Texas weather 101

The rain is what first awoke me. The gusts of wind inspired me to act quickly. Still dark out, I could tell there was total cloud cover. After five minutes, I was packed and under the awning of the general store I was camped behind. As I contemplated my next move, the moon slipped below the horizon. It was 4:20 AM.

Nine miles from the closest town, I figured I could make it within an hour. Under optimum conditions, I can make three-minute miles. It had stopped raining but the distant lightning seemed to crawl closer. These were not optimum conditions.

As I pulled up to a cafe in Coleman that had just opened for the day the clouds unloaded. The delayed start meant a larger breakfast and after reading the local paper in its entirity, I decided to make a break for it. About five miles out, the rain returned and I was soon soaked.

Before arriving in Brady, I was dripping from persperation rather than precipitation. The midday sun brought the mercury into the 90s and I pulled over at a rest stop to cure my ailments. My wrist was acting up and my buns are constantly reminding me they weren't designed for a bike seat.

"Here. Lunch is on me," a man said handing me a five. He wouldn't take no for an answer so I thanked him repeatedly.

"My brother thinks he drove past you ouside of Brady," my phone tells me; a text from my dear friend T. "What are the odds?"

After lunch in the "real" heart of Texas, home to the bulldogs and the Labor Day goat cook-out, I was back on the saddle and continued toward Pontotoc where I lay now in my tent, under a roof, and watching the lightning dance.