Day 16 - New Waverly, TX - Burton, TX

Today was a Monday, and just like in the office it wasn't the greatest. It started out really good, alarm rang, took a quick shower and had my bowl of Total cereal. We had to be transported from our hotel to our starting spot in New Waverly. Once we arrived we carried on with our routine, sun tan lotion, making sure the tires are proper inflated. Ipod selection complete (Thousand Foot Krutch aka TFK), tail light flashing.

Everyone gathered for a prayer before we headed out. We made our way out of New Waverly quickly and with ease. Once we rolling, it was extremely beautiful on our morning route. We had cloud cover and we were riding through a forest so we were well protected from the wind.



We made it to our 15 mile stop, no issues. We had a quick snack and rode off into the....WIND! We rode with a steady 20mph wind coming out of the south. We headed southwest today, so it was either in our faces coming from the left. It was brutal! We powered through it to our lunch stop. We climbed into the RV, out of the wind and sun. Took off our shoes and relaxed for a bit. The gusts of wind were felt inside the RV. It plays head games with you while you are trying to relax. Once we had eaten our food, and reapplied our sun tan lotion and put on all of our gear we headed out again. With out fail, the wind did not let us all afternoon. It pushed us over when it wanted to. We had to ride with our bikes and bodies leaning into the wind to keep everything moving forward and on point. Then a semi truck would buzz by sucking you into his draft for a moment and then letting you go, again bouncing all over the place. It is enough to make you mad, but we kept our heads down, our ear buds in and our eyes on the road and pressed on.

Today was also filled with more hills. They are getting a little longer and the grade is getting steeper. We finally made the final corner one last climb, and sitting at the top of the hill was the mother ship (RV). I stood up and put one last effort on that hill and made it my....well you get the point.

During the ride today we passed a total of 4 riders on the same route, only headed the other direction. I only had an opportunity to stop and talk to one of them. His name was Jerry and he was way to St. Augustine and hopefully Boston. He was riding with his daughter and her husband, but they had a hard time waking up this morning so he started without them. We past them about 40 minutes later, everyone was still smiling so that is a good sign.

Once we loaded the bike onto the RV and the SAG, we had a 3 mile ride to our sleeping arrangements tonight. We are staying at the Inn at Indian Creek, and let me tell you this is a slice of heaven. We have a 2 bedroom cabin, with a full kitchen, living room and room to spare. We have a lake out front of our cabin, and despite the wind, it is a perfect spot to rest for the evening. If you are ever in the southeast side of Texas, do not pass this place up - trust me on this one! www.innatindiancreek.com

Today was Mona first full day with us and she fits right in. Tonight she cooked spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and it was great. Fresh baked chocolate cookies just came out of the oven and I already snagged one! Just what the doctor ordered.

I have no doubt I will sleep good tonight, I am flat beat from the wind, and my bed here is extremely comfortable. That my friends is a perfect storm!

I haven't had a chance to thank everyone individually, but there have been many donations and encouraging words while we are out here riding and we appreciate everyone one of them!  That is why we are riding, to bring awareness and to raise funds for Parkinson's research. Without off of you we would just be 3 crazy guys on bikes. Thank you for making all of our hard work worth while!