So on the second day of the ride...after i lead the Haka for the team. It was time to split up with the Sierra route

:(

Getting ready in the morning:

It was sad, but we all knew that the day would come sooner or later. We all said our goodbyes after the Haka, exchanged good luck's, have fun's, i'll miss you's, i'll see you in whitehorse's, etc etc. But then we rode the first few miles together and when the split in the road came...we had the awkward second good bye.

After I split off with the team, I was climbing our first small hill when Susan Davis yelled out to me that my bracelet had broken and that it was on the ground.

Story behind the bracelet:

So, during the week right before our departure from Austin...we did a team ride out to Lockhart where we met up at Black's BBQ. So that day was a ride where the whole team came out. Both Sierras and Rockies. So, I bought something from those little toy dispensers for a quarter. I got a little sticky hand thing. A small toy dog. And this purple and white bracelet. So I wore that bracelet everyday after that ride.

I thought it was SO weird that after we had split up with the Sierra team that the bracelet somehow broke, and fell off my hand. Weird? Coincidence? I know. WEIRD.

So we rode out from Brownwood and made our way towards Stephenville.

One of our rest stops was in Comanche, TX. The hometown of Lance Pyburn, one of the Sierras riders this year. So I decided that it was a good place to pick up a souvenir. I found a little road reflector/bump on the side of the road and thought it's be a great idea to get a Comanche person to write "Commanche, TX" and the date on it. So I have that as a keepsake for the trip.

Comanche, TX keepsake:

On the way there, we decided to take a quick "rest stop" at the Dublin Dr. Pepper factory!! Greatest REST STOP EVER!!!! We got a discounted tour price and took a $1 tour of the facilities and got an icy cold Dr. Pepper made with REAL imperial sugar! it was absolutely amazing and delicious.

Dublin here we come!

Delicious Dr. Pepper with REAL sugar!

So after we stopped of there, we got back on the road to head to Stephenville.

We arrived at the edge of town to find two police officers waiting for us to escort us into town. They were absolutely incredible and led us all the way to Tarleton State University!

Police Escort into Stephenville from Thaison Nguyen on Vimeo.

We got to stay at the dorms at the University and began to unpack and shower to get ready for dinner.

For dinner, we went to Hard Eight BBQ, which was absolutely AMAZING. They donated dinner to all of us and after a 90 mile ride? It DEFINITELY hit the spot! Sooo delicious! I was so hungry that I made sandwiches with sourcream and onion chips and BBQ sauce. When the chopped beef sandwiches came out, I DEMOLISHED it! It was sooo good!

Hard eight BBQ:

sour cream and onion w/bbq sauce sandwich!

CHOPPED BEEF SANDWICH!!!

Some of the Atlas volunteers, who were a part of Team Jan had met us at Tarleton State and we invited them to come and have dinner with us. It was nice to talk to them and share stories and experiences. They were absolutely incredible people!

After dinner, we made our way back to the dorms and prepared for the next day's journey.

It turned out to be an AMAZING day. Check out the photos and videos:

Pulled over for a picture with the flowers::

PRETTY!

STONEHENGE: