Day 47: Silver City to Lordsburg

April 2, 2025

Most of the ride was on US 90 and looked like this.

I need to photoshop my thumb out of the way.

The last 18 miles was all downhill. The valley is quite different than the terrain before the divide.

I remember when my mom used to collect these. We asked, and they do not really give them any more.

I went to bed at 9:00 and woke up at about 5:45. I had some trouble getting to sleep because I was a little hot at first. It was cold in the morning. It felt like the low 30s. I wore tights and my wind jacket plus toe warmers, thick wool socks, and both pairs of full-fingered gloves. I ate the usual for breakfast: oatmeal, but today we had fresh blueberries and raspberries (thanks BD). I packed a ham and Swiss sandwich and some bars and cookies and put them in the van. The plan was for the van to meet us at about mile 25. I did not rush to leave since it was so cold, even though the wind was supposed to ramp up during the day. I left about 8:04.

We rode through Silver City which involved some stop lights, most of which were red. Out of the city we were on New Mexico 90. My hands and feet were really cold. The route was nice and the scenery was beautiful. The van was at mile 23. I ate my sandwich and decided to look for warmer clothes. I found the bag with my heavy gloves, but not with my shoe covers. I went with those and rode them until I was on the outskirts of Lordsburg. The wind started to pick up and the sun came out and it started to warm up a big. My hands and feet weren't too cold as a result. I could probably have used just my two full-fingered gloves. There were some nice climbs before until about mile 30. After that it was a long 1700 foot descent until NM 90 dumped into the Duncan Highway. The descent was a little hard because there was a strong and gusty wind. My heavy gloves don't give as secure a grip, so I had to hold on tight and there was a lot of buffeting. It is too bad as it would be a fun ride without the wind.

Once in town BW and I went for lunch at Ramona's Café. BD was already there and we sat with him. I had a combination platter. It was o.k., but not great. I decided to upgrade to a cabin at the KOA since Ethan is here and it is cold and windy.

After I put my stuff in the cabin and got a shower I walked to meet Ethan at the bus stop. The bus stopped about 1/2 a mile away. I had an ice cream at McD's while I was waiting. He arrived shortly after and we carried his bike and bags back to camp. He hadn't had breakfast, so we stopped and got him lunch at the same place I had lunch. He also got a combination platter. We got to camp about 4:15. He assembled his bike while I mostly watched. He has a Salsa Warroad with SRAM Red components and Zip Firecrest 303 wheels. He has it set up with tubeless 32mm Panaracer tires.

For dinner we had bratwurst and beans. PB and JG cooked. I wasn't that hungry so only ate one. I had a couple of peanut butter cookies for desert.

Tomorrow we have an 80 mile ride with not too much climbing and a net elevation loss of more than 1000 feet. The wind is not supposed to be as bad as today, but it will be cold again. Esther sent my my Canari rain jacket and I think I will try wearing it as the outer layer instead of my wind jacket because it packs tighter and is more form fitting. My wind jacket really flaps in the wind. The downside is that it is not as breathable. I am very much looking forward to riding with Ethan.

Today's ride: 51 miles (82 km)
Total: 2,330 miles (3,750 km)

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