Day Fifteen: julie and ceiling tiles, trundling, black rock lodge

I woke up at 6:45 without an alarm. I've said it before - that's just plain WRONG. WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?!?!?!?!

We rolled out of the hotel room at 8:45 and into WalMart ten minutes later. I bought a couple of SD cards so I can continue taking tons of pictures.

Here are a couple of pictures of a woman who was really curious about Klaus' bike and gear:

From mark on a bike 08

From mark on a bike 08

For the next 22 miles we had rolling hills and ended up at about the same altitude at which we started.

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Along the way we passed the Santa Rita Mine. It's still called the Santa Rita Mine although, to the best of my knowledge, there's no longer a town of Santa Rita. It's where the big hole is now.

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We periodically saw horses...

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More pictures of the route:

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From mark on a bike 08

In San Lorenzo we stopped at the Corner Market and Deli where we met Julie, the owner. Julie is one of the most personable people you'll ever meet. She bought the place a little over a year ago, and began a tradition of having well-known people sign ceiling tiles. Once she found out we were riding our bikes across the country she wanted US to sign a ceiling tile.

From mark on a bike 08

From mark on a bike 08

She even gave us a place of honor - right above the cash register where everyone will see it. We're famous!

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It was really fun and, in addition to a great cheeseburger, she gave me some Toast Bandages. I'm not sure what Toast Bandages are, but I'm glad to have them.

From mark on a bike 08

From mark on a bike 08

At 1:30 we left the deli and started our ascent of Emory Pass, the highest point of our entire trip at 8,828 feet.

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Now that Klaus is getting to know me he's starting to sing. The funny thing is that although he DOES know the correct words to the songs he sings, he changes them up a little according to the situation. Looking at a road which stretches infinitely into the distance, the wind blowing harshly across it, he'll start singing "The Long and Windy Road" an almost-Beatles' song. I never know what's going to come out next, but I always know I'm going to enjoy it.

As we ride, we talk about bicycling and find we have a lot in common. For both of us, THE main reason we do this is to meet people. Everyone has a story, and most of the stories are interesting.

We also talk about the advantages and disadvantages of riding together. The obvious advantages are that you're able to draft, the conversation makes the miles go by faster, and you can share costs of campgrounds and hotels. The main disadvantage we've discovered is that people are less likely to approach you if you're riding with another person.

Riding with Klaus, I've been learning a lot about photography. As I said earlier, he's an IT Program Manager and has a tremendous knowledge of computers and other technical information. What I didn't realize is just HOW much of a technical skill photography is. I understand the basic f-stop and shutter speed stuff but there are times (for example, when he has that excited look in his eyes) when it almost sounds like he's speaking another language.

You should check out his web page to see what a fantastic photographer he is: www.rad-fernweh.de The name of the website translates as "daydreaming about bicycling."

I don't know if it's the hypoxia again (lack of oxygen to the brain), but riding today was pure fun. The occasional cool tailwind lifted my speed and my spirits.

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Now that we're climbing into the forested areas of Gila National Park I'm seeing more birds. (I've been seeing vultures on a regular basis since Glamis, but I'm not sure if it's because they felt they were cheated or if it's because after a day's riding I smell like something dead on the side of the road)

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The road is steep, with a number of switchbacks, but it isn't difficult. I just kept pedaling, trundling up the mountain with a silly grin on my face.

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We stopped on a regular basis for pictures, water, and fruit or energy bars.... and, of course, to say, "Hmph. I could fart this with one cheek."

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For eighteen miles we pedaled up. And up. And up some more.

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Toward the very end I was no longer trundling.

As we inched our way upward, almost every person who passed us from either direction gave us a smile and either waved to us or gave us the thumbs up signal; a couple of people honked and smiled.

From mark on a bike 08

From mark on a bike 08

From mark on a bike 08

Out of curiosity, I checked my heart rate during the climb. It was 130 bpm. I also checked it this morning before getting out of bed.... 60 bpm.

We reached Emory Pass, 8828 feet above San Diego's coastline, with the satisfaction that only comes with having pedaled a mile and a half into the sky.

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After taking pictures by the Emory Pass sign, we saw a side road with a sign that said "Scenic Overlook," and decided to pedal down the gravel road to see what was there.

I'm glad we made the quarter mile trip. Here are some pictures.

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From mark on a bike 08

From mark on a bike 08

The brown slash in the mountain is the road we'll be coasting down in about twenty minutes:

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The light brown patch in the middle of this picture is where we'll be staying tonight:

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At last it was time to leave. The sun was slipping away, and we didn't want to be flying down a mountain through eight miles of darkness.

There are two types of downhill. One is a long, gentle downhill. It's steep enough to keep you moving at a nice clip but not so steep that you can't look around and enjoy the scenery.

The second is a steep downhill grade with a lot of hairpin turns. With these, you have to be continuously alert, and you need to brake when appropriate. If your concentration wavers at the wrong moment you'll get a more intimate look at the scenery than you really want.

The descent into Kingston was the second type.

The thing about "braking when appropriate" is that bikers HATE to use the brakes. Every time the brake pads touch the rim, it wastes energy that we've burned by pedaling.

So, you go as fast as you can safely go without braking....

...and sometimes you go even faster than that. YEEEEEHAAAAA!!!!

I broke the speed limit for most of the way down.

Safely, of course.

In Kingston we stopped at the Black Rock Lodge Bed & Breakfast.

It's a cool old building, built in 1800s, with seven guest rooms. It's had some add-ons over the years and now seems to ramble on forever.

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(My room is the one above the sign)

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This is my room:

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Kingston currently has only a handful of people, but in the late 1800's it was THE largest town in the entire state of New Mexico with a population of 7,000 people.

The owners of the lodge, Catherine and Pete Wanek, aren't really interested in having hordes of people come through. They want to keep it intimate. They also like their down time, and having people every evening would take the fun out of it.

Although a Bed & Breakfast, Catherine also fed us supper, accompanied by some good wine. Klaus, in return, pulled out his bottle of 15-year-old Glenfiddich Scotch. He bought it for a ridiculously low price in Asia and has been carrying it with him since. Pete made some homemade strawberry ice cream. When I say “homemade,” I mean REALLY homemade.

From mark on a bike 08

From mark on a bike 08

From mark on a bike 08

Catherine is the author of a couple of books, including The New Strawbale Home. In her book she pictures homes in which the insides of the walls are actually made from bales of straw. Apparently, it provides great insulation and is ecologically smart. Catherine and Pete are strong proponents of a sustainable lifestyle. When she first told me about the houses I had images of, well, STRAW walls. However, the straw is INSIDE the walls, and the houses in her book are really quite beautiful.

When we get to El Paso, Klaus is considering going to Mexico and riding along the Rio Grande river, parallel to the ACA route for a hundred or so miles, then re-entering the United States in Fort Hancock.

When he told Catherine and Pete, both veteran world travelers, they said (my paraphrase) "YOU'RE GONNA GET KILLED!!!!!!"

Apparently, Juarez has been having drug wars and a lot of people are dying. Klaus, who bicycled through Moscow, one of the most dangerous cities on the planet, listened attentively but wasn't moved.

Traveling through Mexico would be beneficial for more than the sheer pleasure of fighting Mexican drug lords and learning to suture your own skin following some festive knife fights.

The REAL benefit, other than seeing the inside workings of the Mexican healthcare system firsthand, is that he might be able to extend his visa. If he leaves the country, then returns, he may be eligible for a new 90-day visa. As it now stands, he's going to be cutting it close trying to finish the trip before his 90-day limit expires.

I paid for one of the rooms (and received a thirty percent discount because I'm traveling by bike). Klaus opted for the $15.00 campsite in the front yard instead.

When Catherine mentioned the javalinas, or wild pigs, he became very interested. Roving bands of armed, drug-crazed Mexicans are one thing, but slavering, tusked mammals rooting around outside your tent and disturbing your sleep are an entirely different matter.

Catherine let him sleep on one of the downstairs beds.

I went to bed at 10:30 and was asleep within two minutes.

What a fantastic day.

50.96 distance
9.3 average
39.3 maximum
5:26:32 time
711.9 total miles
4257 feet of climbing, about 1000 feet short of climbing a mile