Leg 2 Day 13 Plan - Ft Sumner NM to Sumner Lake State Park and on to Santa Fe

I got up early this morning intending to catch up on a few posts I've been wanting to write:

• Cows in West Texas
• Industries in West Texas
• Details of the WWII veteran I met in the Breckenridge laundromat - Charles Truesdell
• Tips on dressing for cold weather

but I took a different route this morning.

I really haven't kept a good track of my miles cycled and hiked overall.... I've tried to consistently post end day and total leg 2 miles cycled and walked but I hadn't kept track of the total miles since I left Lake Jackson.... so I sat down and did an Excel worksheet of the entire trip... so now on the last post of each day, you'll see the following:

End of Day Totals:

Leg
Day
Date
From
To
This Day's Miles Cycled =
This Leg Total Miles Cycled =
This Day's Miles Walked =
This Leg Total Miles Walked =
Discovering America on 2 Wheels Total Miles Cycled =
Discovering America on 2 Wheels Total Miles Walked =
Discovering America on 2 Wheels Total Miles Cycled & Walked =

with all the data filled in.

Let me know if this format is OK. Unfortunately, I haven't found a way to copy and paste from an Excel worksheet or a Word table straight into the blog postings without it "stacking" the format so I copy the header in and then copy / paste or just type in the rest of the data.... it's a little cumbersome but it gets the job done for now.

Anyway, when I got done compiling the data, it kinda surprised me.... and I'm the one doing this thing.

So far, since leaving Lake Jackson Tx on 12/6/09 -

I have cycled 1026 miles and walked/hiked 57 miles for a total of 1083 miles.

Based on the route I'm planning it looks like it'll be another 175 miles to Santa Fe NM.

Here's the tentative plan for the next week:

• Today - Sun 1/10/10: Ride 16 miles to Sumner Lake State Park, set up camp and hike. http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/prd/SumnerLake.htm
• Monday 1/11/10: Stay @ Sumner Lake State Park and continue to explore - go to the Fisherman's Hideaway Bar for dinner and a drink.
• Tuesday 1/12/10: Break camp, load up and ride 42 miles to Santa Rosa Lake State Park, set up camp. http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/PRD/santarosa.htm
• Wednesday 1/13/10: Stay at Santa Rosa Lake State Park: Hike and Explore.
• Thursday 1/14/10: Break camp, load up and ride 62 miles to Clines Corners NM - according to Traci Ragland, the cattle rancher from Clovis NM that I met at the Dinner Bell in Muleshoe Tx, Clines Cornes NM is the Bermuda Triangle of New Mexico - she said it could be 75 deg and sunshine everywhere else in New Mexico and be 15 deg and snowing in Clines Corners - can't wait to visit this place!
• Friday 1/15/10: Leave Clines Corners and ride 55 miles to Santa Fe New Mexico - the final stop for this 2nd leg of Discovering America on 2 Wheels.

So, Madeleine, I'll meet you in Santa Fe on Friday the 15th and I won't take "No" or "I've got a deliverable due...." for an answer.... just be there or be square! Well - you already are kinda square so just be there.... please!

Oh yeah - here's 3 things of note:

First, I've crossed over into Mountain Zone time so I'm now an hour earlier than Central Time. I'm not sure if I'll adjust the posts to the blog for that or not.... I think it will adjust all of them.... I'll look into it... just be aware I'm now on Mountain Time.

Come to think of it - that' pretty cool! I ride my bike 1026 miles from one time zone to another - hell it's only another 900 miles to the California Coast from Santa Fe...... well let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Second, I have a feeling my Verizon Wireless Service may not work out at Sumner Lake State Park - it's been spotty here in the town of Ft Sumner. I've tried to call out to the park and the Fisherman's Hideaway on my cell phone and all I get is a fast busy signal - not a good sign!

So - if I have no service I'll call my wife from the Sumner Lake SP headquarters and let her know I made it and find some way to get to my blog for postings - maybe the Park HQ will let me use their computer - we'll see - there's always a way -

Where there's a Will-yum there's a Way-yum....ok that was stupid.... how 'bout Adapt & Overcome.... yeah that sounds more macho!

Third, when I make it to Santa Fe, I've decided to set a new challenge for myself.... I mean come on, I didn't think I'd make it this far, did you?

What am I gonna do! I'll tell you but first some info.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Santa_Fe_(New_Mexico)

Santa Fe NM is the highest state capital in the US at about 7000'.

18 miles from Santa Fe is the Santa Fe Ski Basin at an elevation of 10350'.

http://www.skisantafe.com/

If the road to the Ski Basin is not iced over or I can get my bike properly equipped (spiked tires - do they have those for bicycles - who knows but sounds cool and would look bad ass) or rent one that's properly equipped from a local shop, I'm gonna ride my bike from Santa Fe (7000') up to the Santa Fe Ski Basin (10350') and back down again.

How's that for a grand finale!

Nobody said this was gonna be easy.... nothing worth doing is.... but it has been the Ride of my Life!

It ain't over till the Fat Lady Sings! Hey Mallie - isn't there an Opera House in Santa Fe?

So let's pack up and hit the road.... it's a Great Day to DISCOVER AMERICA ON 2 WHEELS!