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| Leaving Silver City, NM |
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| The Continental Divide |
This morning Kevin woke up feeling a bit better so we decided to set off early and ride until the storms hit. Yes, we were due to have 20+ mph winds and thunderstorms starting around 12 noon. We pedaled up and out of Silver City, over the Continental Divide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Divide_of_the_Americas) and then down, down, down for 40 miles until we reached Buckhorn, NM.
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| Storm clouds approaching New Mexico |
The clouds were rolling in but the wind nor the rain had started yet. We would soon be heading due west and would invariably be riding into a wall of wind +/- rain. After a quick lunch + chat with some nice locals we headed off again bracing for the worst.
Within 5 miles the rain started pelting us and we could feel a strong wind hitting our left side (coming out of the west). Despite the rain (and hail...possibly snow?), the landscape was amazing. Utterly amazing.
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| New Mexico |
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| New Mexico |
We played leap frog with the RV for the next 15 miles, gaging how far we could ride in this weather. We knew that if we could make it up to the Pass (of the Black Range) we would have made it to Arizona and there would be lots of downhill. This, of course, meant a lot of climbing. After a stop at mile 61 in Mule Creek, NM for some hot tea (made by chef Jim in the RV), we decided to go for it and set off for the mountains.
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| Approaching the Black Range + Arizona |
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| Welcome to Arizona! |
10 miles later we crossed the boarder and entered Arizona! A few miles after that, after another thousand feet of climbing, we reached the summit. WOW, an unbelievably expansive landscape blossomed in front of us. We sailed down the road, entering and exiting hair pin turns. I was mesmerized the earth around me like never before on this trip.
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| Approaching the pass |
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| Through the pass..... |
The descent was beautiful but chilled us to the bone. We were going down, which was great, but I was so cold I absolutely had to stop. So, after 78.78 miles, we called it quits. Not too shabby for today's tough weather and terrain. Welcome to Arizona!
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| The top of the mountain pass, Arizona canyon backdrop |
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If someone asked me what it's like to bike across New Mexico I would reply, "It's pretty much one big hill."
