6% Grade

Yee haw! Two lovely long climbs today..... The first was about 4 miles at a moderate grade. The second was a georgeous 6 to 7 miles at a lovely 6% ....the kind of climb that is doable but challenges you as well. The weather was perfect. The sceney was amazing. The legs were ready to go. The only down side was that there was a lot of traffic and not much shoulder for a lot of the climb, so we always had to have one eye on the traffic coming up behind us. Still it was wonderful and totally reminded of how much I love a good climb. We have a few more ahead. Happy about that! We are eating out at a Mexican restaurant tonight. Hope it's a good one because I love Mexican cuisine.
Before I started on this tour I was worried about my physical capacity. Interestingly my body has far surpassed my expectations. All my problems have been with equipment....a problem with my rear cassette, a flat tire from road debris and now I have a problem with my right shifter. Apparently the mechanic in the shop in Phoenix where my bike went to get the casette issue tken care of decided to adjust the tension on the shifter. He made it so tight I can barely manage to operate it so was riding today with only two gears.....vey low and medium low. That's pretty much what I will have until I get to Silver City in a couple of days where there is another bike shop. The funny thing is that those gears are fine for climbing but harder on the flats where big gears are helpful. I'll make it though. Would hate it if I couldn't climb!
Time for a beer!