Day 11 Pie Town

I woke early. John, Cassi, and Bear soon followed. John had the great idea of cleaning up the Toaster House as a way of saying thanks to Nita for her generosity. I brewed up a very strong pot of coffee and over the next few hours we swept, mopped, dusted, tidied and cleaned windows until the place was transformed.

I was making pancakes for breakfast when Paul showed up. He was the first in a group of cyclist who were racing the GDR. He had started at Antelope Wells 3 days ago and was heading for Banf, Canada. There was another group that started in Banf and was heading south. The race was self supported (no out side help- ie carry your own gear, etc) with no prize money, no sponsorship, etc. The winner finished in 16 days. It took us 19 to just ride NM. We fed him and then other racers who showed up. A number of north bound racers had thrown in the towel but that day we saw Paul, Russ, Craig, Frank, Ross, Roland, Greg and Sonja. Most seemed exhausted, a bit disoriented (Cassi decribed them as "crazy eyed") but determined. Sonja was quite dehydrated. I am glad she stopped at the Toaster House for the night. Watching the racers was exhilarating and inspirational but, all things considered, I think I will stick to touring.

We biked a few miles west to a general store to buy some essentials for the toaster House (TP, soap...) and food for the next section. We tried out the Pie Town Cafe for lunch. They had good food but we ended up at the Pie-O-Neer for dessert. John got some baking tips from Kathy and ended up buying a humming bird print from a local photographer. Cassi and I met Nita and then the Thomas's who have a ranch north of town and provide water for CDT travelers.

I love the quirky humor of NM, especially of its small towns. The above road sign must be referring to tumble weeds and the septic truck is aptly named. We ended the day reading and hanging out on the big porch at the toaster house, watching a beautiful red sunset thanks to the fires.