4.14.2011

Day 37: Messilla, NM to Arrey, NM




Can I just have truth for half the mileage?

You know those times in life when you're cruising along, having a great time, and then something totally unexpected happens that completely ruins it? Yeah. That happened today.

There we were, minding our own business, riding merrily into a decent headwind through another massive pecan orchard, when a tractor cruises towards us in the first row off the road, spraying pesticides INTO THE WIND, completely covering us. I have lost the magical feeling of riding through giant pecan orchards (If that wasn't enough to give us cancer, then we rose through the town of Radium Springs. I didn't drink the water). There are laws against spraying in this kind of wind but obviously they don't follow them here in New Mexico. Apparently, farming doesn't require a high level of intelligence here either. I'm basing this solely on the assumption of the outstanding number of roadside signs saying "do not plow on road shoulder." This must happen a lot to necessitate signage. Perhaps I am not being fair, but forgive me if I am a little upset about being sprayed with carcinogenic substances while all my pores were wide open.

Anyway, aside from a good dousing of some chemicals, probably known to the state of California to cause cancer, it was an alright day. The wind was fairly relentless starting around 10. I know I said I wouldn't complain about it for Lent, but seriously Njord, give me a break. I will admit it, I cursed and made rude gestures many times, something you young readers should never do. But I guess my message got through. The wind died down after lunch and continued to be very calm for the last couple of hours of the day. AWESOME.

At lunch we cozied up next to a wooden fence to block the wind while we ate triscuits and kippered herring. Delicious! I'm going to eat it every day from here on out because I felt great after that. My energy level sky-rocketed and I wanted to pedal as fast as I could. I even considered trying to race a tractor, but figured it would be a bad idea to leave Brennan behind since he had been having tire troubles all day and I had all the gear to fix it. I'm not sure if the herring was responsible or if I was just so elated to be granted the opportunity to ride with no wind, even for a little while, but I felt light as a feather. Regardless, more please.

Other than that, there weren't too many eventful things today. A few half-hearted tiny dog pursuers (TDP). A veal farm (so sad). A few cows with helmets (kinda like the ones you'd wear kickboxing, but leather). The route took us along the Rio Grande, winding through orchards and surprisingly green fields. The terrain was pretty much flat aside from a few minor hills. That will all change tomorrow as we begin the ascent of the highest point on the ride, Emory Pass. It stands at 8,228 feet. We're gonna make the next two days pretty much half days to allow Brennan's legs some recovery time, especially with all the climbing we are about to do. His bike is also a racing bike so it's geared really high, which means he's gonna be a tired pup even after only 34 mile days. But he is doing great so far. If I had started out encountering this kind of wind I probably would've sat down and cried for a while and then i would've thrown my bike off a cliff and gone home. So way to be. Way to be.

Alrightio, battry is whining about being tired, must depart. Love to you all!

Cheers,
Jess

2 comments:

  1. I read your blog religiously every day - I hope you keep it up. Stay safe! Need any supplies?

    PS - I saw a sketch of Mr. Moonbeam at the first st Gallery in Eureka today!

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  2. Awesome! I miss seeing mister moonbeam. And you! I will try to keep it up. Don't think I need anything, except to be done riding next week!

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