Day Seventeen: new computer, el paso, hostel

October 8th. Today is the shipping date for my new computer. I've been very excited about it. It's a two-pound netbook and is quite small... small enough to easily fit inside one of my pannier bags. It has a solid state hard drive (no moving parts) so that when it falls OUT of my pannier bag, I'll be able to pick it up and turn it on. (I've read about other bikers who did that exact thing)

Trying to blog with my tiny pocket PC is like trying to tie a cherry stem with your tongue while reciting the Gettysburg Address. (writing that sentence took about sixty seconds) I write the words by hand and they're electronically transcribed into words.

Theoretically.

I have to correct every single word I type, sometimes more than once. That's part of the reason I'm so far behind on the blog. (That, and the fact that after riding sixty miles on a bike, by the end of the day I sometimes want to curl up into a fetal position and stare into the corner.)

So, you can understand how excited I've been about getting my new computer.... except for the fact that those rat bastards at Dell emailed me today to say that the shipping is delayed... SOMEday, it'll come, and SOMEday I'll get caught up on my blogging.

Since it was dark when he pitched his tent last night, Klaus waited until this morning to fix his broken spoke. He repaired it in record time.... I guess it just comes with practice.

I hope I'm never that fast.

From mark on a bike 08

Last night it was too dark to take a picture of the campsite so I took one this morning.

From mark on a bike 08

From mark on a bike 08

We took off towards Las Cruces this morning, again into a headwind. There are a lot of pecan orchards in this area. In some parts, it was particularly nice because we actually rode in a canopy of leaves from the trees.

From mark on a bike 08

From mark on a bike 08

In Las Cruces (in Spanish, the crosses), we stopped at The Bean to grab a quick bite to eat but it turned into a lengthier stay than we had anticipated. There we met three local bikers who had just finished a ride. They gave some helpful information about the roads. When Klaus told them about his intention of riding into Mexico, they said (my paraphrase): "YOU'RE GONNA GET KILLED!!!!"

We also met Alan, a retired photojournalist for the New York Times, and Brooke, a nursing student at the local university. Alan suggested we stop at Chope's, a biker bar which is on our way. He and Klaus talked shop for a while since they're both interested in photography.

From mark on a bike 08

Eventually, we were back on the road and rolling toward El Paso. An insect flew into one of the MASSIVE AIR-SUCKING VENTS on my helmet and I stuck my finger inside to shoo it away. It apparently didn't want to be bothered and, since it had the additional defense of a stinger attached to its butt, it let me know I was bothering it by stinging me on the finger. My finger throbbed for a couple of miles until I stopped, got the tweezers out, and removed the stinger.

In San Miguel we stopped at the grocery store to buy some lunch. I made a cream cheese sandwich and had a Dr. Pepper. Klaus has been cursing me for introducing him to Dr. Pepper. It's a drink with empty calories and not healthy at all.

He tried some Arizona tea, which has about half the calories and twice the volume. I suspect he'll be drinking that more often.

About thirty seconds after leaving the grocery store, we saw Chope's bar. It didn't look like much on the outside but we decided to check it out.

As we were getting off our bikes we met Sonny and Monica. They had just pulled up themselves and were going inside.

From mark on a bike 08

Inside, the place was very dark. We learned that, for some unknown reason, the power had just gone off. Other than Sonny and Monica, we were the only other patrons. We walked up and down the bar, looking at all of the posters and paraphernalia, feeling like bicyclists in a motorcyclists' bar, then slipped back outside.

We continued riding towards El Paso. We turned a corner and, all of a sudden, I realized we were in Texas. There wasn't a sign, so I'm not sure exactly when we crossed the line.

El Paso has sprawl just like Phoenix. Once we hit the city limits, it still took an hour and a half to get to where we're staying for the night.

That's okay... if you remember, I really like cities.

From mark on a bike 08

From mark on a bike 08

Texas. It was named after the Tejas Indians. Tejas means "friendly." I sure hope so, considering we're going to be in Texas for a third of our trip.

The temperature hasn't been too bad today. The high was only around 85 degrees. Riding is SO much easier when it doesn't get above 95 degrees.

As we were riding I saw Klaus, about thirty yards ahead of me, start pumping his fist up and down into the air. I knew why he was doing it even before I saw what he was looking at.... a Starbucks.

We stopped for about an hour. He bought me some type of strawberries and cream drink, large enough for three or four people, and we sat outside in the shade and enjoyed the late afternoon.

A guy started talking to me while we were waiting for our drinks. He's a (VERY) competitive mountain biker and was having a protein shake. I don't know if he's any good, but he's obviously competitive. He had some authoritative advice about a lot of things, from bike shops to where to eat. He's very proud of his town, El Paso, stating that, among other things, it's the only city in Texas with a view of the mountains. When we asked about Fort Hancock, Alpine, and Marathon, he seemed not to hear us.

I couldn't put my finger on exactly why, but he reminded me of a used car salesman.

When Klaus told him he was thinking of riding through Juarez, along the Rio Grande, and reentering the US at Fort Hancock, the guy said (my paraphrase), "YOU'RE GONNA GET KILLED!!" Then he went on to explain about the drug wars.

He also told us that El Paso is the only Texas city in Mountain Time Zone. Actually, it doesn't change for another 150 miles or so.

We left, refreshed by the drinks if not by the conversation, and headed toward the hostel. Along the way we stopped at a couple of bike shops. Klaus is still looking for the elusive 22-tooth chain ring The first bike shop had one... for $150.00. Klaus laughed out loud when the guy told him the price. The salesman didn't appear offended. He smiled, looked around, then said that, yes, some people actually pay that much for it.

He had better luck at the second store, and they let him replace it himself using their tools. I think bike shops will cut you some slack if you pedal 8500 miles to get there. It was starting to get dark so I headed to the hostel to check in while he was working on his bike.

The Gardner Hotel and El Paso Hostel has seen better days. It's situated downtown and you can tell that it must have been magnificent at one time. Not in MY lifetime, but in someone's.

From mark on a bike 08

From mark on a bike 08

I was met at the desk by Antonio. He was quite strict about his instructions: You may not walk naked through the halls. You may not use your own sleeping bag. You will be given three pieces of linen - please bring back three pieces of linen. There is no smoking in the rooms. There is no drinking in the rooms. There are four bars within walking distance - three of them are gay bars. There were a number of other important rules, all of which seem to have stemmed from some dumbass who did something stupid. I wondered if I could cause him to add another rule to his litany: If you sneeze on the wall, you must wipe off the snot, or You may not leave your toenail clippings on the toilet seat.

He warmed up, though, and, like the guy at Starbucks, is obviously very proud of El Paso. In his opinion, it's the second best place to live. Can you guess the first? Of COURSE you can, it's not a difficult question....

Lawrence, Kansas.

He told me about the murders that have been happening in Juarez, and I made a mental note to tell Klaus that he's gonna get killed there.

From mark on a bike 08

I got my room key and went upstairs.

Klaus and I have this in common: one of the main reasons we tour is to meet people. Everyone has a story. that's why we decided to get a room with four beds instead of two... we like to meet people.

However, there are some people you might NOT want to meet... or at least leave your possessions unguarded while you shower. Or close your eyes while they're in the same room.

It was about dusk when I walked into the room. It smelled of stale cigarette smoke and there was a sleeping man on the bed, about 25, with a shaved head. He was shirtless, tattooed, and laying flat on his back. I don't know exactly WHY, but I half expected him to say,"Close the f&#$ing door, a$$hole!!!" Or perhaps, "You look real purdy in those tight pants, girly. Come here."

I tried to be as quiet as I could as I brought my gear into the room. I sat on the lower bunk across the tiny room and blogged while waiting for Klaus. Twenty minutes later, he opened the door, turned on the lights, and brought some of his stuff inside. I got up and we had a quick conversation outside the room. He said, "I don't like the looks of that guy. Want to change rooms?" I thought about it for a second, visions of my blood soaking into my pillow, and said "Yes."

People are always asking me if I'm ever afraid of people, or if anything bad has happened. I think Klaus would agree that we have some type of radar which tells us about them. It wasn't the tattoos, or the smell of cigarettes, or the shaved head. I've met a lot of guys who had all of those and would give you the shirt off their backs, if they had one one. I don't know WHAT it was, but we both somehow knew that we didn't want to stay in that room.

In our new room, we celebrated making it to El Paso.

From mark on a bike 08

By the time we were ready to eat, it was getting late. About the only place open was The Tap, a claustrophobic dive with some decent Mexican food.

From mark on a bike 08

From mark on a bike 08

We spent about an hour and a half hanging out at The Tap, during which time Klaus found a website listing the most dangerous cities in the world. Ranked number one: Lawrence, KS.

Not really. It was Juarez, Mexico.

There wasn't even an American city until number seven or eight.... how embarrassing... we're really going to have to work on that.

We headed back to the room (our new one has only two beds) as the music, cigarette smoke, and conversation drift through our second-story window from the bar below.

Not a bad day today... not bad at all.

65.23 miles
13.8 avg
33.5 max
4:43:22 time
856.2 total