Pedaling for Patriots

Since we did 2 days of riding in one day yesterday, we decided to take the day off and spend it in Safford.  We were able to sleep in, answer emails and phone calls, and pay bills (always important!).  We looked around the town and had a great lunch at the Main Street Cafe.  Penny and I dropped Rob back at the hotel so that we could do a little more shopping (I heard that retail therapy is great for sore legs) and we even found a Starbucks at the Safeway!

Now we are glued to the television watching the Chilean miner rescue and praying that everyone is out safely by the time we wake up tomorrow!

What an incredible day!!!!!  There’s no way my words are going to be able to express what we did/saw/experienced, but I’m going to try.

We left Silver City, NM and headed up to the “Continental Divide” sign to take a picture.  That’s when we found flat #2 of this trip (Rob’s – back tire).  After changing it out, and taking the picture, we started our ride.  It’s actually a good thing we were delayed by about 45 minutes, because it was COLD!  My fingers and toes were freezing during our fast descent into Cliff.  In the first 30 minutes we went 12 miles!

After 20 miles, we started to climb the Big Lue Mountains.  At one point we saw a beautiful hawk sitting on a fence post, then a roadrunner crossed right in front of us, and then a beautiful collie ran along with us for awhile!  We crossed into Arizona halfway up (at 1:30pm at 6,020 feet) and at mile 63 we finally reached the top!  We had climbed almost 2,000 feet.  The top of the pass was incredible!  It was absolutely beautiful and definitely worth the climb.  The pictures just don’t show the magnitude of it all, but if you watch the video you can get a little sense of what it was like.

Then, it was downhill again!  We were going about 35mph, twisting and turning down the mountain.  We were soaring past incredible views of the canyon below and the mountains above us.  I don’t think I’ll ever forget that experience!  We coasted into Three Way, AZ and met up with Penny and Barbara, where we were supposed to finish for the day.  However, we looked ahead and could see the next climb and decided we really didn’t want that to be our start for the next day, so we decided to keep going.

That climb ended up being about 1,200 feet in only 6 miles.  (At one point my chain came off.)  But, we had a long downhill after that!  Almost 2,000 feet in 23 miles as we rode into Safford, AZ.  We watched the sun set behind the mountains as we hit the 100 mile mark.  Our longest ride ever!  From there it was about 10 miles into town and our hotel for the night.

This is a snapshot of our climbs for today!

Stats:

Live Animals:  Hawks, Road Runner, Scorpions, Deer, Tassel-Eared Squirrel, Horses, Cows, Dogs, Grasshoppers (jumping and squished all over EVERYWHERE)

Dead Animals:  Skunk, Rabbit, Snakes

Happy 10/10/10 to everyone!

We had a great rest day in Silver City, NM.  The town has lots of interesting shops and places to eat.  We met a couple who are biking from San Diego to St. Augustine and took their picture at the Continental Divide sign.  We enjoyed a great meal at Isaac’s and found a few little souvenirs (as my mother always says, “Jewelry doesn’t take up any room at all!”).  We walked around Bullard Street, where many of the buildings date from the 1880s.  Billy the Kid was jailed here in 1875, at the age of 15, and his mother is buried in the Memory Lane Cemetery.  This is definitely a place I want to come back to visit!

OK.  Forget everything I told you about difficult days.  TODAY was, by far, the hardest day of our ride.  Maybe even the hardest thing I’ve ever done physically – and that includes boot camp!

We started our ride in Arrey, NM and the Caballo Lake State Park.  It was cold and windy so we were in layers.  Once we turned onto Route 152 and started the climb, we quickly shed those layers!  In the first 15 miles, we climbed 1,400 feet.  But that was just the warm-up!

We stopped in Hillsboro at the Barbershop Cafe, a very cute cafe where the menu changes daily.  Rob had a croissant with egg, lettuce, tomato and bacon, and fried potatoes.  I had the most amazing french toast with fresh prickly pear syrup.  After being warned about the gravel ahead, we started to begin our real climb. 

And climb we did!  And climb, and climb, and climb!  I kept thinking we would go around one more bend and we would have a flat part to rest.  But, no.  Hillsboro was at 5,212 feet.  The top of Emory Pass was 8,228 feet.  We climbed 3,016 feet in only 17 miles!  The road was bumpy and full of “s” curves and, at times, filled with loose gravel.  .We also encountered quite a few cattle grates.  We struggled at 3-5 mph for most of the climb.  However, the drivers were courteous and some waved and shouted encouragement.  I’ve never been so glad to be finished with something in my life!  About 1/4 mile from the top, a very nice man stopped to tell us we were close.  That pushed us on when we had little energy left.

Then, the downhill began!  Twisting and turning down the mountain tested our brakes and my courage.  The loose gravel was unnerving.  And then, just when we would begin enjoying the ride, there would be another climb.  What was this????  We were supposed to be going downhill!  It took all I had to keep going and not give up.  At one point, we were going 30 mph and the wind came up and slowed us to 9 mph!    It seemed very strange to be pedaling going downhill.  For the day, we climbed 5,101 feet and boy, does my body feel it!

Chef Shevek M Barnhart hosted us at an exceptional dinner at Shevek & Co in Silver City.  I had the Chicken & Fig Tagine and Rob had the Chicken Ashke.  Barbara and Penny had the Spanakopitta.  What a great end to a grueling day!

Stats:

Live Animals:  White-Tailed Deer, Lizards, Rock Squirrel, Cows, Horses

Dead Animals:  Snake

We are finally out of Texas!  We left El Paso this morning and not long afterwards we crossed back into New Mexico.  We had beautiful weather and smooth roads (although no shoulders), through pecan groves and past cotton and chili fields.  At one point we were sprayed by a crop duster over the pecan trees!  Unfortunately, it didn’t keep the mosquitoes away from Rob, as his legs are covered in bites.

We went through the town of Mesilla.  It hasn’t changed much over the years, which allows visitors to see what an 1800’s border town looked like. Western Legend Billy the Kid once stood trial for murder in a Mesilla courtroom, and the Mesilla Plaza was once a major stop for the Butterfield Stagecoach.

In Las Cruces we stopped at Senator Udall’s office to pick up a letter he had written to commemorate our ride through New Mexico.  This is a picture of Xochitl Torres, Field Representative, handing over the letter.  (see a copy here)

We saw lots of bicyclists today riding the Southern Tier route from West to East.  This is the first time we’ve seen women bicyclists during the entire trip!  We spoke with a very nice couple from Canada who had just bicycled the Continental Divide route and were on their way to El Paso to catch a plane home.

At one point, we came up to a border patrol post and wondered if we should stop.  Since the orange cones directed us that way, we decided not to chance it and we pulled up to the small trailer.  A very nice officer came out, asked us a few questions and we gave him a hat and a CIA coin.  We had it all set up for him to give Penny and Barb a hard time when they came through the post after us, but they decided to go a different way.

We then pedaled next to the Rio Grande and around mountains until we reached Hatch, New Mexico (Chile Capital of the World) and ate at Sparky’s.  It was a great ride, up and down a few hills, with spectacular vistas.  It felt like we were quite remote, although we could see the main highway at times.

We were invited to the home of Matt, Patty, Molly and Ryan Olson for dinner and had a great time.  It felt like we were at home after a month of restaurants and hotels.  Their friends Frankie Benavidez and Jolie Tixier were there as well and the evening passed much too quickly.  The food was great and Rob especially enjoyed the french silk pie.  (Thanks again to all of you!!!)

Stats:

Live Animals:  Horses, Cows, Burros, Dogs, Grasshoppers

Dead Animals:  Skunks, Snake

Another wonderful day in El Paso and we spent it resting, catching up on emails and phone calls, and doing maintenance on the van and bikes.  Rob got his hair cut by Eddie, the owner of Coronado Barber Shop.  They bonded as former Marines, while I enjoyed the weather outside.

We would like to thank all the people who have sent us messages of support and all those who have sent donations to the Memorial Fund.  It is very motivating to know that so many Americans support this cause!  (I’m sure that will help push us forward as we start to climb these mountains!)  We would also like to thank Fox News, specifically Catherine Herridge, for the great article about Pedaling for Patriots.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/10/07/khost-coast-update-cia-fundraising-ride/

What a great day in El Paso!  We were able to sleep in (yay!) and read the paper and catch up on emails.  We headed out to Scenic Drive, overlooking the city, where we were hosted for lunch by the El Paso Police Academy and Municipal Police Officers Association.  We had a great time and even got to meet a few of their bicycle patrol officers.  We were also interviewed by four local television stations, for broadcast on this evening’s news.  Many people have been eager to hear about what the CIA does and why the Memorial Fund is important.

We then headed back to the city and did a walking tour of the downtown area.  It began in San Jacinto Plaza, original site of Ponce de Leon’s ranch, wound through El Paso’s downtown historic district and ended on Mills Street at the Kress Building, home of the famous dime store.  Most of my pictures are from that tour.  We stopped and had a drink at an outside cafe (the weather was beautiful!) and then headed to the hotel for a bit, before going back out for dinner.  We’re looking forward to one more day here in this city!

Today started off with our first flat tire of the trip! (mine, front)  After a quick change, we were on our way.  We traveled along the US-Mexico border for most of our ride, passing many border patrol officers (and many who slowed down to take a look at us).  We stopped at one of the border cafes for breakfast and had a great egg and potato burrito and huevos rancheros!  We passed lots of pecan groves, cotton fields and corn fields.  We met a man, Bob Lindsey, who had traveled from Oregon and was on his way to Florida.  When we asked what he was going to do when he got there, he answered; “Turn around and head back.”

We got into El Paso, and with the help of the Garmin on the bike and Google Maps on my phone, we finally found our hotel.  We went by The Bicycle Company to drop off Rob’s bike, since he had a few broken spokes.  Then we had an AMAZING dinner at “The Garden” (I have really missed vegetables!)   We are looking forward to having 2 days off before we start riding again!

Stats:

Live Animals:  Miniature Horse, Cows, Burros, Horses, Yellow-Crowned Night Heron, Jack Rabbit, Dogs (getting a little tired of hearing squealing tires as these dogs come out to chase us!)

Dead Animals:  Snakes

This was one CRAZY day!  We started from Carlsbad, NM this morning and crossed back into Texas (where the sign said “no services for 130 miles”).  It was quite cold (about 50°) and we dressed in layers again.  We couldn’t understand why our legs were hurting so much, until we figured out that we were actually climbing into the Guadalupe Mountains.  We gained 2,600 feet of elevation over the first 12 miles of the ride!  It was slow and painful, but the scenery was beautiful!  Our pictures just don’t do it justice.  We saw lots of interesting critters, to include 2 tarantulas!

If the climb up was tough, the ride down was exhilarating!  We went 8 miles downhill at about 35 mph!  (and that’s because I kept putting on my brakes – I’m sure Rob would have gone much faster.  In fact, some of these pictures Rob took while we were riding down the mountain!)  We met Penny and Barb at the bottom of the hill, where they brought us sandwiches and drinks for lunch.  By then it had warmed up quite a bit, so we had shed most of our layers.  Unfortunately, we then had a rocky shoulder for the next 25 miles, which slowed us back down to 10 mph.

We stopped at the Salt Flat Cafe, where our phones kept changing from Central Time to Mountain Time, depending on where we were standing in the cafe.  The woman we met, and her husband, have owned the cafe since 1945.

We got the pictures from our meeting with President Bush!  They are in the album labeled “Austin to Dallas/Ft. Worth”.  Some people have asked where to find the photos.  Just go to the top of the webpage and click on “photos”.  It will take you to our Smugmug page, where the pictures are in folders by day.

Stats:

Live Animals:  Cows, Horses, Lizards, Tarantulas, HUGE grasshoppers (with cool red wings), Beetles that looked like green peanut M&M’s, Hawk

Dead Animals:  Snake, lots of tiny birds