The Bear Necessities

Miles today: 255

Miles so far: 3030

Well, we have hit the 3000 mile mark and we are still almost a week away from Vegas. It's been another eventful day, and nice to have it a bit cooler now we are back in the mountains. In fact we saw our first serious rain today, just 5 or 6 miles from our destination in the mountains above Taos in New Mexico. Of course we still haven't learnt that when you can see black clouds in the mountains you are just about to drive into, it is better to put the waterproofs on before you set out! But no, we still wait till we have to pull up at the side of the road and struggle into clingy plastic leggings and jackets while all the time getting soaked and blaming each other for not having stopped earlier! No harm done - and at least it cleaned off some of the million bugs that have committed suicide on our helmets, jackets and bike screens (such as they are - note to BMW - what is the point of a screen that barely comes above the handlebars?!)

Anyway to the highlight of the day - our lunch in La Veta - a gourmet feast of crisps (sorry chips) and apple juice! As you can see we are happy bunnies. We have taken to having a late breakfast after about an hour and not eating again until the evening, partly it has to be said because the restaurants close too damn early!

No of course that was not the highlight! The highlight was seeing a bear! It galloped across the road no more than 10m in front of Rob. We all hastily stopped to look and take pictures, and then realised it was probably a cub, and the mother would be around somewhere. And if we happened to be between her and her youngster, we might not have liked the outcome. So we made an equally hasty exit!

No other major news today. But some great driving on some lovely mountain roads, deserted enough for Eric to stand in the middle while taking pictures of Rob and I riding parallel. We are naughty.

Just before we knocked him over.

Which leaves me not much else to say today, except... now that we have left the plains of Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma, I would like to just have a word about the cattle farming. You can hear a rant coming on can't you?

Whilst I failed to get a good picture (I was genuinely worried that someone might shoot me if I got too close), we saw dozens of so called farms, euphemistically called "feed stations", where literally thousands of cattle were housed in dirt pens, with no grass, primarily to make them dependent on the hormone enhanced feed they are given.

But my "beef" isn't with the farming (well, it is, but that is not my point today), it is, yet again, with my own government, who having deliberately dumped trade with our European partners, will doubtless crow when they "replace" it with a trade deal with the USA. This of course will be entirely on the terms dictated by the USA and will lead to the import of hormone injected beef, the only conceivable advantage of which will be it is cheaper! Congratulations, Minister for Brexit Opportunities (is it still Jacob Rees-Tosser, or has Truss replaced him with another useless ideologue?) Cattle farming? This isn't farming, it is industrial factory food production, which is no good for the animals and no good for the humans that ingest it. I won't be eating it, but millions will, and will have been sold yet another lie that "we can have our cake and eat it". The advantages brought by Brexit just keep coming! It makes me mad.

And after that it will be the American pharmaceutical industry taking over our health service, but I better not get started on that.

Meanwhile, back to the journey... We are, as always, having a great time, tonight in what is a kind of alpine village, ski resort.

Now as long as we can find a restaurant that stays open beyond 8pm we are in heaven! This is view from my cabin, right now.

Bye for now, and sorry for yet another rant!