Hays at all costs

Sept. 21, Plainville-Hays, 28 miles, S wind, 70/50—I'm sure Plainview is a fine town, but it's like its name, and I desperately wanted to get to Hays, population 20,000, one of the biggest cities on my ride with lots to see and do. After a quick weather radar check at the library I started down the highway, then almost retreated to Plainville after a few tenths because of the wind. But I figured I could take a few hours of it.

The first half of the ride was bad, but no worse than I expected—a stiff wind in my face. Then I came onto a plateau, and during a brunchstop had to strap my helmet to the bike to make sure it didn't blow away. I hoped it was just the terrain, but when I resumed windspeed had definitely picked up (Hays that afternoon had 31 mph wind, gusts to 39).

I saw the Hays water tower with 8 miles to go, usually a sign I'm home free. Today I doubted I could make it without hitching a ride. With 6 miles to go, I crawled under some farm machinery to get out of the wind and rest. At 3 miles, I passed some horses and spent a few happy minutes with them—horses are the only animals that like my bike and me. At 2 miles, a gust almost blew me into a creek. At 1 mile to go, a stinging rain came and the highway shoulder disappeared because of road construction. Thirty minutes after arrival at the blissful Hays Motel 6, the rain turned to hail.