Day 1: From Antelope Wells to Hachita, Goatheads!

We finally hit the road today, albeit a bit late, around noon. Our good friend Kim woke up at the crack of dawn just to drive us from Tucson to Antelope Wells. Talk about commitment! On the way, we stopped at the Hachita community center to drop off a bunch of our gear. We figured we’d be coming back to crash there tonight, so why not lighten our load?

The ride started off smooth. I mean, how hard could a paved highway be? We had some nice tailwinds pushing us along at 5 to 15 mph, and even though the temperature was climbing into the 90s, we were feeling pretty good. But then, around mile 30, my legs started cramping. I doubled up on electrolytes. Meanwhile, Lynette was feeling a bit light-headed. Guess we both underestimated the heat.

The last 5 miles into Hachita were slow going. We finally rolled into town anround 5pm and made a beeline for the convenience store. Cold drinks never tasted so good! We met Cathy at the community center, she’s riding southbound to finish the GDMBR after starting last year in Jasper. Total inspiration! Good luck Cathy.

Tomorrow promises 18mph headwinds and even hotter temps. And uphill to boot. It will be slow going. Also, won’t have service so likely no posts till day 3.

About the goatheads - nasty seeds from the invasive plant Devil’s weed or puncturevine (Tribulus terrestris). One of the reasons we went tubeless. We pulled one out of our tires before we made a few hundred yards out of Antelope Wells. The Orange Seal is working well, knock on wood.