Albuquerque - the End - August

Albuquerque is a huge city with lots of everything. Including lots to do! The airport served us well. Many different airlines fly in & out here - but we used only Southwest and Northwest to get people into and out of here. Before driving home I had the car fully serviced, including my brakes changed as the experience in the Gila National Forest sort of did them in! I drove almost exactly 14,000 miles RT over the 3 months I was gone from home. Beth was done a few days ahead of her flight out of Albuquerque, so we did several things in the area - including bike the nice trail along the Rio Grande River, visited the nature center adjacent to the river trail, went to the Aquarium, Reptile Museum and Botanical Gardens, hiked through the Petroglyph National Monument - all very worthwhile!!

Even with the price of gas, this was definitely an adventure of a lifetime that I highly recommend. It is certainly nice for the support vehicle to have 2 drivers and for the rider to have a biking companion. Unfortunately we couldn't always have that, but we did OK. I can't imagine a biker doing this trip without a 4-wheel drive support vehicle, but I know its done.

We learned many things from this adventure.
#1 - We live in an amazingly beautiful country and we saw sights that most people will never experience.
#2 - We survived "roughing it" without refrigeration and did just fine. Although if I never eat another MRE, that will be OK!
We lived without a daily shower often and wore clothes more than once (or 3 or 5 times)and it was just fine!! Its OK to be dirty in the wilds!
#3 - Montana and New Mexico virtually tied for our favorite State - although we had an extraordinary amount of unexpected rain in both. Luckily we were never rerouted by fire - it came to areas after we were through them.
#4 - Be flexible and keep a sense of humor!!
#5 - Have a method other than a phone for communicating with one another. Notes on Stop signs worked well for us.
#6 - Although the ride is divided into over 70 days by Adventure Cycling, Beth actually rode only 52 days of the 67 days she spent along the trail. She averaged 48 miles a day and pulled a 70 lb, BOB most of the time. Days off really need to be figured into the equation for both mental and physical health!! So much to see & do along the way!!
#7 - Be well educated on the trip before you go. We planned & planned for over a year, and brought along a lot of gear, but I can't think of anything we didn't use! Some of the things that people may not bring that we used a lot - a hammer with tines (for tent stakes and good for mud clearing), a garden trowel (for all those primative free camping sites), 2 extra bikes, laptop computer and car charger for it - the charger also charged our batteries for the cameras, lots of dry foods (fruits, jerky, nuts, etc.), laundry soap, a plastic dish pan, & a clothesline, the State Gazetteers that were invaluable, lots & lots of plastic bags (we collected rocks, bones, used them for wet gear, etc.) of all sizes!
#8 - You will eat more than you usually do and still lose weight! Outside and active burns a lot of calories.

Antelope Wells, NM -The Mexican Border

Antelope Wells has absolutely no services - only the border patrol building and a few houses the men live in. Be sure you have enough gas to come & go from here and don't count on getting any in Hachita!
BETH writes - Last night was anything but full of sleep. Between the border patrol sneaking up on us to check out that we were Americans, the illegals or drug smugglers that went across the road just down from our tent with their flash lights at 1 am, the full moon, the coyotes, and the wind I got very little sleep. I think I was also excited and axious for today. 35 miles to the border! The ride was rolling and very easy and there was three adventures to the day. The habitat was still Yucca desert and then just before the border the land became more grassy and pasture like. The first excitement was I finally got to see my Rattle Snake!!! He was a about 3 ft long and a little thick in the middle like he had just eaten. The snake was crossing the road and easy to see against the pavement, so no one was in danger. The second excitement or pain for the day was I have ridden almost 2500 miles without a flat tire so don't you know today would be the day. They had just mowed the sides of the road sending Mosquite thorns into the road. I did not get a flat, but did have a slow leak so I had to stop every 8-10 miles to put more air in my soft tire. With six miles left my Mom rode with me to the border. Around 12:15 I crossed the border of the US into Mexico. I had done it!! I had ridden 52 days and almost 2500 miles from Canada to Mexico. I am not sure how I feel. I am definitely proud to say that I have accomplished such a feat, but the end was kind of anti-climatic. Here I have seen a lot of the west by bike, met wonderful people, eaten lots of food, had many good and bad adventures and it feels like maybe I should just keep riding. Instead I packed up my stuff and we drove 4 hours to Carlsbad Caverns. The border is just a line and a sign, but now I know the adventures will have to continue!! I loved the trip in so many ways that riding the Divide will not be the end of the adventure!!! Thank you to everyone who rode with me, to all the people I met along the way, to my Dad for holding down the fort at home and supporting me throughout the trip and to my Mom -- Mom I never in a million years pictured us doing this together and I am soooooo lucky to have such a wonderful, supportive and willing to do anything Mother! Thank you for all your help, carrying all the "good" food, dealing with my grumpy days, and taking 3 months out of your life to come with me for this adventure of a life time!!
JAN writes - None of us slept much last night due to terrible wind and lightening (but it never rained), the border patrol lights shinning on our tent, and flashlights we could see moving through the desert in the distance. We aren't sure who was sneaking through the cactus in the night! We got going in good time in the morning to try to avoid the heat. I rode the last 6 miles with Beth, while Fran drove the Jeep, and we crossed the border at 12:15PM. Amazing! The only other vehicle we have seen all morning was a border patrol. You could lie down on this highway and take a nap and never get hit!!! Now we return Beth to the insane asylum from where she must have come to ride a mountain bike 2,500 miles! Since she has finished way ahead of schedule, we decided to go to Carlsbad Caverns in southeastern NM. We drove over 6 hours and arrived after dark. We set up the tent by headlight and after going to bed the wind started to howl and it poured. We are in the desert!

Hachita, New Mexico

Hachita is an intersection on the way to the border. There is a small cafe next to the rodeo arena. The published camp grounds is not for tenters - no water, no facilities, gravel yard that is totally out in the open in town. The biting flies were terrible. There is a small general store with a gas pump that was not open. We were told the owner opens it when he is in the mood!
BETH writes - Today was an easy 60 miles through the desert. The first part of the day was spent on the last of the dirt roads I would see in this grand adventure. I saw a Rood Runner, huge Millipedes, cool enormous wasps, three Pronghorns and several Black Hawks today. The desert goes from Mesquite bushes to grassy/ Yucca areas over the course of a few miles and then back again. It was fascinating to watch. At mile 43, I came across the last Continental Divide crossing at 4500 ft. and it was flat as can be! I stood there on the line not sure if I should turn around, just stay there or keep going. I was excited to finish my journey a few days ago, but now the bitter sweetness of the end makes me want to slow down and make last forever. Of course the pain in my rear sends my mind back to the idea of finishing the 2500 miles I have come. I arrived around 2:30 in Hachita to where I thought we would camp for the night to find Mom and Fran ready to keep going. The "RV Park" we were supposed to stay at had no working bathroom, no bushes to hide to pee in, and had horrible flies. The town, which is not much of a town, had a small cafe which we stopped and had hamburgers. As we left town a Border Patrol officer stopped my Mom and Fran and told them to camp further down the road because there had been a huge drug bust in Hachita this morning. Oh, Boy!! I rode 11 miles down the road to find Mom and Fran pulled off the highway on a side road and we set up camp. The scarey part is that my map says to camp carefully on this highway because it is used by drug trafficers and illegals at night. We could be in for an interesting night. The road we were along had several cars go down it while we were lounging this evening. I get the biggest kick out of the fact that in NH the idea of people pulled off the road camping would be weird, but here people just wave like you are normal and not out of place. One day left to the border at 35 miles, I just hope for a quite safe night so I can finish my grand adventure.
JAN writes - It was over 80 degrees at 9AM when we set out. Luckily the clouds moved in and it never got above 86 degrees. Fran and I drove ahead of Beth and would wait for her. We explored the desert along the sandy road. We saw lots of quail, road runners, interesting insects, and lots of cactus. We got to the tiny town of Hachita and found that the advertised campground didn't exist. The teenager working at the cafe said we could pitch a tent next to the cafe, but it was also next to the rodeo arena. There was no water or bathroom (or bushes) and the flies were terrible. Then the customs men arrived and we learned there had been a big drug bust and we were warned not to pitch a tent near town as the guys were on foot in the area. Beth got back on her bike and rode another 11 miles to a dirt road where I could pull off and not be driving on cactus. We are now camped next to the road leading to the border. The customs men told us it is patrolled all night and we'll be safer here then further off the road where the illegals sneak through. Not much comfort there and no cell service, so we are armed with 2 canisters of bear spray and a hammer in the tent. Small rattlesnake in pic was warming himself on the road.

South of Silver City, NM

BETH writes - Rode 5 miles to Silver City to the bike shop, where they repaired my bike. With a shifting bike and a good breakfast at a local cafe inside me, I was off to the desert, the Chocoen Desert, one of the largest in the country. To my surprise and pleasure this desert was drastically different than Wyoming's Great Basin. After 15 miles on the highway I entered a Yucca forest with small prickly pears and Rabbit bush (like sage brush, but soft with green color and yellow flowers - its an invasive which indicated over grazing) I rolled on a low grade up and down along the Continental Divide for thirty miles. I found a nice flat spot in which to camp and Mom and Fran were along shortly. We played cards, read, and enjoyed the cool breeze and clouds as the sun set behind us in the clouds.

JAN writes - Beth took her bike to a bike shop and was able to get it working properly. She headed out of Silver City in the late morning, but Fran and I did some museum hopping and hit a few shops. We met up with Beth in the middle of the desert. She found a place where we could pull off the road and set up the tent without being on a cactus. The scenery has taken a drastic change. We are still over 1 mile high and right on the continental divide itself. It was still hot when we made camp and there was no shade, and no facilities or buildings in sight, but we set up a dry tent with no threat of rain. We played cards and watched the sunset before getting a good night's sleep. Picture is of cactus with bird next near camp site.

Silver City, New Mexico

Silver City is a very cool place. It is a very artsy and colorful town. There is a bike shop, several motels and restaurants, grocery store, and gas stations. The KOA is outside of town and is by far the nicest KOA we've ever seen, anywhere!!! William Bonney (Billy the Kid) hails from Silver City. He sure gained a lot of fame for the short 4 years he lived as a criminal in the 1800's! There are a couple of small museums here, too.
BETH writes - Today was a new day and that is how you have to look at things after a day like yesterday. I proved to myself today that I could fix my bike better than I thought. After somewhat rinsing my bike off in the nearby stream, I was able to fix my deraileur (of course the hanger was bent so I had to replace that too) and my bike was rideable, but still would not shift. It is definitely the cable and housing clogged with mud, but on the trail with a dirty bike is not the place to change them. My biking buddies have been trying to convince me to try to ride a single speed bike, but after 54 miles with two gears and tons of hills I will keep my shifting 27 geared bike. Thankfully, the sun came out today and the roads were drier because I spent the day climbing and descending steeply. I spent most of the day in the Ponderosa Forest and then dropped to a semi arid country where there were many cool cacti and huge Yucca plants. I still can not believe how diverse New Mexico is. I enjoyed my last day in the forest because tomorrow, and the last three days to Mexico, will be spent in the desert. At the end of the day I passed a huge pit mine called the Santa Rose Mine. This is the longest continually mined area in the world. People have been mining for copper here since late B.C. and this mine was started as a pit mine in 1842. This mine is three or four times the size of the one in Butte, MT. I rode along it for over 8 miles. It is mind boggling and disturbing the amount of earth we are capable of moving. Tonight we are staying in the Silver City KOA and have showers and are able to do laundry, which is a treat at this point in this adventure.
JAN writes - Luckily Beth was able to get her bike going in the morning. She washed it off in the stream below our tent. She only had two gears out of 27 that worked, but at least she could ride. The road was absolutely terrible - so slippery I couldn't go over 10MPH and the mud was over 1 inch thick sticking to my tires. I had no traction at all. About noon we came to a paved road. Fran and I decided to go to the Gila Cliff Dwellers National Monument and Beth set off toward Silver City. We'd had enough of slippery mud roads! Fran and I stopped for lunch Grey Feathers Cafe and were treated to at least 100 hummingbirds - 7 different species- at over a dozen hummingbird feeders. We'd never seen anything so amazing before! I was able to get lots of pics through the window. We met Beth at the Silver City KOA where she'd gotten a cabin. Of course with a roof over our heads, it didn't rain a drop!!!