Day 7 - Socorro New Mexico to Roswell New Mexico

For me, today was a pretty tough day riding through the New Mexico desert. Although the winds were generally favorable, several times there was a cross wind that really made for a battle on the exposed sections of road. Despite this, a group of 5 of us, Mark, Jeremiah, Clay and Tom, left Socorro at 6:30 and got here at 3:40 this afternoon. That's pretty good for 170 miles. We had 5 stops to refill water bottles and eat a quick bite. The rest of the time, we worked together as a group to make it here. We started out this morning as a group of about 15 and throughout the day people kept dropping off, leaving the five of us to get to Roswell first.

People's bodies are getting pretty beat up as the days progress. The effects of the sun are leading to a lot of fatigue and most of us are really feeling the effects of saddle sores from just sitting on the hard bike seat for many hours every day. Today toward the end of the day I got so sore that I was in agony every time I'd ride across a seam in the road because it would jar me so much. There is some give in the bike frame but most of the road shock goes right to your body. This amount of riding is hard on your feet and hands as well. Your vulnerable places are contact points with the bike. The reality is a lot of what we do out here just hurts. The other reality is that there are so many things out here that can hurt you even if you are paying attention and prepare well - deserts, mountains, heat and wind chief among them. When you are not prepared and are not paying attention to detail it is just a matter of time before you will not be able to continue. The beauty of Pactour is they provide you most of what you need to succeed, you just have to pay attention each day and ride at a pace that you know you can sustain all day for 17 days straight. Being able to ride consistently and meter out your energy over a long period of time is the key to succeeding here.

Tomorrow we ride up to Hereford Texas. It's a flat route whose difficulty will be determined by the wind. Certainly with a strong headwind for the whole 162 miles it could turn in to an 11 or 12 hourlong gut buster. I really am hoping that doesn't happen.