Road Trip for Rugby Game

Friday 2/4 we road 62 miles from Deming to Las Cruces NM.

After 3 nights at the Deming Days Inn hiding from Old Man Winter we finally we're able to get back on the road after a relaxing forced rest break.  Today the roads were flat and the sky was sunny.  We were off the official adventure cycling route as the 8,200 ft Emory Pass was closed.  We used Google online bike maps to reroute us.  Unfortunately we ran into sandy roads just north of Akela NM that were impassible on my loaded down bike and Aaron's skinny tired handcycle.  We ran into Mike a friendly local who is an experimental plane test pilot.  He gave us directions to Las Cruces on a paved frontage road that parallels Interstate 10.  He reports the road is used mostly by smugglers and border patrol so their shouldn't be a lot of traffic.  This rerouting added 10 extra miles and combined with a roadside interview by the Las Cruces/El Paso PBS put us in Las Cruces about 1 hour after dark.  Luckily we have bright lights.

We stopped at Ruben Trujillo's house (Bobby's Uncle) for a quick shower then started a 6 hour road trip through the night.  Aaron needed to participate in a Wheelchair Rugby game in Phoenix AZ.  If he missed the game he wouldn't be eligible for national competition later this year.  Lenny was a trooper and drove the whole way.  3am we arrived in town exhausted Aaron set up a 3 room suite at the Quality Inn in Mesa and arranged for a late checkout.  Unfortunately he only got about 2 hours sleep before he headed off to his 1st game.  Brandon and I were able to sleep in until noon as we only planned to see the 2nd game at 4pm.  (on the picassa web album there is a video posted of Aaron in action during the rugby game)

The trip to Phoenix made for a hectic rest day but it was well worth it to see live wheelchair rugby and get a chance to meet Aaron's roommate Jeremy, his coach Gabe as well as his other teammates.  We also had some time to talk to Kelly who saw us off while in San Diego as Kelly is a Rugby referee.

Having the most sleep last night I volunteered for the drive back to Las Cruces.  We arrived at Ruben's house around 1am.   Exhausted I crashed on his couch and slept like a baby.

(FYI I've uploaded new pics from the last 5 days on picassa -see Jeff's web album link on the right side of the page)