Tour Of The Gila

May 1, 2010.

Temperatures overnight were in the high 20’s. We slept in a bit, persuaded by the cool temps. However, the bright sunlight was encouraging me to get out of bed!

We took Maggie and Rico for a long walk on the trail behind our rig. We never made it to the end of the trail before turning back. Neither Maggie or Rico have much endurance and before long their tongues were hanging. When we got back it had warmed to the mid 50’s and the sun was shining on our patio area. We sat outside for awhile before getting ready to go out.

We drove to the historic downtown section of Silver City to watch the criterium stage of the Tour of The Gila.

We got there just after 10:00. The schedule included crits all day for different classes of riders.

We came across a few window displays depicting cycling and dedicated to Lance Armstrong.

The pro race with the 7 time Tour De France winner was not scheduled till around 3:00 p.m. Of course we didn't know that till after we got there and saw the race schedule.

We walked along the crit course noting the steep hills. Each lap of the crit was a mile.

The Historic Downtown district provides a beautiful backdrop for the races.

We checked out the local bike shops and small shops along the race route.

We soon built up an appetite from walking and watching all these athletes racing around. We decided to try out one of the many Mexican restaurants.

The food was fantastic and we left completely satisfied. We watched some more of the race and then decided it was time to go. It actually felt like it was getting cooler as the sun was hiding behind the thickening clouds.

We stopped to wash the car at a carwash before heading home to Valley Rose RV Park. Back home I worked on the yesterday’s blog entry and before long we were both taking a nap!

The rest of the evening was uneventful. We enjoyed the races but are undecided about trying to get to the finish line tomorrow to watch the race finale.