Steve having a beer and relaxing. (Yesterday Day 22)	The bike actually fit in my car!	Putting on sunscreen.
With the bike.	Riding off.	Waving goodbye!

Strong Westerly Winds All Day Photo Above: The Town & Country gas station in Post, Texas. In the morning, Glenda generously drove me from Whiteface to Brownfield, and during the drive, I whined about being tired, having aches and feeling flat-out lazy. Yes, my body had become impressively strong and fit, but it seemed one rest day was not enough. My mind knew I needed to move on, but my body was raged against me! My mind won, as you can see, and Glenda captured some photos as I bicycled out of Brownfield. In the open plains, strong winds from the west constantly pushed me and the bike. My speedometer read in the range of 18-20 for quite awhile. I was truckin'! I arrived in Tahoka (county seat of Lynn County) way ahead of schedule and rode confidently toward Post, Texas. The day's wind was really strong ... and it was all at my back! I enjoyed another long segment of riding with giddiness over not being able to ride below 20 miles per hour, as I comfortably paced in the 24-30 mile per hour range. If only every cycling day could be like this one, I thought. It felt like I had wings! I planned to have a short day based on the fact that after Post, Texas, the only lodging was another 75 miles away in Aspermont. Yet there I was at the Town & County gas station and convenience store realizing that my average speed was close to 20 miles per hour. 20 smokin' miles per hour! With those strong winds, I just had to keep going! I rested for about 15 minutes in Post and it may have been the friendliest west Texas town I visited. Countless people spoke with me as I stood outside, inquiring about where I was headed and mentioning the winds. These Texans spoke as if the winds were a liability, but I kept telling them I embraced and appreciated the wind because I was heading east. Let that crazy westerly winds you Texans hate push me as far as it wants baby! :)

	East of Post, the terrain changed somewhat. The land is less flat with modest hills, and there are less oil pumps and cotton farms. I came across this desolate area in Garza County (adjacent photo), which does not quite show just how wide open and spacious it was.
Jayton, Texas Above: I leaned my bike on a sign just one or two miles outside of Jayton, Texas. I already rode 100+ miles at this point.	I briefly rested to snack and stretch my body near the turnoff for Jayton on the side of the highway. A man driving a truck pulled over across the road. "Do you need help?" he yelled from his truck. I looked over and waved. "Oh no, I'm fine. Thanks though!" "Is there anything you need? I have water I could give you." he responded. How kind. This friendly guy really wanted to help. On rare occasions, I have encountered people who were too courteous to the point that they were an annoyance - drivers who either slow down to a crawl behind me or needlessly stop at an intersection to wait for me to pass even though they have the right of way. Now I would not put this man in the truck quite in this category, but it crossed my mind. Believe me sir, after all I have been through, I would have no problems taking help if I truly needed it. :) "Are you sure? I have bottles of water in the back!" he shouted one last time. "I'm totally okay. Thanks again!" I shouted with a smile. Ahhhhhhh, special thanks to that man, wherever you are, for being such a go-getter. Next time, when I'm rich and can afford a support vehicle to follow me the entire time, I will hire this man in Jayton, Texas to be the driver! ;)
	Arrival in Aspermont, Texas! This was the longest ride of my entire life. A combination of yesterday's rest, strong westerly winds and a drop in altitude of 1,600 feet all worked to my advantage. I actually rode 127.9 miles, which included my peddling around Aspermont to see what motels and services existed. Below is the order of towns I rode through with their respective altitudes: Brownfield (3,320 feet) Tahoka (3,091 feet) Post (2,605 feet) Clairemont (2,135 feet) Jayton (2,007 feet) Aspermont (1,774 feet)
Aspermont, Texas	The winds grew stronger in the late afternoon and evening. Not much was open besides a convenience store, where I bought some chicken strips, a large bean burrito and a drink. The town square looked like a nice place to sit outside and eat ... but the howling wind was too much! Somehow, I ate my food and walked around the nearly abandoned downtown square with brick buildings that had just a few businesses in operation. Later in the evening, I walked to the Dairy Queen close to my motel. Maybe it was because I was the only person in the entire restaurant, perhaps it just the way small town Texas burger joints are, or maybe it was God doing his magic, but I met these two locals who boosted my spirit after a long and physically draining day. At the counter, I mentioned I was bicycling across America and staying in their itty-bitty Texas town for the night, and that was my ticket to gain their attention and conversation. I ordered a "belt buster" double cheeseburger with fries and a soda, and a talkative teenager delivered my food. He sat in the booth next to me. "So what are you doing riding your bike in the middle of winter?" he asked, with a tone of confusion. I was taken aback, but my comeback was good. "So should I ride across Texas in the summer when its in the 100's?" I asked, "Or maybe I should go across Colorado right now where I'm from where it's probably snowing and in the 20's if I'm lucky." He thought about it without speaking and nodded his head to concede my point. We talked more about my bicycle trip and soon the manager joined us to discuss numerous topics: Family issues, hard times in life, six-man high school football*, Christianity, and what it's like living in a small town like Aspermont. I felt like I was among friends. Touched by our interaction, I knew I needed to capture a photo of us with my camera's timer. (Top - Adjacent Photo) Lastly, I captured this cup that read under the Dairy Queen logo: That's what I like about Texas! I was constantly enamored with Texas' big ol' attitude and pride about their state in simple ways like this. Way to go! (Bottom - Adjacent Photo) * - Texas high schools that have very small populations of students have football teams with just six players on each side. It is known as "Six-Man Football."