Day 13 Cross Country Bike Ride
It rained off and on all night which surprised us a bit since the forecast said only 20% chance of rain. This morning it was mostly overcast and windy, AGAIN! Tobey bundled up and was on the road about 8:45 am after spending the night in the high school parking lot. There were sprinkles again on the first part of his ride.On the way out of town I spotted a field with what first looked like a flock of blue heron grazing with cattle! I have never seen a blue heron with red on its heads, so I am not sure what they were. (If you know what they are, please let me know!) There were about 30 of them in the field!Highway 70 didn’t have much traffic, which was fine with Tobey.Near our lunch stop I was able to get a good shot of the cactus along the road. The sun was FINALLY starting to show itself, but it was still cold and windy. We ran the furnace so Tobey could warm up while he had a break.Tobey rode into Lordsburg, NM about 2:15, after his first 48 miles of the day. We had to get onto Interstate 10 for about 10 miles. There was a fair amount of traffic, but the wide shoulder helps. Finally, the turnoff for Highway 113 south! He had another short break here before the last stretch of the day. A border patrol truck pulled in near us so I asked them about where we hoped to park tonight. They said it would be fine, and told me a couple spots that would be good, so off we both went!While the landscape looks seemingly flat, Tobey was still gaining in elevation.We both wondered why there was a hill after we passed the Continental Divide sign! The highway didn’t have a shoulder, but there wasn’t much traffic. As a matter of fact, for a little while I drove about 10-15 mph so I could block the wind while Tobey rode next to me!As I approached the Hwy 9 intersection, the view to the east was interesting. I liked how the light was shining on the hills.Tobey in about 5:30 pm tonight. He had ridden 69.3 miles. Elevation gain was 1760’. Average speed 10.4 mph. He had moving time (in the saddle) 6 hours 39 minutes and battled headwinds again, all day!
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