Wednesday April 1, 2015

We left Hatch at about 8:30 and headed out towards Hillsboro. It was a good, fast ride until we made our left turn on to Hwy 152, then we were going into a gentle cross wind. At around the 40 km mark (before we made the left turn) I was thinking that we might even be able to get over the Pass today. The wind was at our back, the legs were feeling good, however, all good things must come to an end. We made the left turn and the road started to rise, gently at first and then more pronounced, the wind changed from a gentle cross-wind to a full on head wind.

The first part of the ride was primarily farmland, not sure what they are growing here. Later we passed one of the largest veal producers I have ever seen. At least, I presume they are veal calves. Little sheds with calf after calf cooped up in it, some of them looked only a few weeks old.

My original route plan was to stop at Lake Caballo, but it was only 36 kms from Hatch, we revised our plan last night to get to Hillsboro, which would leave us a 26 km climb to Emory Pass and then mostly downhill to Silver City.

After we made our left turn on to Hwy 152 the scenery changed to rugged hills.

The hills have been mined in the past for gold and silver. In the 1950’s copper exploration began. In 1982 the Quintana Minerals Corporation established an open pit copper mine, known as the Copper Flat. Over a three month period 7.4 million pounds of copper, 2,306 ounces of gold and 55,955 ounces of silver had been recovered. Rumour has it that the Copper Flat Mine will be reopened next year.

When we arrived in Hillsboro at about 12:30 we spotted the Municipal Campsite. It has a long drop toilet, and a tap. It is free. We cycled to the motel and to the B&B. The motel was $65.00 and the B&B was $90.00. This is an expensive little town. We decided to camp but went to the café for lunch first. We had a nice veggie burger and swiss burger with one portion of fries for lunch and an iced tea each, $20.00 for lunch!

As we were heading back to the municipal campsite we decided we needed a good nights rest due to tomorrows hard ride and opted for the motel!

I asked for a discount for cash, but they said no, they still have to clean the room and put clean sheets etc. We are the only ones in the motel, there is one channel on the TV and no wi-fi. However, we do have a kitchenette and a good shower and it is clean. I chatted with the owners for a while. They cannot find anyone to help them run the motel so have basically given up on it. They do not care if people stay here or not, there is no phone number to call for anyone else who might want to stay the night. The owner told us that Hillsboro County has the highest suicide rate from prescription and non-prescription drugs.

They have closed the adjoining café, barber shop and antique store. I think they would like to sell all of it, but there is no market here. Unless the Copper Flat Mine comes back into operation, which is what everyone is hoping for. They are waiting for the results of an Environmental Assessment, but it is taking its time, as Ted Turner owns a ranch next to the proposed mine.

There is nothing in Hillsboro, no grocery store, no convenience store, lots of other stores that are not open or are for sale. Hillsboro used to be the County Seat back in 1939, with a court house and jail, they are both in ruins.

Now Hillsboro is a pass through town. It’s almost ghost like. I think it could be so much more with the right marketing angle.

After we had settled in, Ralf and I went for a walk around the Town. There are the ruins of the old jail and courthouse, a library and a post office.

We went into the post office to ask about their General Delivery service, as we need to get some maps sent to us in San Diego. Unfortunately, there was no-one working in the post office but the inside was really nice.

The other odd thing about Hillsboro is there is an empty police car sitting at the entrance to the Town. Obviously this is to prevent vehicles speeding through the Town.

The forecast for tomorrow is windy with gusts of up to 45 kph. There is a weather watch in place, which means with the high winds, if there is a fire it will spread quickly. I think if we get started really early, we may be able to get over the Pass before the really strong winds start. Our plan is to get to Silver City a distance of about 90 kms – it is going to be a long hard day.

Tuesday March 31, 2015

I am a Great Aunty again. Congratulations to my nephew – Justin. Mum and baby girl are doing well.

We left Mesilla at about 8:30 after a lovely breakfast cooked by Jim. Jim and Jenia are a really nice, caring couple. They allowed us to stay an extra day, which we really needed.

As we were leaving Jim and Jenia’s place this morning Ralf had an encounter with a cactus, so now he is in a bit of a prickly mood as he is trying to pull the needles out of his leg and foot. He used to want a cactus garden!

It was a fairly flat route today to Hatch. We crossed the Rio Grande again and followed it for a short while, this section actually had water in it, not much but some.

We passed the Seldon Fort, we were going to investigate it, but it was closed.

We met three touring cyclists – two guys travelling together and one guy on his own. The first two, told us that the camp sites after the Emory Pass are closed due to flash flooding. This means a slight change of plan and a much longer day than we anticipated after we climb the pass. We will do a longer day tomorrow, then climb the pass on Thursday and head straight for Silver City – 93 kms and some big hills.

Hatch has a population of 1,648 and is at an elevation of 4,055 feet. It is renowned for its green chile and holds a festival each Labor day in celebration.

Hatch should be famous for the amount of  “giant” sculptures it has.

We are at the Kings Pillow Inn in Hatch. When we arrived, he had to check if the rooms had been cleaned and asked us to come back. We asked the price and he looked at us and at our bikes and suggested $50.00. I came back with “$45.00 for cash” and he took it. I should have said $40. It is a bit of a sketchy place. The manager was drunk, and told us to make sure we took the bikes inside the room and lock the doors! There is an old guy wandering around, begging. Our first beggar in the US.

The end of another month of cycling in the US and a new record of 1,709 kms cycled in one month. I think we will be in San Diego around the middle of April, at this rate.

Monday March 30, 2015

Janet and Stephen were up early and had left before we were awake. They are following the highway to Deming and wanted to be on the road before the wind picked up.

I felt a little tired when I woke up and we asked Jim if we could have our rest day here. Last night when we were talking to Jim and Jenia they said we could stay an extra night if we wanted to. It was really appreciated as we have had a good relaxing day.

Although I did spend the morning cleaning the bikes and Ralf went in to Las Cruces with Jim to buy some supplies.

We are going out for dinner with Jim and Jenia tonight to a Mexican restaurant. Then on the road tomorrow rejuvenated and ready for the climb over the Emory Pass – 8,562 ft

Sunday March 29, 2015

We were up and away from our warmshowers house by 8:30 this morning. Alanna was up even earlier she had left the house by 7:00 for her Sunday morning ride with the El Paso Cycling Club.

A steep downhill to Mesa Street and then an undulating, hilly ride to the outskirts of El Paso. Once we had reached the outskirts of El Paso we joined a 24 km dedicated bike path, it was a lovely ride along the Rio (not so) Grande.

We left Texas today, and cycled into New Mexico, but there wasn’t any sign that we could take a photo of cycling in to a new State.

As we came into La Mesa, a roadie cyclists came over to chat to us. We were looking for somewhere to have lunch so she pointed us in the right direction and came to the store to talk to us and asked us lots of questions. We told her (Monika sp?) all about our trip, and she was really excited about what we had done. Then she surprised us and offered to buy us lunch. She gave us a $20.00 bill and told us lunch was on her. We were amazed. Janet and Stephen arrived shortly after so we split the $20.00 with them and we all had a good lunch. Thank you Monika.

We also saw Alanna, La Mesa was the mid-way point for their club ride.

We crossed the Rio Grande twice today. It is a wide empty river. The route was fairly flat, but we know we have hills to climb in the next few days.

After lunch we headed out to our warmshowers host just outside of Mesilla. We cycled along the Pecan Orchard Road, that is not the name of the road, but there were miles and miles of pecan orchards on either side of the road.  Alanna had told us that in the summer the trees make an archway across the road.

It was a beautiful ride, flat but view of the mountains in the distance.  I really liked the look of this range, it looks like a sombrero.

Jenia and Jim live on 30 acres of property with pecans trees. We had some lovely pecans. Jenia and Jim gave us a lovely dinner of stew and home made bread. Dessert was cheesecake with fresh strawberry topping made by Jim, lovely.

Janet and Stephen told us about this place and we really appreciate them telling us and Jenia and Jim for allowing us to stay here. Janet and Stephen are heading out to Deming tomorrow, coming of the ACA route. Ralf wants to stick to the route on this section. It is hilly, very hilly, but is supposed to be incredible beautiful.

Saturday March 28, 2014

We had a great breakfast, cooked for us by David’s Dad. We said our farewells to David’s parents and we were on the road by about 9:30.

David cycled with us along the Mission Trail and showed us the other two mission churches and the cultural centre for Yselta.

The Ysleta del Sur Pueblo (\”the Pueblo\”) is a U.S. federally recognized Native American tribe and sovereign nation. The Tribal community known as \”Tigua\” established Ysleta del Sur in 1682. After leaving the homelands of Quarai Pueblo due to drought the Tigua sought refuge at Isleta Pueblo and were later captured by the Spanish during the 1680 Pueblo Revolt and forced to walk south for over 400 miles. The Tigua settled and built the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and soon after built the acequia (canal) system that sustained a thriving agricultural based community. The Tribe\’s early economic and farming efforts helped pave the way for the development of the region. The Tribe maintains its traditional political system and ceremonial practices and continues to flourish as a Pueblo community. Tribal enrollment is over 1,600 citizens and 1,500 descendants.

Although David had a wedding to go to later on today, he took the time to cycle with us and show us his area. David assisted with the rebuilding of the second mission church in Socorro. He said that the parking lot was full of home made adobe bricks. We would definitely like to see David again in Canada.

We carried on to downtown El Paso – the area we came into was mostly car dealerships about 10 miles.

We had lunch and called our warmshowers host. They were home and we made our way up the hill to their house.

Before we got to the hosts house, we spotted a great bicycle shop and stopped in to buy new back lights, and some extra electrolyte tablets. Great bike shop, we spoke to Rebecca about our trip. Her friend had bought a new road bike. She should have bought a touring bike, because I know these two will be planning a tour in the not too distant future.

We arrived at our warmshowers host, and had a nice chat with Alanna about week-long organized rides. They are moving to North Carolina in June.

We went down to the local grocery store to get our dinner. We found a quiche, finally a quiche – it was made in Canada! We had a lovely dinner, quiche, salad and avocado. Alanna and Larry were watching two of their daughters in a play tonight.

We reviewed our route for tomorrow and contacted Janet and Stephen who know of a place in Mesilla. We will be meeting up with them tomorrow at the Pecan House, a place just outside of Mesilla (Las Cruces, New Mexico).

Farewell Texas.

Friday March 27, 2015

Even though we could have a lie-in we didn’t, I was awake early and we were on the road by 9:15 am.

We met the ACA cyclists who had left San Diego on March 9, 2015. We thought we might be crossing paths in El Paso with this group. A second group left San Diego on March 19, 2015, not sure when we will cross paths with that group.

It was an easy ride, and we were in Fabens by noon. We stopped in Fabens for lunch and bought some supplies. We had given David (our host) an estimated time of 2:00pm.

We were in San Elizario at just after 1:00. I spotted the church and instead of carrying on to David’s house, we visited the church and historic district.

What a great place, I have no idea why ACA doesn’t bring the route through this lovely Town.

We chatted to a guy called Al who gave us a lot of history about the area. The historic area was rebuilt in 2008.

We talked about the legend of Billy the Kid. He also gave us his ideas for the area which includes a hotel and RV Park and camping area.

We were a little late getting to David’s place. We chatted to David’s parents until David came home. David is a substitute teacher, a councilor for the City of San Elizario and volunteers for various other organizations.

I questioned him about planning, how it works in Texas, how they become a city, David was really interesting to talk to. A very gentle, quietly spoken, very intelligent man. San Elizario became a City in 2013, they had to apply to the State for City status. It was a long drawn out application process, with David and other people going to the State legislature in Austin to put their case for City status. They wanted City status to prevent Socorro annexing land from San Elizario. They were successful in their application and now have other benefits for City status, including being able to apply zoning regulations to assist and control development.

We were supposed to camp tonight but David’s parents invited us into their home and we slept in the spare bedroom. We had a lovely shower and a lovely evening.

Tomorrow David is going to ride with us along the Mission Trail to El Paso. David is going to cycle from San Elsario to San Antonio along the ACA route (in May) a distance of 905 kms in approximately 6 – 7 days! He is going to be supported, his friend is going to drive his truck. Even so, 905 kms in 7 days, that is a hard ride, Good Luck David.

We are planning a rest day in El Paso.

Thursday March 26, 2015

This is unheard of two back-to-back days of 120 ks. Why? Well we had the best tail-wind ever!!

What a wonderful nights sleep. I slept like an exhausted log. We got up and had the hot breakfast provided at the Days Inn – omelette, a bagel and oatmeal (that was my breakfast) Ralf had waffles, omelet and a bagel. Of course we also had the mini muffins with streusel on top.

We were on the road dressed in leggings and light jackets, but I did wear my merino wool jersey as it was chilly when we left at 8:30.  The first 10 ks out of Van Horn were uphill on Interstate 10. The shoulder was wide and for the most part clean, and not too much debris. I was amazed at how easily we were climbing the hills, we were motoring at a steady 18-20 kph. Could we really have this good of a tail-wind after yesterday’s horrendous winds. Yes we did kilometre after kilometre of tail-wind.

We also gained an hour of time when we crossed into Mountain Time Zone.

We took the service road (Frontage Road) which ran parallel to US 10 for the majority of our ride. Just before coming into Sierra Blanca we saw two touring cyclists. We chatted to John and Sue for about half an hour. They want to cycle in New Zealand and Australia. We told them we had a great time there and about the books Peddlers Paradise, that we had used while we were in New Zealand.

As we came into Sierra Blanca a large tumbleweed rolled across the road. At Sierra Blanca it was only 10:45. We had lunch at Subway and decided to carry on to Fort Hancock. It is basically downhill all the way to El Paso.

After we left Sierra Blanca we continued on Frontage Road, the directions on the ACA maps told us to go to the end of the road and then cross Highway 10. We passed the sign that said the road is a dead end and carried on to the dead end, where we discovered we could not cross the Highway because of the barriers along the centre median. Do we go back 7 ks or go down the highway for 3ks on the shoulder on the wrong side of the road. It was a bit scary, but we carried along on the shoulder.

After we came off the Highway we followed the farm roads to Fort Hancock.  We were stopped by a Border Patrol Officer that if we carried on this road it turned into a dirt road.  We thought we were on the wrong road, but I asked him if there was a right turn, which would take us to Fort Hancock.  Yes he said, that would take us to Fort Hancock.  We could see Highway 10 and the traffic, but were on our safe farm road.

We are within 1 km of the Mexican Border.

As we were coming into Fort Hancock we noticed a touring cyclist with a trailer. We stopped for a chat. He had a lovely border collie with him (Joe).

We had a great chat with Josh, who is promoting his not-for-profit organization to put a free toy store in Towns and Cities across the US. His website is www.longbikeride.com. Check him out he is a really interesting guy.

We are staying in a hotel again tonight, although it wasn’t a tough ride, we figured we deserve a comfy bed again.

Wednesday March 25, 2015

A really early start to the day. We were up and out of bed before it was light (6:15 am). We had packed the tent and were on our way to Stripes which is a gas station with a large hot food counter. We had decided to eat at Stripes and be on our way early, which we were. We were on the road by 8:15, the earliest start. It was a little chilly, and the wind was a cross-wind, but not really strong at this point. The road out of Marfa was very slightly uphill. We were both feeling good and strong, I was determined to make it to Van Horn.

Janet and Stephen had told us that you could pitch a tent in Valentine behind the library, there was a water hose available and toilets in the library until 5:00 pm. Valentine was the half-way point. I didn’t even want to think about stopping there, and that for me is half the battle. If I know I have to cycle a big distance I tell myself that is what I have to do and although my head might say I’m crazy and my legs might hurt, my determination keeps me going.

We passed by this Aerostat Radar Station.

It was a lovely ride again apart from the wind. It wasn’t a full-on head wind, and we were able to keep a steady pace most of the time of about 15 – 18 kph. As we were coming into Valentine a lady cyclist on a road bike slowed down enough to shout that there was food at the library and ask for Bubba. Ralf said what did she say. I told him what I had heard and we cycled on. Then two more cyclists came along, they came over and we stopped and chatted to them briefly, again they told us to go to the library and ask for Bubba. Two more roadies – “food at the library ask for Bubba”. Finally a guy in a recumbent stopped us, told us they were part of “Bubbas Pampered Cyclists” on the Southern Tier and we should stop because the local school had put on lunch for the cyclists and it was only $1.00 for a burrito.

Neither Ralf and I wanted to hang around too long, as the wind was picking up and changing direction on us. We agreed we stop for 10 minutes grab some lunch and head on out. Well…. When we arrived Bubba was there, we had a quick chat to him. He asked us if we were doing the southern tier, so we quickly told him what and where we had been. Bubba told us to go right on up to the food and enjoy some lunch. However, as we wandered up to the food, Bubba in his booming voice introduced us to the group of cyclists. “This is Jacky and Ralf they are from Canada and they have cycled in New Zealand, Australia, England, Europe and now are doing the Southern Tier of America, they have been on the road for 14 months” I felt like a celebrity. Of course our pre-arranged 10 minute stop was extended to half an hour, but it was a good break and the food was lovely. Bubba picked up our tab for the food. Thanks Bubba.

As we were heading out Janet and Stephen arrived, both looking tired. We told them we were heading out and we asked them if they were going to stay in Valentine for the night. Janet said she was tired, so I knew they would be staying in Valentine.

Ralf and I headed out into the wind. It wasn’t too bad, again it was more of a side-wind than an out and out full-on head wind, but it was constant and we had some heavy gusts. Nothing like in New Zealand where we were blown across the road, but still a very blustery day.

There is an interesting \”art\” installation just outside of Valentine.  It is a Prada, store.

Of course, the last 16 kms coming into Van Horn were the worst. The wind changed direction to a head wind with some very strong gusts. Fortunately the traffic was light, we didn’t have to worry about that.  It was a long, straight road.

As we were coming into Van Horn, both of us exhausted, taking in lung-fulls of scented air. The little purple flowers that were along the edge of the road were giving off a beautiful aroma.

We quickly found the Days Inn. I had a coupon for the hotel and we felt that we definitely deserved a good shower and a comfy bed tonight. My little legs are twitching from fatigue.

Tomorrow is a shorter day, I really hope the wind is out of the east and will blow us over the hills to Sierra Blanca. I don’t think I could face 50 ks of a full-on head wind and hills tomorrow.

Tuesday March 24, 2015

A nice lie-in today as we only had a short ride to Marfa. Ralf keeps wanting to call it Martha, no it is actually Marfa. Even though we didn’t get out of bed until 8:00, we were still on the road by 9:15. We passed Janet and Stephen about 6 kms outside of Alpine on an uphill climb.

As we climbed the hill leaving Marfa I could smell  beer brewing.  Ralf wanted to stop in for a brewery tour.

It was a lovely ride, very steady uphills and long slow downhills. The road was fairly quiet today, not a lot of traffic and good shoulders. This is what I thought Texas would be like. I didn’t know how big Texas was when we started this ride, so it is very interesting to see the diverse landscapes which makes up Texas.

We crossed over the Paisano Pass and headed downhill to Marfa.

Marfa has an odd claim to fame and that is the Marfa lights. These are balls of light that hover just above the horizon, they have been seen as different colours red, green, white, sometimes they hover, other times they move across the horizon at great speeds. No one knows what causes them. Scientists have been trying to discover what causes them for years to no avail. There is a viewing centre about 9 miles outside of the Town where you can watch these odd lights.

I think it is a bit like the Loch Ness monster, people come in hopes of seeing them. Apparently there is a better chance of you seeing the lights than seeing the Loch Ness monster.

Consequently due to the phenomena of the lights the hotels in the area are really expensive. We had decided to camp tonight at an RV park and camp site just outside the Town. When we got there the manager told us there was no water, they might get it back on today but weren’t sure. I asked about another RV park and he told me about Phil’s place an RV park, but they do take tents. We headed to this little place and found a lovely little place with a nice shaded area big enough to put two small tents, hot showers, laundry facilities and a place to sit and eat. We texted Janet and Stephen to let them know about the other campsite and this place.

This little campsite also has trailers that are provided for the local Border Patrol Officers. Across the road is Border Patrol station, I think we should be quite safe here tonight.

Janet and Stephen arrived just as we were picking our spot and setting up the tent. We did a load of laundry and then Ralf and I headed back into Town for an ice-cream. We met Janet and Stephen for dinner, this time we had a sub at Subway.

Janet has become our resident meteorologist. Tomorrow it is supposed to be cool in the morning with headwinds ugh. It is going to be our longest day – 120 kms to Van Horn. I hope the weather forecast is wrong and we don’t get the strong winds forecasted. Ralf and I are going to head out fairly early as the stronger winds are not forecasted until later in the day.

Ralf went back into Town to take some photos.

Monday March 23, 2015

An interesting start to the day. Ralf witnessed a light air plane crash. He had gone up to the roof to watch this small plane take-off and take some photos. He came flying down the stairs with a “Holy shit the plane just crashed”.

Janet, Stephen and I were a little stunned. Ralf went back up to the roof to see if there was any smoke and then we heard what we thought might be sirens. Volunteer force were on the way.

We left the hostel shortly after, saying our goodbyes and see you later to Janet and Stephen. As we cycled down the road, we saw 2 fire trucks, 2 EMS vehicles and 2 Sherriff’s vehicles heading towards Marathon at a high rate of speed. We determined that these vehicles had been dispatched from Alpine – 32 miles away. One hour and ten minutes after Ralf had witnessed the crash, one of the EMS vehicles passed us, with lights flashing, heading back to Alpine which is where the nearest hospital is located.

As we cycled along, Ralf said that maybe we should have stayed in Marathon, as he witnessed the crash. However, Ralf could not get cell service (Verizon not AT&T) so couldn’t call 911 for assistance. Obviously, someone else had called all the services as they were on the way as quickly as they could get there – due to the distances they have to go for any kind of emergency in this area.

The rest of the day was very uneventful. Once again stunning scenery, wide open spaces, awesome geology and mountain ranges.

For the most part we didn’t have a headwind. The wind shifted in the last 10 ks coming in to Alpine and we had a slight uphill gradient. We were in Alpine by just after noon, and settled into our cheap and cheerful motel by 1:30. We wandered downtown Alpine, which is closed on a Monday!