High Point

Well the hopes for the rest of the trip being all downhill quickly evaporated as we climbed out of Silver City, NM.  Today we reached the highest elevation on the southern tier bike route: Emory Pass at 8228' above sea level.  The "high" point of the trip, of course, probably won't happen until we reach the terminus in Florida.  The climb up was steep and seemed like it was 2 strokes forward and a half back as we would drop several hundred feet along the climb, then have to grind back up through those contours.  It was a scenic climb up with nice cool temperatures and a bit of a tailwind.  At one point the highway cut through a shear canyon with rock walls on both sides.

Reaching the top was quite thrilling with views east all the way to the Rio Grande, and a chilly wind.  It was so cold that we forgot to take the obligatory pictures at the top.  In fact, we were half a mile down the grade when I remembered and we had to climb back up to get the summit picture!

There's something about being at the top that seems to drive human ambitions and we were no different.  Looking down at where we'd come from and also where we were going was sobering and exciting.  In the distance the mountains beyond the Rio Grande shimmered in the afternoon sunlight, beckoning us to explore them.

As we descended, huge monoliths rose above the surrounding hills.

And then a rocky ridge with several spires appeared for an instant as we sped past.

From here, the nature of the cycling is going to dramatically change.  Gone will be the long climbs and thrilling descents.  Replacing the tree covered mountain slopes will be flat to rolling scrublands and tilled farm fields.  Gradually the dryness will transition to heavy dews on the tents.  But what won't change will be the friendliness of the people we meet and the camaraderie that we share as we slowly approach the Atlantic.