We set up the bikes in a line to get a photo shoot. Jim's neighbours must have enjoyed the sound of 12 Harleys warming up and then revving to get in line at 7.30 in the morning. We followed local roads to Brenham dodging rain for most of the time with a bit of rainsuit work here and there while passing through Cameron then Temple and onto US 36.

Stopped in Hamilton for lunch at a mom 'n pop diner which had a Sunday lunch buffet. By this time the temperature was very hot and the sun blazed in the sky. The group of T-shirt and shorts clad "bikers "invaded the small diner all spouting strange accents but the diner staff coped with us well. John Natrass decided to have a hunt for a beer but after a hapless wander, discovered it was a dry town and from that moment scored it off his mental map of the world forever.

The restaurant quickly re-organised the tables to give us a large dining place and we tucked into home cooking. Now this was GOOD! Tasty fried chicken, melt in the mouth roast beef in gravy, black-eyed peas, cornbread, biscuits and gravy and much more. My only complaint was that the vegetables, as seems usual in the places we tried, were boiled to a point of no texture and little flavour. In the UK they are mostly cooked to a firm bite and this mushy style is what we used to do years ago. Who needs vegetables anyway? I'm always interested in the lifestyle differences between men and women. Men realise the need for real food, heading straight for the carnivorous section of the buffet and able to tell and discard at a glance, anything which looks vaguely in the "healthy " category. The women however prat about with green stuff and red round things and things that don’t walk around when growing. However they suddenly recognise that they need some real sustenance and have to make a dive for the sweet sticky stuff.

Fred Henderson engaged a smartly dressed man in conversation which I missed, the chat between a broad "Doric" accent and a broad Texan accent must have been interesting. When Fred in his casual vest and shorts quizzed the smartly dressed man why he chose to get so dressed up in such heat it was explained he had to as he was the local preacher and had to work Sundays.

On we went through flat BIG country as far as we could see continuing on US 36. A thermometer on a bank in Commanche indicated 104 degrees and I was too hot to disagree. Some cornfields but mainly cotton where the plants seemed to be planted on a curve for some reason; we were told later it was to help irrigation. Many of the fields had nodding donkeys prising precious oil from a seemingly unwilling earth, harvests from above and below ground seems a great idea. The smell of hydrogen Sulphide was thick and it brought to mind that I found the US air strangely lacking in smells as I'm used to in Scotland. Not just familiar smells buy ANY smells, perhaps it's the heat or humidity or my nose not attuned to the local scents.

At a fuel stop Ron had decided we needed to pick up some stuff from a Wal-Mart and shouted over to the party his intention to do so. A couple of locals guys in a truck heard him and shouted over "which Wal-Mart are you lookin fer", "Abiline" responded Ron. The two guys sat in silence not even acknowledging each other and chewed on whatever they were chewing in a period of silence longer that you care to imagine. It seemed their concept of existence didn't extend to a city about 30 miles away and the thought processes in dealing with how to respond was using up the total capacity of their brains….except the part required for chawin'. The effect could be compared to a PC freezing and the similarity was frightening. You let these guys own guns??

After Abiline we headed west briefly then onto US 84 which would lead us to Lubbock. I'm fairly sure it was along this stretch that we ran alongside a railroad and passed a long train, which one of the guys clocked at two miles long. Some of the childish members of out team even counted the wagons as they passed and came up with 104. I still say it was only 103! A train this long may not seem a big deal in the states but it was novel for us.