Someone’s backyard to Informal Camp Rio San Antonio, NM
36 Miles, Avg Speed 6.5 mph
After beginning the morning cold and stiff we set out for New Mexico saying goodbye to Colorado. Numbstuff discovers he has lost a screw from his shoe cleat only after unsuccessfully trying to un-clip from his pedal and falls over flat on the road. The joys of riding… We pass “gracefully” into New Mexico and are excited to begin the final chapter of our ride.
The terrain is beautiful and the forests of New Mexico are stunning.
We have read that New Mexico is one of the most remote and difficult portions of the journey. New Mexico quickly shows us how difficult by immediately handing us our butts on a platter. Some portions of the roads are rutted three feet deep and “steep” had new meaning. Portions of our trail are not possible to ride so we push our bikes and it sometimes feels more like we are hiking today rather than cycling.
The day moves forward but is absolutely the slowest moving of the journey so far. After crossing the Brazos Ridge and sitting down for a quick bagel and peanut butter, we realize we have only come 13 miles and it is just after one. Ouch!
We cycle as far as we can for the day and stop at a small roadside area by the side of a pretty murky looking river full of algae and slime to camp. No Four Seasons here… In fact it took us quite some time to convince ourselves that filtering and then boiling the river water for tonight and tomorrow was a good idea. But we need water and there is no alternative. However, we manage, and go to bed although wondering how we may feel tomorrow…
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