Day 10 - More Of The Same - Thank you very much!

Departure: Portal, AZ      Finish:  Columbus, NM        Distance:    100.3 miles

Elevation gain:  2,158 feet (2,689’ of downhill.)

Winds: Tailwinds most of the day. Over 20 mph after lunch

Weather:  Sunny. Departed with 42 degrees. Arrived with 72 degrees.

On bike duration:     5 hrs, 28 minutes. 

Average speed: 18.3 mph

The published distance for today’s route was 98.7 miles. Four others, and I decided to finish the “Century Ride” by pedaling around the town of Columbus, NM for at least another 1.3 miles. I fully expect I will never again experience such an “easy” 100 mile ride. Except for several diversions, our route had a direct tailwind all day. For many miles, I saw at least 25 mph while my heart rate was below 100 bpm. The bike computer registered a top speed of 41.2 - on a slight downhill. Everyone arrived in great spirits.

Once again the scenery was mostly uninhabited desert with beautiful mountain ranges rising in the distance. We made 85 miles (five hours) on New Mexico Hwy 9 while encountering only 40 or 50 vehicles. 

At about 40 miles into the day we crossed the Continental Divide. Our tour director - Dennis - said we will cross it a total of 14 times over the next week.

I didn’t take many photos today, but I had to snap a couple at a residence at the edge of the town where we are overnight. It’s for sale, by the way. Lot’s of curb appeal!

I’d like to introduce another of our cast of characters on this adventure - Andrea Street. She is almost as tall as me - and an excellent, strong cyclist. She has done her share of pacing us all up the hills.

Andrea and her husband, Dave, live near Cardiff in Wales (UK). Andrea and Dave are both avid cyclists, but Dave couldn’t make trip due to his responsibilities as the Chief Executive of their municipality. They are both career public servants. Andrea is trained as a nurse and has worked in both National Health Service and in social care. They have two grown boys. Early in the trip I asked her if she was retired (logical assumption) and she said “Not at all!” She saved up a substantial amount of holiday time just for this journey. Today, she admitted it will be hard to go back to work. 

Andrea has a particularly ebullient personality; always smiling and offering kind words to everyone. Of course, everyone in the group is enamored with her thick accent and her delightful colloquialisms. For example, when I approach a traffic light, I will take notice of a “yellow light”. Andrea sees an “amber filter”. She said “California has a bit of dodgey pavement, doesn’t it?” She was fascinated by the length of the freight trains that paralleled us from El Centro to Benson. At one point I counted 105 cars on one train. Shortly after, another passed by with three additional engines. I didn’t count that one but it was a lot longer. Andrea was enthralled, imagining where all that stuff goes.

This leads me to something that occurred to me three days ago. Nearly everyone on this ride is demonstrably optimistic, with a can-do attitude, and very kind. When we began, we were all strangers. But, it seems the conversations never end, even at 20 miles per hour. I expected that we would have the commonality of being life-long cyclist, but even that wasn’t the case. We’re just a dozen adventurers that found this tour company and thought a coast-to-coast bike ride would be a good idea. Now, after 10 days on the road, it’s clear this is a very good group of people. I am very fortunate to cross the country with such a happy group of hearty souls.

Tonight, we’re at the Los Milagros Hotel in Columbus, NM.