OMG
This is a new contemporary Prayer/exclamation, but it fit today. First let me tell you about yesterday.
Yesterday, Thursday, began in Albuquerque. We needed to stop there for a bike shop, so we were about to get a late start since the shops don't open till 10 am. Great bike shop named Two Wheel Drive. They put a new tire on for Dave and we bought lots of inner tubes full of slime. Once we left the shop our view was this would be a "short day" with only a 30 mile or so ride to Moriarity, NM. Welllllllll once we left the shop we began climbing and we climbed for most of the ride, over 2200 feet with lots of grades that were quite tiring. The weather was so bleak it was depressing and then it began to rain some.
We made it into Moriarity just before the storm that had been chasing us hit the town. Huge storm and snow!!! Snow!!!! So we ate a hearty Arby's dinner and went to bed intending on getting up at the crack of dawn to go the 80 miles we needed to the next town with hotels. The forecast called for snow overnight, so we went to bed not knowing what the morning would hold.
Thankfully the skies were clear, but the temperature was about 30 f. 30!!! We bundled up and got on the road to discover at least we had a following wind. And there was, it built from about 10 mph from the west, to gusting winds of 20-40 mph following us.
The first 25 miles were spent climbing to the final 7100+ summit in the Rockies. Once we went over that at Clines Corner, the combination of downhill and wind drove us very fast. For long stretches I was cruising at 30+ mph. We roared off the Rockies, on one downhill I went 45 mph which is really fast for a loaded cyclist.
We went so fast that the whole 80 mile ride too six hours. That is with a 25 mile climb! I could feel the wind pick me up and push me up hills. It was amazing. The nice thing is that getting in so early we are getting a lot of needed rest and some bike work.
The scariest part of the day was watching a wooden orange crate pinwheel along the field parallel to me, then it turned and headed to me and despite efforts to avoid it, I hit it. Amazingly the only damage was to my front fender. No damage to the tire or spokes or anything. So I can end that episode with a TBTG.
Funniest thing was that the one open Rest Area left in NM (as best I can tell) is being maintained by a non-profit doing job training. Outside the restrooms they had the sign you can read in the picture, essentially asking people to vote on how well they liked the rest area!
Tomorrow we head off to Tucumcari, our last stop in NM. Tomorrow we should hit 1,000 miles.
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