Pie Town, NM

I could try to explain all the eccentric energy of Pie Town, but you won't fully understand until you visit. The ride there was awesome because we experienced a solid tailwind for the first time. It was a relief to not be socked in the dome with a steady gust and we got to actually ride bikes for real, sustaining speeds of 25mph for quite some time. For those gas guzzling car drivers out there, this sounds like childs play, but to a beginning cyclist riding cross country, this is a big deal. The stop at the VLA was a refreshing 8 mile detour and worth every minute of the two hours it added to our day. Check out photo descriptions for more information because that place is cool! The day was enhanced ten fold by the totally unsafe bicycle version of charades. There is no better idea than using all your body parts to silently describe a secret word or phrase while riding bikes steadily. This kept us occupied for a solid hour as we all switched off acting and guessing. The person acting moves up into what is called the social position where they ride abreast with a line of riders who can all see their depiction of a word. The ride also brought us to the continental divide at some 7700 feet of elevation. The sign was sub par and I was excited to start a descent hoping my ears would pop because I am still partially deaf from water in my ears courtesy of Carrizozo. As the photos show, the ride was yet another spectacularly gorgeous cruise through nature. The rocky edifaces that rose from the earth stood as the ideal backdrop for outdoor adventure. Pie Town's biggest import is probably social security checks as everyone in the town is old old old. Ok there is one exception, a 25 year old who finished college in Orlanda, got sick of a fast paced life style and moved to Pie Town. She now works at Pie O Neer, one of the two pie shops in town. Both shops were closed when my slow leisure riding butt got into town. Anyway, there are a lot of old men in this town and it's as if they have a pact to see who can grow the longest whitest beard. They all tie for first place in my book. Pie Town wins the award for best overnight location on the trip so far. Between the towns general life philosophy, abundance of delicious sweets, ample hiking, clear night sky, toaster house, ok you get the point it was awesome. We ate pie, climbed a mountain to watch the sunset, camped out under the most star abundant sky, and then woke up hiked the mountain again to watch the sunrise. Biking through the country definitely has put me more in touch with nature, but I am still absolutely mystified everyday by some view or phenomenon. I am so lucky and grateful to be living this life I live.