Hi Jean,
Notes on today's ride:
Departed 7:25 AM. First 50 miles a glorious ride. Mountains, blue sky and crisp white clouds. Beautiful scenery. Took video and still pics.
At 25 miles into it stopped in Pecos. Met a movie star (at least she was in several films) and taped her.
At 45 miles had first SAG stop at a decrepit bar. Beyond description. This is one of pics I sent you. [There's a picture of it further down.] Went inside thru back door.
At 50 miles ran into thunderstorms. Stopped at van and got in to wait weather out. It rained a little and some thunder. After 20 min in van decided to get back on road even though it was very threatening. Tony and Bob joined me and off we went. Unfortunately there were now heavy head winds, some rain and lots of steep hills each about a mile to two miles in length. After awhile Bob decided to catch van. Tony and I forged on - slowly. Finally made store at 65 mile point. Got inside as wind and rain picked up. Had a sub and some coffee while we waited for weather to get better. When we finally left the winds were very bad and there were several hills waiting for us on the remaining 12 miles. Finally made a turn to north and winds were behind us. Rolled into Comfort Inn at 3:30. 73 miles. Happy to be here. [that's Gil in the first picture of the post]Thanks for all your help. Love, dad
Then he called and I just got so much more information!
Today's ride can be divided into two parts - the first part was gorgeous and absolutely beautiful, and then the last 23 miles were quite difficult and hard. (Today was a 72 mile day.)
The storm story: (Crap. We're reaching the lengths where I'm making "chapters." If you like the reading, super! If you don't, I'm just relaying everything I'm given, since this will also serve as Gil's "diary" of his trip after the fact. Please, skim.) They stopped 23 miles out of Las Vegas, NM (not Las Vegas, Nevada, which was a real disappointment to me; I wanted him to play some slots on my behalf, since I taught him how on the cruise a few years back), not 20 miles out as the email may have said, because they saw thunderstorms and lightening up ahead. The van just happened to be there, so their group took shelter in the van to see what was going to happen with the weather. It rained some then "kinda stopped" and three of
them (Gil, Tony, and Bob) figured they were just wasting time in the van. The weather didn't look too threatening, so they headed out and rode through it. Got caught in some rain and hail, then a little further down Bob decided to ride in the van after all. (What, he didn't want to get struck by lightening or bonked in the head with hail?) Gil and Tony forged ahead and finally made it to a general store/sub stop/gas station (quite multifunctional, this shelter) about 12 miles out of town and sat out another storm there. When they headed back out to ride again they saw a "big mess of rain" in the direction they were headed, so they went back inside and had some more coffee. When they came back out the wind had changed directions; it was blowing quite hard and blew them (and their expensive bikes) around quite a bit. Had to hold on tight to control things (and not drift into passing trucks, no doubt). They crawled around at 5 mph for parts of this phase, and still had some hills which were quite difficult with the wind and weather. About four miles out the road took a turn to the north, which put the wind at their backs. They really enjoyed that, and sailed along at 19-20 mph into town (at which point it was no longer raining, the storm had passed to their south). Embedded in this paragraph is a totally unrelated picture of people riding in the cars' lane.The actress in Pecos: Tera Hahn (Tara Hahn?). She was in a couple of films (including Ghost Times, which a quick google/IMDB search didn't turn up for me as an exact title but what do I know), and they googled her at the hotel and she turned up as having been in that and a couple of other stand-in positions. So it's possible that I'm just not finding her because the spelling of her name got jumbled in passing it onto me over the phone. Anyway, from what they found it appeared that she'd given them accurate information about herself. Dad videotaped a little interview with her.
The decrepit bar: Came across it at the 50 mile SAG stop. A REAL decrepit bar-slash-gas station. (Because seriously, what's one without the other? It's all flammable, really. They clearly belong at the same establishment.) "More than a little bit past the point of no return. Really something." There was no gas hooked up to those gas pumps (not that it matters for our environmentally-friendly bikers), and they had to go around to the back of the building to get inside. It was a real dive. He got a few pictures inside after asking the bartender, who was quite a character himself.The whistles: They purchased some little plastic whistles at Target. (On their rest day in Santa Fe? Which I love typing, it's so melodious. There's a word I'm proud to have spelled correctly on the first try.) They used them for the first time today - tried out some rhythms, where certain riders would play quarter notes in unison and then someone else would improvise a little melody. It worked out pretty well; a musical bunch of guys! They initially thought that the whistles would be useful in terms of signaling, but "they're not really at the ready when you'd need to do that." They ended up being fun and games instead. Which is much more important than signaling "big truck heading for us!" Far better that they be musical prodigies with the whistles. (I can see it now; Dad's going to supplement his guitar and saxophone playing at home with learning to make music on the whistle.)
Today's climbing: Today's ride had lots of climbing, which you may have surmised by there being a section title about it. You bright reader you! Lots of hills, particularly on the last, unpleasant, wet and windy and hail-filled part of the ride. Some were fairly steep, and it got "kind of discouraging" - they would get up one hill and immediately see another looming in front of them. And they didn't get to go downhill nearly as much as they went uphill. Me, I really prefer downhill. Dad and I rode 20-some miles (or 40? I think 20) down a mountain in Alaska a few years back, and I was kind of irate that the last mile or so was flat, going from the base of the mountain to where we deposited our bikes in "town." It felt like false advertising; I signed up for DOWN, thank you. I told Dad as much; he kept kind of looking back from his position to make sure I was still with them and not lost in a random Alaskan town, and I managed to avoid ever being the LAST rider in the group, so - good enough. Dad said those hills today were really kind of a struggle; he was a little sore tonight. I can't imagine why one would be sore after riding for 72 miles. He must be out of shape.
The Pile Drivers: I'm filled with pride every time I type that. Sigh. Their group is apparently developing quite a reputation as being a fun group to ride with. Sometimes other riders tag along with them, particularly if they need a slower day to recover from a previous ride. My father, the class clown! The "cool guy"! One of my cousins refers to him as "the cool uncle." It may have taken 50 or 60 years, but hey, Gil's the big man on campus! And Video Guy to boot! Go Gil!That's Gil's bike (the empty one in front, with the red water bottles) being held up by I think Tony.
Got quite a bit of video and stills today during the first part of the ride (the pretty part). Has downloaded another full set to DVD (the 4th) and is sending it homeward. Number three will probably arrive Tuesday. Hopefully I can get both DVDs in-hand and uploaded before having carpel tunnel surgery, or Jane's going to be learning more than she wants to! (If you find it a bit negligent of Gil to have Carpal Tunnel Kid typing up his blog every night, it's really not; I've just got it in my left (non-dominant/mouse-using) hand from a previous trauma. Mom's got it in both hands, so I am the more appropriate family member to hand this thing off to. Gil goes on an adventure, we get outpatient surgery (surgeries, in Jane's case). Somehow doesn't seem quite fair.)
Tomorrow's ride: Promises to be very difficult - 109 miles (108 according to the itinerary), and they'll be back in the desert. Goody. They'll hit the 1,000 mile mark tomorrow! (I just now realized that I'm overdue to put up the week's itinerary. Crap. Will do it tomorrow - I'm sure you'll all make it through the suspense of wondering what's next - since a) I'm tired and b) I have a kitten that I'm neglecting who REALLY wants to play fetch. Yes, my kitten plays fetch. Yes, it's as adorable as it sounds.) Their destination tomorrow is Tucumcari, NM, which I for one have never heard of. They're also having a picnic lunch (in the desert? Lovely.), which...do they hold some lunch for the Pile Drivers, who are taking a more Zen approach to riding, I wonder? (Good for them, I say; may as well enjoy the journey with good friends. Why spend all that money (and lost income) to stress yourself out about each day? Competition is for suckers! (Kidding, kidding. But their approach does sound more enjoyable, and you don't care about not being the fastest if you're not trying for it. This is getting him a lot more enjoyment, photos, and video footage, which he's really going to enjoy long after the tour is over.) Anyway. Moving on.) For one stretch in the desert (the bulk of it, really) there won't be any service stops (ie: restrooms) for 75 miles. Hope no one has to crap in a hole. Go before you leave, fellas! (If they're going to call themselves the Pile Drivers, I'm allowed to make potty references.) The weather is supposed to be 100 degrees, but at least the wind is forecast to be at a favorable direction. Gil's going to play the whole thing by ear in terms of taking the van partway; if he feels like he's struggling or anything, he'll take a hop down the road in the van and save energy since Tuesday is also 96 miles. There'll be some serious climbing around the 80 mile mark tomorrow. It will be more of a "work day" and he probably won't take as many photos or video. He suspects the scenery won't be as pretty tomorrow anyway.
In sum: "It's all one big, huge adventure." Also, there are now links on the left side of the blog - the second goes to Gil's near-complete photo albums of the trip thus far. If there are other trip blogs, please feel free to share the links!
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