Next instalment - Banff - Whitefish!

Feeling itchy again! Vicki, who we met on the GD ride in 2010 is planning on riding the Canadian section this summer, down as far as Whitefish, then maybe do the Going to the Sun road. I've decided to grasp the opportunity, and go along. Harry and Anne are coming too. I fly out to Calgary July 26. This time, I'm going to try and cut out even more stuff and reduce everything to 2 panniers plus tent. I've bought a new tent with smaller poles, since Numbstuff won't be there to carry my poles this time :( Also, no computer this time, so will have to post blogs after I come back.

I'm sooooo looking forward to being out there in the wilderness again!

Aug 29, Day 65

Hachita, NM to Antelope Wells, NM and the U.S. / Mexico Border!!!

Distance - 45.5 miles, Av speed - 11.1 mph

We set the alarm for 6am as we told Bill we would be at the border at noon. It is still dark at 6am however so we take our time getting ready. Sam comes out and instigates yet another round of coffee. We feel sad packing up the tents for the last time, although by now, we can do it with our eyes closed. The road down to the border climbs around 300ft and there is a bit of a headwind just to make it a bit more challenging. We wave farewell to Sam and Bear and promise to send him a photo when we get home.

As yesterday the road is quiet, except for the constant stream of border patrol cars. We don’t see any rattlesnakes, but do see a couple of turtles, both of which we pick up and put on the side of the road in case they get squished by the border patrols, and one of which pees on Numb Stuff as he picks it up – how ungrateful.

 There are a number of vultures circling overhead and Numb Stuff gets a great photo when they land. We have heard so many horror stories about the border area, i.e. drug barons and illegal immigrants, but the reality is that it actually feels like the safest road in the USA due to all the patrols and cameras. There are no discarded backpacks or clothing along the roadside. However, we do see a tarantula cross the road which adds a soupcon of excitement to the day. And a dead cow and a dead fox.

Numb Stuff takes photos of the last 10 mile markers, then finally the border station comes into sight. The border station is small, only dealing with around 5 cars a day plus the Mexican shuttle buses which go to Phoenix airport.

The border patrol staff warmly welcome us with a root beer popsicle and allow us to clean up a little before having our photos taken. Numb Stuff also rustles up a Mountain House lunch while we wait for Bill.

While we are waiting for Bill, a few shuttle buses pull up from Mexico and their occupants scrutinized by the border patrol. We are intrigued by the questions and actions of the border guards. For example, they pay close attention to the type of clothing worn. If it looks like it was bought in the US, then that means that it is likely that that person is already living illegally in the USA and is trying to get back in again, having popped back to Mexico to see family. Again, contents of wallets and pockets are examined in minute detail, in particular receipts. At least two Mexican are refused entry and have to cross back over the border with their suitcases to wait for the next bus back.

We start to play the game of guessing who is and who is not going to get in, giving thumbs up/down signals to each other! We give the thumbs down to one young guy, who looks nervous, but are surprised to see that he gets through. On chatting to the female guard, it appears that she shares our suspicions on the basis that according to his papers he has already spent a year in the USA but still speaks no English. However, she has been outvoted by the other two guards

Eventually Bill arrives, having been stopped twice by the border patrol cars, once for speeding and once for peeing by the side of the road. Takes a while to lose bike habits! We are joyfully reunited and catch up with his story of how his ride ended. He takes us back to Silver City, where we check into the historic Palace Hotel (built in the 1800s) and go out to celebrate with beer and margaritas. It is probably a good job the ride has ended, for the three of us no longer have inhibitions, brain or mental discipline.

This ride will never be forgotten – the journey has imprinted itself permanently into our spirits and minds. Big thanks especially to Deb for patiently updating our blog from fragmented emails, to Julie for riding with us in Montana, Judy & Deb for being support crew in Montana and to everybody out there who has been following us on a daily basis. Bikes have been broken down, packed up and are ready to go home

This is not the end, only the beginning… there will be more adventures in future- watch this space! Hopefully we have inspired people that you are never too old to do this sort of trip and anything is possible with a little determination.

Aug 28, Day 64

High Lonesome Bull campsite – Hachita (Sam Hughes’ house)

Distance - 49 miles, Av speed - 9 mph

We wake up to find the bikes lying on a flooded tarp, but thankfully our tents have held good, and other than being absolutely filthy, have kept us and our gear dry. We don’t expect to see any traffic on the dirt road following all the rain, but lo and behold, a truck pulls up just as we are packing up and the lady tells us we are lucky not to have been flooded last night.

Further down the road, we encounter large pools of water and the bikes quickly become all caked in mud.  Numb Stuff’s de railleur becomes stuck in first gear.   We spot a couple of snakes on the road, and also a group of horses who come galloping down to greet us.

Finally, the dirt road hits the interstate 10 and we make our first encounter with Border Patrol – a large truck with infra red cameras. We have a lunch stop at the world famous Separ trading post, which has a odd selection of merchandise – a huge firework selection and some hideous trashy gifts, such as a cowboy fountain. Afterwards, we have our final 7 miles of dirt, running parallel to the interstate, before turning off on the 146 pavement to Hachita.

This must be one of the quietest roads in the entire USA, as the guide book says, you could probably lay down in the middle of the road and take a nap, there is so little traffic. There is just us and our new friends, the numerous Border Patrols, which seem to appear every 15-20 minutes. Oh, and a million grasshoppers. We have given up trying to avoid riding over them, and just get used to the splat sound you make when your tire runs over them. There are also some suicidal ones which like to jump in your spokes.

Soon, we arrive in Hachita, a small town of 40 inhabitants. Sam is waiting for us at the newly opened convenience store. Jim and Nancy have been waiting with him for us, but alas, have just left 10 minutes before we arrived. We are so disappointed to have missed them, as we wanted to congratulate Jim on making the border. But we are super-excited to find they have left a great bottle of red wine with Sam for us – Jim and Nancy – you both rock!

Sam is a true Continental Divide trail angel, both for hikers and cyclists. He lets them camp in his yard and also drives hikers to the start of the trail. Not only that, but he is really interesting to talk to and has a great sense of humor – we just love his business card! And we have to give a special mention to Bear, his dog, who makes us very welcome. Sam points out the border patrol spy balloon on the horizon, which is set up to detect any heat motion in the desert. You get the feeling you couldn’t even fart around here without the border patrol finding out about it.

It feels a fitting way to be spending the last night of our ride camped here, sitting on Sam’s swing and listening to his stories about his life, watching the sun set and the moon rise. We both feel so grateful for having the opportunity to do this ride and meeting so many amazing people.

Aug 27, Day 63

Silver City, NM to High Lonesome Bull campsite

Distance - 32 miles, Av Speed - 9.4mph

The night before, we meet up with Jim and his wife, Nancy. Jim has had a few flats cycling into Silver City, so he has decided that he is going to finish the ride without his BOB trailer.

Nancy will drive their Subaru alongside as support.

We meet again for breakfast at Vickis and we all start the ride together down the state highway 90.

Soon it starts to rain, and Jim realizes Nancy has his raingear in the car! The rain is quite heavy, and the weather forecast is for thunderstorms, heavy rain and localized flooding. As we think Nancy will not be able to drive down the dirt road, Jim decides to continue on the pavement, so we part ways at the turn off to the Separ road.

It is tempting to continue down the pavement with Jim, but we both want to experience a final night in the middle of nowhere, even if it is a wet one. Plus, it has been well over a week since we last rode on dirt, and this is the last section before the border.

Within a mile or two of being back on the dirt road, Numb Stuff notices that Dirtbaby has a slow puncture in her front tire, the New Mexico thorns have struck again. This is her third flat, all in the front tire. By now, Numb Stuff is such an expert, he fixes it in minutes.

The road is sandy rather than muddy, some parts are so sandy we have to get off and push the bikes through. We only see one car all afternoon, a Prius, which passes us, then a few minutes later, thinks better of it and comes back out again!

There are no campsites mentioned on the map, so we use the book for guidance. This suggests camping at mile 30 – High Lonesome campsite. Therefore, it is an early camp for us. However, this is rattlesnake country, so we take some time to choose a site that has the least undergrowth.

There is a bull on the other side of the road, who is all on his own, so we decide to christen the campsite High Lonesome Bull campsite in his honor. He comes fairly close to us to check us out, but is not threatening.

We have packed a nice bottle of red wine, so decide to have an early Mountain House dinner, in view of the dark storm clouds gathering on three sides of us. The wine slips down a treat, and we regret not bringing two! However, we have timed it perfectly; by the time we finish dinner, there is just time to dive in the tents before the rain starts to hammer down. It rains hard for 3-4 hours solid, so hard that the water splashes up underneath the fly spreading dirt into the tents. We just hope that we have not camped where the flood water drains!

 

Aug 26, Day 62

Layover day in Silver City, NM

Downtown Silver City really feels like a fun place. We ponder on the differences between Silver City and Grants. Silver City is full of cafes and restaurants and is visually pleasing. Grants is, well, to put it kindly, a dump. Both have the same population and were founded in the same decade. Both have Walmarts. Grants is on an interstate intersection, Silver City is not – is that the difference? Or is it that the people in Silver City love their town and have worked hard to restore and preserve it?

In any case, we intend to fully benefit from the array of fine dining opportunities, starting with the Javalina café for breakfast and The Curious Kumquat for lunch, where we have 2 bottles of French rose. But first we hit the laundry, which we vote the best we have been to during the entire trip, much to the laundry lady’s delight. She tries to give us a bag of free peaches which sadly we must decline as we don’t have space on our bikes to carry them.

Whilst waiting, we have a call from Poptart Bill. Bill is now in Tucson, but his flight home doesn’t leave until August 31st so he is sitting in his airport motel feeling bored. So bored, he offers to rent a car and come and pick us up from the border on Sunday – how cool is that! It will be great to have a fun celebration at the border with someone who has been through the same journey and we are really looking forward to meeting Bill again as we have not seen him since Salida.

During lunch, we have an email from Jim saying he is 20 miles away from Silver City. He is riding alone as Vicky, Ann and Harry decided to stick with the dirt trail. Hopefully we will get to meet Jim later on for a few beers. In the meantime, it is time to pack up and get ready for our last couple of nights camping.

Tomorrow night will be spent in the desert, then Saturday night we are camping in Sam Hughes’ backyard in Hachita. Blog will be updated either Sunday or Monday on our return! Wish us luck on the final push to the border!