Lunch of Champions

After breaking camp, we climbed through the Black Range, a particularly scenic ride through the steep, heavily forested Rocky Canyon. After a steep, rocky descent, we dropped onto Highway 35, part of the Trail of the Mountain Spirits Scenic Byway, which we followed into Mimbres.

After a huge mexican lunch at the Mimbres Valley Cafe, we realized it was getting late. Our destination was Silver City, NM, the launching point for the final stretch to the border. We had mailed our support box there and it was important that we pick it up before 5 PM so we could get an early start tomorrow since we have a big 100 mile ride planned. At 3:00, Jeff decided to take off alone up over the 1,000 foot pass in the hopes of racing the 23 miles into Silver City before the post office closed. Even after summiting and hitting the paved highway, the 100 foot rolling hills and the massive burritos in his stomach threated to doom the mission. However, he rolled up to the post office just as the door was being locked and was able to pick up the box. Kelly and Brett arrived a short time later.

On our way into Silver City our initial impression was comparable to that of Butte, MT (see our post titled “The Armpit of America”). A forgotten mining city catering to the thru-town highway. Thankfully we discovered the historic section of town, filled with trendy coffee shops and unique restaurants and stores. We checked into the Palace Hotel, a cool 100 year old hotel right in the heart of downtown, then headed straight to Diane’s Restaurant for a hearty Italian dinner. Afterwards we hit up a bar for some drinks before heading back to our room and gearing up for the big day tomorrow.