Las Vegas, New Mexico not the real Las Vegas

Today proved to be a day of challenges. We left our hotel around 6:30 am and started to climb right away. The temp was 42 when we left but dropped down to 35 as we climbed up to 7800ft, and it started to snow. My hands and feet were freezing but the rest of me was ok. We were to ride 137 miles and have our second biggest climbing day at almost 8000 ft. To complicate things and make it harder we were facing strong head and cross winds all the way past SantaFe about the first 75 miles.
  We had some riders out with stomached issues and had our second crash of the trip. Simon one of the riders from New Zeland crashed right after lunch and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. He was crossing a cattle guard and there was a vertical space about 4 inches wide that his wheel dropped into.  It destroyed his helmet I have included a picture of it and I guess his face is pretty messed up. Simon is one of our strongest riders, he is on a bike race team. I think he will be back tonight. His front wheel was also destroyed.
  The ride was called off at mile 115 for me and the other 5 riders who were in the lead because of dangerous cross winds of 55 to 70 mph. It was really scary going down hill because the wind would hit you and knock you sideways. A couple of times it gave me a pretty good scare. We hope the weather improves tomorrow, temps are to start at 32 degrees at 8 am. The ride today was beautiful in many places but tomorrow, Is supposed to be spectacular as we head to Tuccumcarri. I felt strong today but my saddle sores continue to be an issue. I miss you all and pray for you every day.

Life Is Good Ride On