Days 12-17 Superior To Silver City

We have had some long days of riding to get to Silver City in New Mexico just over the continental divide,some days up to 80 miles and over major mountains with several hours climbing at 3-4 miles per hour.
The experience has been quite surreal,seeing varying terrains from desert to fertile valleys,pine forest, yesterday crossing into New Mexico seeing trees for the first time in 600 miles. We saw massive open pit copper mines (a real blight on the landscape) but also became more aware of the wealth of minerals in Arizona, gold and silver etc.

The group is really coming together and a sense of camaraderie and shared experience is developing. The tasks of cooking and helping each other with all that needs to be done has created a sense of shared purpose and a real team spirit.

Some highlights from the last few days:

Going through the Apache reservation and chatting with a man whose great-grandfather was a scout who helped track down Geronimo. According to him, Geronimo was a rogue chief and committed many atrocities against his own people.

Meeting a genuine, 83 year old, cowboy who pulled up at a general store in Three Way, AZ, with his horse. (see picture). He said he has ridden pretty much the whole area and has never missed a shot. He was a sharp shooter in Korea and Vietnam.

Seeing the site of Billy the Kid's first home. A log cabin from a movie set now stands in place of the original one.

Hope all is well at home and at the office.

Thanks to the donors to the Mercy Foundation.

I will be continuing my interviews with my fellow riders regarding their thoughts on exercise.