May 1 -- Las Vegas NM to Tucumcari NM

Made it again. You readers may think that is a foregone conclusion, but don't jinx me by thinking that way. I learned today that there are no easy days !

We packed up early, 6 a.m., and rode off to breakfast -- only 1.5 miles this time. It was cold, but not as cold as the last time -- low 40's. I took a chance again and dressed lightly, and that worked out.

Breakfast -- I've found that what agrees with my stomach and the riding is oatmeal. So .. I ordered oatmeal and got this pitiful little pile of instant oatmeal and some warm milk. Yucch. Next time I'll ensure that I'm ordering real oatmeal. That was not nearly enough breakfast for the day's ordeal.

Mike handed out the route sheets -- today's ride was from LV to Tucumcari on 104 -- don't turn left, don't turn right, 104 all the way to the Best Western in Tucumcari.

The elevation profile made this day look like a piece of cake -- we were all looking forward to that -- but since we were starting at 6400 feet and descending to 4000 feet (Tucumcari) the scale on the left of the graph hid all the climbing that the day included. It was up and down all day -- from LV we climbed 550 feet, then up and down for the next 35 miles then we descended off the mesa -- wow -- that was really something. I had no idea we were even on a mesa and the descent was more than 2000 feet. We gradually descended to 4000 feet but you wouldn't know it because of all the climbing that the rolling hills entailed.

I don't mind climbing -- usually that means that you get to descend -- a freebie. Not today. Today it was all work -- we had a fierce headwind all day, so much so, for example, that I had to work hard to go 12 mph down the hills. The steepness should have meant that I was going 25-30 down those hills, coasting, but no.

The shorter ride, 110 miles, and the elevation profile, made it look like this was going to be a really short day -- it was shorter than usual -- I got in at 2:45 -- 4th to arrive at the hotel -- but it was work. I opted to ride the day alone, thinking that I could blast through this one and get in before 1pm. Today the groups were large -- one group of 9 in a pace line means that you only have to pull into the wind 1/9 of the time. I was pulling all the time -- I earned my calories today. After the lunch SAG stop I ran out of gas. Early in the day 12-15 mph into the headwind didn't seem to matter. The last 20 miles, however, crawled by.

With the extra clothing, though, I did not bring the camera -- I'll get pictures from some of the other riders later and post them in ensuing days.

The first part of the ride, on top of the mesa, was open fields of scrub grass -- cattle grazing, huge areas that you could see for miles. Way off in the distance we could see snow covered mountains -- I was happy that we were not cycling in those elevations !! Don't forget how far south we are -- but if you go high enough, there is still snow.

The view from the top of the mesa once I hit the descent was awesome -- that is the only way to describe it. You can see more mesas in the distance and the valley way down below. At one point, however, we had to climb out of that valley through "badger pass" that is a 3/4 mile steep climb that they call "the wall". It's not the same steepness as the Manayunk wall in Philadelphia, but it was a reasonably hard climb. Towards the top the headwind hits you, it's 80+ degrees and it's dry. This is the desert after all.

Other than the scenery, there is very little to see. We probably only saw one little store that was open on the entire ride on 104. There is a man made lake that we could see just before the lunch SAG stop -- Conchas Lake State Park -- it's kind of funny riding through the desert and seeing a sign for a store in the distance that says "bait" -- it makes you think "huh ??".

Tomorrow we leave NM and enter Texas for one night. Tomorrow the weather prediction is 80% chance of rain.

Today's stats -- 8:00 elapsed; 110 miles; 7:23 rolling -- that's what happens when you ride alone, you spend very little time at the SAG stops (of which there were only two today).

We just got back from dinner at the steakhouse next door -- they call it a steakhouse, but it's really a family restaurent that sells mostly steak. I ordered chicken, because a big steak doesn't sit well, and got maybe ... maybe ... 3 oz of chicken on 1/2 cup of rice with some fries - this was not your usual over-the-top portion ! So ... I went to the convenience store, got my bag of mini-oreos and my tropicana fruit smoothie ... and more junk ... and am trying to keep my keyboard clean while I type this.

Today was also laundry day for me -- it's quite comical seeing 6-8 of us hanging around the motel laundry room. I also changed my bicycle chain -- shifting was getting a bit sloppy. I have to order another chain for the end of the trip to be delivered to one of the motels enroute.

Oh -- something else of note -- at the first SAG stop -- 48 miles -- we officially crossed our first 1000 miles. yaah !!

One person commented -- have you ever paid so much for something and a) wished it was over and b) wished you weren't getting so much for your money !!! -- well said !!

Back to the opening -- there are no freebie days; everyday is work; everyday is an accomplishment. I'm very happy that I trained as much as I did. At times I thought that it might be overdone, but it was not.

Bring on Texas !!

g'night !