153 miles (7644ft climbing), 12 hours 14.8mph
Today was our last day in New Mexico and was challenging primarily due to the elevation gain. It’s tough doing sustained climbing at 8000ft when you’re not acclimatized. That said, tomorrow we start the really high days and get up close to 12,000ft on Red Mountain so that should be interesting!
Some stunning landscape in New Mexico and Colorado ranging from desert dry expanses to high country pastoral meadows.
The three of us (Bob, Greg and I) stuck together for the whole day except for a brief stretch in the middle before we regrouped. Greg was riding strong and took the brunt of the strong headwind into the lunch stop. My energy was at a low point then but a hot lunch 115 miles into the ride helped revitalize me.
Great descents off the Colorado climbs and looking forward to more to come tomorrow. Now time to eat and recover from today’s efforts.
