The Magnificent Six

I did not post about Wednesday’s ride since we were staying at a National Park lodge with limited WIFI. Thanks to those of you who sent private messages making sure I was okay. Blog reader and apparent conspiracy theorist Gary texted an especially uplifting message: “I am concerned. How much life insurance does Mary have on you and is she the beneficiary? Don’t try to keep up with her. She is out of your league.” Well, I am still pedaling and really enjoying this trip.

We did two rides on Wednesday and both were awesome. Our morning ride was about 25 miles through the Park and here are some pictures:

These pictures do not capture the majesty of this area, with “vast, arid, desert landscapes with rocky canyons, mesas, wide open plains, dusty roads and rugged mountain ranges.” Okay, that is how the “AI Overview” in my google search for The Magnificent Seven described the landscape where that classic movie was filmed. It’s a pretty good description for the Big Bend area.

I’ve always liked that movie (the original, not the remake) — the scenery, the actors and especially the musical score composed by the famous westerner Elmer Bernstein (Upper West Side). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yulmgTcGLZw (he also composed the score for the Ten Commandments and Ghostbusters). I’m familiar with the Magnificent Seven score since we used to play it in the Williams College Marching Band, with of course a glockenspiel flourish by blog reader Jody. I had that music in my head as I was cycling yesterday. I sometimes ponder life’s mysteries when I cycle. Today I was wondering why a marching band in Western Massachusetts played a song on cold New England Saturdays associated with desert landscapes like Big Bend. What were the marching band musical directors thinking? Wait, I was one of the musical directors junior and senior years:

I am blessed to be cycling through such a breathtaking area with my better half and really good friends. Even though there are only six of us, I still think it is fitting to call us the Magnificent Six:

Yesterday’s afternoon ride was one of the best climbs I have ever done. In five miles, we ascended 1,750 feet (my Garmin said 75,000 feet) from the high desert to 5,400 feet in the Chisos Basin, an entirely different ecosystem of greenery and juniper trees. Here is Serge, oblivious to the danger of this climb since he was so intent on making it to the top:

And here are a few other pictures from the climb:

We stayed at the Chisos Mountain Lodge at the top and here is a picture of sunset through “The Windows”, a famous rock formation:

Today we cycled 77 miles from the Lodge out of the Park to the town of Marathon. We had a huge weather swing, from the 30s by the Lodge to the 80s through the desert to Marathon. I started out wearing six layers with ski gloves at the top and shed four of my layers and went with fingerless gloves by the end of the day. I started the ride by keeping pace with some of the heavy hitters of our peloton (Kevin and Mary in front of me):

After lunch, I joined for a bit the self-proclaimed “Party Pace” group. But I wasn’t feeling it this afternoon and decided to just take my time and enjoy the scenery. I may have DFL’d, but I took a lot of pictures:

Tomorrow’s ride includes a road to the University of Texas McDonald Observatory. I do not recall much from my college astronomy course, but I do recall that observatories are usually on mountains. Time to get some rest.