Day 13 Rehoboth, NM to Shiprock, NM

We really enjoyed the hospitality of Rehoboth Christian School and they were very gracious hosts.

Today started out with a real quick swing of emotions. All the bikers were anxious about starting out on a 100 mile day today. Just after breakfast, as bikers were about to start riding, our tour manager gave an announcement that today's ride had to be cancelled, as overnight rains washed out the only road available to us to get to Shiprock NM. Everyone had psyched themselves up for the long day and were very disappointed. I decided to go in the school and use the rest room, and when I came out, riders were leaving. I asked what was going on and they said that the ride was back on and there was a detour that only bikers could walk around, but the SAG vehicles had to scramble to cover the route before the washout and then go around to service the riders after the washout. The riders had a long section of the road all to ourselves, as all vehicles were detoured and the bikers could walk over the washed out bridge. The water was all gone from last night as water rushes away in the rocky surroundings. Adam and I did have a coyote cross in front of us today.

I rode today with Adam, Dan, John, and Joel today. The morning was nice and cool and it did not get hot until around noon. The terrain changed into a very arid desert like surroundings. The horizons were so far away, we could see as far as the eye could see. We passed some large shiplike rock formations that we could see 40-50 miles in the distance. It seemed to take forever to get to them.

When we finally reached the top of the last hill before Shiprock, we could see the town far ahead in the valley bellow. It seemed like it would be only a couple miles before we would get there. It ended up being at least 8 miles before we finally reached the town. When we arrived, our speedometer showed just over a mile short of 100 miles, so we rode around the parking lot until we reached 100!

We are staying on the grounds of Bethel CRC this weekend. It is a Navajo congregation and the service is done in Navajo and part English. It should be interesting.