Day 22- Marathon to Sanderson

Woke up to 39F and gusting winds. Route short and downhill, so why worry about gusting winds? 

There was no need to rush and most of us waited until the sun was up and we could take a few pictures before leaving Marathon. We visited a commune the evening before and met the last remaining resident. The site reminded me of Howard Finster and his garden. The basic building material was concrete and paper, a kind of permanent paper mâché. The picture above is a somewhat more practical application as a Bed and Breakfast painted in bright colors.

We continued down the road, using US 90, the southern transcontinental highway built beside the Southern Pacific RR before I-10 was established. We have been using this highway since leaving Van Horn. We will stay on it for several more days and pick it up again for the crossing of the Florida Panhandle. The basic surface is 'chip and seal' but has been smoothed down over the years. The use of the highway by a small but regular convoy of trucks and cars roaring by at speeds of 70-80+ mph keeps us on the wide but rough shoulders. Our hands are constantly vibrated and require regular stretching to restore feeling.

We did arrive early in Sanderson despite enduring constant headwinds. We enjoyed a leisurely afternoon in the park in front of the county courthouse, pictured above. We stayed in the local High School and had a very tasty beef brisket dinner prepared by students and a few parents. This was a fund raising event for their Project Graduation, an alcohol and drug free celebration for the small class of graduating seniors. About half a dozen students introduced themselves. Everyone was going to college and had what seemed to be ambitious and specific plans from medical professions to ranch management. (Note: This area is know primarily for sheep and goats, especially angora, rather than cattle ranching.)

Day 21- Big Bend National Park

A day off our bicycles and an auto tour of Big Bend NP. Bubba organized an eight vehicle day long visit to one of the national parks that I had not visited. I took more pictures here than all the rest of the trip. However, I will need more time to sort and post them.

We started the day with a big breakfast cooked by Chef Ann and set out for the park. It is an astonishing collection of stark and bleak desert landscapes surrounding the Chizos Mountain oasis with elevations up to 8000 ft. You find evergreens, oaks and the southern most stand of aspen growing there in the midst of desert. We learned that this park as well as so many others, benefited in the 1930's from the work of the CCC to construct roads and the Chizos Mtn lodge and cottages. They all enjoy a magnificent view through a Window on the mountains looking out to the plain leading down to the Rio Grande River.

Day 20- Marfa to Marathon

We camped at Ei Cosmico, which even the office manager and long term Marfa resident described as 'quirky.' That said, the outdoor showers were just chilly as you tried to dry yourself and the tents and luggage were full of dust. So, what's a little dirt?

The group of us who went in search of the lights were disappointed but we did see a spectacular display of stars in the clear night sky.

Today's route was short, mostly downhill and with a strong wind at our back. We stopped on the way out of town to look at their courthouse (see first, above). We then went over Paisano Pass, which was a gentle climb from the west. Nice day of easy riding before taking tomorrow off to investigate Big Bend NP.

The fast pace allowed for a leisurely stop in Alpine and included a visit to a bike shop and a bakery with monster sized cinnamon buns. Tonight we are camping outside the little, but surprisingly prosperous town of Marathon. Here's a picture of the local hotel, Gage, named after a local rancher originally from Vermont:

Day 19- Van Horn to Marfa

This was one of the rides that I had most anticipated. I had always wanted to visit Marfa, a town of artists and ranchers supposedly living in cosmic harmony in West Texas. We are planning a ride out this evening to view the Marfa lights. They and the town have been featured recently on 60 Minutes and in the NYTimes.

The ride itself was an uneventful extended slight uphill from the beginning and ending with a downhill into Marfa and a DQ as a reward. The wind worked for us today. We had a nice homemade lunch in Valentine at their library, saw some antelope at a distance and were stopped and reprimanded by an over zealous deputy sherif. He will be having a little chit-chat this evening with Bubba, who just happens to have been a St Louis police officer .

Day 18- Ft Hancock to Van Horn

Character was built and we crossed into Central Time today. The day's ride started early due to the length and climbs but more importantly to mitigate the forecast increase in winds coming again out of the East. We initially passed through more farms and ranches in the Rio Grande River valley.

The route took on a different character after the first rest stop. We used the shoulder on I-10 for the first time. Many may recognize that I-10 is the major highway crossing the southern US from Santa Monica, CA to Jacksonville, FL. We left the very rough surface of the shoulder after only 2.5 miles and traversed the adjoining frontage roads for most of the day. The remainder of the morning was occupied with climbing while being buffeted by cross/ headwinds. (Or were those cross headwinds?) The lunch stop at yet another cute Mexican cafe, Micheals in Sierra Blanca, was a relief. The hardest part of the day came upon us then. An easterly wind blew right at us as we rode the next 22 miles. We did organize ourselves into 4-6 person pace lines to shelter us a bit against the tormenting wind. We finished the ride by returning to the I-10 shoulder for 8.5 miles of climb and downhill into Van Horn. Cute KOA campground overnight and early to bed. Exhausted!

My daughter, Emily, and I talked about training for something like this ride. It's true that you cannot really prepare adequately for 7 weeks of daily bike rides. Nevertheless I have heard that most riders have riden frequently on many week long events and extended daily rides. One rider logged 5000 miles since last Sept. Of course, he lives in Florida. I tried to ride daily and occasionally undertake longer rides to build my confidence as much as any physical capabilities. 

One of our speakers in Gila Bend was a 70 year old ultra-marathon runner and psychiatrist. He noted that he was not getting any faster as he aged but his endurance was increasing. He said what were undertaking was of 'epic' and success was almost entirely mental rather than physical. Interesting, eh?

Day 17- El Paso to Ft Hancock

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday our hard ride ended with an entry into El Paso through what can only be described as post-industrial apocalypse moonscape. This morning in utter contrast we traversed a lovely neighborhood of older homes on our way directly through a quite modern downtown. We left El Paso riding in a generally southeast direction through pecan orchards and irrigated rich farmland along the Rio Grande River.

The ride itself was a delightful reward of a short route, light winds and flat terrain in contrast again to Sunday's effort. We are spending the night in the local high school gym and going to bed early in anticipation of a longer ride and return of headwinds tomorrow. Our chef, Ann, provided us a yummy Asian theme dinner. We had three self-contained cross country riders as guests and we encountered as women's bike tour that will be riding the same route with us for a few days.

Day 16- Columbus, NM to El Paso, TX

Welcome to Texas, our fourth state and one in which we will stay 19 days and ride 1035 miles. 

Today's ride began and ended 77 miles later in a cold headwind. The consensus among the riders is that today was the hardest ride so far and was like a day long uphill climb at 10-13 mph with no relief. One rider commented that she was "close to tears" and many observed that the constant wind sapped your strength as well as spirit. I found the headwind from the East difficult but was troubled as much by the cold temperature that persisted thorouout the day. We left Columbus with a temperature of 42F and I kept on my jacket all day. We did learn from the former mayor of Columbus that the abandoned rail line that we had been following from Douglas had been built from El Paso by Phelps Dodge to support the mines around Bisbee and the road that we used today was built upon the old rail grade. Straight with very few curves.

I found myself obsessed today with the Mile Markers. We receive daily a printed version of the routes, accessible to readers to the right on the blog. They include a map, elevation profile and a cue sheet with each turn and segment. I have tried to keep references to miles and terrain to a minimum, but I must admit that days and dates are oblivious to me but the details of each day's ride are on top of mind. Upon the completion of each day there is a sense of accomplishment and the good feeling that next day will be different.

BTW- We crossed the Continental Divide at 4520 ft the day of the long ride from Rodeo. The sight was so unremarkable I took a poorly lit picture into the sun and did not see the need to publish it.