Greyhound Capital of the World?

Well that is what Abilene claims to be. The greyhound hall of fame and museum is located here. Yet another surprise from Kansas. Abilene is also home to the Eisenhower Center, which is the presidential library. As tomorrow is a rest day it is something that is on the top of my list of things to do. Abilene is also famous for being home of Wild Bill Hickok where he was sheriff and held court in the infamous Alamo bar. OK for the history lesson, it is really nice little town and quite pretty. I think that I am going to cruise around the town and look at all the beautiful homes. A couple that rode Crossroads 2 years ago looking for a place to retire picked Abilene (we met them last night).

I thought today's ride was going to be be a walk in the park. It was only 65 miles and the weather and wind looked favorable. However after 20 miles we turned north into a steady 20 mph head wind. The easy day turned into a grind. I was riding by myself, so I settled into enjoying the beautiful country side and forget the odometer. Just don't look at it. Right as though that works for all of 30 seconds. I think that a lot of people had a tough day as I rode in 11th.

At the 38 mile mark I was riding along when I felt this terrible burning sensation between the little finger and second finger on my left hand just where the fingerless gloves start. As I lifted my hand I saw that a hornet was trapped in there. Now, I must tell you that I am deadly allergic to wasps and hornets. In one smooth motion I threw the hornet over my shoulder. So I stopped to examine my hand where the burning sensation was on the little finger. What to do? 8 miles back to the SAG stop which would be at least 20 minutes with the wind, find a farm house and go in, flag down a motorist, tie my finger off with something but with what I have nothing on my bike. After I examined my finger I could see that the skin has not been broken and that the hornet had not stung me but was trying to take take a bite out of me. The next 30 minutes were tense as the burning slowly subsided.

Doctor Richard was having his birthday today and hosted a little reception in the lobby this evening. he turned 68 today. Happy Birthday! Keep on Ridin!

In the parking lot there is an official looking truck that says "Storm Chasers" on it. It is sprouting antennas and is filled with radios, GPS, computers, and emergency gear in the back. I wonder if they know something I don't. The sky looks nice and blue to me.

Today's picture is some old pump jacks that were beside the road. I thought that they made an interesting picture. There seems to be quite a bit of old oil field equipment around in bone yards. However you don't see much that is actually in use. The equipment that is producing all seems to be single well batteries with no gas conservation and there does not seem to be any water injection. There are a few places where there will be a scattering of pump jacks that appear to be tied into a set of common production tanks, but again there is no water production (none of the tanks are heated or insulated) nor is there any measurement.

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Sleeping in tomorrow! Nine days without a rest day Ouch!

Terry