Today is the penultimate Sabbath day of the tour. We are at the Silver City KOA, which is about 4 miles outside Silver City.

As I said last night, we are in cabins because it is forecast to be very windy today and tonight. Last night I had a bit of a hard time getting to sleep because one of the cabin mates had a cough. He left the door open when he went out, which made the room cold. I jumped at the other cabin mate, SR, when he was going outside because I thought he was the other roommate and was opening the door again. I did get to sleep and except for my usual nighttime awakenings, I slept reasonably well and did not wake up until 7:00. I got my laundry together and started it before breakfast. Breakfast was officially at 8:00, but there was water boiling before that (thanks JW aka Mr. Coffee). I had hot herbal tea and oatmeal plus 2 clementines for breakfast. I also ate one of the raisin cookies that the campground has out for guests. I did my laundry but forgot to wash a leg warmer (not a big deal) and my pillow case (which I washed by hand). Laundry always seems like a prime time to lose things, so I was very careful to match things up as I put them into the drier. I did not lose anything. I am drying my shorts and a few things outside because I don't like to expose them to heat. The wind makes that relatively easy, though it is not very warm.

A group went into Silver City this morning. In fact, I think all but PB and I went. I decided not to go to work on a few things including my taxes and to get some rest. 

The next 5 days before our rest day in Mesa are some of the most challenging of the trip: we ride 353 miles  (70 miles per day) and have 17k (an average of 48 feet per mile) of feet of ascent. The biggest day is into Mesa, the last of the 5 days, where we ride 83 miles and ascend almost 6k feet. The good news is that every day except one has a net elevation loss greater than 1000 feet. The unknown is the wind. Right now it looks as if it will follow similar patterns as the past couple weeks: increasing as the day goes on. It seems there will be a headwind component on many days, but a few degrees can make a big difference.

The good news is that my son, Ethan, joins tomorrow. I think I have said that before, but I am really looking forward to it. I think it will be hard for him since he hasn't ridden a lot this spring. However, he is a very strong rider and used to suffering. Maybe he will be able to pull me through the headwinds :)

I am going to try to get started on my taxes today, but first I want to take a nap. I may add to this after I do.