We had 9.5 miles of down hill, and then 3.5 miles climbing, followed by a lovely flat stretch with a tail wind. I was confident we would cycle the entire 88 miles into Las Cruces.
At 26.5 miles, we encountered relentless head and cross winds that slowed us, sometimes to five miles per hour. The flag standing straight out tells the story best.
We crossed the Rio Grande several times. We cycled through the Village of Hatch where chilis are grown on huge farms. We also saw countless pecan orchards.
We finally caught a ride in the SAG Wagon after 70.2 miles, which was a personal best for Marge and me! The longest we had previously ridden was the 70 miles on my 70th birthday.
I started the day with scrambled eggs and Stonyfield yogurt. Lunch was the usual PB&J on the side of the road. I was extra attentive to hydration and electrolyte replacement, because of the wind and the heat, with lots of water, energy drink, Endurolytes, Hammer Gel and Recoverite at the end of the ride.
Dinner in the motel parking lot by our talented chef was pasta salad, spinach salad, a grilled sockeye salmon basted with chipotle sauce. I had a tiny sliver of custard pie with fresh raspberries.
782.5 miles behind us. 2317.5 miles to pedal. 42 days to go.
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