2017 10-01 Caballo to Las Cruces
(65 miles)
If the description of the events of yesterday was long, todays
will be short. The ride was basically
flat, and except for the slight headwind during the last 10 miles, easy. But it was also relatively boring, especially
when contrasted with yesterday’s ride.
The highlight was seeing all the pecan orchards. Another fact, not so much a highlight, was
the number of dead skunks on the road today.
One must be bored to take count of such a thing. And one other thing, at 2 AM we where treated
to another thunderstorm, lasting a little longer than an hour and not nearly as
intense of last nights.
2017 09-30 Mimbres to Caballo (54 miles)
Today we face the climb to Emory pass, the highest point we
will achieve on our trip at an altitude of 8228 feet. But this will not be the first challenge of
the day.
We went to our tents last night knowing that there was a
very high possibility of rain during the night.
Throughout the night we could see the flash of distant lightening as it
illuminated the dome of our tent, followed by the loud clap of thunder. The storm continued to get closer and closer,
until 2 AM when it struck our camp
area. The rain was torrential and lasted
for almost 4 hours. Many of us had tent
failures that let significant amounts of rain into the tent. Eric and Ed actually got out of their tents
and slept in the ladies room. Joe put on
his gortex jacket and leg covers but remained in his tent which had taken on a
large amount of water. He was only saved
from lying in a large puddle by the 2.5 inch Thermorest mattress. Some, those with good tents fared much better. In the morning, we all broke camp by packing
wet and soggy cycling gear.
Breakfast was at a local bakery that also serves meals. The buffet breakfast was a welcome treat for
eleven tired bikers and was so delicious.
Cycling off together, Joe, Chris and Tom came across a surprise
only about four miles from our camp site.
At first we thought we saw snow along the shoulder of the road, but then
we realized it was hail that had accumulated like a blanket of snow along the
one side of the road. A little further
along our ride we came across the first of several sections of road that had
rocks of all sizes washed from one side of the road to the other by a heavy
flow of rain. We now knew just how sever the storm was that passed over us last
night.
Now for the challenge we expected to face today. The climb to the pass lasted for 15 miles and
we gained in excess of 3500 feet in altitude. The effort required was exhausting but the
views made it seem less significant and painful. In one section of the climb, we would reach around
7000 feet, only to go downhill for 300 to 400 feet. Normally bikers like down hills, but this
series of three or four only meant we would have to climb those feet again.
Once we reached the summit, many took a short side road to
the lookout. Yes, it was a climb to the
lookout, but boy was it worth it. The
entire valley below was visible for at least 40 or 50 miles. We could see some of the towns we would later cycle through as well as the destination for our rides end.
The decent into tonight’s camp ground lasted for almost 35
miles. The first part of the decent was
the most dramatic, with no pedaling needed at all. It was a series of switch backs that eventually
got us to the valley floor. The next section, although not as steep a decent, required
very little effort pedaling. The scenery
was magnificent the entire way.
In the small town of Kingston ,
we stopped at the Kingston Clay Co and had a coffee. The owner, Eric, was very friendly and a real
cool person. One could describe him as a
sixties hippie type. He talked to us for
a long time and told us all about his clay business. He obtains the clay across the street from
his little shop. To get to the clay he
has to climb a rather large hill and carry it back by hand. Sounds like an awful lot of hard work.
As today was a long day, Joe and Tom where running a little
behind in preparing dinner. Chris, being
the ever helpful person he is, chipped right in and saved the day by helping in
every aspect of this evenings meal preparation.
He is as fast in the kitchen as he is on his bike. Thanks Chris for all your help! And because
of it, dinner was served on time.
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