I awoke early and loaded the bike, the morning was brilliant and the mountain air in Lincoln was energizing. I had a long stretch of flat in front of me, after exiting the mountains. The ninth day of my ride was the first day headed toward Michigan, and it was a rough one.

A few hours into the ride, a wind kicked up from the south that was a bit stronger than I really would have liked. I made my way across the East end of New Mexico and into Texas wrestling the bike and at times riding at a severe angle.

The most memorable thing about Texas was Hereford. It was one of those places you could smell twenty miles before you got there and twenty miles after you left it. I understand cattle stink, but I’m not sure anyone should live in that stench.

I made it to Oklahoma City about 5PM. Not realizing that it was Friday night, I attempted to find some food. I settled for some pizza and water, exhausted from the ride. I felt like I had been wrestling a bear all day. I went back to my overnight stay and crashed out hard. I never even heard the storms move in.

At five, I awoke to the sound of thunder and rain. I knew it was a possibility. What I did not anticipate was having to get out between tornado warnings. I hustled my way out as soon as I could and spent the morning trying to get in front of the storms. Sadly, this put me back into the winds from the previous day.

I hit Memphis around six and decided to get dinner before going to my AirBnB, since I was again beat down. I found myself at Memphis landmark Marlowes, and had some fine barbeque and an Elvis inspired concotion of ice cream, bananas, donuts and peanut butter sauce. I expect that this dessert has killed many over the years, but it was worth it.

I retired to the AirBnB, showered and resolved to try to put words to this blog. Despite being utterly exhausted, I pulled out the laptop, got comfortable, watched the power dim, listened to the transformer explode, then watched the power flicker and take the backup transformer out too. I put my phone on power save and went to sleep.

I awoke to a sunny mostly comfortable morning for the final leg of my trip. No wind, no rain, just a little muggy. I took it as a good sign. I should have been careful with my augury. Most of the trip was uneventful, but half way up Illinois, I ran into a nast super cell storm that had all of the winds, rain, hail and such. The intensity of which, I am not uncertain that I narrowly missed being killed by a tornado. I *do* know that I almost got creamed by a semi while hiding under a bridge. I also know that the bridge was the better option than continuing to ride against the wind and rain on the edges of my tires.

I carefully made my way out of the storm when it lessened, and spent the rest of the day chilled slightly by the cool air on the north side of it. I arrived home about 9 PM and was truly happy to have made it to my bed that evening.