Day 11 (5/2/22): I Thought I Had this Week Figured Out

Begin:                               El Morro, NM

End:                                  Grants, NM

 Miles:                               45

Elevation:                         1,163 feet

All of the miles I talked about yesterday?  Well, I gave a bunch of them back today.

The idea was to even out yesterday’s and today’s rides by going what turned out to be quite farther yesterday and a little shorter today.  Unfortunately, I learned this morning that the campsite I was planning to stay at tonight was closed, so I had to stop my ride in Grants, NM where I know there would be lodging.  New Mexico is wide open.  There just aren’t a lot of accommodations between the major cities.  It turns out the motels in Grants aren’t very much more expensive than the campgrounds, so I’ve been living large at the Days Inn since about 2 p.m.  I actually had free time today.

Tomorrow’s ride is about 20 miles longer than planned, but manageable.  Since I won’t have to pack up camp as expected, I’ll be at it by 6 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Today’s ride really shouldn’t count.  You might say, “it’s still 45 miles”, but truth be told, most of it was downhill.  An all-steel touring bike with 50 pounds of gear in the back panniers isn’t supposed to be able to go 42 mph. 

That said, I’m beat.  I slept very poorly last night.  It’s the weirdest thing.  When I have big workout or complete an event, my adrenaline gets going, and I just can’t turn off my brain.  I turned in at 9:30 p.m., but didn’t fall asleep until at least 1:00 a.m.  Howling winds did not help either.  Early to bed tonight.

What am I Grateful for Today

• Today would have been my Dad’s 89th birthday.  What can I say about him?  A lot.  If this sounds dated, so be it…he taught me how to be a man.  And I say this on so many levels.  His love for my mother was the blueprint for what a good husband should be.  He was strict when he needed to be, supportive always, and instilled aspiration.  In other words, he was a great role model as a father and one of the primary reasons I’ve encountered some level of success in life.  He had tremendous balance in his life.  Specifically, he worked very hard (he had 2 jobs most of the time while I was growing up), but he also gave so much of his time to the community whether it be in youth sports, church, or the many, many service organizations in which he was involved.  I’m really not sure how he managed it all, and can say with confidence, I never felt he neglected his family.  He set a very high bar.  I made a conscious choice to devote more of my time to my career than service to the community.  It always bothered me, because my Pop demonstrated what it meant to do the right thing.  Lexie is obviously the driving force behind my goal to do some good with this ride, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I’m trying to live up to the standard my father set.  I think he’d like the fundraising aspect of the ride.  As for the part about riding across the country, I’m not so sure he’d get it.  (“Just coach a Little League team Randall.”)  Happy birthday Pop.  I love you and miss you terribly.

P.S. Happy birthday to my niece Tara!