Today’s ride took us from Kingston to Silver City; this was just under the 50 mile mark. However like most of our short days it was hilly. All in all I really enjoyed the ride today. Kingston is located in just outside of the Gila National forest. So as we started out this morning we rode up into the trees. Our goal was Emery pass which was at the end of a 9 mile climb.
At about a mile into the ride I came around the corner and started two hen turkeys off the road and up into the trees. They were not going to wait around and let me take a picture. So I pedaled on listening to some Nickleback and Green Day. The legs felt fairly good for this being the fifth day of riding this week. The ride was really quite and more picturesque than it has been the last couple of days. This was a welcome change. The only down side to this morning ride was again the wind. I am getting used to it but still not liking riding head first into it. I guess I can look at it as some good strength training. I was well on my way to the first destination of the day when I looked over to my right and caught the sight of a little grey squirrel running along beside me he did this for about 30 yards and then stopped and watched me pedal on. Not sure why he did this but I would like to think he was just cheering me on, ha ha. I reached the view point at Emery Pass and the 8150 foot mark of elevation. I rode up took some pics and then went back to the turn to wait for the SAG and the rest of the crew. Once everyone was there we took some pics of the valley and each other and continued on our way.
Now we all know that for every up there has to be a down and today was no exception. We started descending and the roads got steeper and the curves sharper. Normally I am fairly comfortable on these corners at speeds but for some reason today I got the speed wobbles and had to check up a little bit. This was not the case for Kyle, who is by far a better rider on the decants and corners than I am, he flew by me and I did not see him until I came around the corner and saw the cow right on the side of the road. Then I saw Kyle waving at me about the cow; really need to work on not getting tunnel vision. Turns out Kyle almost hit the cow, as he was coming down the hill hugging the white line the cow was eating the grass that was right beside the white line. Kyle and I road together for a while and not more than a mile down the road we started some deer that were standing on the side of the road. Normally this is not that big of deal but these deer decided to jump right back in front of Kyle, about 6 to 10 feet from him. That was two close calls in one day, we were both glad we had slowed our pace down. 20 yards more and another group ran across the road. All in all we had seen about 20 deer in less than 100 yards, some on the roads and some on the mountain side.
The rest of the ride went along smoothly just climbed some hills and then road back down them. Temperatures stayed fairly low but the winds kept on blowing making the day seem longer then it was. About 16 miles outside of Silver city Kyle waved us over to check out the strip mine that had allowed this town to flourish. It was amazing to get a close look at what we do just to get a little silver and gold. The neat thing is that they are currently working on reclaiming the land. They are planting natural trees and shrubs on the side of the hills and in no time the wilderness will re-claim the land.
Tomorrow is a rest day and then we head to AZ, I cannot believe that we have only two weeks left until this ride is over. What a trip it has been so far. I am looking forward to meeting up with Carl and his crew on Wednesday and then riding into Phoenix on Friday. Lots of emotions are starting to surface for me. More about those later for now I will just leave you with the lesson for the day.
Lesson for the day: It is not the size of the accomplishment that matters it is the fact that you stood up and did it. It does not matter if it took you a month or a year you dedicated time and effort to it and should be proud of it. Many people have shared stories with me about a recent accomplishment, 5k’s, triathlons etc. I want to congratulate everyone for taking the time to work towards those goals. I understand what it means for each of you to come home from work and make time to go run, ride or swim. Taking that time and having your friends and family around when you achieve your goal is what makes it worth doing.
All of you make what we are doing possible, for without your support this would not be as successful as it has been. Keep pushing your limits, keep embracing the challenges in life and remember that fear of failing is the greatest motivator for success, and that falling short does not mean you failed it means you have the opportunity to do it again.
This video is Shane giving a shout out Tony Horton the trainer from P90X.
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