Week Two, Lots of Desert

Day 8 Tucson to Benson AZ, plan:  65 miles

Today's ride was 92 km of next to no flat roads and they were poundingly rough, again. We had a tail wind that would have been great if we weren’t climbing most of the time.   The day ended with a nice downhill run into Benson, AZ.   Poor Jona was inundated with flats today.  

Lunch break at the support van

Day 9 Benson to Bisbee AZ, plan:  50 miles  

The day started out nice and flat, then up we went. The last stretch was almost 20 miles of continuous uphill.  I was going too slow to take a picture of a sign that a cyclist dreads: “passing lane ahead.” (Kate's note:  that means it's going to be a long, long climb.)

The climb topped out at 5000 ft. We then had a long descent with hairpin turns and, unfortunately, horrible roads. Instead of being able to enjoy a nice, fun ride down, I had to do a lot of braking to keep my bike under control.  So much braking that I had to pull over in one town just to relax my hands before continuing. Total of 3513 feet climbing with 1784 feet descending.

Bisbee is a cute town, larger than I expected, but I was too tired to walk around and check it out.  I wanted a beer but settled on a nice tea.  We stayed at the Copper Queen Hotel with ghosts and all.

Christmas in the desert

Day 10 Bisbee AZ to Portal NM, plan:  84 miles 

This was a great day, starting with a 25 mile downhill right from Bisbee, followed by a long flat stretch.  A tail wind showed up so we were flying along after lunch, doing 40+km/hr for quite some time.  We stopped at the Geronimo historical site then continued on, only to have the wind change drastically, dropping my speed to 16 km/hr.  The last 8 miles were an uphill gradient of 2-3% to take us into Portal, NM for the night. Everyone was very tired.   2013 feet up, 2571 feet down.

I told Kate she should have been here as there were lots of people walking around with binoculars on chest harnesses, just like her. Apparently, Portal is a hotspot for viewing songbirds. Right up her alley! 

Geronimo surrenders momument, Skeleton Valley, AZ

Continental Divide (Animas, NM)

Day 11  Portal to Columbus NM, plan:  99 miles 

For the first 8 miles, we got to go back down the hill we had to climb to get to Portal and it was cold.  For days we have been travelling right along the border with Mexico.  The landscape is quit sparse, so mark our surprise when we came across a Target store in the middle of nowhere.  Much to my chagrin, there was still a little bit of climbing.  I got to within 9 miles of the day’s destination when we ran out of daylight so the bike and I hitched a ride in the van.  1757 feet up, 2452 feet down.

We stayed in a cute hotel in Columbus.  The owners feed us a set dinner that was delicious and then out came homemade blueberry cobbler.  Yum!! I got some laundry done so I’m good for a few more days.

Waiting for the store to open

Day 12 Columbus NM to El Paso TX,  plan:  78 miles 

This day was a flatlander’s dream, some climbing but mostly flat.  My kind of day! The scenery was pretty much the same ol’ same ol’.  We stayed in downtown El Paso.  Unfortunately we did not pass by the Texas state sign when we crossed the border; it was somewhere in El Paso but we didn’t get to see it.  1211 feet up, 1537 feet down.

Image from Internet

Day 13  El Paso TX to Ft Hancock TX,  plan:  55 miles 

Since this was a short day, we were going to leave after rush hour, around 10 a.m.  The forecast was for big winds building by the hour so we left at 9 a.m.  The best part was it was another flatlander day, and I was hoping for that wind to be a tail wind.  By noon, the winds arrived and they were a cross wind until the last 4 miles when it was at our backs.  The landscape finally changed, thank God.  Lots of pecan groves and green space, and lots of irrigation.  258 feet up, 380 feet down. Not much happening in Ft. Hancock.  Tomorrow, the forecast is for winds up to 55 mph.

Pecan Trees

Picking cotton

Day 14:   FT. Hancock to Van Horn, plan:  73 miles  

We actually got to see cattle, horses, and goats today!  It was a fun day with a little bit of climbing, dealing with cross winds, and trying to outrun a big nasty sky that was following us.   We arrived in town just in time as the skies opened shortly after we got here and the rain came down.  We also crossed into another time zone so now we are on Central time. One more riding day then we’re off the bikes for a day.  1785 feet up, 268 feet down.

I always say it’s worth looking where you are going and keeping your eyes peeled for what you might find on the road. Today’s find was a US dollar coin.  (Kate’s note:  only two women have been on the US one dollar coin. The first was Susan B. Anthony, a social reformer, women’s rights activist, and suffragist. The second was Sacagawea, a native American who helped Lewis and Clark on their mission to explore the Louisiana Territory. Hers was also the first gold coloured American dollar.)

Sacagawea dollar coin

Day 15 Van Horn TX to Ft Davis TX, plan:  83 miles  

My legs were heavy today, making my cycling a bit more laboured. What a rush for the first 30 km, however, as it was downhill with a nice tailwind!  I had to know that wasn’t going to last.  We were then met with a long steady incline and a slight cross wind. The last 30 km were all downhill, though, yahoo!

There were two events of note, today.  One was my first flat tire.  We had pulled into a lot next to the van for lunch and all was well.  Afterward, I walked my bike out to the road to see the front tire was flat and we couldn’t find any reason why. I got it fixed and off I went.  The other event was when we found a Prada store out in the middle of nowhere.  Unfortunately, it wasn't open.  I understand someone told Prada about the store and they sent shoes and purses.  It got broken in to, so now they only display the right shoe. Someone’s always got to ruin things. The store is about a mile outside of Valentine, TX.   2200 feet up, 1400 feet down

Prada Store

Day 16  Ft Davis TX, plan:  Rest day  Altitude:  4900 ft

I had a fairly good sleep.  After breakfast, it was time for laundry.  I then gave the bike a nice bath and some lube.  Everyone is grateful for the day off ... including my bike. 

Little Sandy at the end of week two