Blow Me Down

We had a 90 mile day today. Kingston NM to Las Cruces NM. That's almost 150 km for all the Canadians out there. Seems we either get tons of climbing or long mileage - one or the other. Climbing was yesterday; mileage today. The first 50 miles was pretty great. I don't think I pedalled at all for the first 10 miles as yesterday's downhill continued. Then I got a kick-start up the first hill as a dog chased me for a bit. No bite, though. Strong tailwind for the first 25 miles completed the early treat. Then we turned south and alternated tailwinds with crosswinds. Still good though. Nice mountain scenery turned into scrub desert which turned into agricultural land (irrigated) and miles of pecan tree orchards. Looks like all the irrigation comes at a cost, though. As we crossed the Rio Grande there was really very little water in it. And it still has to get through Texas and 4 states in Mexico before it gets to the Gulf of Mexico. We lunched in Hatch NM, which apparently is famous for its chili pepper production. After lunch the winds really picked up. Gusts of 45-60 mph (we found out later) made it challenging at times to keep the bike upright and dust clouds crossing the roads made visibility an issue, but provided exfoliation on the go and I arrived at the hotel with a tan as the dirt collected on my sunscreen. We stopped for frozen custard (think ice cream) sundaes on the way in to town, although we ate those outside and the sand content was pretty high by the time we were done. Even though it was a pretty flat day, we still climbed 2600 feet by day's end. Here's hoping the wind dies down overnight!