Largo courtesy of http://www.swproperties.com/

No posts lately because we have been out of Verizon coverage for the last few days. This is highly upsetting for Cougina, who had checked the Verizon online coverage map and chosen a route that was identified as having service.

Other than the data service, all is well. We were exhausted when we arrived in Quemado, NM. Conditions were too windy for a comfortable camp, so we got a room at the Largo motel. Highly recommended! The manager told us that it is three years old, but our room looked like it was brand new. The appointments were as plush as many more expensive city hotels that I have stayed in. Also, the cafe had good food in huge portions.

Campsite enroute to Pie Town.

The next morning, we started the two day journey toward Pie Town. Cougina's plan to get us into condition is certainly the all out masculine approach. We found a very nice campsite on BLM land, just in time. Considering that we started with zero conditioning, we were satisfied with 55 mi in four days, loaded, uphill, and into the wind almost all the way.

Aggie's turn to cook.

Next post will describe Pie Town, which turned out to be worth every bit of the four days of uphill riding into the wind.

THINK GREEN
BLESSED BE
AGGIE and COUGINA

CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN

Kelly is grilling the night before we leave.

Saying good-bye at the drop off point.(Kelly saved us some uphill miles.)

Kelly hauled us about 40 miles in his pickup. (We never said we wouldn't take rides, did we?) At the drop off point, we met a great group of young people, who are cycling from Maine to CA, stopping at points along the way to help build housing for people who need help.

The BikeandBuild.com crew, serving Habitat for Humanity.

Since Kelly dropped us off yesterday morning, we've come around 30 mi, 25 of which were uphill (serious uphill). We're now sitting at a rest stop in Quemado, getting ready to climb to the continental divide. We hope to get there in two or three days... I am really out of shape, so it should be noted that Aggie is pulling more weight than I am. (He always says that we are one, so what does it matter.

Aggie gets ready to head to Quemado.

We seem to have the loads pretty well balanced now.) We are having fun, getting back in shape, pleased with our progress, and meeting lots of interesting people. We just had our first real meal snice Kelly's house (Kelly can cook!), chicken fried steak, salad, and mashed potatoes. We were in a dead spot last night, so there was no OOMPH  and no phone calls this morning, but that shouldn't happen too often. Here are a few pics.

Last night's camp, approaching Quemado, NM.

THINK GREEN
BLESSED BE
COUGINA and AGGIE