Pedal For Haiti: Alamogordo, New Mexico

New Mexico is a beautiful state with wonderful people. I've enjoyed the hospitality very much. In Las Cruces we had the privilege to spend the evening with Quinlan Family who were great hosts and took good care of his. Mr. Quinlan shared some local history and I was able to talk fish with him for a littlewhile as he's a hobbyist and has bred quite a few different tropical species. He also told me about the Oryx herds which inhabit the plains around LasCruces/Alamogordo. They're neat critters. Check em' out by clicking here. They were introduced from Africa. Unfortunately we didn't see any while we riding, but they tell us they're out there in large numbers. Very cool stuff.

In the morning we departed Las Cruces for Alamogordo. Our first task of the day was to climb about 2000 feet to the San Augustin pass which put us about 5800 feet above sea level. It was a little bit chilly in the morning but outside of that it was the perfect climb. I dropped it into a little gear, put my

head down and just kept pedaling. Had I known what was going to greet me at the summit, I might have pedaled a little faster. After we took the picture to the right and celebrated a good climb we looked over the other side and were stunned with th

e view. Hard to capture in a photo. I'm told that you can see 100 miles from the summit there and I believe it. To the Northeast we could see the White Sands of Alamogordo and across the landscape we could also see theWhite Sands Missile Range. There was also a very cool Nike Missile at the summit with a some cool info. After we took it all infor a few moments we hoppedon our rides and headed down towards the valley - always a rush zipping down those mountain passes. I was able to hit 34 mph although I probably could have passed 40 but I'm too chicken (gotta survive the whole ride - don't want to blow it hot rodding down a mountain pass!). When we got to the bottom we were faced with about 40 flat miles of route 70 into Alamogordo. By itself,that would have been awesome. Unfortunately, our

old friend the headwind was back and we were treading wind for all 40 miles or so.....exhausting.....but

we survived and rolled into Alamogordo at a reasonable hour. It's a good thing we did when we did because Monty's rim got all out of whack, started rubbing on the frame and we had to seek out the best bike shop in town to get that thing fixed. A big thanks to the guys at Outdoor Adventures in Alamogordo, NM - they were awesome, fast and inexpensive. They fixed Monty up in less than 15 minutes and we were on our way. Once the rim was fixed up we headed over to the Miller home for a fantastic meal and some great fellowship. We were also able to watch a little college football which was pretty cool - although I'm not a big football fan I enjoyed watching the game and relaxing.

Off to bed early on Saturday night and up early for church on Sunday morning. The Millers took us to their church, Bethel Baptist and we were able to share some info about the bike ride and the need in Haiti. It was a great time of sharing and the people of Bethel Baptist were very welcoming.

After church we headed back to the Millers for a great lunch and more fellowship with some new friends. Cool stuff. Meeting folks and sharing has been a big bonus of this journey.

So here we are in Cloudcroft, NM. Its an absolutely beautiful mountain town with a touch of western history. We're staying in a small hotel with simple rooms and simple decor. I love it. It was 54 degrees when we arrived and I suspect it will be in the high 30's when we depart in the morning. I've got my warm undershirt, full length pants and full finger gloves ready for the decent out in the morning. We're looking at a 92 mile day as we head out to Artesia, NM. The good news is that our Specialized Armadillo tires are holding up quite nicely and I am fairly confident we won't spend the day changing flat tires. It should be a good ride and great start to the new week.