Day 21 - September 30, 2017 - 55 miles, 3,600 feet ascent, 5,056 feet descent

Mimbres, NM to Caballo Lake, NM

Writing this first paragraph at 0430 in the dry, warm women's room at the Mountain Spirits RV Park.  The lightening started just before midnight, with the rain following shortly thereafter.  It was light, at first.  "This is nice," I thought, since I was nice and cozy in my down sleeping bag.  Uh-oh, sprung a leak.  Moved things around to preserve the sleeping bag, dry clothes, and electronics.   Still thought everything was going to be okay.  Then the raincame down harder, the wind started blowing, and the intensity of the lightening increased.  I imagined that I could feel the heat of the lightening on my face.  I still though I everything would be okay, and I could stick it out until morning, until....

It felt like it was raining inside the tent.   My sleeping bag was wet on top and the bottom, and there was a pool forming on the bottom of the tent!  I had to abandon ship.  I quickly put on my dry bike shorts that I was going to wear today, along with my rain jacket.  I stuffed a set of dry cloths into my panniers, along with my bike shoes, iPhone, and iPad.  I high-tailed it with my gear to the main building, only about 30 yards away.  I was drenched and shivering, standing under the covered porch.  This was not going to work, as it was only 0300, and I needed to get warm and dry.  Aha, I said to myself!  I was standing right in front of the door to the women's room.  The restrooms at this park are very nice.  They are clean, well maintained, and warm!   So I set up shop in the women's room.  Changed out of my wet bike shorts into the dry clothes that I carried over, and dried my hair with Eileen's towel (the park provided towels for us to shower with upon arrival, and Eileen is the only woman.  She left the towel on the tree stand, and it was dry!)

So now I was warm and dry, thinking about what I was going to do with my wet tent and sleeping bag later in the morning, when I saw a light emanating from the tent area.  Then it was coming toward me, in the pouring rain (I was standing in the doorway, watching the campsite).  Eric, our 22 year old rider, abandoned his tent and joined me in the women's room.    So, here I sit on the single seat in the room, while Eric is comfortable with some benches in the shower room.  We will wait until daylight, and assess the situation then.

Post-storm comment:  The locals say they have never had a storm of such intensity in this area.   I heard anywhere from 2.5" - 3" of rain in less than four hours!

Dawn broke, and I proceeded to empty my tent, hanging my sleeping bag to dry.  We went to breakfast at The Living Harvest Bakery, run by a local church.  All you can eat buffet for $6.50, paid by Adventure Cycling.   Wow, what a wonderful spread, including a cinnamon bun that gives a Cinnabon a run for their money!  During the breakfast, the group surprised me by singing "Happy Birthday," and giving me a card signed by all the riders, plus a hostess cupcake!  And the coffee, chocolate piñon!

Back to camp, packed al my wet gear, and finally left at 0940.   We were re-routed due to the road being impassable, with 2' of running water!  The detour was short, and we still passed many areas where the road flooded and had deb is strewn about.  In some places, piles of ice remained from the hail during the night.  

We climbed for 20 miles, finally reaching Emory Pass at 8,228 feet. We took a group photo at the top.  Then, the icing on the cake... the descent!  

Pulled into the Lakeview RV Park at Caballo Lake, and set my tent out to dry.  Since my sleeping bag was wet, I decided to wash it, and it took two cycles in the dryer to finish.   Finally, time to get to bed, and save posting the blog until I could sit upright to do so.  

Day 20 - September 29, 2017 - 51.62 miles, 3,527 feet ascent

Silver City, NM to Mimbres, NM

What a beautiful and fun ride today!  We climbed from Silver City up to the Continentl Divide, north on NM 15.   Three of us rode together for the first ten miles, Eileen, Tom R, and I.  We did not know that we were the leaders, and that no one was ahead of us.  At mile ten, while taking a break, three others joined us - Chris, Tom C, and Erwin.   We rode as six until another rest at Lake Roberts Motel and convenience store, at mile 30.   Rich and Ken soon joined us, but then folks left at different times.   

We crossed the Continental Divide again at mile 38, back to the Atlantic watershed.  It was all downhill from there, mostly!  I arrived at the Mountain Spirits RV Park around 1430, after seven hours on the road.   The manager had fresh towels and soap/shampoo set out for us.  Set up tents, showers, then rode a mile up the road for dinner at the only restaurant around.  

For the last hour or so, I have been listening to the elk bugling throughout the Mimbres Valley.  We are told that they will be out in force at 0600 in the meadow across the road.  I am looking forward to it!

A new companion to Falling Rock.

Day 19 - September 28, 2017 - Rest Day

Five of us rented a car and drove to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument.  Long drive, but had a great time.   We actually drove tomorrow's bike route in reverse, so we previewed the challenging climbs.  To make things a little easier on us, we loaded up the trunk with the group gear and any personal gear that we could do without for the next 30 hours, and drove it to tomorrow's destination.  I sent my sleeping bag, pad, tent, and front panniers.  The ride should be much easier without that weight.    Some might say that this is cheating, but 1) it is not a race, 2) there are no rules, and 3) what counts is the rubber on the road coast o coast.

Here are some photos of the cliff dwellings.

Day 18 - September 27, 2017 - 46.52 miles, 3,563 feet ascent

Lordsburg, NM to Silver Springs, NM

Today was by far the most difficult riding day of this tour.   It was cold to start, at about 39 degrees, and we we expected rain.  We could see the clouds to the northeast, where we were headed.  But, to start the day off, we had 22 mph crosswinds, combined with a 1-2% grade (and sometimes more) for the first 24 miles.   We were making less than 5 mph forward advancement per hour.   At this rate, it might take us 10 hours to get to Silver City.

On a positive note, there was very little traffic on NM 90, and the shoulder was in better condition than the road.  There were still transverse cracks on the shoulder,  but they did not have the protruding ridges that makes riding on them extremely bumpy.  Good road surface, but oh, those winds!

After about 20 miles, I was so cold, I stopped to put on my rain pants.  I already had my rain jacket on, if only to serve as a windbreaker.  It was 58 degrees by this time, but who knows what the wind chill was.   We also seemed to have reached a summit, but it was not to be.  For the next 20 miles, there were rollers, taking us up, then down, but the "ups" were longer and higher.

I was riding with Joe, a 71 year old from Poughkeepsie, NY, and Tom R, from Fairfax, VA.  The three of us rode together uphill and against the wind for the first 24 miles, until we reached the Continental Divide.  After the obligatory photos, Joe took off like a slingshot, and dropped Tom and I.   Seems like rollers are Joe's strong suit.  

By this time, we had passed by more roadkill than we have on any segment so far.  Not only did we see the typical deer and coyote, but also two javalinas and a porcupine.  Not that we were counting, but it is kind of hard not to notice!

We left the road sign at the continental divide, and soon the rain came.  Soft at first, and barely noticeable; however, by the time we reached 36 miles, it was really coming down.  We came to a long descent where I actually had to stop partway down because I could not see.  Took my sunglasses off, and still couldn't see due to the rain hitting my eyes.  Glasses back on.  Glasses off again...  so it went.  

Just before the Silver City city limits, I stopped at the top of a roller to eat the remainder of my ham and cheese sandwich.  I was hungry, yet had only 5 more miles to our destination.  They say that if you wait to eat until you are hungry, while riding, it is too late - you are at risk of bonking or building up lactic acid in your muscles.  Neither happened to me, I was just hungry, and Tom soon caught up and did the same.

Soon, we came to the Motel 6, our destination, where we will spend the next two nights - a welcome rest day tomorrow,  after unloading g our wet bikes, showering, laundering, etc., I went to dinner at the Little Toad Brewery, a place popular with the local crowd.  Worked some different muscles, as it was a 1.5 mile walk each way.   

Time to rest!

Day 17 - September 26, 2017 - 37.25 miles, 798 feet ascent

Duncan, AZ to Lordsburg, NM

Short ride today, with very little climbing.  We are getting set up for crossing the Continental Divide tomorrow, then twice more on Thursday, after a rest day in Silver City.

Last night we camped in the City Park in Duncan.  After a late dinner at Hilda's, we all settled into our tents.  I took the time to write yesterday's blog, then closed my devices and my eyes.   I woke up at 0030 to the sound of barking dogs and howling coyotes.   They didn't seem to stop the rest of the night. Then, at 0400, the roosters in the yards adjacent to the park started crowing.  They were loud!  Not sure how many there were, but I counted about five different rooster voices!   We all got up at 0530 to break camp, make our lunch, and head to Hilda's.

After a hearty breakfast at Hilda's, (our third consecutive meal there), we hit the pedals at about 0900.  This is our latest start, but we have only a short ride ahead.  I rode with Erwin and Tom C the entire 36 miles.  Erwin pulled 95% of the time, not that we were drafting, as that would be against the rules (for safety reasons, with fully loaded bikes).   We cruised along at about 14 - 16 mph, against a moderate quartering headwind, with one short break at the halfway point.  Riding conditions today were excellent on US 70.   Very little traffic, smooth pavement, and no transverse cracking of the pavement on the shoulders.

We left Arizona behind, and entered New Mexico, where our Garmin devices and smartphones all advanced one hour as we entered daylight savings time in the mountain time zone, as Arizona does not recognize daylight savings time.

The random photo of the cattle grate and dirt road shows where we pulled over for a short break.  Out of all the dirt roads we have passed and sometimes stopped, it was very funny when a truck with a horse trailer pulled off the highway, and maneuvered around our bikes to get to the cattle crossing.  In the trailer was a saddled horse, as if the driver were getting ready for a cattle drive.  We apologized for being in the way.  Like I said earlier, there was very little traffic on this highway, so it was just bad timing, although the driver did not seem to mind too much.  

Tonight we are staying at the KOA in Lordsburg.  The plan was to camp, but since there is a forecast of rain, we elected to rent the cabins, which all together cost not $15 more than it would have if we all set up tents.  Since there are ten of us, on thre person cabin gets to accommodate four.  That would be my cabin.  I am lucky, though, as I have the bottom bunk of the bunkbed.  Also, we don't have to worry about breaking camp in the rain.  On the downside, we do expect thunderstorms during tomorrow's ride.  

Day 16 - September 25, 2017 - 41.41 miles, 1,601 feet ascent

Safford, AZ to Duncan, AZ

We all thought this would be an easy day!  The joke was on us, as we are already tired from the last few days, and the effect is cumulative.   I started today's ride with fatigued muscles, so I wasn't very fast.   That's all.  Not strenuous, but I normally would have been much faster.  The hours each day in the saddle are adding up as well, causing a little sensitivity where my sit bones hit the saddle. 

Sadly, we learned today that another of our teammates is leaving the tour due to health reasons.  Patrick, our EMT from Louisiana, has a torn meniscus, and can no longer ride.  I think he will meet up with us when we get to Louisiana, just to say hello.   I am now officially the second youngest person on the tour - the youngest being 22!

The day started with a group outing to the grocery store, as we needed to carry forward breakfast and lunch for tomorrow, Tuesday.   The two cooks for the day purchased the groceries, then we all divided them up before heading to Duncan.    We have never started as a group since we left San Diego, so it was interesting to see who the leaders are.  Certainly not me!  I was quickly dropped, and subsequently pedaled at my own speed, until others caught up.

Ken, Eileen, and Neal soon caught up with Tom C and I at one of the historical monuments, where Eileen captured a selfie with some of us in the background.  Twenty more miles, ten up, and ten down!

The town of Duncan lies in this valley, with the mountains in the background.   Looked much better in person - photos do not do it justice.

When we arrived in Duncan, the six riders in front of us were just finishing lunch at Hilda's, the only restaurant in town.  Us four stragglers joined them, then soon departed for the city Park, where we pitched our tents settled in for a while,   Time check:  1430.   Showers were to come later at the high school, at 1800.   In the interim, some of us went to the local library, all for various reasons.  Some wanted internet.   Some wanted to write their blogs, and me - I wanted to upload my Garmin data to Garmin Connect and Strava.   Success!  I was worried about losing data, but the storage was sufficient for over two weeks of riding.  

Just a comment about riding conditions - yesterday, most drivers moved over and gave us some room. Many, though, were very rude and inconsiderate, some even slowing down and yelling "Get off the road!"    Today was much different. With only one or two exceptions, every driver gave us plenty of room.

Then there is the problem with transverse cracking of the asphalt on the shoulder, which is difficult to ride because of the constant jostling and bumping.  These cracks are perpendicular to the centerline of the road, and typically only on the shoulder.  As a result, bicyclists are forced to ride in the traffic lane, albeit on the right side of the lane.   This may be what causes some drivers to become irate, as they may be momentarily inconvenienced by having to move over a little to go around us.  Oh well, too bad.   I ride with my own safety in mind, often defensively.