DAY 18 AND 19 VAN HORN TO FORT DAVIS AND A REST DAY

Our internet service is a bit slow so no photos today.  We are at the Indian Lodge in Davis State Park.  It is lovely.  It is an old adobe inn by the Conservation Corps in the 1930's.  I took a 2 mile hike up and down a long ridge with beautiful views of the mountains and MacDonald Observatory.  I wanted to visit the Observatory but we couldn't find any transportation.  Our van was taking people to Fort Davis to do laundry and run errands.

Back to yesterday.  Yesterday was considered one of the hardest days of the trip.  It was a 90 mile day with the first 30 on Interstate 10.  That was the easy part, with only minor winds.  After leaving the interstate the ride turned south toward Fort Davis.  The van meet us at mile 48 with a picnic lunch.  Cher and I were late leaving (8:30) due to my breaking my valve stem and having to change a tire.  We could not leave earlier as we have just changed time zones and it would have been dark.
We biked to lunch and then were loaded onto the van with 11 others.  The next 40 miles was mostly up hill with the top being at MacDonald Observatory at about 6,500'.  11 of our group rode this piece.  I would have been in at midnight.  It was a beautiful road but 12% grade in places.
I am hoping to see Javelinas.  These are pig-like animals but really related to rhinos!  I love west Texas!

DAY 18 FORT HANCOCK TO VAN HORN, TX

HEADWINDS.... yesterday and today.  I only made it to the first SAG stop at about 22 miles.  The headwind was unrelenting and we had 50 more miles, mostly along the interstate (I-10).  Riding at 8-9 mph we might have made it for dinner plus we lost an hour as we switched from Mountain to Central time.
The van picked up four of us.
I have the utmost admiration for our riders that made it the whole way.
Tomorrow is a 90 mile day with climbing and possibly more headwinds.  Not sure what I will do.

According to our guides this has been a very difficult tour weather wise, hot, cold, wind, dust storm.  We are hoping it ends soon...

Day 16 Las Cruces to El Paso, Day 17 to Fort Hancock

We are actually in Texas.  Coming into El Paso was not the most pleasant ride but we made to the bike store where we were picked up by the van because the road to hotel was too difficult to bike.
(Some made it through before our guide decided it was unsafe).  Fine with me I was tired of the city riding and the traffic.  It has been 10 degrees cooler than normal so we have been starting out around 36 degrees.  Thank goodness for the warm clothes I packed.

The valley has been very flat.  There are groves of pecan trees, fields of alfalfa and onions.  We have also seen many horse farms.

After El Paso the countryside is not so lush.  We spent most of today on route 258 and route 20.  We had a head wind all day but had a short mileage (46) day so it was a pleasant ride.
We stopped at two missions and lunch in a little town called Tornillo and ate at Wencho's.  Great Mexican food.

 San Elizario Mission

 Bike sculpture

 Luc the Moose resting at 7-11 in Fabens, Texas

 Tornillo, Texas

Larry Varney and moi

We also stopped to talk with a group called Bubba's Pampered Tours (they actually camp most of the time).  I met Larry Varney who was riding an ICE trike.  He writes reviews for Recumbent and Tandem Magazine which I read so it was fun to talk to him.

DAY 14 AND 15 SILVER CITY TO KINGSTON TO LAS CRUCES

After our great rest day I decided to visit the Gila National Monument with Sally and Hilary.  My co-rider Cher joined us.  It was a fascinating place.  It is a small collection of cliff dwellings of the Mollogon people who only lived there for one generation.  Life was incredibly hard here and eventually they ran out of water and all died. The drive there is beautiful, through the mountains.  We then walked up to the cliffs and had a tour with George.

After our visit we drove to route 152 and went over Emery Pass.  It was very windy at the top but a lovely view down towards valley.

We stayed at the Black Range Lodge in Kingston.  A wonderful old stone building.  The owner, Kathryn, prepared a turkey dinner and a great breakfast.

Today, Saturday, we rode to Las Cruces, New Mexico.  The trip was 88 miles.  I made it 80 with Cher.  We had great tail winds and made good time until the wind and dust became so bad we called for the SAG (support and gear) car to pick us.  In the meantime a woman named Velma stopped in her white pickup to offer us a ride to the hotel.  A true bike angel.  We were not sure we could get the bikes on the subaru so the pickup was perfect.  She even showed us around La Mesilla, the old part of the Las Cruces.

DAY 13 OVER THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE, DAY 14 REST DAY

We crossed the continental divide for the first time today.  We had a 46 mile ride from Lordsburg to Silver City, New Mexico.  The ride started out a bit uphill and then the head winds hit.  I thought that the winds would generally be west to east.  WRONG.  Pedaling along at 4-5 mph was a real challenge.  Then we began climbing, up and down.  Fortunately the wind died down some but we had 4,100' of elevation gain.  Silver City sits at about 6,000'.  This was certainly the most challenging ride I have done.

Silver City is a rest day and is nice town with shops and restaurants and two bike shops.  My bike needed some minor adjustments.  I think this is mainly due to the rough pavement in many areas.  They have this wonderful road asphalt road surface called chip seal which is just charming to ride on and makes one yearn for shock absorbers.  The rumble strips along the roads also make riding a challenge at times.  At least it was cooler in the mountains.

My sister, Sally and my daughter, Hilary, joined me for my rest day in Silver City.

DAY 10 GOLD CANYON TO GLOBE, AZ DAY 11 78 MILES TO SAFFORD, AZ

Lucy celebrating St. Patrick's Day

Gorgeous ride into the mountains

I rode 24 miles to Superior where the van shuttled most of us over the mountain pass.  I have to say that the 12 women who rode the pass have my admiration.  It was a 10 mile climb, often with no shoulder and a lot of traffic.
Today was a 78 mile trip through rolling hillls and the Apache Indian Reservation.  There is very little out here, lots of trash by the road and no where to stop and eat.  The mountains still have snow on top.  It was only in the 80's so much pleasanter riding.  We left this morning and it was 50 degrees.
My riding buddy Cher had a flat so I waited for her and we came in around 4 after visiting the bike shop in Safford.  He raised my handlebars a bit to help with my bike.  It was still a great day and for the first time I wasn't completely exhausted.
DAY 12
I have not been able to get on the internet so we are now in Lordsburg, NM after a 76 mile ride, mostly rolling and flat.

 

Above; lunch at Ol Jo's Cafe, Duncan, AZ
Palm trees with a bad hair day.

DAY 9 PHOENIX TO GOLD CANYON, AZ 58 MILES

It was very hot again today.  Apparently the temperatures are record breaking.  Our ride today was city/suburban and mostly flat but the 90+ degree heat really saps it out of you.  Fortunately the Best Western has a nice pool and the temperature is quite pleasant at night.
Every night after dinner we have our ride meeting.  The guides go over the next day's ride and hand out queue sheets.  Tomorrow's ride heads into the mountains and begins with a long 2 mile climb.
Then it goes up into a canyon.  I plan to ride the first half and take the van the second half.  At my hill climbing speed I would miss dinner.  I do have to admit the canyon riding sounds a bit terrifying!  The guides are very good at describing in detail the type of ride it will be.  At least it will be cooler. We have some very strong riders and probably about 10 out of the 30 will do the whole ride tomorrow.  
We have come about 600 miles so we only have 2,500 miles to go.

DAYS 6, 7 AND 8

 Arizona cactus

 Our first margarita party in honor of crossing a state line

 Looong stretches of road

 Lucy enjoying her view in Arizona

 Team Lucy: Carla, Brazil; Me; Cher, New Zealand, Helen, Wisconsin

Day 6 we rode from Blythe, CA to Salome, AZ., 64 miles.  It was our first state line crossing as well as crossing the Colorado River.  We spent almost 30 miles riding on I 10 which was actually a good ride as the shoulder is very wide.  It was very hot and we really had to work on keeping hydrated in this desert area.  Not too hard to stay on our route as there is really one way to go, East!  Our little group is not the fastest in the bunch but we have a great time and take lots of photos.
We stayed at the Sheffler's Motel in Salome which doesn't have too many stars (if any) but lots of character and neon lights.  

Day 7 was from Salome to Wickenburg which is a fairly good sized town.  We rode 64 miles through amazing desert landscape.
A very hot day again but good roads.
Day 8 we have ridden from Wickenburg to Phoenix, 66 miles.  We loved the cacti and wildflowers.  The saguaro are amazing.

It is quite a contrast to come to a big city with lots of traffic.  Our little group actually made it in in time to shower before dinner.
Our chef prepares our dinner from the van and we eat outside.  Great food out of an amazingly small kitchen.  
In general the rides have been hard with the record heat and the SAG (support and gear) has been busy ferrying water to us on the road and picking up the ladies who have had enough heat.

DAY 5 REST DAY BLYTHE, CA

North Algodones Dunes Wilderness Area, CA

Nancy and Lucy in Brawley, CA 

Yesterday we rode 88 miles!  This bests my previous longest ride of 72 miles.  It took me 8 hours.  We rode through the Imperial Valley and then the dunes area, along rolling dips and hills with mountains all round, including the Chocolate Mountains.  After we rode through the dunes we entered the Palo Verde Mesa which is a valley fertilized by the Colorado River.  I rode with one other person and we kept ourselves on pace with rest stops and snacks.  
It is a long way between towns so the our support van stopped and prepared us a delicious lunch in the desert.  They take wonderful care of us and make sure we are all safe, hydrated and well fed.

Today we have a rest day in Blythe.  We cleaned our bikes with advice from our guides.  Our next rest is day is 8 days away.  I think I am beginning to get in shape but still have a few sore spots.

 Dipping my tire in the Pacific Ocean at Dog Beach, San Diego, CA

Peninsular Range in California.
As you can see we are all in full rain gear.  It didn't rain all day but it was heavy at times and cold.  The good news is that all my rain gear kept me completely dry but it was a very hard ride with long climbs.
Today we went from Alpine, CA to Boulevard, CA.  Again the weather was very cold, 40 degrees most of the day.  The hills were long and steep.  I only rode in the afternoon as I was very tired from the first day.  I did not get many long outside rides in this winter!  I plan to make up the 25 miles that I skipped today on my rest days.
We have a wonderful group of woman and everyone is settling into our daily routine.  

We are getting closer to Florida!
Thank you to everyone for all your support.

Here is Luc (Lucy) the Moose in the airport in San Diego.  Lucy will be riding on my bike and I will post her location.  She has already been called a reindeer by the JetBlue flight attendant.  The flight attendant was from New York.  Mainers know what moose look like.

The weather is cool and three of us went for shake-down ride yesterday.  Carla, from Brazil and Barb from Maine were my fellow riders after we picked up our bikes from Bernie's bike shop.

He instructed us on how to avoid a seriously steep hill to get up the road that would take us out to Point Loma and  Cabrillo National Monument.  Somehow the person (who shall be nameless) getting directions from Roger at Bernies managed to lead us straight up the hill which looked like something out of San Francisco.  Baptism by fire.  The rest of the ride went well.