DAY 53 - ?? Pass to Grants

We will all hoping for a nice cruisy day into Grants today, but at 4.25am the wind arrived - bugger!
By the time we left the campsite it was a very gusty head wind that we started with & continued with for the entire day!
The riding today was very similar as yesterday riding past Indian Reservations not to mention the odd Coal & Uranium Mine thrown for good measure- scenery wise it was about a 5/10.
Have we mentioned the Res dogs?? They live in unfenced yards & LOVE to chase cyclist!!! (kind of wishing we had rabies shots now??)
Did I also mention how half of these dogs are skin & bone, completely starved & look so incredibly sad.
We had 1 incident when we stopped to meet Bruce & a small dog came over to us & just sat - she had not long had pups & was completely skin & bone - if you had a dog that looked like this in NZ you would most definitely be charged with Cruelty.
She was the sweetest wee thing - which we all gave lots of cuddles & even some food (Cheese & Tortillas)
Jo’s heart was broken having to ride off & leave her on the side of the road, if Jo could have taken her with us she would be coming home to NZ for sure.
It appears animals in New Mexico are not considered ‘pets’ & are not cared for as they should be & after talking to people in Grants this is just the way it is down here….. Heart breaking to see.
We stopped for lunch 50km into the days ride & the next 50km to Grants was long & slow - long straight roads & grueling head winds, we did however manage to find a pub on the side of the road about 25km out of Grants which we managed to get a cold drink of coke - nice.
Once we hit Grants moods were dark in the most of the group - we had all just had enough of being bullied by head winds & wanted to get to our accommodation.
However we saw a Dairy Queen on the road into town & all stopped there for ice cream sundaes & banana splits which definitely lifted the mood of the group.
Once in town we all went our separate ways to our nights accommodation as we were camping & most others were going to stay in Hotels.
We all agreed to meet in town for a much deserved beer & dinner later on.
At the campsite we meet another cyclist called Kathy & her husband Abie, Kathy is riding the Great Divide also with Abie supporting her.
They had meet Bruce & Sue earlier on the road & also joined us for dinner.
Kathy & Abie are travelling in there RV with there beautiful Golden retriever called Lincoln & not to forget there cat who is also on the family holiday..
Kathy & Abie are living Scotts dream, they take turns at support each other on extended hiking trips - 1 of them will be doing the hike while the other is driving the RV further on & waiting for them.
They have both completed the Application trail & the PCT Trail.
This year is Kath’s turn to do something so she chose to ride the Great Divide - even though she had hardly ridden a bike - amazing achievement!
Next year Abie & a friend are undertaking the contenential divide scenic trail.


DISTANCE: 96.8km
AVERAGE: 16.1km
RIDE TIME: 6hrs
ASCEND: 570mtrs