Riding the Tailwind Train

Day 11
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Roswell, NM to Clovis, NM
109 miles
2,000 feet of climbing

Today I rode the fastest century of my life.  I'd love to think it was all me, but I must admit I had a little help from a tailwind that pushed us all the way from Roswell to Clovis.  I'm happy to report that the predicted rainy conditions did not materialize, and we had great weather all day today for our 109 mile ride to Clovis.  But the tailwind was really the highlight of the day.  A tailwind is tantamount to a rest day on a tour like this.  To get to Clovis, we rode I-70 all the way, which didn't provide a lot in the way of scenery, but did provide a relatively flat ride, except for a few gently graded "highway hills."  Art & I finished today's ride by 2:00 p.m. - a feat made even more remarkable by the fact that Art's electronic shifting quit on him sometime after lunch at mile 66 (his battery went kaput), so he was essentially riding a single speed for the final 40 miles of today's ride.  No question about it, he is a stud.  Plus, he provided a little drama for an otherwise uneventful and unscenic day.  I'm glad to say everyone in our group had a great day on the bike.  Tailwinds are great - unfortunately, not as common as a headwind, but we'll ride the tailwind train anytime it comes our way.  Tomorrow we head to Texas!

Elevation profile of today's ride

Art & Jay - lunching in the park in Elida, NM

Lunch is always served with a smile. (Dennis, Cov and Bob E.)

This was basically our view for most of the day.

Art - not obeying the sign

Me & Tom N. - an awesome rider and all-around great guy

Brian M. and me (we''ve ridden many PAC Tours with Brian, including two previous transcontinental rides)

Me & Ed P.  -  Ed rode next to me today singing, "Don't Fence Me In"

Making progress!