Leaving Wichita falls late morning, I had only to get 250-ish miles to Plainview, TX where I reserved a room the night before. If I got there before 3, I could not check in yet and would be looking for something to do that was not indoors, which is what? So it made no sense to hustle even if I wanted to. It's nice to not be in a hurry - although that's about to change.
I'm in Plainview, because it's the nearest hotel to Earth, TX about 40 miles away. I will be arriving in Earth before dawn on Sunday morning, the 49th anniversary of the Apollo 15 launch, to embark on an Iron Butt Association ride to Moon, Pennsylvania 1500 miles away. Fifteen hundred in 36 hours is a Bun Burner, which is the next step above the 1,000-in-24 Saddlesore that is the minimum requirement for IBA certification and membership, and doing this ride on a manned lunar launch anniversary is a nerdy special certification. There is a Bun Burner Gold for 1,500 miles in 24 hours, but that's basically straight through balls out with no sleep. Meh. We'll see, but I highly doubt it.
I've been off the interstate since not long after Little Rock, and this part of Texas is the part I love. Two-lane highways through ranchland and oilfields, posted at 75 mph.
So after 3 hours of whizzing by mailboxes at 75, I rolled into Plainview and located the hotel, still way too early to check in. Which was fine, because I wanted to take the ride over to Earth anyway, to time it, take a few daylight pictures since it would be dark tomorrow morning, and most importantly, check the gas station receipt, which must have the correct location and time of day. There's only one gas station in Earth, so that was kinda important.
I got all that completed, got back to Plainview with my dirty, buggy bike, and set about getting ready for 4:15 alarm.
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| Marvin the Martian is coming along for this spaceflight |
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