Day Nine, June 14 2009, Encino to Albuquerque

8:04pm

"Hot town, summer in the city

Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty"

Albuquerque = one hot town!

Sagging = getting dirty and gritty

Today was the first day for me to be a sag driver on our ride to Alaska! So naturally, the day started with me waking up at 3:30am to get all my things packed up before the rest of the team woke up and to start making breakfast. Since I am a breakfast aficionado, I chose to make pancakes for everyone, as opposed to making our traditional pb&js or some oatmeal. I fired up the huge grittle in the kitchen and made over 55 pancakes for the team. After my tshirt was soaked with canola oil and everyone was stuffed with maple syrup and batter, Joe (who was sagging with me today as well) loaded up the van with everyone's bags and sleeping bags, cleaned the community center and made sure that nothing was left behind. Then it was dedication & hakka time. The hakka, lead by Max, in Encino was amazing, since it was right when the sun was rising over the New Mexican hills. (Refer to Joel's profile to see the video!!!) It was such a perfect way to start a long ride for the team.

Once everyone had ridden off, Joe and I made last minute checks around and then hit the road. The weather started to get a little dark as we drove to set up the first rest stop, so Joe and I thought of how we could keep spirits high for the team. Joe found a bag of sidewalk chalk in the side of the door and we decided to write along the road! After we made about 30 pb&js, grabbed out the huge bag of raisins, got out the two water jugs, and boxes of energy bars, I ran back down the road until the rest stop was out of site. I wrote in big letters "Craving a PB&J? Rest Stop Ahead!" all along the road. I was happy to hear that the writing pumped some people up and helped get them up the hill. By this point, the weather was rainy and very cold, so everyone kept moving through the stop onto the next one.

For rest stop numero dos, Joe and I met up with the other sag drivers, Joel and Tesfay at a Shell gas station, where we were able to get 4 bags of ice donated! Near the gas station, there was a big restaurant and souvenir shop where I decided to go in and see if anyone would be willing to donate some food for our riders. After presenting my pitch about the Texas 4000 and what our mission is, we were able to have 21 biscuits and gravy and sausage donated!! I was so excited to hand them out at the rest stop to the riders, since the weather was so unpleasant and it would be a perfect warm meal while on the road. So Joe and I loaded up the 21 styrofoam boxes and cruised through 20 miles to the next stop. I was so excited to surprise everyone with the warm biscuits. Joe and I decided to play a little prank on everyone, so when the first group of riders showed up, we just put out the water jugs and pretzels and said that we were very rushed to get to the rest stop so we couldn't make any sandwiches.....BUUUTT we do have BISCUITS & GRAVY!! Everyone was psyched and they all piled into the vans to get out of the rain and devoured the donated food. Rest Stop Two: Success!

After the third rest stop, we had noticed that the traffic on the interstate had drastically picked up, and that there was a serious amount of eight wheelers rolling down the road. As the sag drivers, we decided to reroute the team to a better road that would have less traffic, but that paralleled the interstate. As the team set off, following our new directions, the weather began to clear up. The road we ended up choosing was an amazing road for the team, with long rolling downhills in the shining New Mexican sun. I was actually kind of jealous that I couldn't be with the team out on the road, since it was such a nice ride. However, I was pleased that we were able to made the ride safer and more fun for the team. As we arrived in the outer limits of the city, we met for our last rest stop, where Tesfay and Joel were able to hand out donated chicken sandwiches for lunch. As everyone ate, we waited for the Mayor to arrive to escort us to the church we would be staying at.

After a short while, the Mayor of Rio Ranchos (a large area of Albuquerque, comparable to Westlake in Austin) rode up on his motorcycle, and helped to direct us to the All Saints Lutheran Church. It was so cool for him to take time out and meet us and personally escort us on his awesome red motorcycle. Larry, the Mayor, lead the team through a nice scenic and downhill route to the church, while Joe and I took the direct route so we could get there faster and unload the bags. The quick drive to the church was incredible though. I was so amazed by the incredible scenery in Albuquerque, with the massive surrounding mountains and beautiful adobe styled houses and buildings. I must have taken at least 20 pictures just within 10 minutes! What was also amazing was that as we drove downhill into Albuquerque, we saw a huge thunderstorm rolling across the sky. It was so surreal to see half of the city covered in the bright sun and the other half being poured down on by the thunderstorm. Gorgeous! Definitely one of the most amazing views I have seen in a very long time. And it's only DAY NINE!

When we arrived at All Saints, we were greeted by our host Charlene, who, with the help of some youth group members, had made an amazing homemade spaghetti dinner, complete with homemade garlic bread and salad. Joe and I enjoyed the aromatic church while we unloaded the bags and sleeping bags into the Fellowship area, where we would be sleeping. The team arrived a little while after us, and everyone piled into the church. The girls headed out back to shower in our jerseys and biking shorts with the hose (we have come to be very resourceful, and have showered twice now with a single hose!). Once we were all cleaned up, we all enjoyed the wonderful dinner Charlene and the youth group made for us. We all hung out for a while after dinner, getting our sleeping bags organized and blogging. Later into the night, a big group decided to head out into Albuquerque to enjoy the social scene together. Since it was a Sunday though, and later at night, we had to cruise around for quite a while before we found a place still open. We ended up going to the Fat Squirrel, a casual bar and restaurant, and we all sat down and enjoyed drinks and each other's company. It was nice to hang out with my teammates off our bikes and out of our sleeping bags for once. As the night went on, and our aching bodies cried out for sleep, we decided to call it a night and head back to the church for some much needed sleep. Everyone was excited for the rest day tomorrow and the adventures we would have in Albuquerque!