20 may 2024; I saw a bear!!!

 Todays ride dedication is for Charlyne Otero who is currently fighting cancer.  Charlyne I had a rough day the last 15 miles and I kept your struggle in my mind thinking you’re fighting cancer, I’m just on a bike ride fighting hills, no comparison. If she can do it you can climb.  Stay strong!!

So we left this morning to the promise of a great day, 107 miles from Las Vegas NM to Tucamara. NM.

The sun was shining and then I saw a hawk perched on a fence post.  I tried to get a pic but he wasn’t having any of it so I got his pic as he was flying.

Here’s some more pictures of the open country.  It was beautiful and you can see things are more green than previous photos.

Ok, so this is major cool; notice how flat it is and the vegetation that is there?  I went over a bridge and it was a tiny river but there was lots of deep vegetation and scrub pines. As I went by I saw a black furry ball through my peripheral vision and assumed it was a bison.  Thinking it might be a good picture I circled around, imagine my surprise!

She had a cub back there but it’s really hidden in the brush.  After the bear and a SAG stop there was more climbing then a glorious downhill.

30 miles later was another food stop and a historical marker.

After lunch, more climbing but I stopped to take a picture of this church, then more climbing again.

As soon as you go down you see another “go up”, lol.

Then “the climb we were warned about”.  Ugh.. here it comes.  Pedal, pedal, pedal, don’t look just keep pedaling..

WHOOOHOOOO!!! I made it.

Now for a well deserved downhill, no pedaling and keeping the speed under 35mph!

Then another SAG stop and 30 miles to go. The first 15 were easy, running about 22 mph and then it started to get tough.  I was running out of steam and I could feel cramps starting to set in.  I took water, fluids, electrolytes and it held off for a bit.  It seemed after every climb I was expecting to see the town but all I saw was another roller.  A friend of mine, Peyton coached me through the last 15 miles, we got into town and hit a red light.  Ugh, the dreaded red light. When you start cramping, if you keep the legs gently moving you can manage it, if you stop, your toast.  My quads, calves and hamstrings all froze up and I almost fell off the bike.  I managed to dismount under terrible pain and take a 10 minute break to massage the muscles.  Eventually we made it to the hotel, I found a sofa and that was all she wrote.  10 glasses of water, nutrients, electrolytes and I was able to stumble to my room.