Are we there yet, Daddy?: March 2014

Day 20
Since today was to be a short and hopefully downwind 57 miles and I was feeling much improved, I decided to try riding the first 26 mile leg to Alpine and see how I felt. I could always grab a SAG ride to camp and since the next day is a rest day I could afford to try.
The ride to Alpine started a bit hard for me. We stopped at the Marfa Lights Viewing area 10 miles out of town and I took a short rest and after that the trip to Alpine was quite doable. We did have the expected tailwind, got to Alpine just in time for yours truly to grab the VERY LAST, VERY FAMOUS Cinnamon Bun at the Bread and Breakfast Cafe! Doug's Lucky day!
The last part of the ride was downwind and though hilly was easily done. I took it very easy and didn't bomb down the descents or do anything else that took much energy. I arrived at the campground in Marathon, TX feeling fine but when I got off the bike and relaxed I immediately felt a bit weak. I felt better after more fluids and rest and am feeling fine now as I type this the next afternoon on our rest day here. Tomorrow is to Sanderson, TX and is supposed to be into a strong headwind so.....
The campground/motel here is quite interesting. While it is impossible to fence the desert out completely, they have created a bit of an oasis in parts of the grounds. While the sand still blows into everything, as you will see from the photos, the "refuge" areas are quite nice...
The bottom photo is of a Rosemary plant about five feet high and eight to ten feet wide in one patio area. It is in bloom and there were hundreds of honeybees alighting on each of the tiny, orchid like flowers of the plant. I asked the staff it thee bees were wild or domesticated and was told they were wild. Too bad, I would LOVE to taste honey made exclusively from the herb Rosemary!

my tent just to the right of the tall stalk

a huge Rosemary herb plant covered with honeybees

Day 19
Well, I was up at 4 AM and not for a good reason. I finally caught whatever everyone else had; norovirus? 24 hour bug? Who knows. It was a bad night so I decided to SAG it today and not ride. I took some meds that one of the three Doctors on the trip had, napped out in Bubba's RV to be woken up so I wouldn't miss trying to pick something nice up at the Prada store near Marfa, TX for Victoria and Maggie.... Unfortunately, it wasn't open, Honest!!! But I took pics!
The ride for the others was a slight headwind to start then a quartering tailwind. A number of riders encountered a local sheriff who does not know the traffic laws of his own state. They were told that by Texas law they HAD to ride on the crappy far too narrow shoulder, not on the road. When Bubba found out he made a point to go see said officer and after a conference call with some Texas State Troopers, the Sheriff was set straight. Helps to have a Homicide detective/SWAT team member on your team! ;-)
A bunch of us took a few cars out to view the famous Marfa Lights. took an hour or so. We all agreed to come back and tell everyone how cool and mysterious they were but the truth is that we saw absolutely nada, zero, zilch, but had a good time doing so!!

Yes ~~Virginia~~ Victoria, there is a Prada in West Texas

Sorry girls...

Day 18
75 miles to Van Horn TX today. Pretty hard day with a stiff headwind and a steep climb 18 miles into the ride. Spent some time on Interstate 8 today. We have been told many times that both the roads and the drivers in Texas are the worst we will encounter on the trip, and as far as the roads, that section of I-8 certainly seems to bear that out. The shoulder was pretty bad and the main lanes looked the same. And we spent about 1/3 or all our riding on this trip in Texas. So far the drivers, at least near El Paso have been quite courteous, as have the very large majority of drivers in the last three states.
Staying in a KOA tonight with decent shower facilities. It started raining as soon as we got in but is supposed to clear before morning.

dry most of the time but watch out in the monsoon season!

my typical nightly mess... repacked every morning

Day 17
The short 57 mile run from El Paso to Ft. Hancock was an interesting ride from the north west of town through downtown to the southeast side of town where we found a market with awesome baked goodies. Then on through Fabens where we had a great Mexican food lunch at Margarhita's Cafe then on down the road to the Ft Hancock High School where we spent the night in the gym.
While we had been traversing desert for some days at this point, this was our first experience with blowing desert sand that covers and penetrates EVERYTHING. The sidewalks at the school were virtually buried in sand and accretions that you's need a chisel to remove. The sand blows under and thru door and window seals.

about to head downtown

El Paso

Breakfast of Champions!

Whatever you do, do not pick pecans.....

Day 16
Today was supposed to be a simple 77 mile run to El Paso, TX. Ha Ha... It was the hardest day of the trip so far. While the forecast was for 6 building over the day to 12 mph headwind along the route but we ended up with a starting headwind of about 12-15 and just at 20 with harder 25 to 30mph gusts for the last few hours. It was a direct headwind luckily into only gentle climbs but it was relentless. It took us longer to do the 77 today than the 100 on Friday!

I left the school on my own to make sure I was in El Paso early to see Cita's great friends Kim and Kyle McElhaney (both UF Cycling Team riders) but once I felt the winds I started looking for a strong group of riders to paceline with. After the first SAG stop, Hargy and I were together but it was just too brutal for just two of us so when I saw Scott and Mike and AD and Hans, all strong guys, up ahead I buried myself to catch them. I hit 17-18 to catch them and when we did I just hung on the back for many miles trying not to throw up! We then had a paceline of 6 and were lucky to see 15 mph into the wind and 11-12 on the uphills for a couple of hours. After a while we lost a couple of the guys then a couple more and in the end Scott, the Aussie from Canada (don't ask) and I were the only ones left. The first to cross into Texas, our fourth state, and the first to arrive at the hotel in El Paso. I admit I sucked wheel the last three or four miles, I couldn't take even one turn on the front! We were truly wiped.

After a WONDERFUL HOT SHOWER in the hotel, Kim and Kyle picked me up for a quick shopping spree to Albertson's for soap and batteries then to a great Mexican restaurant called the J & J Cafe. Had a fun time and we all chatted with Maggie and Victoria.

Turns out Kim knows Chandler, our Gainesville/UF based Bike Mechanic! They had a small reunion in the lobby when we came back to the hotel.. Small world, huh??? I am back at the hotel typing the last of this but I'm too tired to do the pics so I'm sorry but you'll have to wait till I have internet again. I'll even look at the typos and spelling too.. someday, I promissssssssssssssssss......

Our fourth state

Kim & Kyle

Day 14
Today was our first century. For you non-cyclists that mean a hundred mile ride in one day. We left Rodeo early with dawn over the mountains to the southeast. We had a gradual uphill and a slight headwind for the first 25 miles but then the wind began to clock around and by the time we were at 50 miles we had a gentle tailwind.and by mile 72 we had about 15 mph direct tailwind and withing a few more miles it was up to around 20! I was riding with my friends Roland, RO and PW and we were peddling and chatting and doing well over a 25 mph average. It was a great ride!
Our lodging for the evening is at an Elementary school in Columbus NM. Since we arrived on a Friday afternoon after school was out we had the use of the gym and facilities until we left on Sunday. Saturday was our second rest day. All of our meals while there were prepared by the school's cafeteria staff and was a nice change.
On Saturday (officially Day 15) we were shuttled to the Fort Furlong museum and park. We had a lecture about the Poncho Villa raid into Columbus, NM on March 6, 1916, which we were told, was the last time that America was ever invaded by a foreign force. Remember the marble staircase at the Gadsden Hotel and count your blessings..
We then walked across the border and had lunch and did some shopping at the Pink Store. A few brave souls in our group got free haircuts at the town square from the ladies in the Barber School... no, not me. I don't have much hair but I value what I do have...

OK, only 96 miles to go!

Crossing the Continental Divide

see those mountains? That's where we're going today

Roadside facilities??

soon to be tired legs

our gym for the night

Ferdi's and my corner

America's first armored vehicle cir 1906

"the Fence"

in The Pink Store

Doc Dean get a free hairdut

Local hero, Pancho, rides again...
and again... and again

Day 13
Today we rode from Bisbee to Rodeo, NM so into our third state. Rodeo is VERY funky! a TINY town, the population of which we probably doubled with our arrival. Some of us stayed in the community center and others camped at a very quaint campground/RV park/cabin/? place. I did some laundry because somehow I missed the laundry call in Tombstone.
We rode through Douglas, AZ and visited the Gadsden Hotel which is amazing inside. HUGE marble columns and a huge marble staircase that Poncho Villa rode up on his horse because he was either A) riding up to the balcony to look for the "enemy", or B) plastered. Take your pick.....
After dinner we all went to the only bar in town where a Border Patrol office whom Bubbba had befriended a few years ago, gave a talk about the Border Patrol's job and problems they face. A very nice gentleman and his talk was very interesting .

Gadsden Hotel's Staircase

Pancho was here

Our third state

Day 12
On a trip like this, where you need facilities for a group this large, we sometimes have to do especially long or short days to adjust the next day's stopping point. Today was a less than 30 mile uphill to the town of Bisbee, AZ. The climb was hard at times, especially near the top, a few feet less than 6,000 feet. And a thousand feet of that hard work was blown off in a few minutes descending into town. And since it was a windy, poorly paved, residential type area you couldn't even fly down!
We were all glad we stopped here. It is a very interesting, very eclectic mix of styles: hippie, artist, brewery, top rated restaurants, and mining history. The town of Bisbee was a center of copper mining through the 1900s.
Our entire group was invited to a wine and cheese party at one of the boutiques in town. One side was expensive women's clothing, the other side an art store. The town is built up on the steep sides of the narrow valley/canyon, in the middle of which is the steep, main road thru town. The pics will explain much better than my words.
We had a great meal at The Table. Great service and food. Campground was a tad short on facilities.....