I started the day by reducing my load—amongst other things, I threw out the newspapers I have been carrying around for the past two weeks in hopes of actually having the time to read them. It was clear from scanning the old headlines that catching up with pre-coronavirus news would be pointless now. The things I was worrying about when I had purchased the papers seem inconsequential now. Who could have imagined what was to come.
I had a lot of time to contemplate that thought today during the 10 hours David and I were on our bikes. As our ride up New Mexico’s Black Range to Emory Pass bore out, you just never knew what was around the next corner. I had worried about today’s ride since we planned the route. Despite crossing the Great Divide yesterday at 6335 feet, today, after hours of relentless climbing, we reached our highest elevation of the entire journey – 8228 feet. I had gone to sleep last night wondering if I would be able to do the climb and as it turned out, the climb wasn’t actually the hardest part of the day. While most of the 20 mile 4000 foot descent was as fun and exciting as we had hoped, we were confronted by a brutal headwind about 25 miles from the end and sure enough that last 25 miles was much tougher than the climb. Who could have seen that coming??
The real kicker was that the last six miles of our road was under construction and not rideable. Certainly not the end of day I would ever have imagined. And so it is with life. Stay present and try not to fret about what may or may not come your way because you just never know what the bend will bring.
With love from a thoroughly exhausted Isabella @ Emory Pass Historical Marker