We ended up having an extended stay in Amarillo to give Sam some time to recover from his migraines. I (James) also had no complaints about delaying our return to the road. On our first afternoon there, we went to Eastridge Lanes for some bowling. Later that same evening, we headed to Big Texan Steak Ranch - home of the 72oz Steak Challenge. Sam and I would both be attempting the challenge. We had exactly 1 hour to eat a 72oz steak, a baked potato, 3 pieces of fried shrimp, a small salad, and a bread roll. Out of roughly 90,000 attempts so far, around 10,000 have been completed (a success rate of 11%). If we did not finish, we would have to pay $72 for the meal. When the steak was ready, we headed to the challenge table, which was on a stage in the middle of the restaurant. The first 10 bites were actually quite tasty, but then things started getting tougher. We were both eating around the same pace, mixing in the sides and small sips of water to avoid the flavor fatigue of the steak as we went. At the 30 minute mark, we had both eaten well over half of the steak. However, we really started to slow down after this. For the last 20 minutes, every swallow came with the risk of vomiting (which was an automatic disqualification). At the 4 minute mark, I began chewing and swallowing as fast as I could and nearly vomited on several occasions. Things came down to the wire, and I swallowed my last bite with about 20 seconds left on the clock. I then looked over and saw Sam dejectedly staring at a small piece of meat left on his plate. It felt great to complete the challenge but I also felt bad for Sam and his heartbreaking defeat. 15 minutes later, I threw up in the toilet and could hear Sam doing the same in the adjacent stall. For the next few days, we mostly rested in the hotel. I did head back to the bowling alley on my own one night, taking advantage of the $9 unlimited bowling by bowling for over 5 hours. Whenever I did head out, I wore my “I ate it all” shirt that I won as part of my challenge. This turned out to be a good way to strike up conversation with the locals. I met several fellow champions who had also completed the challenge, as well as others who would never dream of it. We enjoyed our final rest day on Sunday, as we finally got to fully enjoy watching football all day.
9/28/22-10/2/22
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