Day 16 (5/8/22): The Wind is My Friend (at least today)

Start:                                Santa Clara, NM

End:                                  San John, NM

 Mileage:                          77 miles

Elevation Gain:                2,281 feet

 Another speedy day.  77 miles in just about 4.5 hours thanks to a very friendly tailwind, a generally downward elevation, and a nice light bike. 

 A few highlights:

• I somehow got into a race with a prong horn antelope this morning.  He shot out of the side of the road and immediately wanted to get away from me, but there was a four-wire barbed wire fence on either side of the road.  I was on a decline, so I got within about 15 yards of him.  He kept testing the fence to see if there was an opening and then coming back on the road.  Finally, he just kind of put his horns down and barreled his way through the fence.  He did not appear to hurt himself, but the power of his horns/head was something to see.  Incredible.

• Later in the morning, I was riding along side railroad tracks when an oncoming train approached.  Reliving my childhood, I looked at the conductor in the front engine, put my arm up, and pumped it.  He saw me and gave me 3 blasts of his whistle.  What an adrenaline rush.

 Lowlight

We’re staying in Tucmcari, NM tonight right along Route 66.  They play up the restoration that’s been completed to the vintage motels in town.  We’ve 2 restorations, but other than that, this place is grim.

What I’m Grateful for Today

Mother’s Day Part 2.  Tish was and is a great mother.  When the kids were young, she had to take on a larger share of the parenting because my job was so demanding.  It wasn’t fair, but she rose to the occasion and then some.  She was super involved at the kid’s schools and had a special interest in technology-related events.  She helped run the Science Olympiad and a great event called Family Science Night.  Tish is brilliant, so she spent a lot of time helping Lexie and Bailey in all aspects of their schoolwork.  This continued through college for Lexie.  A lot of the discipline fell to her as well, simply because she was present more than I was.  Again, not fair, but something she handled.  As the kids have gotten older, she continues to provide endless support and advice on a variety of topics including career decisions, finances, health insurance, and more. 

 Tish also took charge of Lexie’s diabetes care after her diagnosis.  This was an incredibly difficult job given Lexie’s age at diagnosis (8 months) and the challenges of keeping T1D in control as Lexie got older.  We all will tell you the teenage years were difficult.  In the end though, she made Lexie’s health the top priority and, most important, kept her disease in control.

 I couldn’t have asked for more in a parenting partner.

 One last item.  I can’t let either a Mother’s or a Father’s Day go by without expressing my eternal gratitude to Tracy and Christina for their decision to allow Tish and me to become parents of Lexie and Bailey.  Their selfless decisions and selection of Tish and me had the most positively profound impact on our lives that I can imagine.  Again.  Thank you.  Thank you.