Today is another day I somewhat regret cutting short. I started today around 550 miles from the end, but stopped before even making it 80 miles. That said it was a hard fought 80 miles. The section between Abiquiu and Cuba is notorious for being steep, technical, and unforgiving. The ride today started with a nice 5,000 foot climb into the Santa Fe National Forest. Then stayed on top of the range for about 40 miles on undulating uneven, rocky, sandy roads. It was hot again today, with little water. I was exhausted and overheated by the time I made it down to the McDonalds in Cuba.
It was a beautiful ride, and looking back on it, it was a fun section. It was just brutal. The road would alternate between huge smooth boulders, and sections of deep sand. It was a constant struggle to get over one to then fight through the next. Looking at the elevation profile for today I had thought it would be a big climb in the morning and then a bit of gradual downhill into Cuba. But while the elevation trends lower after climbing to the high point, it really isn’t felt until you’re on the way out of the National Forest, and nearly to Cuba.
We were all exhausted by the time we got down, and facing a crushingly hot 120 mile pavement section next, we decided to stop very early. This was more of a strategy not to get heat exhaustion, than an admission of defeat. Well some of it was defeat, but just temporary. David, Tim, and I grabbed an inexpensive hotel room and committed to sleeping through the heat of the day and knocking out the pavement in the night, deciding we would get up around midnight.
