Day 2 aka can your keister take the punishment?

After an early bedtime and a well earned sleep, the morning came very early.  We headed over to the ride center again before the sun was up ready to start the next days ride.  It was a very foggy morning - something I haven't seen since leaving PA.  Because of this, the ride was delayed about 30 minutes as we waited for the fog to lift.  We were all a little stiff and sore, especially in the "saddle" area, so there was a lot of groaning as the Penultimates were off on the second 60 mile leg of the ride (map is here).  But spirits were high, as the fog gave the morning an otherworldly air.

Biking through the fog - it was beautiful

Mission church in the fog

As we climbed out of the Espanola valley, we left the low hanging cloud to better visibility above.  But it still was very ethereal, as the sun through the foggy air gave a very diffuse, uniform light.  As we biked toward the first rest stop, the fog eventually broke right as we were emerging into the beautiful red rock vistas.  After a pretty steady climb, the last few miles was a long fast decent into Chimayo.  This rest stop was fantastic, and featured delicious coffee and donuts.  (Again, I can't say enough about the volunteers for this ride!)

Spirits were running high early in the morning!

Best rest stop ever - coffee and donuts

From there we circled back and down into the Espanola valley.  Again, Frank and I used our superior mass to cruise toward the next rest stop.  We set a really fast cruise speed of 20-25 mph, passing a lot of people (including Chris and James - that was pretty satisfying!) on the way to the second stop.  From there we headed out toward the tough part of the day - the climb up to the top of the mesa and the Puye cliff dwellings.   It was a long 7 mile climb, and although we started the climb mostly together it ended up with me bringing up the rear (as usual).  

The team at the top of the big climb

After a nice celebratory picture at the top of the climb at mile 35, we headed out on the last 20 miles of the weekend.  These miles went pretty quickly, as we joined a bunch of other riders in the peleton.  Drafting a rider in front of you makes a huge difference (according to Wikipedia, which is never wrong, says you can reduce energy expenditures by 40%)!  We really were moving, and it was a really fun experience.   We quickly cruised into the last rest stop, and contacted all the family to meet us at the finish line.  The Penultimates crossed the finish line at the same time by 11:10 am!

All told, it was a fantastic weekend.  An epic ride of awesomeness.  Just over 150 miles in two days.  I really enjoyed biking with the Penultimates, and hope that they will join me again next year to bike.  The whole experience of the ride is much more than the challenge of biking 150 miles.  It is a combination of the fantastic volunteers, the spectacular terrain, the fellow riders, and the emotional reason of the ride.  The vast majority of people there have some connection to MS, and knowing why we were all there on a beautiful weekend made the whole ride that much more amazing.  I am looking forward to next year!