45 mi by far beats our previous beat of 26 mi. There was some downhill, but not that much, and we had sun without shade, wind in our faces, and heavy auto/truck traffic most all day. Box Canyon, about 5 miles off on a side route, is pictured. It looked beautiful, but we didn’t have time to stop there, and, anyway, a big storm started brewing from that direction. It caused gusts, Cougina says at least 50 mph, and I agree. I’d rather have been golfing in it than bicycling, and any golfer knows that’s saying something.
Along the way, Cougina ran over a rattlesnake, which tried to bite him. From then on, he tended to ride inside the white line, while Aggie, riding in heavy traffic for the first time, moved from her favorite spot on the white line (less stuff to cause flat tires) onto the shoulder.
When we got to the big downhill, the wind was still gusting, the shoulder was narrow, and cars were whizzing by. Cougina had a problem with the ratchet in his cassette, meaning that he had a lot of drag to pedal against. (That was the reason to make Socorro, to be able to make repairs.) He came through stunningly. Eventually the downhill leveled out, finally, the wind gusts dissipated, and we rolled into town on a gentle decline.
If you’re into endurance sports, you know what it’s like to almost double your previous high mileage -- it’s a death march, and you just move one leg at a time until it’s done, knowing that eventually you will finish. You hope, in return, to be stronger the next time.
THINK GREEN
BLESSED BE
AGGIE and COUGINA
