to keep to moving forward. Yes, the winds picked up. Yes, the road surfaced changed a hundred times, from great to knock your socks off. It seems that Texas likes to use rough chip seal for their road surface. It is just horrible to cycle on. My bike and myself get blasted and jolted, while forward progress is slow and painful. I was thinking of camping at the one rest area I came across but I was there before noon. The problem on the other hand is that I had 60 more miles to the next town. I went for it, with some hesitation but really no choice. It seemed like an eternally to reach the town of Ozona. The last 30 miles where all hills and they almost did me in. I felt sick, dehydrated, and wobbly. By this time, my water was more like tea and just went down rough. I did make it, but I wasn't at my best. Almost 118 miles, is my longest day of the trip so far, but not really what I wanted to do. Ideally, 70 to 75 miles a day is perfect for me. After cleaning up and collapsing for awhile, I treated myself to a large Dairy Queen. Hey, I deserved it!

Photos: Oil fields and windmills - Tunis Creek Stage Coach Stop 1936 - Pumping Oil - Bakersfield Service Station - Roadside wild flowers - Pecos River - I-10 near Ozona, TX - Today's route, Fort Stockton to Ozona