Silver City, NM to Kingston, NM
Date: 01/17/2013
Distance traveled: 48.82 miles (837.1 miles total)
GPS tracks: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/263198071
The view from 8,200 feet at Emory Pass.
I had to give today’s ride everything I’ve got. There was no gas left in the tank once I got to the top of the climb. Zilch. I don’t remember the last time I was so exhausted or had to push myself so hard.
I can’t really tell you why, either – by spec, it was an easier day in terms of elevation gain than the previous ‘hardest’ day, which was Day 2. And it was easier in distance than the longest day, Day 4. So what made this so hard today!?
It could be a number of factors:
- I skipped my normal lunch of peanut butter, honey & tortilla. Instead, I had a lot of sugar in the form of various gu’s, blocks, gummy bears. I did have an apple, some beef jerky, and a ThinkThin bar in there as well… but it wasn’t really that substantial.
- This ride came on the heels of two hard rides – one 74 mi ride with moderate elevation gain, and then another 45 mi ride with some considerable elevation gain.
- I started at and went through much higher elevation today than on any other day – this is the highest point on the ride.
- It was much colder on today’s ride than on any of the other ‘hard’ rides.
- Despite the elevation gain, I rode pretty fast today on average.
- There was a 15-20 mph headwind for the first 10-15 miles that really pissed me off. I’ve never been that mad at mother nature. That headwind did eventually die down as the ride progressed.
I’ll probably never know… but today is now the king of the hard bike rides of my life… or at least this trip.
For the curious, here are the top 4 hard rides on this trip thus far as judged by how I felt about them while doing them and after I was done. Very scientific, I know.
| Top 4 Hard Rides thus far… | Day | Distance (m) | Avg. Speed (mph) | Elevation Gain (ft) | Max. Elevation (ft) |
| 1 (Hardest) | Day 16 – Silver City, NM to Kingston, NM | 48.82 | 6.7 | 5,322 | 8,221 |
| 2 | Day 2 – El Cajon, CA to Bankhead Springs, CA | 55.87 | 5.4 | 6,223 | 4,122 |
| 3 | Day 15 – Lordsburg, NM to Silver City, NM | 45.38 | 7.2 | 3,884 | 6,348 |
| 4 | Day 4 – Brawley, CA to Blythe, CA | 92.27 | 9.5 | 1,601 | 1,108 |
Today may have been one of the nicest and prettiest rides, too. I was in the Gila National Forest for the majority of the ride which was really beautiful, even this time of year. Lots of green trees. I miss those!
And the view from the Emory Pass vista was spectacular at sunset… I don’t think the camera quite did today justice.
I’m spending the evening at the Black Range Lodge which is this cool, old lodge that was built in the late 1800’s and been operating as a lodge since the depression. A group of geology students from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire have taken over the main lodge. I’m out in the studio which is nice and private. The bonus is that I got free dinner provided by the UofW. J Lucky me – free (and excellent) spaghetti!
The ‘kneeling nun’ – it’s the tiny rock formation near the center of the pic.
Open pit copper mine. There are a lot of open it pit mines out here that are just ugly scars on the land.
Trees! The kneeling nun is there far in the distance.
The roads were a bit icy in spots. This was more trouble on the downhill bomber run than the slow slog uphill.
Nice empty roads. A little cold in the shade, though.
Getting close to the top! Looking back on where I’ve come from today.
Top of the world! I actually changed into dry clothes up here so I wouldn’t freeze on the 10 mile decent! It was cold up there.
Kingston, NM – my destination – is hidden behind that peak.
Me.
Damn, that's a cute face. I miss seeing it in person!
Nice pics, and GREAT job climbing. It's weird seeing the continental divide so far south. Those pit mines look like Butte, Montana.
These are awesome reports, Kevin. You've done some killer climbs, super impressive! I can't imagine doing them fully loaded.
I really relate to your point about wishing you could spend more time at some places.. Maybe you can think of it as a scouting trip. You're discovering cool places to go back to one day. You've sure gotten me intrigued.
Yep… that's how I've been trying to think about it. I do hope to get back here someday. Maybe when I become a snowbird myself?
I bet you could map out an awesome weeklong ride. Something to talk about over a beer or two. Maybe a ride that Southwest Climbing (& Cycling) could offer!