Glorious Vistas and wide open spaces

Another day in the record book for me and many of my fellow riders. We left Las Vegas New Mexico around 8:00 am a little later than normal because the temp was only 27 degrees at 7:00 am. Today was stunning not a cloud in the sky as we climbed our way up to the top of a grand Mesa . At first you could imagine you were on the high plains of Nebraska, not a tree or bush in sight,just short grass. As we continued to climb we started picking up some junipers then a few pines. Once again Mother Nature  played a key role in our ride. She decided she would share her beautiful surroundings with us , but at a price. That price happened to be a stiff head wind. Wind makes such a difference  on a bike. It can help or absolutely  crush you. Today we got a little crushed.
   As we descended off the top of the Mesa  it was breathtaking , we dropped about 1800 feet down a narrow winding road. This part of the ride was truly special and did not last long enough.
    Simon the fellow who crashed yesterday and who's picture you see sat the day out as did Jerry from Florida because he had the stomached flu. We ended up doing 111 miles today. Flats continue to be a problem with a thorn called a goat's head.
   We did have a crazy driver come into the lane of some of our riders at an estimated speed of 100 mph. He then lost control and rolled  his car. His car was destroyed but apparently  he was not injured. We found out that he had driven away from a small gas station without paying for all of his fuel. Sometimes  payback comes very quickly, he said he swerved to miss a deer but none of saw any deer, just a driver going way to fast. Better close and get some sleep it sounds like a tuff day tomorrow riding into the teeth of a strong headwind as we cross into Texas.

Life Is Good Ride On