Day 6

Day 6 AM

Today will be a ride through Duncan and hopefully we cross the border into New Mexico. After today we battle the Rocky Mountains for a couple of days . We will try to get some distance today to prepare for that. Not a lot of services coming up so we will have to be prepared. In fact tonight’s lodging may prove to be the most interesting. More on that tonight.

With 5 straight days in that marks a record for the 4 of us with this kind of mileage. All of us have sore parts and the drug store was a big stop last night.

Every day I ride for Mike but today I ride for a great gal who worked for me for many years and prior to that was the 5th grade teacher to all three of my children. Her strength in battling MS is remarkable and a bike ride can’t compare.

So three things today:
1. Root for tailwinds
2. Root for running water at tonight’s motel
3. Keep passing the word for MS donations

PM recap

What a day. Cycled 111 miles to get to Duncan Arizona. Four miles from New Mexico border. So 6 days over 600 miles. Highlights:

1. We ran into another group of bikers riding to raise money for MS! About a dozen of them doing the exact cross country trip which they feel they can accomplish in 45 days. Great group of people who are staying in churches or camping or other similar accommodations. They were lovely to us as we all biked on the same route today. Anybody that knows Mike Halstead knows that a biker in front of him is someone he wants to catch and release. As soon as he saw another one- off we went. Everything is a race to Mike. They didn’t know what hit them.

2. As we biked we hoped to grab lunch in this one town. You have to plan lunch because services are few and far between. For our choice we selected a place Taylor Ice I think it was. They had signs out for miles like South of the Border on the east coast. We all were anticipating a great oasis here in the desert. When we got there it was closed on Sunday. One of the delightful women who was there tinkering around saw the bikes and invited us in for free ice cream and use of the rest room. Classy move. Worth a shout out.

3. Our motel in Duncan does have running water. To say it is a simple place would be a compliment. Jane wanted to know if the sandbags in front of the door were to keep snakes out. I consoled her by explaining they were merely to keep the room from flooding. Needless to say we are in a stretch of Americana that is unique. Good service and friendly people though are how you truly rate a community and this area is okay in my book.

4. Big effort from the entire team today. The weather continues to be very warm and the afternoon rides are difficult. The afternoon climb to Duncan was nearly 20 miles. Nothing like yesterday’s climb but the heat makes it tougher than one would think.

5. Absolutely on schedule to trade Ruben for Antonio on Wednesday at El Paso airport.

6. MS donations in honor of this ride continue to come in. Thanks to all for their generosity.

7. Lots of action on the song trivia. Let’s spin it around. We are looking for song ideas from the blog readers that seem most appropriate for this stage of the journey. Let us know your thoughts. Winner will get usual reward.