Socarro, NM

7.6.2010

I feel like this is the last time I’ll be able to play the “Hardest thing I’ve ever done” card, because I don’t think we’ll see a day on the rest of the trip that is quite as tough as today was. We rode 133 miles from Reserve, NM to Socarro, NM. Not only was it the longest day of the entire trip, but we also climbed over the continental divide, and faced 50 miles of direct headwind on the flats. Fortunately for our legs we did not have any programming today, so we could focus on the physical task of getting from point A to point B.

Our day started with a 4:30 AM wake up, but our bodies had not made the transition from Pacific to Mountain time, so it felt like it was 3:30. We peeked outside the hotel room and it was black. We hadn’t accounted for the sunrise with our early wake up, and we were not able to start on time due to darkness. We were finally done with breakfast and on the road by 6:30 AM.

The first challenge we faced was the cold. When we rolled out the temperature was hanging around 45 degrees, and stayed that way for the first 10 to 15 miles. As we were riding in the cold we also got our first taste of the day’s wildlife when two deer jumped out in front of our pace line and almost caused us to wreck. We were the lead pace line throughout the day, which meant we got to see all of the animals before they got scared away. We saw a herd of antelope, and one was even running alongside us for a while. It was something straight out of the lion king. With the mountains and parries all around, blue skies and big fluffy clouds, here was this animal running with us about 30 yards away. It was so surreal. After that we rode past some green pastures with cows and horses, and we even saw a herd of wild horses later in the day.

As the day went on, we found ourselves climbing over the continental divide, and finally clearing the dreaded rocky mountains. We stopped to take pictures, and as Ryan Larson noted, “As far as I’m concerned this is half way across the country”. The scenery was gorgeous the whole day, but we started appreciating it less when the headwinds picked up after lunch. We had lunch outside the Very Large Array radio telescope station, made famous in the movie “Contact”. While we were sitting there the winds picked up, and completing the remaining 55 miles became more of a challenge. We were pushing to keep the pace at 12 miles per hour, which meant not only that we were tired but that we had to spend even longer on the bike.

We passed the time by convincing ourselves that each hilltop would lead to a big downhill, and that each passing city was our destination. Needless to say we were repeatedly setting ourselves up for heartbreak, but it was kind of funny to laugh at our own desperate optimism. We finally reached the downhill on the way to Socarro, after passing through a town we were SURE was the end of the road, and over 4 or 5 supposed hilltops. Here we were met with more headwind, and we were cruising downhill at a sluggish 19 miles per hour. When we were finally able to see the city of Socarro, I was so happy. I was just reflecting on all of the things we had seen today, and how far we had just come. It was pure bliss. I doubt I’ll be that happy to see the capitol building in D.C. at the end of the trip.