Hop Skipping through New Mexico

We are blaming Scott Emerson and Dan Fishwick. If they had not insisted that we meet them in El Paso on Saturday, we could have pedaled every mile this week and avoided hop skipping over some segments to keep on schedule. Now, the unbiased observer might comment that, fit as we are, Carl and I bit off more than we could chew this week. The observer has some valid points. Carl and I added in an alternate route to the Gila Cliff Dwellers and Heart Bar cabin, making this week’s total over 600 miles in six days. Six mountain centuries in a row may be child’s play for the likes of Lance Armstrong, Charles Breer and Jane Geisse, but we amateurs have only been able to manage one century. The numbers of mountains to climb and the unexpected headwinds have taken their toll. We needed another two days of mountain climbing to avoid shuttling in Vanna, but because of Scott and Dan, we have had to keep pace. That is why we are blaming them.

So, after shuttling 55 miles this morning to get us over Emory Pass (8228) and Star Peak (6818), we started our day’s ride on top of a hill near Hillsboro New Mexico. Destination, Las Cruces, still 75 miles away. It was basically a slight downhill all day, but the brisk 15 mph headwind robbed us of much advantage. Nonetheless we were able to maintain a 16.6 mph pace for the day. Much improved over the 6-7 mph average on the mountain climbs.

The ride was interesting. After a solid week of desert and mountains, we found ourselves in a fertile agricultural region watered by irrigation channels from the Rio Grande. Crops were diverse; we saw alfalfa, pumpkins, cotton, cabbages, numerous pecan groves, and red chilies. Indeed Hatch, where we lunched, proclaims itself the red chili capital of the world. This would be hard to dispute, as there were several places where the bright red chili fields stretched out in a colorful landscape reminiscent of the poppy fields in the Wizard of Oz.

In summary, when we finish our week in El Paso tomorrow, we will have cycled about 500 of the 600 scheduled miles. For those of you supporting us by the mile, don’t worry. We will charge you for all 600. We actually RODE every mile, as promised. If you check the fine print you will note that it does not say that we will cycle every mile, just ride it. Vanna provides a nice ride. If you are angry about this, join us in blaming Emerson and Fishwick. We’re not saying it’s their fault, just that we are blaming them.