Friday, July 9, 2010

Riding in a Herd

Last weekend Stahmann Farms of La Mesa, New Mexico (just a bit south of Las Cruces) hosted its first-ever family bike rally. Part of the road that goes through their pecan orchards was shut down for safety with the help of the police.

Here is what the road looked like without anyone on it before the rally. Our family has always called this trees-over-the-road look a "tree roof."


And here are the bicyclists taking off. There were about 150 of us. Beez and I were among a handful of gray-hairs; the rest were young families with little kids.


The newspaper account of the event can be seen here, and Beez has all of our photos on his blog right here including a photo of himself (in the brown shirt, 5th photo down).


9 comments:

becky said...

Looks like fun, Clair!

clairz said...

Well, Becky, I guess I would have to rate it "kind of fun." For it to have been "lots of fun" it would have to have started out very, very early in the day, long before most of those folks were out of bed. However, it didn't begin until after 11 AM, which made it really too hot for me. It took forever to get re-hydrated.

I guess I just have to realize that most of the world isn't ready for that much fun at 5 AM!

Diane AZ said...

The tree-lined road is beautiful. I agree, it would be better to start the event earlier when it's cooler.

Deb from WhatsInMyAttic said...

Wow...eleven is late in the day for a bike ride in the heat! We used to ride for support of a children's home when we lived in FL. My daugther rode 20 miles when she was just 5 years old. It took a little encouraging toward the end. When she got a trophy for "youngest rider" we asked her if she thought it was worth all the effort. She looked at the trophy, and said, "No." Guess 5 was a little young.
The tree canopy over the road is a great shot!

Beth said...

I really love the shot of the tree-lined road, Clair. It looks so, so cool and inviting. I agree that 11 AM is a bit late to start a bike ride in the middle of summer. I'm assuming that you might not have had that lovely tree canopy for the entire ride. Long ago, when I was a young thing, I had a first date with this guy who was one of those serious bike guys who always wears spandex. I wanted to impress him, so I rode fifty miles with him that day in 98 degree heat (with our famous Southern humidity). By the end of the day, I was completely wiped out and looked like something the cat drug in. And he looked disgusted with me and never asked me out again, which I think was just as well.

Thank you, Clair, for your sweet comment---it meant a lot. Have you dragged that rocker to the front porch yet? I like picturing you there.

clairz said...

Yes, Beth, the rocker is out on the front porch and is now called "Beth's chair" in honor of you. You have no idea how far your influence has spread--I think of you when I'm out there, so I don't see how things could do anything but get better!

Beth said...

Oh, Clair, that truly does touch me! As you know, I love sitting on the porch---it's one of the things I do best. We have two rockers (and a swing) out on our porch that are constantly calling my name. We sat out there on July 4th (and 3rd) and watched fireworks bloom all over the valley, even in Asheville, ten miles away. It's a special place. And now, I'm going to go out there with my glass of iced green tea and rock a bit and think of my friend Clair miles and miles away, maybe rocking on her porch in the mountains of New Mexico.

Thank you so much for your good thoughts. And thank you for naming your rocking chair after me---I really love that.

Beth

Linda said...

My first thought was 'that looks seriously hot', and I wondered how those small children could cycle enjoyably in such heat. At least you had the shade of the trees.

And I now see how the idea of a 'nice warm kitchen' in my jam post wasn't so attractive to you!

Val said...

How lucky you are to ride a bike down that road! It is my favorite drive in NM!