Sun, sand, and snakes (Again!!)

Last week saw a decided drop in training, for Shane at least. After weeks of 15-20 hours a week, a 10 hour week was needed to help the brain, and body. That rest came to an abrupt stop this week.

Now, when training for the Tour Divide it’s extremely easy, and perhaps advisable, to ride he gravel bikes exclusively. This is great, but both Ray and I ride all types of bikes including MTBs and road bikes. For me, Shane, I decided to spend a little more time on the Road bike (OK, two rides) this week, in addition to some MTBing with Zane. Both to give my body a break and to get in more climbing and distance.

Bodies need a rest because in Southern NM this time of year, gravel falls generally into two categories. deep sand and baseball sized rocks. Both are tough to ride on everyday.

One thing that didn’t change this week is our run in with rattlesnakes. The other thing that is now a constant is heat in the afternoon hours. Both should be avoided, and there is only one which you can adapt to…I’ll leave it up to you to decide which that is for you. (I personally can adapt to heat, but snakes…no so much). In this case a more rare Black Tailed Rattlesnake was the visitor. Again, he had a horrible attitude.

One last thing the heat has done is make all my facial hair fall out. Lots cooler!!

See you down the road!!