4/12-4/20

4/12 – 68 miles to Deming, NM – Continental Divide

Today we crossed the Continental divide! Apparently it is a line that divides the flow of rivers and streams. On the east side, things flow to the Atlantic; on the west side to the Pacific ocean.

Woke up after amazing sleep with dreams and all, still not wanting to wake up, perhaps still not enough sleep. I packed up and all that and had a bagel, then got outside where it was very cold, say mid to low 50's. I was off and on the road with a large mixed group of riders at 7:30am. I had a killer flat just before the first water stop at 20 miles or so. Something gashed and totally ruined my $55 kevlar tire. I changed to someone else's spare tire at this water break and rode without issue the rest of the day.

Roshan and I rode together maintaining pace with the fastest group of riders. We had a tail wind which helped a lot. We rode 19-22mph feeling good for most of the ride. Our elevation remains over 4,000 feet here in Deming, NM. The toughest part of the day was multiple flats most people had. Our whole large group would stop for these flats and it just got really old.

In Deming, Sarah and I biked around, settling at a little mexican joint where I ate and she had desert and a diet coke. We chatted mainly about family members and her boyfriend, touching lightly on the illegality of marijuana. It is always nice to get out and do something in our destination towns. All too often we are in a place where there is nothing to do or there is just no time to do it. Sometimes it is just too exhausting to hop back on the bike after 80 or a 100 miles, but if it means taking in some of the local scene, I am almost always interested.

4/13 – 65 miles to Las Cruces – Fast Speeds – Double Eagle

Summary

Fast ride. Reached 47mph outside of Las Cruces. Got my stuff printed at ASAP, a great little store. Arrived so early, sat outside Synagogue and called dad. We have beds tonight, thanks to patrons of the synagogue. I'm at Collette's place. She took us to Double Eagle café where I had a green chili bloody mary. Had a bed for the first time in weeks.

The Day

Most of the whole day was 20-22mph with a tail wind, but after lunch, Roshan and I particularly busted it. We were at 23-24 mostly and when we got into town, we hit a downhill west of the Rio Grande. We pushed it to over 47mph and were proud to have hit our maxes. The view of the mountains to the east of the city was spectacular. The peaks were so jagged, like a saw. Honestly, I have never seen a range look quite so awesome, not in Colorado or anywhere.

In town super early (like 10:45am after 60 miles), many of us were ahead of the lead van. I stopped at ASAP, a copy store owned by a family. They gave me amazing service, printing off only the pages I needed out of the 300+ page residency packet I was to send to Vegas. I gave them $20 but they would only take $10 (and the charge was only like $3.50). Kinkos would have charged me over $50.

Arriving at the synagogue, we were treated so nicely and given dinner. Then we went to the homes of people who volunteered to shelter us for the night. Actually most of the night was at Double Eagle, a neat restaurant in the Mesilla district of Las Cruces. I had a bed to sleep in!

4/14 – 42 miles to El Paso, TX – UTEP event – Salsa Night

The four of us drove off from Colette's house before sunrise and arrived at the synagogue on time. There we dressed for the ride and had breakfast, which was yogurt and little muffins for me. I also had a little coffee, thinking it might give me a needed boost since we only had until 11:30am to reach El Paso (we had an event at noon and would be swept by the van if we were later than 11:30am). So I rode fast with the whole group together at first. After 10 miles in the city, the group split into two with me stuck in the slow group. When I saw the gap, probably over a 1/2 mile at that time, I sprinted up ahead riding 23mph with neutral wind. I caught the fast group and rode with them the rest of the day, which was very satisfying. I pulled well and hard too. All in all I was very happy, feeling like I had suddenly turned a corner in my fitness, like I could ride with anyone on this trip.

We crossed into Texas and took a picture with the sign. We had a water break where I had a powerbar and thought of how different this type of workout is from riding slower. At these speeds, there is more fast-twitch activation which requires more carb intake, more rest, and leads to weight gain rather than fat burning. OK, really though, it is still a lot of slow twitch with a lot of fat burning, but compared to riding at 16mph and eating less, this workout was way different.

Riding an average of 20-21mph the whole way, the van still swept us just after 40 miles. The rode ahead was unridable they said. We made it to our event on time and gave a much-improved med school lecture to UTEP, then had a tour of this brand new medical school. It was impressive, especially their simulation facilities which included birthing sim and laparoscopic surgery sim.

Afterwards, we went to our hotel (Holiday Inn airport in El Paso). We got all organized, and made dinner plans, and then I walked to Kinkos to get my residency paperwork done. Dinner was at a brewery which had good beer deals, but very average food. I had steak and chicken with soup. The chicken was truly good.

We went back to the hotel and partied, goofing around like a bunch of highschoolers. Then we went to the hotel bar downstairs. I'm not a huge salsa guy, but it was a lot of fun dancing. There were also some non-salsa dance music breaks. It was our first night out as a group with no wake-up call in the morning. It felt really good.

4/15 – True Day Off in El Paso

Today I lounged around the hotel. A bunch of people went to White Sands, a 2hr drive, but I decided I needed a real off day. I hit the weight room several times, hit the pool, soaked up some rays, and went to dinner with a few other people. Jody, Sarah, and myself went to a comedy club and it was hillarious because Jody danced a lot last night with the main comedian. He gave a shout out to us riders. All in all it was a fun night.

Tomorrow is another day on the bike. Some buzz has been floating around because this is a full century ride and we could be climbing. Some people have mentioned a headwind too. Also we are camping tomorrow night (in Guadalupe Mountains National Park). I'm excited for what sounds like a great day.

The way I see it, I want the days to be hard for people, to challenge us. Those are the days I remember. Tail winds and 22mph are fun and quick, but these days don’t make me look around at my fellow riders with increased respect. It is the long, hilly, hot or cold days that make silent moments next to my fellows better. It is that hard journey that care most to share.

4/16 – 105 miles to Guadalupe Mountains National Park – Camping Night –Hardest, Best Day Yet

Summary

Today was my first century on a bike. Thankfully, it was a memorable century, not a simple one, but with some quality complications, challenges.

On the day, we climbed from 3800 to 5700 feet. Headwind all day. 105 miles, climb at the end. Downhills were slow due to wind, everything slow. Nearly 8 hours on the bike, over 8 with breaks.

Camping at night, not even very hungry. Chili (50's), rainy after bunking down, coyotes at night, beautiful view of mountains in GMNP, Texas.

The Day

Roshan and I rode the last 45 of this ride together. We went through all the same stuff, all of it. All of that fight, all of that struggle, all of that pain in your quads, butt, wrists, shoulders. The last 20 of this ride were so tough we were just taking breaks to stand around and drink. Towards the end I was in such a caloric deficit I pounded a powerbar, a gel, and lots of drink mix just to make it. Just to make it. We were doing 8mph for so much of the ride, just 8mph and at times down to 6mph like there were weights on our legs preventing motion. At first I thought it was just me failing, but after I got the carbs in me it was Roshan who was the worse off. I never saw someone go through that, what I have before, that struggle. You think of carrying the cross, Jesus. You think of how people go hungry around the world, how people freeze. You realize how you are finally tasting what it is to be out of the lap of luxury we bathe in too often.

On arrival, I just put my head down in my arms to close my eyes and see blackness and be nothing. No food, not now, why ruin this? It felt good. In the night, we packed into tents. Wind cracked on our nylon walls, rain drizzled from above, and coyotes made neat noises I had never heard before.

4/17 – My Support Day – Carlsbad Caverns National Park in NM

This wasn't a fun day for the riders, drizzly, chilly, and with a head wind. It was 35 miles and a unanimous decision by all the riders to be swept. They didn't want to climb into Carlsbad caverns, where we drove instead. It was a really neat national park, absolutely like nothing I have ever seen. Those stupid words - stalactite and stalagmite - finally meant something. It was like inverted mountains, magnificent. Huge walls of rock and amazing shapes all with a roof high high above.

After the caverns, which I viewed with my buds Sarah, Roshan, and Jody, we went to our camp for the night. The camps are really starting to run together, but I'm pretty sure in Carlsbad we stayed in a high school gym, or was it a church? It being my support day, I helped cook our grilled cheese and tomato soup dinner. Then several of us played basketball (mostly horse and knockout). I loved beating Pete at one epic game of horse, though he beat me a couple times in less epic games.

4/18 – 71 miles to Hobbs, NM – First Wreck – Wild Town

The ride was pretty easy compared to the last couple of days. The weather was better with nice sun and the winds were neutral or with us, no more headwinds. The ride was ~70 miles and didn't take long to finish, mostly pacing at 18+ mph.

There was a wreck in our large peloton when someone half-wheeled and then hit their brakes. About five people fell and two bikes were unridable (Tim's and Jody's). Tim will be out for days until he can get a new back wheel. I was lucky to not crash at all since I was at the very back and just went off-road. None were injured.

We took a picture next to the large Hobbs, NM sign as we came to town. The letters were so big people could fit inside of the "O's" and stuff. There was actually a small no trespassing sign that specifically disclaimed that the letters were not meant to support the weight of humans.

Once we got to town, an abnormal amount of cars were honking and yelling at us, mostly in a positive way. Later that night, the energy of this town's people would again rare it's head when a few of us were walking in a group. We were looking for ice cream and saw many sketchy people. A car full of youngsters drove by us and shot paintballs at us, hitting Jen and ruining our quest, ending our walk.

Our group (Jen, Jody, Sarah, Roshan, and I) went back to our high school gym and I was annoyed. I was very tired from sleeping poorly last night and upset that this night was ending with nothing. It felt unfulfilling to just go to bed. Roshan and I vented about social stuff on the ride, about frustrations in the group dynamic, etc. We then decided to get some cereal and just forget it all. It felt sort of rebellious in a ridiculous way to just go have crunch berries at night, like little kids sneaking for desert behind their mom’s back.

4/19 – 70 miles to Lamesa, TX

The floor is shiny and brown and all around the room are bright colors strewn about. Sleeping bags, cycling jerseys, waterbottles. This is a high school gymnasium where basketballs echoed loudly a couple hours ago. Young cross country riders arrived here and shot hoops competitively, honing their skills. Now it is nearly bed time. There is some music to the left, about fifty feet from me, some echoing voices to my right about 200 feet away. I get the just of the conversations from a far, without really hearing any of the words. You hear the laughs, the tones and it is all you need. This is my environment, my home, my comfort zone. It is my warmth tonight, my shelter from what has been a cold long day. Here we are in the home of the Golden Tornados (the Tors) of Lamesa, TX. Our towels are drying. Our makeshift beds are laid out. We are 10 or 15 rooms all in one with no dividers, just mental blinders, just an impenetrable invisible psychological barrier that denies all access. It is because we need a little alone time.

Today was 70 miles under a gray sky. The high was to be mid 70's according to an internet check the night before, but today was the coldest of the ride. It was low fifties and sunless, damp. The desert is gone, replaced by grass that belongs there, trees that also belong. My throat no longer dries out, my nostrils no longer fill with dried bloody boogers.

Tonight I took a special tour of this high school. Walking alone down dimly lit hallways, I read banner after banner: “Seniors 2010, we’ll never be here again.” I read the enthusiastic slogans that scream of optimism, that promote one class’ undeniable superiority over the rest. It was like revisiting my own high school. The similarities were eerie. Tomorrow is our second century.

4/20 – 106 miles to Sweetwater, TX

The morning was foggy and damp with invisible moisture in the air that was thick enough to leave skin and clothes wet. It was chilly again, low fifties with no sun. The road out of Lamesa went from bad to good to bad to good over and over again. It was like heaven when the road became smooth for miles at a time. Up until lunch, Jody and I hammered it out, 55 miles. We were the second group to lunch (behind Pete, Chris, and Hepker). We sat in the van at lunch (to get out of the weather) and I had a couple bananas and it was warm. Another group joined us (all girls) and we sat in the van getting warm. Jody wanted to leave so I left after 15 minutes, well before I wanted to.

I heard at lunch that Sarah was not at the front as I had thought. That meant she was behind me and might be riding alone. I started to think of how miserable this day was and how she asked if I was riding fast or slow today. I thought, "uh, I can leave her back there, not in this miserable weather." So I rode off with Jody and she could tell I was in a bad mood. I kept wanting to stop and wait for Sarah. After 18 miles of passing places in a little town, I finally stopped at the water stop and just waited. I waited like 45 minutes in chilly weather around mid-day. Somehow it was really nice just hanging out along the highway waiting. It felt right. Finally Sarah and Lenore came and I rode with them for the final 50 or so miles. It was a nice relaxing pace at that point, really relaxing.

Arriving in Sweetwater, I played hoops against Pete - a game of HORSE that I lost. I just got nervous on makable shots. We exchanged some words when I called him on being uncreative since he does the same shots all the time. He got really annoyed; it was funny. We then had journal club and then I politicked to go out and do something. Almost all of us went to a restaurant (Buck's Steakhouse and BBQ) where I had a buffet that was the topic of much conversation. I stuffed my face with Brisket and many were amazed at how much I can eat. I’m sort of becoming famous for my food intake.

We came home and now I'm doing this. Tomorrow is a 40 or so mile day and I should get 8 hours of sleep (exciting).