The winds pulled the old switcheroo on Friday. We faced a stiff headwind out of Albuquerque for the first 17 miles. To top it off these miles were all uphill. By the time we reached a gas station at mile 22, we had already climbed 1900 feet. Tracy saw me at about mile 11 and was cheering my position at the front. I zipped down my jacket, pointed at my Colorado jersey, and she called me the Colorado climber. By the time I reached 22 miles, I was some 5 minutes in front. Gary Broughton from XC05 and the Eastern Seaboard was there to meet Tracy and staff and it was a surprise for us to see each other. We chatted for a few minutes. He is in Santa Fe for a college reunion and may stop by our hotel later today.
The winds eased off at that point and we had a slightly aiding crosswind as we turned north to Santa Fe. We had some rain, which made it quite cold as we descended 1200 feet through the town of Madrid. The film Wild Hogs was shot there. I recognized it when I saw the movie. It is some of the prettiest terrain. I was quite cold so I did not stop there, knowing that I would launch into a shivering fit. The rain stopped and the rolling hills brought my body temp back up to tolerable.
The climate zones were quite different through the day. Albuquerque is quite arid, the rolling hills on the way to Santa Fe were full of pinon pine and cholla, and then it became more open as we approached Santa Fe at 7000 feet. We have a rest day in Santa Fe and several of us are planning to visit the Georgia O'Keefe museum and other sites this afternoon.
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