Eric Liddell: I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure. –Chariots of Fire

In many ways, Grants New Mexico represents a confluence of all my long-distance rides. In my cross-country rides, we stayed in Grants and on the Tour Divide, we also stay in Grants. The memories of those rides come flooding back. The terrible cross winds, pulling other riders, ice cream, conversations, smiles all come back in waves. I pass a bit of the same highway section and look for the place we stopped for ice cream but it looks closed. While on my CC rides, Grants was at the beginning, this time the end nears – only 5 more riding days.

The ride to Grants was to be 88 miles with 22% paved and 5800 feet of climbing. Now that excludes the “bump” of approximately 33 miles from the prior day (I rode 65, both out and back). Rob again suggested that I take the alternate but opted to ride from Cuba instead of the “bump” drop off which adds miles. I was the only person electing to ride the full distance. Breakfast was at 5:30 before sunrise and it was so cold we could see our breath and not much else. The van plus two pick-up trucks were employed to transport riders and bikes to designated drop off zones depending on the route selected. I watched as they drove off as it was still too dark for me to ride.

A little later I took off with tights and an extra layer but my feet and hands were still cold. Within the first 4 miles, my Garmin told me that I was “Off Course” which caused me to back track a mile only to discover that I was “On Course” but the Garmin line and the road diverged a bit too far. This issue plagued me all day so I paid extra attention to the lines and messages but there were supposedly very few turns. I also kept noticing that the roads seemed especially rough for a paved road.

At about miles 20 I stopped to check my tires and sure enough, I had a slow leak. I spent about ½ hour changing my tire (this was the first time on this bike) as well as removing the warmer cloths. My initial reaction was that this course had more climbing than I expected and some of the winds were unfavorable. The ride began to take on the feel of a slog and I doubted the wisdom of attempting the full ride of 120 miles.

I was not making the time I expected averaging only about 12 miles an hour and around noon stopped with 50 miles for something to eat at an Indian store. The people were friendly and I bought some water, a sandwich and 2 bananas. In retrospect, I wish that I had bought more snacks to take along as I found no stores the rest of the route.

Since I was on such a long ride, I neglected to take any photos which is unfortunate as the desert and rock formations were spectacular. Also, there were lots of colorful flowers and open range horses that would have been nice photographs. The further, I went, the more I regretted taking the longer route as my energy levels seemed to be sputtering and I was faced with one long climb after another. Usually followed by a good descent, but there seemed to be a lot more climbing than descending. I kept thinking that I might flag down cars and see if they would transport me into Grants. Some Indian gentlemen offered me bottles of water but I declined since I had more than enough plus Gator-aide in two bottles. I wished he had some food or was traveling in the other direction… It was funny as I had this giant feeling of Deja vous when this man offered me the water and I had just passed through a tunnel which elicited the same feeling. Seems like I had been here before.

I was about mile 90 thinking that my energy levels were depleted, I was very hungry (eating my second and last Cliff Bar), and starting to walk part of the longer climbs and really starting to look for a ride. The support van would not travel this route so I was feeling a bit isolated and there was not very much traffic.

Some things happen when you least suspect it and that was an extended downhill that lasted many miles. Then I turned onto a new road and the downhill / flat continued – renewed optimism and strength. About 10 miles from Grants, my faithful but finicky Garmin gave out and I stopped to plug in auxiliary power. That only took 10 minutes or so, but I left my water bottles there and had to return for them.

When I was about 4 miles from the KOA, I turned onto a familiar road and was moving at an accelerated pace. This was the exception from my cross-country rides when the wind was such a negative factor. The familiar scenery also boosted my spirits and my energy levels were at sprint-mode highs.

At about a mile from the KOA, I was surprised by a voice from behind, Tim from Australia was lauding my 123 miles ride and Saying he bought some beers to share at camp. Most of the riders had already arrived at camp and I was greatly warmly for a tough ride.

I should note that I had also been riding with a stuffed toy moose for the last three days and had to give a short talk at dinner and bestow the moose on another rider. I made a few jokes but I used the old Crossroads question of asking the riders where they were going and making them shout “MEXICO” several times and reinforcing the thought that “Happy are those who dream dreams and are willing to pay the price to make them come true!”.

It was also a sad day in that Kris, Bob, the 3 Belgium’s who just joined a week before and Tim were leaving us, Tim is a free spirit who tends to make his own routes but I will never forget his very kind comments about me at dinner. Kris, who always chipped in to help and is an accomplished rider and fit in so well. The 3 Belgium’s were very strong and fast riders who tended to stop often and then catch up and pass at will. They said they were here for a good time and not to race.

I rode the longer distance to make up for miles that I had missed and I guess that I am still short of the 2800 miles, but closing. Today is a rest day and it seems that rain will be in our future. The campground here features a neighbor’s barking dog, an upset donkey and a few mooing cows as well as trains and traffic. I slept well.

Thanks for reading!

Tailwinds

Chuck Hardesty – Riding for The Backstoppers.org