Blue sky, purple bike, neon orange safety vest means...

With the loving help of my little homegrown co-pilots, I was able to get out on the road again today, even though I stayed up until 3am obsessing over election results and my ass was totally dragging.

I've been reading a book about Lance Armstrong's 6th Tour de France win, and apparently one indicator of Tour readiness is the ass factor. Tight little ass means you've been putting in the roadwork and shaving off all the extra little ounces. Something to look forward to.

Counting today's ride, I think I've got 96 miles to go, and it would be very cool to get them covered by December 31st. (Some people could get that done in a weekend, I know, but I'm not there yet.) Then, of course, there are another 906 miles (and counting) of unpaved county roads, and countless miles of unpaved forest roads. (Note to self - find out how many miles of unpaved road in the county.)

It would also be very cool to have a bike mechanic out here. I wonder if Socorro has one - I know Silver City does, but I'm not headed that way soon. Desperately need a tune up.

Catron County people showing their inherent niceness yet again - I was dragging my sorry ass up a very long hill, pushing my purple bike, and a woman with hair turning grey driving a small brownish pickup slowed down and pulled over to see if I was all right. I so appreciate my neighbors out here.