You would layer up to get warm, but with the strong head wind you would work so hard that you would sweat and be cold when the wind blew. This was especially true when standing still at the rest stops - the wind would just whip through your wet clothes. Here's Brian with our gear at lunch on day two -- note all our layers hanging out to dry on our bikes.
Our average speed was at least 2 mph below what it usually is on the first day. That resulted in finishing in 10 hours 45 minutes instead of our normal 7 hours 30 minutes.
Of course there was lots of scenery to take in, but I have to say that this year I spent more time with my head down concentrating on getting up the hills than enjoying it. Although this one field was too good to pass up...
Sunday was much better. It was still cold, but the wind was calm during the morning, so we set a fast pace early. We crossed the finish line in downtown Austin at around 2 pm.
