Last night’s dinner went over well. Not much left which is always a good sign.
In the middle of the night, a cold front moved through and lowered the temps about 15-20 degrees. Blessed. Easy to sleep and nice to ride. For the first time, I wore my leg and arm warmers but soon had to take them off. Riding the hills, even if they are just gradual, really heats me up. And the cold front turned the wind around so it was basically a tail wind all day. Hallelujah!. My knee was happy today.
The terrain changed constantly and there was lots to look at today. The trees were a welcome sight.
The soil is red here so all the waterways are pretty, I think.
Parts of route 66 here in NM don’t seem to be used much. As you can see, the grass is encroaching.
This fellow, a tarantula, was on the road today. By the time I stopped and got my camera out, he was headed for the grass. One of his buddies wasn’t so lucky. Splattered on the road. And I have seen several big snakes the last week smashed on the road. Didn’t know they could make such a mess. But they were probably two inches in diameter. Just glad I didn’t see a live one. I don”t know for sure but I’m guessing they were rattlers.
Went through a town called Cuervo. I was thinking Cuervo gold tequila but I don’t think so. There was absolutely nothing there. However, Cuervo Mesa was right before it.
And Cuervo Butte was to the north.
When we got to Cuervo, we were to go under the I 40 overpass on Cuervo Rd for 5-6 miles. It turned out to be mostly gravel. A local said they quit maintaining it a while back so it was rough and not very pleasant. And seemingly went on forever.
I felt really good about the ride today. And then when I got to camp, I was in loose gravel and my bike started to go over and I couldn’t get unclipped from my pedals. So over I went on my right side. It is always on my right side. I tried to avoid falling hard on my bad knee and consequently took the brunt of my fall on the right side of my chest with my fist. It hurts like neck. Hurts a little when I breathe but I’m sure I didn’t break a rib. But I bruised the heck out of my right breast. Brought tears to eyes. I expect it to turn black and blue because it is really bruised. Hurts to bend over. Hope the ride tomorrow isn’t too rough. Could be a painful day.
66.4 miles today. 5166.5 total
BikerAl Across America 2018 