Thursday, April 17, 2014

Keep on trucking




**correction from last blog:
hotshowers.com bicyclists hosting site should actually be warmshowers.com


Three  three weeks out and we are still moving along. The days have been long though. We thought the Southern Tier would be fairly flat and biking from the west the winds predominantly tailwinds. Boy were we wrong! There are actually many mountain ranges to cross and being spring there is lots of WIND. Unfortunately many of our days with headwinds against us. We are trying to keep our mileage up, therefore we are out on the road longer when we can average only 6-7 miles per hour. But we are trying to keep our spirits up with gratitude for the amazing scenery we ride by every day and the fitness our bodies are providing for us. When you get into your fifties one is grateful to still be able to ride a bike!
This past week we experienced wild, enchanted New Mexico. One of our favorite days was riding through the Gila National Forest to the highest point on the Southern Tier up to Emory Pass at 8,225 ft. We had to bundle up with all of our clothes on the descent though. It was only 28 degrees when we got up and chilly all the way down.
Emory Pass - Gila National Forest

When down off the mountains we have been cycling through beautiful farm country- fields of chile, alfalfa, and pecan orchards. From the small town of Hatch down to Mexico City was the Road of Kings (now Rt. 25) following the Rio Grande and lush farms because of the waterway. Now the river is mostly dry due to damming and drought, but the farms have water sources with the abundant deep aquifers.
We have been riding by the Rio Grande for days with little water in sight.

Four days ago we left the lovely state of New Mexico, which we fell truly fell in love with, and entered Texas, via El Paso. Initially we gently transitioned from countryside to more urban terrain along the El Paso Bike Path, but once that ended we were in congested roadways with many construction projects. Yikes! That takes lots of concentration. But we made it and really enjoyed tooling around the University of Texas, El Paso and stopping by the Chamizal Memorial where the U.S. and Mexico made final negotiations on land disputes. 

Our route continues to snake along the arid border of Mexico and into the many mountain outcroppings of Texas- a geologists paradise. Yesterday we chose to take the more arduous route up towards FT. Davis to see the McDonald Observatory atop 6,800 ft Mt. Locke. As the day wore on the weather looked more threatening, but it was too late to take another path. At the top we were greeted with a rain/lightning storm and pelted with 3/4 inch hail. Our saving grace was a Warm Showers family (John and Debbie Kuehne) waiting to take us in after we finally found their home. This morning we got a personal tour of all the telescopes and McDonald Observatory area by John, a scientist employed by the University of Texas to tecnically support the telescopes.
John shows us the area from the catwalk on McDonald Observatory.

We pray to stay safe as we head southeast towards Del Rio and hope the same for you.

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