Day 14: Silver City, NM Rest Day!!!!!!

Day 14: Silver City, NM Rest Day
Miles: 3.06 (just down to the bike shop and back)
Theme: Small Towns, Great Folks

Ah, how nice to have a day just to catch up on things. First mission of the day is to take my bike down to the bike store - just to have it cleaned up a bit and make sure everything is working right. I could do the cleaning myself, but honestly - it's not on the top of my list of things I want to do on my day off. And I'd rather have a pro do it correctly rather than worry that I might mess something up at this point. And remember how long I told you that chain on a recumbent is - that's reason enough to go to the bike store!

So off to the bike store a few of us went. There are two bike stores in the town of Silver City (population about 10,000). We went to Twin Sisters Bike Store though we also gave some money to Gila Hike and Bike Shop too. It's our American duty to help the local economy.

Annie - the owner of Twin Sisters is a quiet woman, but does she know bikes! My bike was really simply a clean, so there wasn't much to worry about. Tex took her bike in too as she was having some shifting issues. Annie went right to the heart of the issue. And then she went to Kathie's bike. Kathie described the problem and Annie immediately knew the what was the likely culprit. Our bikes are in very capable hands. Annie won't let a bike go out of her shop that isn't working correctly!

Then it was checking out the various stores in town. The major street is called Bullard St. which is about 8 blocks long. It has many coffee shops, some galleries and many other interesting places. Our group split up but Tex and I hung together most of the morning. She got a few items - but I can't say what as I can't give away any secrets - and who knows who is reading this blog : ) There are many murals down on Bullard St - and interesting store fronts, so I was busy snapping photos. The heart of the town is definitely the people however. The shopkeepers we met were fabulous - starting with Annie (Twin Sister's Bikes), Jack (Gila's Hike and Bike), the owner and shop keeper at Yada Yada Yarns... Tex and I had lunch at Un Mundo Cafe where Manny and his wife run the place. Everything is homemade including the bread the sandwiches come on. The food -- out of this world! We ended up getting a cup of soup and a roll each to bring back for our dinner tonight.

It has been a good day. My feet are tired from all the walking - but I am hoping by tomorrow my legs will be ready to climb Emory Pass. This is the highest point of the trip. We literally will be biking 40 miles uphill to the top. Tomorrow will be a tough climbing day, but I hear the view is worth every inch of climbing. Just so you know, I may not be able to blog tomorrow night and it isn't because I'm dead tired, but it is rumored that there is no internet connection and very little cell phone coverage where we are staying. I will give it a try, but will most likely have to post my blog the next evening.

One last note, Kathie and I spent over an hour this afternoon trying to figure out how to put photos on the blog. I know many have said they really want to see the photos, but sorry that is going to have to wait until I can show you in person. Kathie has called all kinds of tech support to no avail. I am officially not spending any more energy trying to figure this out. If any of you can give me step by step directions of downloading photos from an IPad to blogspot - I will try, otherwise you'll just have to stick with my descriptions for now. Sorry! Blog with you in a couple of days! Thanks for all the comments by the way. I am glad to hear that many of you are enjoying my blog. I've been enjoying recapping my experiences each day.

Well back to finishing up my laundry. Hope you are all doing well. After the laundry - it time to get everything packed back up and get a good night sleep for the ride tomorrow.