Day Five ... high winds and a hole in the road

With less sleep than I would prefer we left early to beat the heat today... we were on the road by 7:30. As it would turn out, the challenge today would not be torrential rain or oppressive heat, but near hurricane force winds blowing across the plains from southern Oklahoma all the way into New Mexico. Typical highway riding often includes blasts of wind from passing 18 wheelers, and these can be bothersome especially if caught by surprise. But the winds I am referring to are constant crosswinds, in this case left to right that would gust without warning to the point where it would feel as if your helmet and glasses would be ripped from your head at any second.

The good news of the day is that moisture from Hurricane Dolly kept the temperatures comfortable for the ride through the wind tunnel.

At various locations along the way we saw signs for 40 business route, which are generally historic sections of old route 66. Debbie suggested we pull off the interstate and try one of these for a bit just to get some rest from fighting the winds. So we did take the next exit, but instead of a piece of history we found a major league pothole disguised as a dark spot in the road. Now this was no ordinary hole in the road but a canyon 5 ft in diameter and 8 inches deep, preceded by a dip in the road and followed by a hole of similar dimension. With no roof on the bike we did not bump our heads as we were lifted a foot off our seats. When I landed safely in my seat again, I immediately felt something out of whack and slowed to a safe stop as Debbie yelled "I think something fell off". When I looked back I saw the lid to the tour pack had been jarred wide open and the weight of the luggage strapped to the top was causing us all to list to the left. The other luggage managed to land not so neatly back inside the tour pack.

I then noticed Debbie on her knees beside the road, head in her hands laughing uncontrollably... I assume to keep from crying. So after a brief recovery, we returned to the highway for the day pressing slightly to the left to offset the wind. Tonight we are in Santa Rosa New Mexico, thankful for another safe day and doing a little laundry.