EDT       Location                 Time Elapsed

19:53    Taos, NM                 3 days 04:32

07:45    Cimarron, NM           3 days 16:24

12:03    Abbott, NM               3 days 20:42

15:18    Clayton, NM              3 days 23:57    1229.5 miles covered

Taos, NM to Cimarron, NM

Leaving Taos is a long climb.  Mark was strong.  He ate a pepperoni pizza since he has started to eat more solid food and is drinking gallons of orange and lemon lime Gatorade - possibly to avoid an attack of scurvy.  As Mark started ascending towards Bobcat Pass (9,800ft) along a beautiful, tree-lined curving Graveyard Canyon with the river winding alongside in the dark, a Race Official car pulled up to notify the Crew that the flashing roof lights of the Follow Vehicle were not working.  The RAAM rules state that the Follow Vehicle and rider must stop immediately and fix the flashers.  Luckily, the Chase Vehicle was nearby and transferred theirs.  (Ken was able to fix the other lights later.)  The RV was parked later on the route.

Mark continued climbing up to Bobcat Pass where the Bobcat Boozers started playing cat and mouse - Mark being a very tempting mouse.  We learned later that these two marauding drunks had driven by Franz Priehs, a rider ahead of Mark, and shouted obscenities.  They then drove off, turned around, and went by them again braking hard so the rider had to go around them with the Follow Vehicle and their RV just able to squeeze by.  Their RV acted as additional protection down the hill.  The Boozers then returned to the top of the pass where Mark was with the crew.  Additional obscenities and direct confrontation.  The crew all tried to be very downplayed, but the Boozers continued to taunt and bluster,and actually assaulted one of the crew and Mark as he tried to get his bike into the Follow Vehicle.  Luckily they were able to head quickly down to Eagle Nest, and then the vehicle quickly came back to the RV and shouted at us to come, Mark had been attacked.  They were afraid we would be attacked as well. When we arrived at EaglesNest, the RAAM officials had been notified as well as the Sheriff and local police.  With the fear that other riders would also be attacked, we understand RAAM closed down for a couple of hours.  Mark was finally able to get back on his bike four hours later when he received the OK from RAAM officials. 

Mark was ferried back to Bobcat Pass, as rules require he must start from the point where he had 'left' the route.  So at 6:26 Race Time he left Bobcat again, into a beautiful morning to complete the road to Cimarron, NM and 1,122 miles.  Elevation varied from 7,000ft to 9,900ft back to 6,400ft.

On the bike again after a short snooze to

 gain benefit of tailwinds that were forecast

 Cimarron, NM to Abbot, NM to Clayton, NM.

Cimarron is the start of more than 300 miles of the Plains in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas.  The land looks flat, but goes from grassland to crops with patches of ranching, feedlots and oil extraction.

Entering the High Plains

And of course, wind.  How did Dorothy get to Oz?

The countryside is gently rolling, crosses the Santa Fe National Historic Trail and in Springer there is a correctional facility, so beware of hitchhikers.

Rolling along near Springer

Mark rolled along very well, very strong, drinking gallons of Gatorade as the temperatures were in the mid-to-high eighties and the winds very drying, although at his back.  The RV drove right through Time Station 20 in Abbot without noticing it.  It was pretty similar territory going from Abbot to Clayton.  Elevation went down from about 6,100ft in Cimarron to 5,000ft in Clayton.  Mark rolled along with favourable winds.

Passing through Clayton, NM time station

Clayton (Time Station 21) has several historical buildings including the Eklund Hotel.  The RV was a WiFiP (WiFiPirate) again right across the street from the hotel.  The main street is very picturesque and boasts a great hardware store and an excellent coffee shop.  RAAM had media set up just at the entry to town to take pictures of the riders as they arrived.

 Mark rolled in and out, and we handed over gallons of Gatorade to the Follow Vehicle.  As there is a threat of thunderstorms tonight/tomorrow as a low pressure system is moving in quickly, he wants to get as many miles in as possible, particularly as there are tail winds (a rarity in Kansas).  On leaving Clayton, he had cycled 1,230 miles and descended another 1,000ft in elevation.