Second day of heat. Very tired, needing more sleep. Huge mistake starting an event like this with a serious sleep deficit in hand already. Serious saddle sore problems for the first time in my riding endeavors; tried Hammer's Seat Saver product, which they gave me as a sample with a shipment sometime in the past; it does not refer to any local anesthetic, but I'll swear it has something in it that numbs the pain. Thankfully, a short distance this day. Started out of town dead last with 2 other riders who went past the left turn on the way out of town. Peddling slow to start, and one of the riders, the former Dallas RBA, Gary Smith, caught up to me and we rode together to the checkpoint; very nice guy. Very interesting scenery, particularly one valley of fertile ranch land with volcanic walls on both sides. Being a short distance, I did not stop and eat a full meal along the way this day; another mistake. The body has no energy reserves left from which to draw upon on the third day of an event like this, and even 140 miles is too far without eating a meal and taking the time for the body to digest and make use of those calories. I bonked during the climb up to Loop Loop Pass, which would not ordinarily have been much of a challenge. I had no way to help myself as I was not carrying any gel, and I did not think to fill a water bottle with water from my CamelBak so I could prepare a bottle of Perpetuem. Deborah, Head winds at the end; tried to help pull a couple of riders, including Gary, but he had a sore neck and was unable to be attentive to my wheel, and the other had a hot foot problem that prevented him from being able to keep a consistent pace, so I left them behind and pushed on to the overnight. The accommodations were good, but 4 to a room, sharing queen beds. Again, my roommates had wakeups about 90 minutes before I wanted, and it was not possible to sleep afterwards. Rain expected for start of fourth day.