Day 10 April 3, 2006

Day 10
April 3, 2006
Lordsburg, NM to Santa Rosa, NM



Without the sun peering through the tents to wake us up, we slept in the motel room until someone finally stirred and asked “what time is it?” There had been much confusion over time zones, and it was only compounded by the clocks jumping ahead for Daylight Savings one of these last few nights. Thing is, Arizona doesn’t believe in Daylight Savings, so we jumped an hour just crossing the state line back into New Mexico. We’ve learned that our phones are the most accurate resource, since they get the time directly from the towers that know where we are better than we do.

A quick shower or two, then we loaded up the bikes lickety-split. We’re continuing to pack the bikes more efficiently as the trip progresses, and it has helped save time in the morning. Breakfast was scrounged from what we had with us to save on time (a muffin, some pop tarts, and assorted beverages) and we were on the road heading east again.

As we hit yet another scenic byway, it was clear that things were about to get twisty. Gavin pulled over to make sure everyone would be Ok with the route and got three thumbs up. He double-checked with Rebecca to make sure she was doing Ok with the tight turns, and she said that she’d be slow, but that she could do it.

Well, slow she was. Deb was patient and stayed in the back so that Rebecca would not feel alone, but gave her enough space to keep from feeling crowded when she slowed for the turns. Gavin and Erik were up ahead, having lots of fun evening out the wear on the sides of their tires. They stopped every few miles to make sure the girls were still on the road and making progress, then continued on their way once they saw the familiar Suzuki headlights closing in.

Atop a pass, there was a pullout and the guys figured it was as good a place as any to stop for a break and make sure everyone was still Ok.





Extra attention was being paid to Rebecca’s agreement to ride through here, since she had not done as well the day before. She agreed that it was a nail biter, but that the trees helped block the view and masked the height of the cliffs they were on. She was taking it extra slow (so slow, in fact, that she had to pull over to let a station wagon by) but was trying to keep her focus on the road and not her fear of it. Deep breathing, a mellow music mix on the MP3 player, and the knowledge that Deb was behind her all attributed to her ability to redeem herself from the embarrassing experience just 24 hours earlier. Somehow, confidence was starting to set in.

Noticing the road showing even tighter turns to come on the GPS screen, Gavin recommended a cut-off for the girls to take to get off the mountain. On the map, it showed a left turn just ahead that would meet back up with the guys four miles later. Unfortunately, the turn-off was not there. The guys waited for the girls to catch up to let them know what was ahead, and that we’d meet back up at the bottom.





Once down the mountain safe and sound, we eventually ended up in Williamsburg, NM for fuel and lunch. We found Café Rio, with a pleasant waitress and books at the table if you felt like getting some reading in with your meal.







We had a chance to work on the story some more, but Spank was itching to get back on the road and out of this one-horse town.



We were heading east while the sun was setting in the west. The GPS had us in a dead heat with the sunset, but we were determined to make it to the campsite in Santa Rosa before darkness fell across the land. As the shadows grew longer, our throttles gained momentum.





We were close, but failed to achieve tent pitching without the need for headlamps.







Once the campsite was made cozy for the evening, Deb and Erik settled in for a few heated games of Scrabble. Gavin and Rebecca called it a night and let sleep take over.