Skip to main content

Day 13- Arenas NM

 The overnight rain stayed out of my tent and we woke to partly cloudy but dry skies . Our route took us out route 90 E. into the Gila National Forest. Skies ahead ahead of us looked forebodin, but what choice did we have?



We had 2000 feet of climbing over about 20 miles, not usually a problem but New Mexico threw in a stiff headwind. Our “gift” was reaching the continental divide at 6355 feet. I’ve seen photos from the divide and other places. This one was a bit underwhelming but I got the photo anyway.



Beyond that we rode past the Tyrone mine. They extract gold silver and copper. From the front it looks like it’s just the face of a mountain, but once we turned a bit it became apparent that a whole mountain got used up. I was left wondering what happens to the land now.

We had lovely rollers the rest of the way. You could see rain in the distance but it looked like it was moving away from us. No such luck. About a mile out of silver city I heard a crack of thunder and started looking for shelter. The rain started an earnest as I was whizzing down a hill with the town in sight.



It was just as a cross the bridge when God tossed a lightning bolt near me. The flash bang time was nonexistent. I didn’t need a second warning. I was able to cut across four lanes of traffic to a strip mall that seemed vacant but had an overhang for shelter. Kelly and Adam showed up a minute later. We found an open office. The border area mental health people are very pleasant and they let us ride out the storm inside. Unlike at home, it dumped and let up and repeated endlessly.

We thought it was safe to make a run for it at one point, but no. The water was barreling in the gutters and cars were spraying us. We made it barely a mile to a McDonald’s. The weather app said there was no respite inside so we get it out the last 4.5 miles, hitting every red light possible. We had a cabin at the KOA and we’re grateful for a dry night.


Things I learned today:

  • It is prudent to look for snakes before stepping behind bushes to pee.
  • New Mexico hates us.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 53- Perry FL

 We had a very windy night which made for a great sleeping. I set an alarm for 1:00 AM so I could see the Artemis unmanned moon rocket launch, but when I got up I found it had been pushed back and well, 70 miles, so I chose sleep over history. It was gray when we got up, and gray as we headed out. And chilly! I wished I’d opted for leggings over my shorts but was happy to have gloves. Small victories.The temp said it was almost 60 – my body threw the BS flag. I was cold all day. Not much to say about this ride. We had a 20 mile bike path that took us off route 98 for a while. We met another Bike traveler named Tony who had been on the road since June 26.  He started in Connecticut and rode to Indianapolis, then back towards Pittsburgh where he rode the trails to DC. He then went to Key West and is now on his way to New Orleans. We asked questions about his gear (there wasn’t much!) and traded a few stories and wished each other well. We got off the trail and crossed the St Mar...
3 comments
Read more

Day 58- St.Augustine FL

 To our utter surprise we woke up to dry skies with the sun peeking through the clouds. No rain in the forecast — what a gift! We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the hotel and set off around 9 o’clock. Family and friends had been given an arrival time between 1130 and 12 so the pace was leisurely.  We rode mainly bike paths. No spectacular scenery, just quiet miles with lots of introspection. As we neared Saint Augustine I started to feel the excitement grow. I was ready for the ride to be done, to see Greg and Gemma and the rest that would be there to join me. It wasn’t quite time to stop paying attention, however, because our route took us right through downtown Saint Augustine’s narrow streets and traffic was both heavy and unforgiving. It wasn’t till I turned into the state park that I got a little emotional. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the realization that this adventure is truly over. I rode in and spotted Greg’s truck right away - and next saw Sarah and Walt and Gemma...
5 comments
Read more

Day 46- Gautier MS

It was a perfect day for an 80 mile ride. We got up really early, planning to get on the road quickly since it was going to be dark by five and we had so far to go. This was no mean feet for me as sleep was hard to come by last night. My bladder woke me at one and four, at which time I was treated to Matt singing the song of his people. And I didn’t need my alarm because the water dripping from the condensation On my tent onto my face was hard to sleep through. Kelly and Adam were on the road by 615. We followed far behind, rolling out an hour later. The roads were awesome right from the beginning. Great pavement and low traffic throughout. Mississippi offered up some treats and some oddities. The first was as we headed into McHenry. On a one and a half mile stretch of road, I counted eight old fire hydrants. And hardly any houses. This roused my curiosity. I passed a man walking a dog and asked him about it. He looked exactly like I expected a rural Mississippian to look, except the d...
1 comment
Read more