Santa Fe, New Mexico to Las Vegas, New Mexico

Yesterday (Saturday) was a full day of rest in Santa Fe. Michel, Doug Squires, and I took the bus into town, just for a visit. Santa Fe is a very nice place. We found it remarkably quiet, considering that it was a Saturday morning with great weather. We spent time at the central plaza area, which is a rather typical touristy type of place. There were lots of shops, and lots of open air tables set up, all with an abundance of native American-themed items for purchase.

We never found the restaurant that Tom Collins and the others opened up, but we had fun looking around just the same. Michel and I did find a spot where there where cow skulls for sale (see photo). We both were initially enthusiastic about buying them. Then the reality set in that it would be a bit awkward with getting it back home. I think that we would have looked a bit funny with one tied to the back of a bike. Oh well. At least it was fun to look around.

We visited two bike shops also. I wanted to find a lightweight rain jacket. I found none in my size, so I bought some electrolyte supplement pills instead.

We were in bed and asleep by 8:30 PM last night. It is amazing how tired out you get on a bike trip of this nature, even on the rest days.

Today we did a 72 mile ride to Las Vegas, New Mexico. Beautiful ride, once again. The mountains now seem to have more vegetation. Today's ride was a very hilly 72 miles, quite arduous. At least the winds didn't pick up too much until mid-afternoon, well after we arrived in Las Vegas.

It has been over a week now that we have been consistently at high elevation. I might be getting a bit adjusted. Still, this is a thin-air environment. I find that I am tachypneic, at least mildly, even with just brisk walking.

Las Vegas, New Mexico, is a tiny little town. Not much here but wind. Still, I guess that this is where the Great Plains meet the Rockies!

I started out the day this morning feeling like my legs were composed of jello. Warm jello. For the first 5 or 10 miles, I had huge trouble with the hills. I was riding with the rest of the group, leaving Santa Fe this morning, having great trouble keeping up. I contemplated the obvious diagnosis of AOMG. I may not be a Neurologist, of course, but I felt that my symptoms fit perfectly with a fulminant case of adult onset myesthenia gravis. Indeed, my physical limitations and symptoms were so classic that I seriously doubted that any responsible Neurologist would even need to do much in the way of confirmatory diagnostics.

After about 10 miles of slogging however, my legs seemed to wake up and remember what was expected of them. I ended up having a strong ride. I finished the 72 miles, arriving in Las Vegas at 12:30 PM, near the front of the group, with an average speed on my computer at 15.4 mph. I ended up feeling good about that, especially for a hilly ride. That aside, I am a bit worried about tomorrow's ride. That will be a 108 mile ride, hilly terrain, to a place called Tucumcari, New Mexico. (Who would name a town "Tucumcari"?)

We went through Pecos, New Mexico today, that being near the Pecos National Monument. It really is a neat area. I understand that we went over Glorieta Pass today also, but that was not marked, so I didn't recognize it at the time.

Today is a Sunday, so I suspect that Kevin is back at work today in Gary, Indiana. I miss him. More importantly, I do hope that he is remembering, and praying for, all of us here on the road.

I hope that all is well at home. I do think of Ward frequently, but my guilt pangs seem a bit less painful lately. I do hope that he is surviving. I know that Deb and Jill both have daughters with graduation parties. If memory serves, they are this week. I wish that I could attend, but it is a bit far. I extend my best wishes from this distance nonetheless. I hope that Julie is not too uncomfortable. I hope that all is well with my Madeline and Chocolat also.

While I was on the road today, I briefly diverted blood flow to my brain, just enough to enable pre-frontal cortical limited function. With that, I was able to do some simple arithmetic in my head. Today is May 23, 2010, and I was able to calculate that it has been 29 years and 286 days since I made the best decision of my life. It was 29 years ago today that I was finally able to act upon that decision.

Happy Anniversary, Marsha!