Day 7 Gallup to Albuquerque

Yesterday was cold today was Freezing! At 5 AM when we got up it was 24 degrees, burr. We ate the motel breakfast offerings, not at the Denneys next door. I would have preferred Denneys. Mike held us until 8 AM when it had warmed to 33 degrees. I guess he thought that at this temperature no one would freeze to their water bottles. We set out on Route 66 and eventually climbed to the Continental Divide on I40. It was not that bad a climb. But considering that the Santa Fe Trail and the Santa Fe railroad also used this pass to cross the Continental Divide, the grades could be that great.

At the divide most everyone took the required pictures. I didn’t because my camera was left behind in Berkeley and I have yet to learn how to use my cell phone as a camera. I guess I need to ask a ten year old. Last year the ride down the Eastern side was very fast. I recall dropping off a paceline and maintaining 23 mph on my own for over 20 miles. I thought that this meant that the Eastern side was a relatively steep decent. Accordingly I added a laver at the divide. I now was wearing two pairs of shorts (this helps with the saddle sores I have), a pair of tights and leg warmers. On my feet I wore heavy wool socks, cycling shoes and wind proof shoe covers that also covered my ankles. On my torso I had a wool cardigan, two jerseys (one long sleeve and one short) and two wind breakers. On my head I had two head covers under my helmet and full covering of my ears. I would have been ready to descend Mount Diablo on the coldest Jan 1 on record. Unfortunately I discovered that the grade on the Eastern side was even less than that on the Western side of the divide, maybe 2 percent. Last year’s fast descent was due to a tailwind, today we had a headwind. The descent was slow and required constant pedaling for 40 miles. Progress was so slow that the lunch stop was moved from mile 87 last year to mile 53 this year and still riders were getting to lunch later this year. It just shows the power of wind and the way we seldom consider that our fast riding might be due to a tailwind.

By lunch I was exhausted and I sagged in to Albuquerque. When I got to lunch I discovered that the four people I thought were behind me had already stopped riding for the day. The first riders got to the motel about 5:30 and the last riders to complete the ride came in at 7:30. For everyone who completed the ride, it was a very long day. We are all looking forward to the rest day tomorrow. Besides from the cold and my over dressing, the major impression I get from this area of New Mexico is the dry, remote beauty of the land and the difficulty that the people who live here endure to make a living. Another rider commented that from Gallup to about 3 miles from Albuquerque he had not seen a single house with a lawn or garden. The most common exterior decorations I saw were derelict cars parked around the house. It is an all together different world that coastal Americans just don’t get.