Naked Mile in the High Desert Prarie

Today I rode my bike naked with 3 other people for a whole 2 miles; pictures abound, but not to worry - they won't be posted here (or anywhere, hopefully). It was a blast. The best part was that when I got into the host site for the night and saw that we once again had group showers - I didn't panic and wait until everyone was done so that I could shower alone. Somehow, riding my bike without clothes on helped my fear of locker rooms and I was able to just shower with other girls. I'm definitely not yet a 'naked person', but I think I might have taken a big leap towards being comfortable in my own skin, so to speak...

So, we've hit the mountains. The days are hard and long and windy and demoralizing. And did I mention absolutely gorgeous? Tomorrow we do 74 miles into Santa Fe and then have a day off. I can't wait to get there and explore the city; I'm even going to an opera with my flute teacher from Rutgers who happens to be there for the summer. It'll be great to get a reminder about the music portion of my life, and having a day off of riding is definitely going to be beneficial for my legs.

Yesterday, we were in Mosquero, NM (we're in Mountain time!!), a town of approximately 100 people. There was a bar and a restaurant and a store and that's about it. But the best part was that by some twist of miraculous fate, a Cowboy Camp was going on nearby. In the midst of an awe-inspiring thunderstorm, all 32 of us piled into vans and shuttled over to Bell's Ranch (300,000 acres!) and had hamburgers and hotdogs and banana pudding and the best coffee I've ever tasted. There were drool-worthy cowboys and old singers and some of us even learned how to 'rope a cow'. Afterwards, we went back to the town bar where we played pool and two-stepped with the cowboys. It was a perfect night in New Mexico.

Today's ride was impossibly hard, but still amazing. My friend Kristin and I met a couple that brought us to a rodeo where their 12 year old was competing as a bull rider. Complete culture submersion and shock; I didn't know places like this still existed. The other grandson (aged 9 years) gave me a hug upon meeting me and a wooden cross when departing - I'm going to keep it forever. The two kids had cowboy hats and boots and spurs - absolutely adorable.

I've learned so much within the past couple of days - I feel like I'm finally living up to the proverbial 'you learn something new every day'. I learned what cowboys actually do for a living, that part of cowboy fun is to chase a goat and dress it in rancher clothes, what it means to 'run a cow', the difference between calfs, yearlings, heifers, steers, and bulls, and I even witnessed the tying of a goat. It's all pretty awesome; anymore of this and I'm going to get a hat and some boots and become a cowgirl.

Dinner was at the Plaza Hotel here in Las Vegas, New Mexico - just typical spaghetti with meat sauce, but it was served on fancy plates with real silverware, so it felt more special than usual. This town is cute; it might not be the Vegas strip in Nevada, but the New Mexican version is probably more suited to my taste anyhow; we're even here for the big North vs. South football game which is apparently the biggest rivalry within 200 miles.

This country of ours has so much open land. We traveled 98 miles today and there was not one town in between. And remember, the town we left (which was the first town in the 50 miles before that) had 100 people with a graduating senior class of 4. I danced with two Mosquero School graduates.

Here in Las Vegas we experience a bona-fide city with operating gas stations and a Dairy Queen, but there is still the definite sense of vast openness. I was told we're in the high desert prairie, and the name fits perfectly - mountains, ranches, and genuine cowboys; it couldn't really be any better.