Day 14 – Bummer Day #1

Miles Completed: 8.8

Miles Not Completed: 42.1

Cumulative Miles: 773.7

Miles to St Augustine: 2284

I’m calling this Bummer Day #1 because I’m sure there will be more bummer days to come. The ride today was a good one and a challenging one due to high winds again. The route was from Lordsburg to Silver City and then another 6 miles to the campgrounds. Along the way it crossed the Continental Divide. Unfortunately, I was not able to complete it.

Let’s start from the beginning. Overnight, we were surprised by a light rain for a few hours. At first, I didn’t realize what was making the noise on my tent, but quickly realized it was raining. The rain got a little stronger about the time to get up, but ended quickly after that and we were able to pack our gear after it stopped, although our tents had to be packed wet. A minor inconvenience.

Off to riding on a cloudy morning… Unfortunately, I got two flats within the first 1.5 miles. Without going into the details of what I should or should not have done differently, I realized I was not going to be able to fix it and resolved to get a ride in the van today knowing there was a bike shop in Silver City to help me.

I was with Tammy and Simona and we set up a water break at the 28 mile mark. The rest of the riders came by at various times due to the uphill climb against strong headwinds for the first 18 miles. After all riders came through, we drove the van to the bike shop in Silver City. I got two stronger tubeless tires and some adjustments on my bike, and now I have more confidence in completing each day’s ride. Thank you Gila Hike and Bike!!!

That night, we did a group dinner at the Jalisco Cafe for New Mexican food and it was great. Now was decision time. We could take the van back to camp about 6 miles away, or we could walk up the block to the Little Toad Creek brewery and find a way back to camp later. Dana, Felix, and I chose the brewery. It was Thursday night Music Bingo and the place was packed (and they didn’t give you the answers like at Pebble Creek). After three beers it was close to 10:00 and I called for an Uber. No drivers available. Felix tried Lyft with the same luck. We asked the bartender if they have uber service and he said there was one driver in town but he only works when he wants to, and tonight was not one of those nights! Now we had to scramble. The bartender told us to talk to the cop sitting with his wife at a near table. The young cop said he wouldn’t leave us stranded and first called the “drunk bus” that took inebriated people home, but then he realized it only was available Friday and Saturday. He agreed to drive us back to camp but he had a full large beer to drink, so we had one more. At closing time (11:00), we hopped in the back of the couple’s car and they drove us to the campground. Dana tipped him and so did I. They said it wasn’t necessary but we insisted. Disaster avoided!!!

In retrospect, that night was exactly what I needed to get me out of my funk from missing the ride today. To better days ahead.