Southern Plains

Part of my holiday travel plans include a few days in eastern New Mexico, Clovis to be exact. Feeling the need to get in some good base miles, I headed out to some of the rural roads in the area.

The wind out here is incredible. The forecast called for 25 mph winds directly out of the West. Out here, you need a more precise forecast of the wind direction--you need a compass direction. If the forecast calls for wind direction of a few degrees less than 270, you make sure to head south and west. If it calls for wind direction of a few degrees greater than 270, you head north and west. With wind this strong, even one or two degrees off of an absolute cross wind can translate into a vicious headwind or an awesome tailwind. The forecast here called for wind out of around 260, so I headed south and west.

Going out was a bear. 325 watts could only get me up to 14 mph into the headwind. When I settled into a tempo range, I was lucky to get up to 12 mph.



The drivers out here, when you encounter one, are extremely friendly. Virtually every car that passed me switched lanes to give me the widest berth possible. The biggest danger was certainly not the cars, but the massive tumbleweeds blowing across the road at 25 mph.

After a few hours of pavement, I got bored and decided to explore the dirt roads that criss-cross this country as part of a massive grid that allows farmers to access their fields.


Within a few minute of leaving the pavement, it's an entirely different world. Nothing but absolutely straight roads disappearing into a vanishing point out on the horizon of the plains, the sound of the wind, and quiet farm fields.

It's amazing what you will see out on these farm roads. All kinds of animals--rabbits, deer, rodents, quail, snakes (in the summer), coyotes, and massive crop-feasting insects. Dead cattle. Old car parts. All kinds of trash. Spent shell casings. Beer bottles. You name it.