Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Safford, AZ to Lordsburg, NM 75 miles 3/16/10




Today was quite a challenging day, mostly because of a headwind that had 20 to 30 mph winds!  We had some long rolling hills, but when it flattened out, the winds were the worst!  I have to admit, I did get comfortable with my aero bars today.  It sure made a difference!  Our group of three (Alayne, Mike and me) took turns pulling.  Toward the end, Lynn joined us, and we all learned the benefits of creating a low profile in the wind!

We crossed another state border today!


We stopped in Duncan, NM, for lunch at "Ole Joes."  It had an old west theme, and seemed to be as local favorite in the small town.  Several of us stopped there, exhausted from battling the wind.

Lynn stopped along the road because she found a small suitcase just off the road.  It was broken as if it had flown off a car top.  Since there was no identification, she decided to lay out the men's clothing as if he were wearing them!  She is so funny!


We rode into Duncan, New Mexico, looking for Ole' Joe's diner.



About 60 miles into our 75 mile day, we decided we had enough.  We called the sag to be picked up.  It turned out that only 4 of our entire group of 25 riders rode the whole way!



Before dinner, we all had margaritas to celebrate crossing the AZ/NM boarder.  In the middle of dinner, our last rider, Karen Carlson, rolled in!  That was almost a 12 hour riding day for her in all that wind!!  What a trouper!!  There were only four people who did not sag in today!

Tomorrow is a short day of 47 miles, but there will be hills and head winds as we approach the continental divide.  Hopefully it will be some downhills into Silver City where we will have our day off after 8 riding days.