Roswell, NM

7.8.2010

Today’s ride was a total blast. We rode 95 miles from Carrizozo, NM to Roswell, NM after having a hearty breakfast provided by the First Baptist Church of Carrizozo. The first 10 miles took us nearly an hour. We had to climb out of the valley and were facing a tough headwind for the entire climb. After we reached the top though, the rest of the day was fantastic. It was essentially downhill for the remaining 80 miles, and we were cruising at speeds around 25mph for most of the day, even with the headwind. Our paceline was just goofing off the entire day, cruising to some sweet tunes, wasting time at crew stops, eating apple strudel, and generally being merry. We ended up cutting rack point pretty close, making it by about 5 minutes.

The weather today was great. The skies were overcast, which kept the temperature nice and low, and we even got a refreshing bit of rain for a couple miles. It was the first time it has rained while we were riding so far on the trip. We had an arrival at the local community center once we got to Roswell, and it was probably the most dangerous thing we’ve done on the trip. There was no police escort, so the vans were responsible for blocking off traffic and lanes of the highway, without any real authority to do so. Fortunately we the ride to the community center was short, and we were only obstructing traffic briefly.

We were greeted at the community center with fresh oranges, apples and grapes. I spent some time talking with the residents, all of whom were very highly functioning. Apparently this center specializes in preparing people with disabilities to live on their own and work at their own jobs. I was talking with a guy named Pat who was telling me all about his exploits as a real cowboy. Not only was he able to ride a horse, but he was able to rope and hogtie cattle. It was really quite amazing to hear him talk about it.

After the friendship visit, the pain started. The ride today was not that difficult, as I had said it was mostly downhill. Unfortunately when we got to lodging we found that there was no electricity or running water and that we would have to wait around in our stinky jerseys until everything could get running again. As I was waiting outside, I had my first experience with fire ants. I was standing outside in my socks when I started to feel some pain in my ankle. I looked down to find my foot over top of an ant colony, with little red soldiers sticking their pincers into my legs. The most unpleasant experience of the day, however, was when the team went to go see “The Last Airbender” in theaters. Save for some cool CGI fights, the movie was rendered worthless by poor acting and a corny script. I’m very ready for bed.