Cycling Ellen

46 miles
705 total

I had to get my numbers today from some of the other riders. When I stopped on a hill, I must have bumped my bike computer. When I checked to see how fast I had gone down a long hill, I saw that it was 53. When the “miles” started to go by faster than they usually do, I realized that I had somehow shifted over to kilometers. Oops. I have tomorrow to get back into miles. Can you figure out how fast I was going in MPH?

This was a great day on the bike! We started out climbing right away out of Lordsburg but at an easy angle. As we got up into the mountains, the climbs got steeper and longer and we were shedding our early morning clothes layer by layer. At the sag stop, the car was filling up with extra clothing. It’s finally time to explain that the SAG is a Subaru wagon (we call it Bo Peep) which jumps ahead of us as soon as the last riders leave the motel in the morning. SAG originally stood for support and gear but some of us call it sweets and goodies.  At about mile 20, she stops and we all stop to check in, refill our water bottles, eat snacks, dump extra clothes and use the bush facilities. There are four great women who take turns driving the sag. After everyone has filtered through, she jumps ahead to about mile 40. If you ride too fast, you can get ahead of her especially on a challenging day when she has to wait for the slower riders. She’s also available to pick up riders who have mechanical problems or are just not able to do a whole ride that day for whatever reason.

After the stop, we kept on climbing and climbing and finally at about mile 25 there was the Continental Divide at 6355 feet! We stopped for photos and felt quite virtuous for making it up there. On the down side, we had some great rides downhill and lots of rollers. Rollers have their ups and downs and the trick is to pedal fast at the bottom of the uphills and try to get as far as you can up with the momentum. It’s a little like catching a wave when you’re surfing.

We had heard about the great 2 mile downhill into Silver City and indeed it was – a 4 lane highway with smooth roads and great visibility so you didn’t have to ride on the gravel shoulder. What we didn’t know was there was another huge uphill on the other side. I bet there will be some grumbling at dinner tonight. I felt strong, though, and just kept pedaling.

When I reached Silver City, I detoured off into the downtown section to find the local bike shop. It was closed for lunch so I found a place for a recovery milkshake to kill some time. I got new cleats (that clip into my pedals) as they had worn down so far that I couldn’t even clip in for the last climb. It’s going to feel good to be able to clip in again! I also got a new pair of New Mexico socks (simple pleasures, I know). I never saw another rider in town (we are all getting used to seeing others in our group wherever we go) so I headed up to the hotel out of town.

Here, I’m glad to find a good internet connection so I could download my photos from the last couple of days and settle in for a rest day tomorrow. I need a new cable on my bike so I’ll be back into town in the morning but we don’t need to set an alarm. We are only 2 hours different from Eastern time now. Between that and crossing the Divide, Florida seems closer all of a sudden!