Day 7
Day 7 am
As we start the next two days we will shorten our miles a bit as we climb through the Rocky Mountains. You have probably noticed that we have taken the path of least resistance by traveling the southern route. That was primarily to avoid the Rockies in Colorado. But alas there is no way across missing them completely. We will be over 7000 feet of altitude tomorrow. Time to dig in. I still think the first day climb will remain our toughest but I’ll let you know.
Silver City is our destination tonight. We expect much cooler weather as we get that high. Nobody on the Alpha team is sad about that. We will return to oppressive heat on the other side of the Mountain but for the next two days some relief. We also are about to go through our first time change. We jump forward one hour. I am confident that my son Tommy will argue that our ride is one hour slower today.
Silver City has a romantic sound to it. Makes me want to polish my spurs. We shall see. We did survive our night in Duncan and managed to keep the critters out of the room.
Seems the list of people following our journey is growing. Shout out to Sally on the first two songs. Keep passing it along to your friends we have a lofty fund raising goal for MS and need your help.
Planning on shooting lots of pictures today as it is an excuse for more stops on the climb. Look for them tomorrow.
PM recap
Our first of two tough days in the Rocky Mountains is behind us. Can’t say I am sorry. Very challenging day today. First 30 miles were into a FIERCE headwind. Resilience was the only solution to that stage. When Jane finished her leg she suggested we throw her bike in the trash. We didn’t as there were no services in that part of the world.
Shortly thereafter the funniest event of the tour occurred. Jane had the van parked at a driveway adjacent to a residential mailbox. The owner came running out. “Did I really win?” she wanted to know. She assumed the lettering on the van - Alpha.Win - signified a visit from Publishers Clearinghouse! Sadly Jane broke the bad news.
The rest of the ride was straight up until we were over 6300 feet above sea level. We managed a picture at the continental divide. I never hope to see that sign again at least not in these circumstances. Both Mike and I struggled and Ruben and Jane swapped off as much as they could bear.
To say Silver City was a welcome sight would be a huge understatement. Highway to Hell indeed.
Hoping a good night’s sleep at a very cool 100 year old hotel will rejuvenate us all for another climb tomorrow in the Rockies. I know that these two days have been on my mind for months so perhaps some of it is in my head. But all of us were pretty wrecked and tomorrow is another day. One more day then the great downhill to El Paso. The Alpha team can overcome. Stay committed to helping the cause - bike for MS.
