does it feel hot in here to you?

So, did I tell you that I'm doing this trip without air conditioning?

Let's rewind a second...after everything happened, I had to replace my old van, Goldy. I got a great deal on this van. Well, it was a great deal until I had the oil changed and got everything checked out for this trip and they told me that someone removed the fuse for the air conditioning, which is why it wasn't blowing cold. I'm SURE no one at the used car dealership did that! Anyway, I decided that I wasn't going to spend a thousand dollars on air conditioning. The last time I went out West, I didn't have air conditioning (different van, different problem, different story) but the last time I went out was the beginning of September, and it doesn't take a weather person to know that perhaps the temperature was different at the beginning of the fall. I decided that since I like to drive early in the morning, everything would be fine. Just fine and dandy. This plan worked on Sunday night driving to Nashville. But yesterday it sort of fell apart. Although I started driving early, I had a long drive...and Arkansas and Oklahoma are hot. Seriously hot. Close to 90. Now, please don't think I'm complaining. In fact, I was proud of myself for making the drive work. I was excited about getting the bad part of the drive over...all of my drives now will be fairly short and easy to accomplish in the early morning.

Fast forward to today.

Today I went to Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Canyon, Texas, south of Amarillo. It is beautiful and secluded. I was set to ride the Lighthouse trail. I arrived at the trail head and got ready to roll. By this time, it was high noon and the cowboy-ness of the moment did not escape me: it was me and the trail pacing off. The terrain here is my favorite to ride: wide open single track, dry, rocky, fast. I won the opening salvo, which was a climb that came out of nowhere. But that's when the trail struck back, and with a vengence. The sun cranked the heat, and my days in the van sans air conditioning began to take hold. Yesterday I made an effort to drink a lot of water. Well, suffice it to say it wasn't enough. I thought I heard the trail laugh manically as I began to struggle on my bike. Of course, that could have just been the heat. I thought I could just tough it out, but this was different. Ahhh...heat exhaustion!!!

Tomorrow morning the canyon and I have another duel. And even if it kicks my ass, I still win. I love Texas!

on the iPod: Leave It or Lubbock, The Dixie Chicks.

ps: Getting ready to go to the Big Texan...I really hope someone will be trying to eat the 72 ouncer!

pps: I will try to upload some pictures soon...and I still want to tell you about Oklahoma City and the Murrah Memorial.