New Mexico---"We'll jump off that bridge when we come to it."

Because of our late arrival to Cimarron, I didn't get the Rodriguez cleaned. I intended to ride the Litespeed today. Until I went to pull it off the rack...the rear tire was flat and I started having flashbacks to when I wrestled the front tire off. Sigh...I guess the cleaning will have to wait. Poor Rodriguez bike...I pulled it down and Patty and I headed east on Highway 64. We had gone 2 miles before I realized we had missed the turn to the south. The great thing about what I am doing is that it doesn't really matter if I get lost...all the miles count. My right shifter wasn't working either...I could shift up a gear, but couldn't get the derailleur to bring the chain back down unless I stopped and did it manually. It was a little like riding a fixie. Great morning so far...:)






The terrain down Highway 21 was rolling hills dotted with sprawling ranches. We saw a large complex called the Philmont Scout Ranch...donated to the Boy Scouts by an oil man named Waite Phillips. The grounds were gorgeous.



Antelope were watching us pass. I thought it was interesting that all of them were about the same distance from the highway. I wonder if they know what a safe distance from a rifle shot is? We were on the Santa Fe Trail a good portion of the day and there is some rich history associated with the trail. It was a major trade route between Sante Fe and Los Angeles and many people settled in the areas of Cimarron and Taos trying to escape the drought conditions further east.


We were thinking some pasta sounded good for dinner, so Karen stopped at a small market in Springer. "Do you have any pesto?" she asked the clerk.

"What's pesto? Is it an energy drink?" the clerk offered. Oh my.

I finished my ride west of Clayton with an elevation gain of 2082', 100.2 miles, and an average of 14.74.



We drove to Dumas where there is a municipal park on the edge of town. Sadly, it does not have showers, but there are shady, grassy areas to pitch your tents, and a breeze was already cooling things down. We set up the tents and asked two couples who were camped in fifth wheelers if they would keep an eye on our stuff while we went and did laundry. They were headed on an adventure of their own...to Alaska. When I asked them where, they said "all over".

We got our laundry done, ate a dinner of chicken sandwiches, chips and carrots, and by the time we got back to our tents, the sun had set. Our neighbors said a car had been eyeing our stuff, and Karen didn't think twice before she called the police and asked them to patrol the park more often tonight. They assured us they would. Dumas seems like an economically depressed town, with very little going for it.

I still had that bloody tire to change, but it wasn't too bad. I charged all of my electronics and headed for bed, vowing an early start...for tomorrow's high will likely be in the upper 80's.

maybe you can't...because you won't...