2017 10-07 Marfa to Marathon (57 miles)

Some feared that we would be riding into a horrendous head wind all day.  Although the wind did exist, it was not as fierce as imagined.  The road meandered, thus the direction of the wind relative to our travel would change.  This difference made it easier at times and harder at other times.  A welcome relief from the constant head wind we faced a few days earlier.  The mind and the body need relief from constant stress.

In spite of the wind, we had a great day of cycling.  The temperature was comfortable, the skies blue without clouds, and the road in good shape with wide shoulders.  The last 12 miles were almost all downhill, requiring little to no pedaling.  The tent sites at the camp ground where a breading ground for goats heads.  Remember those nasty little plants with thorns that like to puncture tires?  Well, they like to puncture everything, including tents.

The city of Alpine, about half way into the trip, was a welcome stop.  It is a very interesting and artsy little town, very much like Marfa.  Some delayed a bit to just cycle the downtown area soaking in the various murals painted on the sides of many of the buildings and see the interesting architecture.  

There was nothing between Alpine and Marathon, except one little road side rest area, consisting of two shelters with one picnic table each.  Joe and Tom stopped, laid down on the picnic tables and took a 45 minute mid day siesta.  It was very relaxing in the shade, out of the mid day sun.  The rest of the trip was easier.  Ken stopped to make sure everything was alright as it is not usual to see these two last into camp.

The sky at sunset is once again great.  This seems to be the norm.   While waiting for the laundry machine to finish, we stared at the star filled sky.  Being such cloudless skies, the stars come out by the thousands in this part of the country.  On the way back to our tent sites from the laundry, we were reminded that the owner and a few of his friends have set up telescopes that we could use to peer at the heavens.  One of the telescopes, given to the local school by the McDonald Observatory and kept in a special building at the camp ground, was aimed at Saturn.  It was fascinating to see Saturn and its rings.   A second was aimed at a dead star.  And the last was aimed at the moon.  The large deep craters on the surface of the moon were easily visible.  This was a very nice way to end the evening.

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2017 10-06 Marfa – layover day

Sitting on a cushioned chair instead of a small bike seat, and relaxing in the camp lounge – how good can it get?  Time was spent catching up on personal email and blogs, and just wasting time and enjoying doing so.  Hardly went to the tent all today, and can’t say it was missed.   Many of us went to town, a mile or two away, and had a breakfast or lunch or both.  Now, several of the group are relaxing and waiting for dinner time to roll around.

We met a man in the camp lounge that came to Marfa from Chicago just to attend the Chinati celebration, a three day event celebrating Chinati, who brought art to this area and put it on the map.  We arrived just in time for the first day of the event.  Apparently many of the art galleries along the main strip are offering free food from 5 to 8.  Sounds like a plan for dinner.  Riding around the art district did not turn up any significant amount of food – sorry, we are powered by food not art.  One of the galleries did have free margaritas, and after two, we asked the server for a place she would recommend for dinner.  Mando’s was her answer.  It turned out to be a very nice place, with great food, and a place that the locals eat at, not the tourists.  It is now late enough to go to our tent and sleep.

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2017 10-5 Van Horn to Marfa (74 miles)

This morning we were not only treated to the usual spectacular sunrise, but it was preceded by a fantastic moon set.   Breakfast at the café in the campground was at 7 AM, which was opened a half hour early for us so that we could get out on the road.  Today will be a longer ride than yesterday, and although there will be no climbs, there will be a steady 1 to 2 percent elevation gain for the entire ride as well as heading directly into a strong headwind for most of the day.  This ride is all about getting from point A to point B; no smelling the roses today.  There are no refreshment stops today, only a lone public library that may offer some relief.

The wind battered us all day.  No one felt good at the end of the ride.  Chris managed to arrive in camp a few hours before the rest of us. Go Chris!

Half way along the trip, in the middle of nowhere, was a Prada store.  It is never opened and is world famous! 

There were several different groups of riders today.  The riders in each group working together to spread the pain, each rider taking a turn at breaking the head wind for the other riders, allowing them to get some recovery time.  Joe rode solo.  Nine and half miles from the end and  with what seemed like an impossible ride to complete, Joe pulled off onto to the shoulder for one of many breaks to this point.  He must have been a sorry site:  Straddling his bike, legs out and braced for support, slumped over the bike’s top tube, elbows leaning on the handle bars, and head looking down toward the ground.  He was wondering if he had enough left to finish, when suddenly a beat up, old green car pulls really close and stops.  Startled, Joe looks toward the car and sees the out stretched hand of the driver passing him a cold can of Pepsi through the passenger window.  In his mid twenties, with a Hispanic accent, the driver apologies for not having any more cold water to offer.  He then tried to offer a juice drink in addition to the cold soda.  This was a true act of kindness.  Speeding off as quickly as he stopped, Joe could see the drivers young daughter sleeping in the back seat of the car, and a refrigerator strapped down in the open trunk. The man did no look to be well off, so his generosity was all the more touching.  By the way, he was out of cold water because he had stopped earlier to give it to some of the other cyclists.  Joe now had the strength to finish the ride, inspired and refreshed by this truly remarkable unknown individual.

Two miles outside of Marfa was a sign for DQ.  Yes!  Dinner followed by a milk shake hit the spot.  We all seemed to stop at this DQ, 10 hours after starting our ride. 

The El Cosmico, our camp ground, is a unique place.  The showers consisted of some kind of privacy screening, opened at the top to the sky.  Showering tonight, since it was after dusk, was rather interesting.  Just not used to taking a shower by star light.

We sure did sleep well tonight!

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Map for today

Map for trip to date; 1175 miles traveled; more than 65,00 feet of climbing

2017 10-4 Fort Hancock to Van Horn (68.5 miles)

We left the church early to avoid the heat and wind that develops later in the morning.   As usual, we were treated to our early morning sunrise – we are getting spoiled.  The climbing and head wind tends to tighten the grouping of the riders, and many will often find the same spot for a break. 

Cycling along, one can imagine what this area was once like but is no more.  All that remains in many places are the abandoned and deteriorating buildings of a past way of life.  We are parallening the Southern Pacific rail line.  Rail lines are never built on much of a grade, so the slow progress is totally attributed to the headwinds.  Stopping occasionally makes it possible to more thoroughly enjoy the beauty of this wide open country, the blue skies accented with clouds and the distant mountains.   Riding the interstate is not uncommon in the western states, something not allowed in the east.  Today we entered the central time zone.  One more time zone to go before our trip ends.

We will spend the evening at the Van Horn RV Park.

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2017 10-03 El Paso to Fort Hancock (xx miles)

This morning we had a leisurely hot breakfast in the Quality Inn.  It was good to not be huddled around a picnic table selecting food from a pile of items. At 7 AM, the group met to discuss the ending point of today’s ride.  We will be staying at a church in Fort Hancock and we may either sleep in the community center, the church itself, or pitch our tent outside – our choice. The ride is short and the weather and wind conditions appear to be favorable for biking.  Given this, many have chosen to linger a little longer at the hotel rather than riding on to our destination, a destination which will have little to offer in the way of things to do.  Internet access is almost a given to be non-existent.

This entry is being posted in El Paso, and will be completed some time in the future.  Stay tuned to see how the day went and to see pictures and a map.  This will most likely not be completed until tomorrow.

The first 35 miles of today’s ride were about as good as it gets!  No wind, no climbs, nice roads.  The first 10 miles were spent getting out of El Paso.  Unlike yesterday, this turned out to be a joy.  Light traffic, good shoulders, and what seemed like a steady downhill.  Whether or not it's actually is immaterial, it is how it felt that counts.  The transition from riding through the city to riding through farm land was abrupt.  Ride up to a traffic light, city; ride through the light, country farm land.  Today we saw more of what we have been seeing the last few days.  We had the cotton fields, the pecan groves, and fields of chili peppers.  Cotton wins as the most plentiful crop today, followed by pecan trees and then chili peppers plants.

The time went by quickly as the miles clicked by, making for a very enjoyable ride.  The last 10 or so miles, well, trying to be positive let’s just say we were anxious to get to the church.  A slight head wind developed, making the smooth sailing a little more of an effort and at the county line, the road surface changed from smooth asphalt to a gravel asphalt mix, greatly increasing rolling resistance.  And then there is the heat factor.  Stopped to take pictures of the county line lake and to apply more sun screen, Joe glanced down at the small mercury thermometer Tom has strapped to his rear rack.  It registered 110 degrees.  At a subsequent short stop, this time in the shade, his thermometer showed a temperature of just 90 degrees, which matched what was forecast.  Riding in the sun makes a tremendous difference.

Dinner was at Angie’s, a very nice local restaurant about 2 miles from the church.  A bike caravan started at the church and proceeded to dinner. We all had a meal fit to power us through tomorrow’s ride, one which will be more miles than today and have a few thousand feet of climbing.  Some wish to get out early so as to avoid as much mid-day heat as possible.

Many have chosen to sleep in the church proper.  The pews are cushioned and just as comfortable as our camping mattresses.  Others are sleeping in the meeting room connected to the church.

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2017 10-02 Las Cruces to El Paso (64 miles)

Today we entered the great state of Texas.  There was no fan fare and no sign to great us, just a 1 mile marker on the road that signaled we had arrived one mile back.  The ride up to this point was much the same as yesterday, the scenery perhaps a bit better.  We passed many pecan groves, fields of green and red chili plants, and an occasional field of cotton.

Chris, Joe and Tom had been riding together all morning.  Soon after entering Texas we left the roads to ride on a rather long, paved bike path that ran parallel to the Rio Grande, and was located between the river and the levee road.  It started off as a rather enjoyable experience, the path meandering through a grassy flat area along the river.  At times the river seemed higher than our bike path.   This changed gradually to something other than pleasant.  At first, there were many puddles that spanned the width of the bike path and ran for 20 to 30 feet.  The water was only a few inches deep and there was still a cement bike path underneath the water. Then this changed and the puddles contained sandy wash that made travel a little more difficult, and dangerous.  Later still the sand was replaced by mud.  When the front wheel of a moving bike hits this deep mud, things can get bad.  The mud will stop the front wheel and send the rider flying to the ground.  This is precisely what happened to Chris.   In a blink he and his bike were down in the mud.  Chris was up in a flash and thankfully unhurt.  Chris is one of the happiest people I know on the trip and he took this tumble with a smile.  I’m sure it was no fun, but it did not have any lingering effect on his disposition.

El Paso is a large city.  After leaving the bike path, we still had 20 or so miles of city biking ahead before we would reach the Quality Inn airport hotel, our resting place for the evening.  El Paso is not a biker friendly city!  The main road we took to reach the hotel had heavy rush hour like traffic that made the ride tense and dangerous, or at least it felt dangerous.  The occasional reprieve of riding on a side street was good, except for the trolley tracks that made moving to the edge of the street difficult.  A bike can not cross these tracks without swinging out and taking the tracks at or near a 90 degree angle.  Trying to cross less than this would result in the tracks tipping the bike.  The ride to the hotel was not pleasant.  The trip through the city was a necessary evil and everyone made it safely to the hotel to spend a night in a comfortable bed.

Ken was out visiting friends for dinner tonight, so the group was given an allowance and sent out on their own for dinner.  Some opted to pay for dinner on their own dime and enjoy a place of their choosing.  All in all, a pleasant evening to a day of cycling.

  

Texas accounts for 1/3 of the total miles of our trip so we will have many stories from the long horn state.

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2017 09-30 and 10-01

2017 10-01 Caballo to Las Cruces (65 miles)

If the description of the events of yesterday was long, todays will be short.  The ride was basically flat, and except for the slight headwind during the last 10 miles, easy.  But it was also relatively boring, especially when contrasted with yesterday’s ride.  The highlight was seeing all the pecan orchards.  Another fact, not so much a highlight, was the number of dead skunks on the road today.  One must be bored to take count of such a thing.  And one other thing, at 2 AM we where treated to another thunderstorm, lasting a little longer than an hour and not nearly as intense of last nights.

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 2017 09-30 Mimbres to Caballo (54 miles)

Today we face the climb to Emory pass, the highest point we will achieve on our trip at an altitude of 8228 feet.  But this will not be the first challenge of the day.

We went to our tents last night knowing that there was a very high possibility of rain during the night.  Throughout the night we could see the flash of distant lightening as it illuminated the dome of our tent, followed by the loud clap of thunder.  The storm continued to get closer and closer, until 2 AM when it struck our camp area.  The rain was torrential and lasted for almost 4 hours.  Many of us had tent failures that let significant amounts of rain into the tent.  Eric and Ed actually got out of their tents and slept in the ladies room.  Joe put on his gortex jacket and leg covers but remained in his tent which had taken on a large amount of water.  He was only saved from lying in a large puddle by the 2.5 inch Thermorest mattress.  Some, those with good tents fared much better.  In the morning, we all broke camp by packing wet and soggy cycling gear.

Breakfast was at a local bakery that also serves meals.  The buffet breakfast was a welcome treat for eleven tired bikers and was so delicious.

Cycling off together, Joe, Chris and Tom came across a surprise only about four miles from our camp site.  At first we thought we saw snow along the shoulder of the road, but then we realized it was hail that had accumulated like a blanket of snow along the one side of the road.  A little further along our ride we came across the first of several sections of road that had rocks of all sizes washed from one side of the road to the other by a heavy flow of rain. We now knew just how sever the storm was that passed over us last night.

Now for the challenge we expected to face today.  The climb to the pass lasted for 15 miles and we gained in excess of 3500 feet in altitude.  The effort required was exhausting but the views made it seem less significant and painful.  In one section of the climb, we would reach around 7000 feet, only to go downhill for 300 to 400 feet.  Normally bikers like down hills, but this series of three or four only meant we would have to climb those feet again.

Once we reached the summit, many took a short side road to the lookout.  Yes, it was a climb to the lookout, but boy was it worth it.  The entire valley below was visible for at least 40 or 50 miles.  We could see some of the towns we would later cycle through as well as the destination for our rides end.

The decent into tonight’s camp ground lasted for almost 35 miles.  The first part of the decent was the most dramatic, with no pedaling needed at all.  It was a series of switch backs that eventually got us to the valley floor. The next section, although not as steep a decent, required very little effort pedaling.  The scenery was magnificent the entire way.

In the small town of Kingston, we stopped at the Kingston Clay Co and had a coffee.  The owner, Eric, was very friendly and a real cool person.  One could describe him as a sixties hippie type.  He talked to us for a long time and told us all about his clay business.  He obtains the clay across the street from his little shop.  To get to the clay he has to climb a rather large hill and carry it back by hand.  Sounds like an awful lot of hard work.

As today was a long day, Joe and Tom where running a little behind in preparing dinner.  Chris, being the ever helpful person he is, chipped right in and saved the day by helping in every aspect of this evenings meal preparation.  He is as fast in the kitchen as he is on his bike.  Thanks Chris for all your help! And because of it, dinner was served on time.

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