Galloping into Gallup NM – time to change your watches

Good evening all,

I was really tired after dinner and took a post dinner nap and am just now updating the ride for today. Sorry, but I was a little tuckered after 2, 90 plus mile days.

The Crossroads gang also lost an hour due to time zone change. There are many milestones that one uses to measure progress on a ride of this magnitude. On a daily basis one tends to break the ride into segments. Rather than looking at it as 1 ride of 90 miles, it becomes 3 SAG stops or 3 climbs to 10 mile increments. Likewise, the total ride across America gets broken into smaller segments. One measure of that is timezone change which roughly divides the ride into quarters.

Today we basically rode on highway 40 most of the way from Holbrook into Gallup. We had another state line change along with the ritual photos and sand sprinkling. Coincidentally states line crossings represent another “milestone” of progress and we are now in our third state.

I wouldn’t call today’s ride scenic but there were some stunning mesas and other rock formations. The sheer expanse of the land was visible  at times. We did some climbing but it hardly felt like it because of the stiff wind at our backs. It was fairly easy to take some climbs at over 20 mph and the descents over 30. The road did have some bad shoulders with tons of debris and other highway anomalies that are fine for cars but not so hot for bicycles.

I got into town around 1 and averaged over 18mph. It could easily have been higher but I want to ride contained and have something in the tank for the next day. The overall temperatures have remained cooler than 2 years ago.

Tomorrow, I will take another “bump”, not because I am overly tired but because the road for a 5 miles stretch is really bad. I rode it 2 years ago and it is more suitable for an off road bike full of pot holes and sand – rock mixtures that iOS often inches deep. I may ride an extra 12 miles when I arrive in town to make up for the difference or, I may not…..

Grants NM isour destination tomorrow. It grew up as a railroad town and at various times specialized in lumber, carrots and uranium. It used to be known as the carrot and uranium capital of the US although not simultaneously. It is now trying to reinvent itself as a recreation hub. The highes point visible on our ride is Mt. Taylor at 11,300 feet will be visible tomorrow.

Hope that everyone is doing well and am reminding that I am riding for the Wounded Warrior Project. The link to donate is at the bottom of every page if you scroll down.

https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/individual-fundraising/chuckhardesty/

Tailwinds

Chuck