Day 12 was not a banner day, and I'm still not exactly sure what went wrong. Perhaps because we were only cycling 60km from Zuni to Gallup, NM, I wasn't as psyched up as normal. Whatever the reason, I was gently and indirectly reminded by a fellow traveler that I should probably leave my attitude problem at the top of the Hill. Yessir. The day was short, the hills were demoralizing and we were sipping chai at a coffee shop by 10:30. Day redeemed.
Day 13 we rode 160km from Gallup to Shiprock, NM 160km of this:
It is almost possible to fall asleep on your bike while riding with this kind of scenery. Mike, Christy and I set out at 7am, and were in camp shortly after 3. We were in the saddle for 5hrs and 50 minutes. Our average speed was 27.3km. Mike was the only one who flatted. There were nasty head winds for the last 30km, kicking up all sorts of nasty dirt in our eyes, teeth and faces. But we conquered.
We almost weren't allowed to ride yesterday because there had been a severe rainstorm the afternoon before. There is only one highway going from Gallup to Shiprock, and it had been wiped away. The state police changed their mind and we were allowed to cross over this, only with bikes - SAG had to re-route many many miles.
The other significant moment yesterday was a fantastic new speed: I hit 68.5 km/hr on a great, long downhill. Loving the speed!
Wow, what a speedster...way to go, Shannon! Crazy how much damage that rainstorm did to the road too. Thanks for keeping up the posts - cheering you on!
ReplyDeleteOk, you're freakin me out with the speed! I've been watching the Tour de France the last couple days and I know what can happen. If you kill yourself, I will not say, "She died doing something that she loved." I'll say, "I told you!"
ReplyDeleteI hope you're coming back up from your wonky day and the attitude check. You can't really be expected to be all sunshine and rainbows everyday, especially with the heavy atmosphere where you are. I'm praying for you, Shannon.
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Hey Shannon! Looks really dry there. Here it is flooding everywhere. Hope you're having fun. Did you see Forrest running by?
ReplyDeleteTim