Leaving Texas (At Last)...

Monday, March 13

Today would be my first day of riding on Interstate 10.  In Illinois, it is illegal to ride on the Interstate, but in some western states it appears such riding is allowed as there may not be an alternative, given the low population density.  As you can see below, there is a pretty wide shoulder to ride on.

I had about a 9-mile section initially which involved a stead climb out of Van Horn with the moon still shining brightly above.  The route then switched to a frontage road which I pretty much had to myself the entire time.  Things did get a bit strange when the frontage road ended, as I had to cross both lanes of traffic to get back to the westbound shoulder.

On the whole, there wasn't too much to see today, but it was interesting to see all these pecan trees after having come across so many pecans in Texas.

Shortly after starting, I crossed into the Mountain Time Zone.  This created a bit of a dilemma for since I started the day with the intention of stopping in Fort Hancock, about 69 miles away.  However, with the time change, I ended up arriving a little before 1pm.  This seemed too early to stop, but the next town with a motel was 27 miles away.  Also, I had ridden over 100 miles the previous day, and I wasn't sure I wanted to make it another 100-mile day...

I was getting a bit of a tailwind, so once I confirmed there was a room available further on, I decided to push on with fingers crossed that the wind wouldn't shift and make me regret a hasty decision.  The only issue I ended up having was another flat tire (#8?--rear) about 5 miles from my destination.  I told myself that it was just a cross wind that was making the bike wobble, but alas it was a flat.  Since I was so close to my destination, I just pumped the tire up with the hope I could make it.  My gamble paid off as I was able to make it ok--with only one more stop to pump up the rear tire again.

Once I was checked in, I put a new tube in and patched the tube so that I was back to 4 spares.  I also took this time to examine the tires closely.  I pulled out 4 radial wires, a thorn, and a rock from the rear tire!  From now on, I will need to be more vigilant to check the tires for embedded objects.

Day: 26
Time: 9.5 hours
Distance: 98 miles (Van Horn-Fabens, TX)

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Tuesday, March 14

Today was a momentous day.  Not only would I start on the 6h go 7 maps, but I would finally finish Texas.  I entered Texas on Day 13, and I finally finished it two weeks later on the 27th day of riding!

I made it into El Paso around 10am, and the ride through the city was uneventful and less stressful than riding through Austin.  It helped perhaps that it was clear and sunny.  Once I started heading west of the city though, the hills began...

The route took me over the Rio Grande twice.  I missed my turnoff the first time I crossed the Rio Grande as it wasn't clear that it was indeed a "rio" as it was nothing but a dry riverbed!

The crossing over into New Mexico was not clearly marked either.  No welcome or goodbye signs for either state at the actual border, and then just the New Mexico state line (at the top of post).

Just a state maintenance ends here, and you can see the difference in the two states only by the slight difference in coloration of the pavement.  After over 1000 miles in Texas, I was expecting a little more.   :-)

Day: 27
Time: 9 hours
Distance: 80 miles (Fabens, TX-Las Cruces, NM)

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Wednesday, March 15

I got on the road a little before 7 this morning.  Unfortunately, the headwind from yesterday was still around, so it didn't put me in the best of moods.  I had a long day ahead of me: 80 miles with some elevation gain as well.

I had been hoping to book a room at a B&B at my destination, but there wasn't any availability.  This meant I either had to stop at 60 miles to stay at an RV park with showers, or go further on and stay in the town campsite in Hillsboro without showers.  Neither prospect was appealing as tomorrow I would be climbing over Emory Pass (8228 ft) and have about 4000 ft of elevation gain, most of it over the first 16 miles.  I decided I couldn't tack on the extra mileage on the day with the heavy climb so pushed on through to Hillsboro.

Besides pecan trees, they grow a lot of onions in this area of the southwest.  This is just one picture (above) of the various onion fields I passed.

I ended up seeing a lot of riders heading east.  One guy didn't stop to talk, but there was a couple from the Netherlands who were really enjoying the trip and the chance to meet people.  And there was also a guy from Seattle.  I took the opportunity, whenever I could, to get more details on the climb ahead and where each had started their ascent.

As you can see below, there are some towns with unique names.  "Truth or Consequences" was a town that renamed itself in 1950 after a radio quiz show.

Other than the aforementioned lack of showers, another problem with staying in Hillsboro was that there would not be any services.  I was really concerned about getting enough to eat to tackle the climb.  So I was like a squirrel today, shoveling food in whether I was hungry or not.  I stuffed myself at the hotel before checking out, and made myself a cheese omelet and bacon sandwich for the road.  In Hatch--the Chili Pepper Capital of New Mexico--I sopped and picked up some supplies, including a couple of burritos made with the famous local green and red chilis.  I also stopped at a cafe in Arrey later on for some burgher and fries.  Finally, after that meal, I felt better about my food consumption.  The burritos I ate at dinner later were tasty and picante!

The last 18 miles into Hillsboro were a bear.  It was hot (84 degrees!), I had a headwind, and it was a gradual climb interspersed with HARD climbs.  I finally dragged myself into town around 5.

The local campsite ended up being pretty decent.  There was an outhouse and a spigot for water.  I set up the tent and cleaned myself off as best I could under the faucet--which felt great!

No cell phone service, but I found the public library and sat right outside it to get wifi service to make calls.

Day: 28
Time: 10 hours
Distance: 79 miles (Las Cruces-Hillsboro, NM)