Greetings from Grants New Mexico,

Today’s ride started off on an ominous note. First off, it was cold, secondly the chance of rain at various parts of the ride was as high as 70, and thirdly the famous cross winds coming into Grants are torturous. Many of us learned from yesterday’s ride and bulked up on cloths. I wore leg and arm warmers, water proof socks, a rain jacket (without sleeves – but I added the sleeves in the first couple of miles because I was cold) and fingered gloves. In addition to that I carried rain pants, a helmet cover, shoe covers, ear protection and neoprene gloves. The back of my jersey was stuffed with so much stuff that I looked like a camel.

I think that I have been suffering a little from dehydration asI have been light-headed the last two days so I was determined o drink more before, during and after the ride. Th thinking was just take it easy today, possibly help pull a few of the other riders and don’t worry about going fast. A couple of the riders had puncture issues before the ride even started and while t is better to have one when the vans and help are readily available, flats tend to cast a shadow over the ride. One of them was Lou who seems to be having a lot of them.

Around mile 10, I saw Tom D of the support staff on the side of the road cheering us on. I was riding with Perry and we stopped for a few minutes. Tom also posted the picture of me on Facebook that had quite a few likes. It was funny because as I pedaled that stretch of road, I recalled Tom helping me change a flat 4 years ago on my first cross country ride. Tom mentioned it as we chatted on the side of the road, but it is funny some of the things one recalls from previous rides.

The first part of the ride prior to the SAG was on old route 66 and we were able to view the Red Rocks state park on our left. The second part takes us back on the highway 40 and it contains about the worst 3 mile stretch that we will or have encountered. The shoulder is not flat and the only part that is not totally littered with gravel and other junk is the deep-veined rumble strip. So yes Herm, it is still that bad. Wonders will never cease but no one had a flat on that stretch.

The SAG at mile 28 coincides with the continental divide. Jan took a picture of me in front of a sign that commemorates that fact. It is good there is a sign because, I would not have noticed it otherwise. What I remember most about the SAG was the pieces of pecan and cheery pie that i consumed in addition to normal SAG fare. Most of the riders arrived at the SAG in the same time window. Because of the threat of rain, the cold and the infamous winds, I didn’t linger very long.

Soon I caught up with Mike and I pulled him along for a spell. Mike is doing the ride to Santa Fe with his sons but confessed that he wasn’t prepared for the cold and rain. He is also suffering from a stomach bug. After a while we caught Lois and she was riding by herself so we got in a pace line for spell. The headwind had kicked up to horrendous. You know that when you pedal downhill and can only manage 15mph.  Mike rode ahead but I rode the rest of the way into Grants with Lois. We stopped and met up with quite a few other riders at DQ. Howard was there and we introduced him to the DQ blizzard. A DQ is hallowed ground for a cross country cyclist.

For the first time on the tour, we saw quite a few stray dogs running around. They apparently have a decided dislike for our United Kingdom riders for they chased most of them but none of the American riders. Howard now sports an American flag on his bike, but the dogs were not fooled.

Coming into Grants, we could see rain in the surrounding mountains and plateaus, however none fell on us. So all in all it was a good day. The that that Lois andI were the last two riders to check in, but the ride is about having fun, meeting folks and doing some good along the way. At Route Wrap, Tracy provided snacks and twinkles to all the non US residents. They don’t have to eat them tonight as the expiration date is sometime in 2025.

Tomorrow, we pedal to Albuquerque and from past rides, it is a very pleasant ride. Rumor has it that Albuquerque will be in the low 70’s when we arrive…

Thanks for reading

~Chuck