Mexico!

The last stroke has been pedaled, the last SPOT updated, and the last Cliff bar eaten. I don't have to feel the pains of getting back onto the bike seat tomorrow morning and I don't have to eat oatmeal for a good long time. Looking back it's still hard to believe that this journey started some 2,500 miles ago. Of course part of me is sad to see the end of the adventure, but the past week has seen me growing more and more anxious to get back for fall in Virginia. I feel I'm headed home a better person for all the fine places and folks I've seen and met along the way.

There was a portion of the trip when my camera batteries died (and I wasn't prepared with more) so there's some country that escaped my lens, but It picks back up in Grants, NM along historic Route 66.

The glitter of the 60's is still here on Main Street

Heavy rains, and more in the forecast, forced us onto a pavement alternative from Grants to Pie Town, NM. For this portion I don't feel like we missed anything because the scenery was spectacular. The first half of the day I pedaled down a scenic byway skirting the cliffs of the El Mapais National Monument. This included the natural arch formation below. 

The second half of the day was over mostly flat terrain on a dirt road. A massive thunderstorm boiled up behind us and eventually got us, giving us a taste of the famous tire sucking mud of New Mexico. After struggling through the muck, we rolled into Pie Town sometime after dark, headlamps blazing. 

Mike and Amy look for a way around the mud

 

I'm glad we pushed though into the evening because the next day was the annual pie festival in Pie Town! Music to the ears of any touring cyclist! In a word, amazing. There was a baking contest, an eating contest, and an old time dance that night. Did I mention the horny toad race? Anyone who wants to enter finds a horny toad and puts them into the ring. All contestants are put under a bucket in the middle of a large circle. On go, the bucket is removed and first toad out of the circle wins. All's fair until the dog gets into the ring. Mayhem ensues. 

Kids eating contest. He tried his best, but looks worse for the effort.

Even rain didn't slow down the adults

Now I've seen it all

Out of Pie Town, I decided to risk the main route (dirt roads) rather than take the pavement alternative to Silver City even with weather reports of more rain. I found some muddy patches, but nothing that stopped progress on the first day. The second day I wasn't so lucky. I had to turn around after a pair of hunters said the road was totally washed out a few miles down the road. I'm glad I heeded their advice, because the next day, near Glenwood, entire roads were closed due to flooding and there were even some people stranded in flash flood areas. 120 miles of pavement later I rolled into Silver City with Mike and Amy. 

Camp spot out of Pie Town

Pavement descent

Big Dry Creek...

Ain't so dry

Beautiful view of the Gila Wilderness

I stayed in Silver City for 2 days, resting up and planning the final 120 mile push to the border. Everyone, including the route map, warned of sketchy conditions close to the border so we planned our ride accordingly. We left town after lunch and rode along a beautiful stretch of two track through the desert. Storms popped up all around, but we somehow avoided them. We rode as far as we could into an amazing sunset and setup camp for dinner. We got up again at 3am, and with help from a nearly full moon rode into the dawn towards Mexico. Might seem strange, but we wanted daylight for the final stretch closest to the border where there were more likely unsavory characters. It all turned out to be an epic experience and one of the best sunrises I've ever seen. 

We made the border by high noon and sat down for a well deserved rest! The border station at Antelope Wells wasn't a very endearing place and it felt a bit strange to be ending the trip at a government compound after all of the beautiful scenery before. It was made sweeter however by the hospitality of the border patrol officers. They had cold ice cream sandwiches and coke waiting for us! Possibly the best Coke I've ever had (and it wasn't even mexican). It was a perfect bookend for the hospitality and kindness I received the entire route. 

'Resting' with the Germans in Silver City (they were also doing the entire route)

Lots of hike-a-bike through sandy washouts

Desert sky

No caption needed

First wild tarantula, not as scary as I thought

Wake up call

65 miles to go

30 miles to go

 

End of the trip on the horizon

THE END

Always room for more cookies. Thanks Mom!

New Mexico

The Sunday curse has struck again. I have a package waiting for me at the Abiquiu post office, but once again I rolled into town on Saturday afternoon after business hours. No matter the planning to avoid this situation, something always comes up and here I am again with a day's layover. Not that I'm complaining. The packages are definitely worth the wait, and sometimes a forced day of rest is what I need. 

I've finally reached New Mexico, 1800 miles into the ride, but when I look back it seems like I only started last week. I've so fallen into the routine of getting on the bike and riding 50 miles a day that it all begins to blend together. However, if I do stop and think about it, I can visualize almost the entire route (with a few hints here and there from the journal) which is the beauty of travel by bicycle. I think I've mentioned this before, but the pace is just right. You can cover serious ground in a day if you want to, but you can also remember all of it at days end. 

Finally, a proper welcome sign

Going back sometime now, all the way to Breckenridge, I've met lots of amazing people. I met John who was working the gondola at the Breckenridge ski hill, and he immediately offered me a couch for the night. John and his housemates made chicken fajitas for dinner and we ate and drank beer until bed. I've almost stopped trying to make lodging plans when coming into a town or city for the night, because something always seems to present itself by chance. Unexpected generosity has been one of the most memorable parts of the trip. 

Again, coming into Del Norte, CO, I didn't have anywhere to spend the night lined up. Some of the first folks we saw (at this point I was riding with Mike and Amy again), were having a Labor Day barbeque in the park and they waved us over for s'mores (which I would never turn down in any situation). That turned into all the hotdogs we could eat as well as an offer for lodging. 'Lodging' turned out to be Wendell's apartment built inside his aircraft hanger! It really couldn't have gotten any better, but it did. The next day he took us on a tour of a neighboring garage where the owners were in the process of restoring a WWII vintage Hawker Sea Fury fighter plane. OMG! Airplanes and racecars, two machines where no detail is overlooked and everything has a definite purpose. 

18 cylinders baby!

That's something I'll never forget, but Wendell wasn't done yet. His friend Bill took us up in a Cessna the next morning! AND, I was front seat and got to fly for a few minutes. An experience I never thought I would have! We flew up and around Indiana Pass which we would be riding out the next morning. It seemed so easy in a plane... Thank you again Wendell and family for an unforgettable stay.

Our Cessna

Indiana Pass from the air

Indiana Pass from the ground. Highest point on the trail. Me trying to flex my legs.

Just across the New Mexico border, I took a day off the trail and rode the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad. This is a narrow gauge steam train that winds along the canyons between Chama, NM and Antonito, CO. If all of the local history didn't make me feel like I was in the wild west, this certainly did. A day well spent with the coal dust in my hair to prove it.

Planes, trains, and bicycles. What a week!

Trains!

Getting on to the random images and thoughts section with limited library time...

Finally saw a bear! No signs of Mom thankfully.

My constant companion

Exposed iron deposits

In case you had any ideas about fun in this ditch

Night in a tepee

I didn't even mention Salida, CO, but I stayed there for 3 days I liked it so much. They have some great singletrack which I got a sample of. Most notably the Monarch Crest Trail which is supposedly one of the top rides in the US. I don't have much to compare it to, but it was amazing. The terrain varied from alpine rock fields to soft pine forests. My 'day off' turned into a 32 mile workout. 

Portion of the Crest Trail

Who cares? It's a rental

Couldn't resist

Random thing I'll miss once the trip is over: Walking into a room and having the best story. "What are you doing?" "Riding from Canada to Mexico" Ree-spect.