We rode out at dawn yesterday into a steady head wind and a long gradual climb. Shortly before the first SAG stop I got a Charlie horse in my right thigh. Although I was able to continue riding until I reached the SAG it took me off the road for the day. And that might have been for the best as my body was feeling tired after several consecutive days of riding. Today we have a rest day and the bit extra will probably be good for me. The challenge of this kind of a ride is not only the daily mileage but the cumulative effort as well. We have a century coming up in three days (111 miles) which I would love to be able to complete. We all need to rest up for that.
The place where we are staying is a lovely 1930s built lodge at a state part next to the MacDonald Observatory. Many of you may know of it from NPR. They have night time programs a couple of nights every week but unfortunately not on the nights that we are here. So we are whiling the time away going into town to do laundry, doing necessary bike maintenance, and catching up on things like emails and blogs. I might even throw in a little nap :-) .
Life goes on as we ride each day.... Several of us have had unexpected unhappy news to deal with. Family members who have become ill or passed away unexpectedly. Or, as in my case, household problems of sizable proportions.....flooded basement, dead furnace and hot water heater in a basement with no previous history of flooding. Thank goodness for my daughter who has stepped in to manage the necessary repairs. Without her help I would have had to return home to do it myself. I am grateful to her for every day I ride. (I confess to having times when I really miss my family and friends and home though.)
Our good luck with weather continues to hold. Looks like the next several days will continue to be sunny and pleasant. Hope to be riding strong again tomorrow!
You have hit so many towns I've been to--Las Cruces, Silver City, El Paso! I've only set foot in Arizona once (Four Corners) but pulled back quickly for reasons I can't recall. Upon reading your blog, I'm pleased I didn't try to explore the state further. I loved Silver City and consider it a place I'd like to move to in order to get away from it all. Las Cruces is pretty nice. El Paso... I liked the Mexican restaurants and cheap prices but the city itself seemed kind of dumpy in parts. I'm glad you've got a groove going with your fellow bikers and are faring well the further you pedal away, away, away, away from Arizona. When you can, send me an email with the name of your town in MA. I may be there in CT in May or June and am wondering if I can take a bus to somewhere near where you live from either Hartford or New Canaan.
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