Day18 ......... being a tourista

Today was a relaxing, visiting America day. We were encouraged to take it slow and stop and see the sights along our 47 mile trek. We were following the Mission Trail from El Paso to Ft. Hancock, TX.

We stopped and took a tour of the Mission at Socorro and at San Elizario. The architecture was stunning as well as the art. The sense of history was overwhelming.

The roads were flat the scenery agricultural, more pecan groves and cotton fields...and the sun was shinning.....the sky was blue.....

As usual, snug in bed....looking forward to tomorrow!

Day 17......Fantastic

What a glorius day! This is the kind of day that makes you remember why you love to ride a bike. I will admit that I was beginning to wonder after the freezing cold, and the snow, why in the world I embarked on this journey. But, alas, despite near freezing temps at the start this morning, the days ride was well worth it. We left our Las Cruces, NM hotel and pedaled through miles and miles of pecan groves and cotton fields, and fertile farm lands. The road was smooth, flat and fast! The 66 miles just flew by.

The pecan groves soon gave way to city as we rode through Sunland Park NM, then across the Rio Grande to the great state of Texas. We will be in TX for the next three weeks. It's a really big state! Lunch at the local Tony's Gorditas was a culinary treat, then on to a bike shop. It was time for brake cable replacement and a new chain. All is well and we rolled into the Comfort Inn at El Paso, just in time for a quick shower, laundry and a border crossing party. (we wont' have one of those again for a long time)

Tomorrow we pedal on to Fort Hancock, TX where there will be no internet service....so no update tomorrow night...

As usual, snug in bed looking forward to tomorrow.....

Day 16 ........... freezing

When one starts out on an adventure like I've decided to tackle, you know there will be unexpected circumstances. Well, I met mine today. I must admit that I never anticipated freezing temperatures. I thought it would be cooler at the higher elevations, but snow and cold, I never in a million years thought I'd experience that.

We left the bustling metropolis (population 30) of Kingston, NM this morning, the sky was a perfect blue, the sun was blazing, and I thought it would be a great day. I had some concerns about my riding abilities today, but as we started down the 9 mile descent, my confidence grew, then the wind kicked up, and it energized me over the rollers of the New Mexico ranch land. But soon, I realized that the white stuff beside the road was heavy, heavy, frost.....(later I found out that it was about 28 degrees this morning in Kingston) I did soon realize that my head was frozen, my butt was frozen, and I was cold to the core.

While my riding was good, and I felt much stronger than I anticipated after yesterday, I was frozen. So, at mile 26 at the first SAG stop, I bagged it and crawled in the warm van and headed to Las Cruzes. It took over an hour to stop shivering. Hopefully tomorrow will be warmer.

Day 15 ......... snow!

What a day, we left Silver City in 37 degree temperatures.....brrrrrr.....and then we headed up...the views were spectacular, but didn't make up for the climbing. I did take some photos but have not had a chance to download, so I'll try to post them later.

This was the day that my big sis got her groove back. She headed out and up and left me in the dust. This is the day that I began to question if maybe I've already given all I have. I felt stong last week, this week not so strong..... I did the total ride, 48 miles, ok, that's not many but they were mostly all up.....

When we arrived at Emory Pass, the snow began to come in flurries....then we headed down an 8 mile hill to the town of Kingston (population 30) to the Black Range Lodge. On the decent the snow came in big splat flakes and splatted on my glasses, then it turned to rain...and it was cold.....

I heard rumor of a 80 mile ride tomorrow....oy....

Day 14 ........ hangin' in Silver City

Ahhhhh......beautiful, no map meeting, no snacks set out at 7:00am, no pumping tires....just a day to relax. What a great place, Silver City, New Mexico.

The best thing about today was being able to sip more than one cup of coffee, not worring about were the next bathroom break might be! We could be here at the hotel all day! So after breakfast and laundry, we headed downtown Silver City via our legs, yes walking. We decided no bike seats for us today. The town did not disappoint with quaint shops, galleries, lots of restaurants, and of course gellato.

We had a scrumptious mexican lunch.....stolled some more......back to the hotel for
day off bike cleaning. Yes, I oiled my chain all by myself, and lubricated some squeaky points and pulled a burr out of my back tire, we hope it didn't punture the tube....we'll know tomorrow morning.

As always, snug in my bed, dreaming of pedaling...............

Day 13 ......the continental divide

The winds continued today....as we saw the cue sheet at our map meeting we noticed that today's ride was only 47 miles. By now we know that means climbing, and that we did...up, up, up (a total of 3,900 ft) and there it was a small side that said "continental divide". It did appear that we were at the top of the world. We did pause long enough to take a photo...then started our treat down hill.....

So, not only did we have winds we had climbing, it was another tough day. I thought that after my day of rest that my legs would be strong and I would climb as well as in the past. That did not happen.

We passed huge mining operations and tumble weeds and that was about it. I must say I am ready for different scenery.....

As usual, snug in bed, looking forward to a day off tomorrow!

Day 12......LInda takes a day off....

After the grueling ride to Globe, then dealing with the head winds yesterday, and waking with a sore throat....I decided to take a day off and ride in the van.

As I was laying in bed at 5 AM struggling to swallow, and made the decision not to ride, I felt confidend of my decision and packed and dressed accordinging. Then, at 6:45 as the rest of the women were packing their snacks and pumping their tires, I was suddenly jealous, and wavered on my decision.

Riding in the van we experienced blue sky and were treated to fields of wildflowers and yucca's galore. We could not feel the 20 - 30 mph winds.....after we arrived at our hotel in Lordsburg, NM and realized that only 4 of 23 women completed the 75 mile ride, all strugling for hours, some as many as 10 hours fighting with headwinds, I was glad that I sat the day out.

We celebrated at dinner as usual, we have one more state behind us (AZ) and are now experienceing New Mexico. Our toughest climbing days are ahead, I hear rumor that tomorrow will be tough. I'll be ready. I had a great day of rest, napped all afternoon, and this evening, feel much better. So, I'll be out there with the rest of them tomorrow....

As usual, snug in bed ready for lights out!