Day 17: Taos Rest Day Recap

Our journey has now covered 1270 miles and we are over 1/3 of the way across the county. We've pedaled across the deserts of California and Arizona; climbed past the Grand Canyon; through the Colorado Plateau; and into the Rockies. Over the course of the next week we will leave the mountains behind and enter the grasslands of the Great Plains. Although Jan and I have driven through most of these areas, experiencing the sights, sounds, and smells of the environment from a relatively slow moving bicycle provides a perspective unlike anything one can get traveling by car. I'm pedaling with a nice group of people and, for the most part, encountering friendly people wherever we go. The only exception is a certain male personality type that drive pickups with big tires who seem to hate cyclists.

My aches and pains report is very short - I have none - just the normal muscle soreness from pedaling 90+ miles a day. I attribute by lack of issues to several things. First, several weeks of high mileage cycling has toughened me up. I've also focused on pre-ride stretching and post-ride stretching, icing, and massaging. For the massaging I use a rolling pin type of device and a tennis ball. ( I was never much of a tennis player, so this is the most productive use I have ever made of a tennis ball.) I am also trying to stand and pedal for about 15-30 seconds every 5-10 minutes. Finally, and most importantly, I made a small adjustment in my saddle position - rotating the nose of my Brooks B17 leather saddle about 2 degrees to the right. Because my right hip is about 1/2" lower than the left, this rotation creates a little more space for my right sit-bone and a little less for my left sit-bone. With the saddle rotated the ache on the right side of my butt goes away; when I straighten it out, the pain comes back. On yesterday's 142 mile ride, with the saddle rotated, I had NO discomfort even after 9 1/2 hours in the saddle. This problem is behind me!

I've enjoyed a quiet rest day in Taos at the El Monte Sagrado Hotel - a very nice resort type hotel. This evening our "core" group of riders went to Orlando's, a great Mexican restaurant, that Jan and I enjoyed when we were in Taos earlier this year. From left to right in the picture taken at Orlando's are Larry, Kelly, Bruce, me, and Rob.

Tomorrow, we have a tough 94 mile ride to Raton which starts with several big climbs coming out of Taos. As a western U.S. history buff, I am really looking forward to the last 30 miles when we will be riding along the old Santa Fe trail.

Steve