January 30, 2023 to January 31, 2023
Sweet relief in Las Cruces
The air is crisp and quiet Monday morning at Ute Lake State Park, 18 degrees and not going to warm up anytime soon. In Las Cruces where we're headed it'll be in the 60s today so we should be able to get all the plumbing thawed out in the RV. I guess we better get going.
The high desert landscape feels familiar approaching Tucumcari, but I'm appalled by the rumble strip near the middle of the shoulder. Why is that necessary? We have better memories of cycling conditions on New Mexico highways.
![](https://images.cycleblaze.com/zmujxvx6tmwhp1lrlhg1t9n33rd_2000.jpg)
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Five years ago in the springtime we rode north towards Santa Fe on Route 66, just 80 miles or so west of where we're driving today. The shoulder, while not pristine, was smooth enough that we could just enjoy the scene approaching the Sangre de Cristo foothills. It was one of many beautiful New Mexico roads we cycled on that trip.
![](https://images.cycleblaze.com/5ccj0qb2r18a4p6exnkqri36v2e_2000.jpg)
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Cycling nirvana daydreams entertain us on the drive south as the skies clear and the temperature gets up into the 50s near Alamagordo. By the time we park it in Las Cruces it's 60 and we have a good thaw going.
![](https://images.cycleblaze.com/pm29ixtgxiv7ivl5uw6vm4y2m0q_2000.jpg)
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Good news on the plumbing - the water is now flowing again through both taps and the shower. A trickle is running out from under the cabinets but it eventually dries out. What a relief! There may be a leak in there but it doesn't seem urgent. Whatever it is can wait until Tucson. So the freeze that brought us to Las Cruces instead of Socorro won't get in the way of a ride tomorrow. I guess we're supposed to be here.
On Tuesday morning, Catherine Sheets and Bob Beaury swing by to take us out on a bike ride around Las Cruces. We met in St. Louis where they used to live; they've been down here for a few years since Catherine took the wheel at the family business. We're excited to go along on what she's describes as their "city ride."
It's warming up nicely as we ride out of the old Mesilla town and north along the Rio Grande past Picacho Peak. There's not much traffic on the way and the few motorists out here are patient, making full lane changes on most passes. It's a great day out on the roads.
![](https://images.cycleblaze.com/6aynxaxowjyusoigtmnhl1mbada_2000.jpg)
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We ride by groves of pecan trees, the biggest crop around here. Bob says they were harvested with big shaking machines months ago, but quite a few pecans still hang on the trees in the neat rows of trees that surround the city.
![](https://images.cycleblaze.com/be7phq9kuk4tkyll6enx76j3kes_2000.jpeg)
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Around mile 20 we turn east on the Outlet Channel bike trail and start climbing up toward the Organ mountains. I've been struggling to keep my speed up today and am falling farther behind now, I guess more de-trained that I hoped. The crew waits patiently but I imagine they wonder what's up. I'm still glad to be here and keep pedalling, enjoying the art on the bike path around the New Mexico State University campus.
![](https://images.cycleblaze.com/406tx9axo22m6a1xlwy72ngzht3_2000.jpg)
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![](https://images.cycleblaze.com/xa9050rhyhma6d9h7c0zmm72yzd_2000.jpg)
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With five miles to go we stop in Tortugas to admire the beautiful Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. My legs are weary and I have an impulse to check the wheels just to be sure there's nothing impeding them. When I lift up the bike the 700c wheel in back spins freely, but the 20 inch wheel in front stops right away with the brake pressing firmly on it. No wonder! I feel completely vindicated by this discovery.
While Bob and Barry employ various tactics to adjust my brake, I'm remembering the first century ride Barry got me to sign up for, the 1991 Natalie Kekesien Memorial Flat-as-a-Pancake Century in Valmeyer Illinois. I recall it was a great day until mile 94 or 95 when I was struggling to keep moving the pedals around. Then a spectator cheering from the sidelines called out "Your tire is flat!" No wonder!
![](https://images.cycleblaze.com/2db82oseg4fcpckgp5xpaloctsw_2000.jpg)
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Eventually the guys have my brake working and we're on the downhill slide of the ride. My bike is definitely rolling easier now. I'm wishing for a do-over now without the brake dragging my wheel.
We pull into the Spotted Dog Brewery for lunch and then a little tour around the old Mesilla town. It would be fun to come back here and explore more of Las Cruces. Thanks to Bob and Catherine for a fabulous day!
There's just 300 or so miles to get to Tucson tomorrow; we'll pick it up when we're back on the bikes.
Today's ride: 33 miles (53 km)
Total: 56 miles (90 km)
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Comment on this entry | Comment | 16 |
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1- your map is blank to me. Or was that a photo of a very dense fog bank?
2- Valmeyer IL! Right on the floodplain of the Mighty Mississippi. When I was in grad school at SIU-Carbondale many, many years ago some of the other students were doing field work in that area. Flat as a pancake on the floodplain, but a gawdawful climb back up the bluff.
1 year ago
My surviving memory neuron fired so I checked and sure enough: the town was moved up onto the bluff after being basically wiped out by major flooding in 1993. That was a few years after I left the area, so it would've been smack dab in the middle of the floodplain at the time I visited in the mid-1980s.
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You embedded it here as a map, right, and not as a picture or external link?
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