Description: Finished up in Las Cruces NM at a Comfort Inn.
Today was just an 80 mile recovery ride after the mountains of the last few days. I slept in late today until 6:45 and then packed my gear before heading down stairs of the B&B for breakfast. The owner, Mary, was shocked at how much dinner I ate last night and decided to challenge me with a monster breakfast burrito that included eggs, sausage, potatoes, cheese, and salsa. It must have had a half dozen eggs in the beast as it covered the entire plate. I jumped on it and cleared the plate washing it down with fresh OJ and several cups of java. I would highly recommend this place to anyone! After pulling away from the table, I loaded up Wilson and the Mean Green Machine for an 8:30 departure. To my shock and horror, the first 2 miles were straight up hill at a 5-6 % grade. My pistons were not ready for this tax! After climbing out of Hillsboro, I was treated to the "flat lands" and a stiff wind in my face for the next 15 miles. I finally made it to a big and beautiful lake called Caballo Lake. I stopped for an hour to recover, drink more coffee, eat some cookies, send my blog entry from last night, and take a call from my son Zachery who was paying my bills back home. I then realized that the "stream" coming out of the lake was the Rio Grande river. I was impressed. At the lake, I turned South and to my delight, had a gigantic wind at my back. If I had a sail, I would not have turned a pedal for at least 10 miles. I rode a steady 20-25 MPH and was loving it. I blew through the small towns of Arrey, Derry, Garfield, Salem, and Thatch. All of which combined had less than 2,800 population with Thatch being most of it. Then the dream ended and the wind hit me straight in the face for the next 21 miles - ouch. Just short of Radium Springs, I chased down a 78 year old rider who was out on his daily 20 mile bike ride. He was riding a classic Univega touring bike similar to the one the girl had yesterday except he had down tube shifters. I will call him Ed since I forgot his name after asking him 3 times. This old man was fit and he dropped me several times on steep hills which hurt my ego. We rode together for over 5 miles chit chatting about cycling and the mountains. He finally turned off the road at an RV park where he rides out the winters from his hometown in Boulder Colorado. Then the wind became favorable again and blew me the final 20 miles into Las Cruces at over 18 MPH. Along the last 30-40 miles, there were lots of chile and nut farms which look to be the local cash crops. I also saw more cows and cattle crossings which made me nervous after last night. After checking in to the Comfort Inn, I showered and unloaded my bike. Then after a strong recommendation, I went to an Italian restaurant called Lorenzos de Mesilla for a chicken parm dinner. While eating, I noticed that the ceiling was covered with one dollar bills that appeared to be pinned up there. I asked the waiter and he said the owner is a magician and that if you gave him a 1 dollar bill and 2 quarters, he would fold them together and throw them up to the ceiling (at least 12-14 ft) and make them stick. There must have been hundreds of dollars up there!!!! Everyone around me had seen it done and said it was unbelievable. The owner was not there tonight to show me :-(
Tomorrow, I plan to exit NM and head into El Paso TX with a targeted destination of Fabens TX after a 75 mile ride. Will be a lot of traffic tomorrow but not many cows.
Good night!
Weather: I am really getting tired of saying this.... But the weather was awesome! A little cool this morning and then bright sunshine and warm all day with not a cloud in the sky.
Performance Metrics:
Miles: 80 Trip: 843 - 1/4th of the way done
Total travel time: 7:00 Trip: 87:05
Bike Riding time: 5:09 Trip: 68:00
Avg speed: 15.50 Trip: 12.75 - record high average for a day
Max speed: 32.11 Trip: 41.87
Total ascent (ft): 767 Trip: 27,494
Avg pedal RPMs: 84 Trip: 86
Avg heart rate: 110 Trip: 118 - almost fell asleep
Max heart rate: 182 Trip: 195 - spiked when I passed a construction vehicle just outside Las Cruces.
Calories burned: 4,682 Trip: 50,567
Weather Statistics:
High temp 63 Trip: 75
Low temp: 58 Trip: 28
Hours of rain: 0 Trip: 8
Hours of snow: 0 Trip: 0
Total days of rain/snow: 1
Wind factor: Favorable for the most part
Total good wind days: 5
Total bad wind days: 7
Misc. Stats:
Flat tires: 0 Trip: 8
Mechanical failures: 0
Hotel or camping today: hotel - Comfort Inn
Total hotel nights: 11
Total camping nights: 1
Cups of coffee: 3 Trip: 37
Pints: 2 Trip: 20 - Stone IPA and Arrogant Bastard Ale which were both excellent!
Mood rating (1-10): 9.78 - perfect day, easy riding, crossed the Rio Grande, but did get beat up a hill by a 78 year old man on a steel bike. Slow Todd will be laughing at this comment.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
OK ESN:0-7458562
This is Steve and I am checking in to let everyone know that I have finished my ride for the day safe and sound.
ESN:0-7458562
Latitude:32.2871
Longitude:-106.7931
Nearest Location:not known
Distance:not known
Time:12/03/2008 14:42:23 (US/Pacific)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=32.2871,-106.7931&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
ESN:0-7458562
Latitude:32.2871
Longitude:-106.7931
Nearest Location:not known
Distance:not known
Time:12/03/2008 14:42:23 (US/Pacific)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=32.2871,-106.7931&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
Day 11 - Tuesday, December 2
Description: Finished at a Bed & Breakfast called The Enchanted Villa in Hillsboro NM. It was a beautiful old adobe house built in 1940.
First I must apologize for a long blog entry today that you will get a day late as there is no cell coverage again. The entry is long because I wanted to capture the "Ironman" like event that occurred today as I broke records for miles, altitude climbed, top speed, calories burned, and RPMs on the low side. I must have been inspired by my Ironman escorts in SD. When I went to bed last night, I had only planned on a 37 mile ride today including a steep climb to the official "Continental Divide" outside of Silver City. So, I slept in later than usual and then packed up my camping gear which worked great. Breakfast was 2 packs of donut sticks and a Starbucks Mocha purchased the night before from Last Chance Liquors. Started riding at 8:30 after it warmed up from the chilly 28 degree overnight low. The first thing I noticed was that the wind was blowing hard at my back - WoW. Then after just 5 miles, there was a real coffee shop in the middle of nowhere in a town (that is saying a lot) called Cliff. Of course I stopped and enjoyed a tall latte with a double-shot of espresso added (GT would have been proud). From Cliff, it was a steady and then very steep pull up to the Continental Divide at 6,238 ft. I stopped for a photo opportunity for Wilson. It was then that Wilson and I had a discussion over how to finish the day. I was a bit tired from yesterday's Olympic ride and wanted to recover in Silver City which was just 2 miles down the hill. Wilson said I was still strong and had an exceptional wind at my back that I should take advantage of. He suggested we blow through Silver City and then take on the tallest mountain climb of the entire 6-week trip which was Emery Pass at 8,228 ft. After the ascent, it would only be 20 miles downhill to a nice B&B. After some quick calculations, I told Wilson the idea was nuts as it would include over 6,300 ft of climbing and a total of 94 miles for the day. We agreed to go into Silver City and ask a bike shop if it could be done. The owner of Gila Bike & Hike told me there is not enough time left in the day, even for a strong rider like me because I would have to cover almost 50 miles and tackle the steepest, longest, meanest mountain around. I looked at my watched and took this as a personal challenge and said I was going to do it! I figured it would take an Ironman effort to survive. I filled my water bottles and pumped my tires up to the max before saying goodbye. As I was leaving town, I thought about Dayn and stopped at Taco Bell for some bean burritos to fuel the furnace. Can you believe it - they were out of beans and rice! I settled for 2 double meat and cheese Barrios and then blasted off just prior to 1:00. With the big wind helping me, I made good time for the first heavily rolling 22 miles. Then the monster climb began. Straight up with switch-backs for nearly 20 miles. I choked down several energy bars to re-stoke the furnace as I knew the race for daylight was on - big time. Part way up, I passed a guy on a racing bike coming down the hill and I yelled out how much farther. He did not hear me (must be my thick NJ accent)but then turned around to chase me up the hill and answer my question. He said it took nearly a mile to catch me and said he was impressed by my speed. He told me I had 15 miles to the top and wished me luck with a chuckle. Upward I went wearing out my granny gear on the 8-10 % grades. Then I ran across 2 cross country cyclists coming down the mountain. We stopped and talked. The guy was from Colorado and the girl from Minnesota and they met sometime after they started from Florida. They are taking the same trail but opposite direction as me. Both riders did not have good bikes and neither had a third (granny) chain ring which really impressed me. The girl was riding a 25 year old Univega 12 speed with those big old stem shifters - yuk. She must be strong as #ell. We wished each other luck and moved on. I cranked the granny on and on while staring at the GPS altimeter as it steadily rose from 6,000 to 7,000 to 8,000 ft. The last 228 ft were the toughest as they were dead into a 30-40 MPH wind near the pass. Slow Todd could not have made this climb and would have needed to be air lifted a quarter of the way up:-) I got there just after sunset at 5:30 so I guess the manager at the bike shop was right that it could not be done by dark but I tried! I'll that Brian could have done it. I had figured on a 6 pm sunset - wrong! Anyway, I stopped for a break at the top and said a few curse words at Wilson and then took some pictures. Then the real fun began. I had to ride another 20 miles off the mountain top in the pitch dark and navigate switch-backs at 20-30 MPH - what was I thinking? I switch on my bright head light and rear blinkers which work awesome. I put on my gore-tex jacket and winter gloves as it was very cold and my hands were numb. The ride down was incredible and one that I will always remember. Just me and the mountain guided by a bright moon and stars that looked like you could reach up and touch them from as high up as I was. Coming down, I kept noticing cattle guards across the road and big yellow signs with cows on them. Then it happened, there was a big cow standing in the middle of the road just before a cattle guard. I swerved left around him and stopped to check my shorts as I was doing at least 25 MPH at the time. I found out later from the B&B that the farmers do not have to fence their cattle off the road but instead can install the guards on the road to keep them on their farms that span both sides of the road. Now this is CRAZY. They must not be much traffic on these roads. Anyway, I made it down safe and sound and checked into a really nice B&B, showered and got ready for some chow. There is no place to buy dinner so you have to make your own. I had a double serving of chicken and rice (freeze dried back packer stuff that was great) plus another foil pack of chicken meat on top for extra protein. I washed it down with hot chocolate and a Powerbar recovery bar.
Gonna crash and sleep in late. Breakfast is at 7:30.
Tomorrow is planned to be an easy 75-80 miles of downhill and flats to Las Cruces.
Weather: Another perfect day. Started out cold but quickly warmed up nice with bright blue skies. And don't forget the big wind at my back that felt like Mr. Smit with his hand pushing me all day (except at the top of the pass) from behind my seat.
Performance Metrics:
Miles: 94 Trip: 764 - record mileage
Total travel time: 10:00 Trip: 80:05
Bike Riding time: 8:26 Trip: 62:51
Avg speed: 11.08 Trip: 12.50
Max speed: 41.87 Trip: 41.87 - massive downhills today
Total ascent (ft): 6,319 Trip: 26,727 - record climbs today
Avg pedal RPMs: 76 Trip: 86 - record low due to running out of gear on the climb
Avg heart rate: 126 Trip: 119
Max heart rate: 158 Trip: 195
Calories burned: 5,801 Trip: 45,885 - records cals today
Weather Statistics:
High temp 61 Trip: 75
Low temp: 28 Trip: 28 - record low, brrrr
Hours of rain: 0 Trip: 8
Hours of snow: 0 Trip: 0
Total days of rain/snow: 1
Wind factor: major help
Total good wind days: 4
Total bad wind days: 7
Misc. Stats:
Flat tires: 0 Trip: 8
Mechanical failures: 0
Hotel or camping today: B&B
Total hotel nights: 10
Total camping nights: 1
Cups of coffee: 3 Trip: 34
Pints: 0 Trip: 18 - dried out today
Mood rating (1-10): 10 - huge day today and lots of challenges and fun.
First I must apologize for a long blog entry today that you will get a day late as there is no cell coverage again. The entry is long because I wanted to capture the "Ironman" like event that occurred today as I broke records for miles, altitude climbed, top speed, calories burned, and RPMs on the low side. I must have been inspired by my Ironman escorts in SD. When I went to bed last night, I had only planned on a 37 mile ride today including a steep climb to the official "Continental Divide" outside of Silver City. So, I slept in later than usual and then packed up my camping gear which worked great. Breakfast was 2 packs of donut sticks and a Starbucks Mocha purchased the night before from Last Chance Liquors. Started riding at 8:30 after it warmed up from the chilly 28 degree overnight low. The first thing I noticed was that the wind was blowing hard at my back - WoW. Then after just 5 miles, there was a real coffee shop in the middle of nowhere in a town (that is saying a lot) called Cliff. Of course I stopped and enjoyed a tall latte with a double-shot of espresso added (GT would have been proud). From Cliff, it was a steady and then very steep pull up to the Continental Divide at 6,238 ft. I stopped for a photo opportunity for Wilson. It was then that Wilson and I had a discussion over how to finish the day. I was a bit tired from yesterday's Olympic ride and wanted to recover in Silver City which was just 2 miles down the hill. Wilson said I was still strong and had an exceptional wind at my back that I should take advantage of. He suggested we blow through Silver City and then take on the tallest mountain climb of the entire 6-week trip which was Emery Pass at 8,228 ft. After the ascent, it would only be 20 miles downhill to a nice B&B. After some quick calculations, I told Wilson the idea was nuts as it would include over 6,300 ft of climbing and a total of 94 miles for the day. We agreed to go into Silver City and ask a bike shop if it could be done. The owner of Gila Bike & Hike told me there is not enough time left in the day, even for a strong rider like me because I would have to cover almost 50 miles and tackle the steepest, longest, meanest mountain around. I looked at my watched and took this as a personal challenge and said I was going to do it! I figured it would take an Ironman effort to survive. I filled my water bottles and pumped my tires up to the max before saying goodbye. As I was leaving town, I thought about Dayn and stopped at Taco Bell for some bean burritos to fuel the furnace. Can you believe it - they were out of beans and rice! I settled for 2 double meat and cheese Barrios and then blasted off just prior to 1:00. With the big wind helping me, I made good time for the first heavily rolling 22 miles. Then the monster climb began. Straight up with switch-backs for nearly 20 miles. I choked down several energy bars to re-stoke the furnace as I knew the race for daylight was on - big time. Part way up, I passed a guy on a racing bike coming down the hill and I yelled out how much farther. He did not hear me (must be my thick NJ accent)but then turned around to chase me up the hill and answer my question. He said it took nearly a mile to catch me and said he was impressed by my speed. He told me I had 15 miles to the top and wished me luck with a chuckle. Upward I went wearing out my granny gear on the 8-10 % grades. Then I ran across 2 cross country cyclists coming down the mountain. We stopped and talked. The guy was from Colorado and the girl from Minnesota and they met sometime after they started from Florida. They are taking the same trail but opposite direction as me. Both riders did not have good bikes and neither had a third (granny) chain ring which really impressed me. The girl was riding a 25 year old Univega 12 speed with those big old stem shifters - yuk. She must be strong as #ell. We wished each other luck and moved on. I cranked the granny on and on while staring at the GPS altimeter as it steadily rose from 6,000 to 7,000 to 8,000 ft. The last 228 ft were the toughest as they were dead into a 30-40 MPH wind near the pass. Slow Todd could not have made this climb and would have needed to be air lifted a quarter of the way up:-) I got there just after sunset at 5:30 so I guess the manager at the bike shop was right that it could not be done by dark but I tried! I'll that Brian could have done it. I had figured on a 6 pm sunset - wrong! Anyway, I stopped for a break at the top and said a few curse words at Wilson and then took some pictures. Then the real fun began. I had to ride another 20 miles off the mountain top in the pitch dark and navigate switch-backs at 20-30 MPH - what was I thinking? I switch on my bright head light and rear blinkers which work awesome. I put on my gore-tex jacket and winter gloves as it was very cold and my hands were numb. The ride down was incredible and one that I will always remember. Just me and the mountain guided by a bright moon and stars that looked like you could reach up and touch them from as high up as I was. Coming down, I kept noticing cattle guards across the road and big yellow signs with cows on them. Then it happened, there was a big cow standing in the middle of the road just before a cattle guard. I swerved left around him and stopped to check my shorts as I was doing at least 25 MPH at the time. I found out later from the B&B that the farmers do not have to fence their cattle off the road but instead can install the guards on the road to keep them on their farms that span both sides of the road. Now this is CRAZY. They must not be much traffic on these roads. Anyway, I made it down safe and sound and checked into a really nice B&B, showered and got ready for some chow. There is no place to buy dinner so you have to make your own. I had a double serving of chicken and rice (freeze dried back packer stuff that was great) plus another foil pack of chicken meat on top for extra protein. I washed it down with hot chocolate and a Powerbar recovery bar.
Gonna crash and sleep in late. Breakfast is at 7:30.
Tomorrow is planned to be an easy 75-80 miles of downhill and flats to Las Cruces.
Weather: Another perfect day. Started out cold but quickly warmed up nice with bright blue skies. And don't forget the big wind at my back that felt like Mr. Smit with his hand pushing me all day (except at the top of the pass) from behind my seat.
Performance Metrics:
Miles: 94 Trip: 764 - record mileage
Total travel time: 10:00 Trip: 80:05
Bike Riding time: 8:26 Trip: 62:51
Avg speed: 11.08 Trip: 12.50
Max speed: 41.87 Trip: 41.87 - massive downhills today
Total ascent (ft): 6,319 Trip: 26,727 - record climbs today
Avg pedal RPMs: 76 Trip: 86 - record low due to running out of gear on the climb
Avg heart rate: 126 Trip: 119
Max heart rate: 158 Trip: 195
Calories burned: 5,801 Trip: 45,885 - records cals today
Weather Statistics:
High temp 61 Trip: 75
Low temp: 28 Trip: 28 - record low, brrrr
Hours of rain: 0 Trip: 8
Hours of snow: 0 Trip: 0
Total days of rain/snow: 1
Wind factor: major help
Total good wind days: 4
Total bad wind days: 7
Misc. Stats:
Flat tires: 0 Trip: 8
Mechanical failures: 0
Hotel or camping today: B&B
Total hotel nights: 10
Total camping nights: 1
Cups of coffee: 3 Trip: 34
Pints: 0 Trip: 18 - dried out today
Mood rating (1-10): 10 - huge day today and lots of challenges and fun.
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