We had lunch in Hatch and then headed to Kingston. Pastor David told me the night before we would be climbing about 2000 feet and he wasn’t underestimating the elevation gain. Once we left Hatch the wind picked up and it was gusting to boot. At one point we were passed by a John Deere Chopper and it created a great draft. Below is Shannon taking advantage of the draft. This thing blocked the wind. I rode beside it for awhile and then thought I should fall back so he could get over and let the traffic pass.
We made a left turn about 20 miles into the afternoon – straight into the wind. Add on a gentle elevation gain and you have the ingredients for a long afternoon. My average speed for the day went from 15mph at lunch to 13 by the end of the day. I was working to go 7-8mph on the flats. Actually, at times I was working to go that fast downhill! By the time we were about 15 miles from the end of the day, my legs had nothing left in them to go. I now fully understand how Kyle felt last week and do not know how he was able to ride for three days with dead legs….what an animal.
About 1 ½ miles from the end, I got a flat. This gave my legs a little break which was good. It wasn’t until I came outside after dinner I realized we were once again in the trees. I had been so focused on just making it to the end and watching the white line on the road, I didn’t realize the change in scenery. I will have time to appreciate it tomorrow morning as we have a nine mile ascent which I will go up slowly and be able to appreciate the scenery.
Odd things noted today – signs that say “watch for water on road”…..I didn’t even see a cloud! They must be antiques from when it rained. Lol. The Rio Grande River…..wasn’t very Grande. I was pretty disappointed in fact. The Pecos River was much neater.
You'll have to check the FB album for the pictures as I can't upload the photo's to the blog tonight.
Towards the end of the ride, I had plenty of time to ponder; I wondered if this is what Carl’s legs feel like every morning. Pretty much just dead weight. I had to focus on riding and keeping them moving. I hope this is the closest to knowing what PD feels like. The thought of every morning having to consciously will my legs to move would be discouraging sometimes. Yet, I have not yet heard Carl complain about it. So who am I to complain about my temporary pain? It will be gone in a couple of weeks. PD patients live with it for the rest of their lives.
Another reason why Our Ride is important. The more we as riders understand the difficulties faced by PD patients, the better we can share with all of you and encourage those with PD. We – Shannon, Kyle and I, deliberately chose to ride East to West, uphill and into the wind. We knew we would be challenged – just as PD patients are on a daily basis.
On a lighter note, Mona just told me she read my blog about “Game, Set, Match” last night and responded with “Its On”. We’ll see.
Today was Paul’s first full day with us driving the bus. It has been a learning experience. J Good thing he is up for the challenge. Thanks for being her Paul. Today was also Ed’s first full day of driving the SAG. Ya dun well friend. We had plenty of water and you were there when we needed ya.
Ciao’
Thank you Shane for your compassion. I am so grateful for you guys and what this experience has done for us all. I hope we continue in some manner this effort to bring awareness and help keep research and a cure in the forefront
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