Day 07
A Bit Chilly! 

DAILY REPORT: Whew it was on the brisk side this morning when we poked our noses out at daybreak.  A mere 20 degrees...and that wasn't Celsius.  We had an early breakfast but I decided to hold the ride up a tad to let it at least get into the high 20s before pressing.  The sun was shining, but the air was really brisk.  Gallup is always one of our coldest starts every year...and today we weren't disappointed.  Luckily, we are 10 miles closer to Albuquerque at our start as we changed our motel this year to the east side of town as opposed to the west as in previous years

There's something about Gallup; it was in the low 30s in Winslow when we left yesterday, but it didn't seem bad at all.  But when you have cold temperatures in Gallup, it REALLY seems cold.  When we loaded the truck I noticed right away that the bags were much lighter than yesterday.  I think everyone was wearing about everything they had.  Usually by the time they get to the Continental Divide they start shedding clothing, but most kept everything on today even though it got much more comfortable late in the morning.  When I started riding afternoon, I still wore my heavy wind vest and arm warmers...very comfortable, but more clothing than usual on this day.

Gallup is over 6000 feet elevation and we ride over the Continental Divide which is 7275 feet at about 23 miles.  We had our first SAG there and everyone took the obligatory pictures to record the event.  Above left, Andrew and James took a short break from their hammerfest to record the moment.  Supposedly, it's all downhill from here...at least if you are water.  But downhill aside, water isn't affected by the wind.  Today we didn't have favorable winds at all and many were seeking the shelter of a paceline if they could keep pace.  The winds weren't howling, but they were a nuisance until the afternoon.  Since we had a late start and the fact that the winds were holding us back a tad, I called the lunch van and directed the lunch stop be moved up about 13 miles to a store along the interstate.  The lead riders got there just after 12:00 and the back end were about an hour and a half later...it was about time to eat for sure by the time they got there.

Even though it was a tough day, we rode through some interesting, beautiful, and desolate areas.  As we departed town, the shadows on the hills to our north outlined the weathered rock faces that served as a backdrop to the long freight trains that roared by every 5 minutes or so.  The mesas were beautiful and I imagine they looked the same a thousand years ago and barring something catastrophic, they will remain the same for thousands more.  Legendary heroes were also in this area years ago as we rode by Fort Wengert where Kit Carson led campaigns against the Navajo Indians.  And finally, we rode through the largest lava flow in the continental US.  At right, Scott, Martin, Will, and Sandra (upper right) quickly admired the landscape as they rode by.  I wanted to find out more about this area...things like when did it developed and is it still active but I didn't have time to do the research...there's only so much I can do out here.  From what I understand, the entire area around Grants NM is volcanic...no thank you.  I'll just ride through it and look in amazement. 

After Grants, we venture out into the New Mexico back country through an Indian reservation around Laguna.  From there we pick up I-40 all the way to Albuquerque.  At the last SAG, we take a frontage road up 10 mile hill to Central Avenue for the screaming downhill into town.  At right, Pete and Russell are approaching the top of 10 mile hill into Albuquerque.  The final downhill into town is a doozy.  You seem to just keep going down forever and it's speedy too as I've reached double nickel a couple times in the past when the wind was right.  It's about an 8 mile descent to the Rio Grande River and as you are descending you can see forever...what a view.

The final riders didn't get in until about 8:00 but all's well that gets in safely.  We had rap, said good bye to Karen and Jim who are leaving tomorrow, and maintenance that finished just before 9:00...time for dinner finally.  We'll miss Karen and Jim...it's always tough to say "so long" to those who have become part of our family.  We'll wish them well and for Karen, a speedy recovery from her injuries.  It was definitely a long, tough day and we are really ready for a little time out of the saddle tomorrow.  I won't have an entry for our day off...we'll see you again on Tuesday when we continue our journey to Las Vegas...the one in New Mexico.  See you then.

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