Our next stint (around 9.00 pm) was another of those all night affairs. The large volume of sports drinks that I’d consumed yesterday were causing some annoying stomach cramps, though nothing more serious, thank goodness. After fending off the mosquito’s with Kim’s spray and failing to leave enough to help Tom alleviate the same problem, I started my first leg of the stage in the fading light of the day. Despite the steady climb, I was feeling pretty fresh and consequently made good progress. For the second time in the last few miles, the route entered New Mexico and after our changeover, Tom was able to enjoy a nice steady descent for the duration of his stage. As we were following Tom, Mike pointed out a sudden sharp 600 ft drop in the profile that occurred in my next leg. Given the short distance (around ¼ mile between the start and end of the drop, I confess that I was more than a little concerned about what lay ahead. Thankfully, the dip in the route was the Rio Grande River, which although 500 ft below me, was safely navigated by way of a long bridge. Sadly though, once again, one of the amazing sights of the route was obscured by darkness. Still, my second leg was also primarily downhill and as such, Tom and I were making really good time. Our next change occurred just before the town of Taos (NM), which was the finishing point for the Race Across the West, a shorter distance race which was running concurrently with RAAM. Unfortunately, none of us had noticed that upon arrival in Taos, we were required to circumnavigate the town and then head back out along the same road (US 64) that we’d arrived on. Although the confusion didn’t cost us too much time, the lack of clear communication certainly perplexed Tom for a while.
The next few miles were gradually uphill and pretty lumpy. In fact, the terrain, dark conditions, and my stomach cramps were starting to get me down a little. Someone asked me after the race what the worst moment was, as if the whole ride must have been painful. Although I didn’t feel that there was a bad moment, the last couple of legs on this stage were certainly less enjoyable for me than most of the others. In fact, I think the lateness of the hour plus the constant darkness was beginning to affect everyone a little. So much so that in my third leg, just after crossing the Red River (another famous landmark) the crew misdirected me at one point, although not so much that we lost any real time. Tom’s third leg was also quite eventful as his rear light got snagged up during the changeover and, after faffing with it for a few moments, we managed to eventually send him on his way with my rear light hooked onto the back of his jersey. The final few hours of the stage saw Tom and I climb 2,500 ft to our highest point of the race at Bobcat Pass. I took over from Tom for my final leg at Eagle Nest (3½ miles from the summit) where my stomach cramps were at their worst. Still, with encouragement from Tom and the crew, I pushed on, knowing that I would soon be heading downhill towards the end of my final leg and some well earned rest. However, after cresting the rise, the coldness of the air coupled with the stomach cramps made the descent pretty uncomfortable. So much so that after a few minutes of descending, and despite wearing a lightweight jacket, I started to shiver. In the end, I was glad to complete my final leg and get back into the SUV and the comfort of a warm blanket. Tom did a great job of completing the rest of the stage and as soon as we rendezvoused with the RV and put our gear away (around 5.00 am) I went straight to bed.