First two days...

Day 1, Sunday, March 24th, 2013: I left home around 10:10 am. I had a warm good bye and wishes of good luck from my BFF Truth--who has remained, and always will, as my loyal and wise support team, her husband Dan, and from Esteban, my beautiful knight in shining armour, who has lent his mechanical skills and vast knowledge to help me prepare for this adventure. From Shannon, my youngest daughter, I got a quick kiss and “see ya later!”, as she has taken some time to join me. It was a nice easy take off and I made it to White City in good time. 

About 1/4 mile from White City, I stopped to take a photo of the Apache Trading Post--which was closed. There was an enthusiastic young Chinese engineer taking photos. We shared a quick conversation. He was born in China and moved to Canada about 9 years ago. He then moved to Carlsbad quite recently and works as an engineer designing pipe for natural gas and oil pipelines. He was very friendly and I just thought he was fantastic! His family is still in Canada and will join him for part of the summer. He has a wife and 2 (or was it 3?) children. On most weekends he drives around the area and does a little sightseeing. He jokingly said that he spent 9 years in Canada, maybe now he can spend 9 years in the USA! When he retires, he told me he’d let me know and would invite me to cycle around China. Well, by that time, I’ll be pretty long in the tooth and may need a motor on my cycle. Not only that, but the perimeter of China is just a tad bigger than the US!!!

Then, I arrived in White City. This is the town that is the gateway to the Carlsbad Caverns. It used to be owned by the White family. About 6 yrs ago, they sold it to another family and, just like the original owners, the whole fam damily owns the town: grocery, curios, museum, motels. Every one has a job. It’s really pretty darn cool. I know one of the many owners as she is a nurse in Carlsbad. While in the parking lot, a young lady in shorts and a Loyola U t-shirt stopped to say Hi. She was a cute young lady, strawberry blonde and graced with a spattering of light freckles. She is from Michigan (or was in Minnesota---that’s what happens when I have to wait more than 24 hrs to write...) and told me that she and her brother were on spring break and traveling, camping, etc, before heading back to school. She entertained and delighted me with the wonderful story of how her parents met. It appears that her dad, as a young man, applied for a job as a cycling tour guide. While he did not get the job, he nevertheless decided to lead a tour on his own. Which he did. He was joined by several cyclists for a nice long cycling tour. During that very first solo tour, he met a young lady and, by the end of the trip, they were in love. The rest is history. They got married, had 2 happy children, and still run a bike shop!! 

I love these stories.

I also met a retired man and his wife in that same parking lot. They travel about 1/2 the year and then visit grandchildren, etc. This is a growing pattern in retirees and one that is thoroughly enjoyed amongst those adventurous couples who enjoy each others company after 40 yrs of marriage. Yay!! What do they enjoy: travel. What gives them joy: their grandchildren.

When I reached the Texas state line, I was intercepted by Sammy and Yvette. This gentleman works in the oil industry. Prior to that, he laid quite a bit of barbed fence line, pointing in all directions from where I stood. He apparently loves the lure of the outdoors. He also loves the idea of cycling across the country. Over the last 2 weeks, he met 2 different cyclists cutting through our end of the country. He read the article in our local newspaper describing my own personal voyage and he knew that I was planning to leave some time this weekend. So he grabbed his lovely wife and said, “let’s take a drive and see if we can find her!” Which they did! What a nice gift it was to be intercepted by people I didn’t even know who went out of their way to offer their blessings and tell me they would keep me in their prayers.

People just amaze me. 

We humans are capable of the most heinous crimes and the most beautiful acts.

Well, after the Texas State line, I ran out of steam. Out of electrolytes, out of everything. But still with about 18 miles to go--the hardest 18. It was only by sheer determination, desperation, and stubbornness that I made it to the peak. Shannon ran late due to a problem with her key chain car alarm (it wouldn’t shut off because the battery was dying). I texted her to call Esteban: I think he can fix anything. By the time he responded, she had driven to Radio Shack and replaced the battery in the little rascal. He drove up to the Guadalupe Mountain State Park, looking for her, thinking the problem happened up at the campground. By the time he showed up, I was just riding into the park and the sun had set. I set up the tent in the dark and it was seriously cold up there. Shannon arrived and we were so cold we just skipped any thoughts of dinner and hunkered down in our sleeping bags. LouDog is her companion, a petite male dalmatian who absolutely adores her. We enjoyed his company and we took a photo of him in the tent, wearing a head lamp, with Shannon kissing his cheek. I will try to get that onto the website. Precious.

He groaned in his LouDog way until Shannon covered him with a blanket. He was cold too! Usually when he groans, he is making his requests known. It is up to the canine--iliterate humans to figure out what he is saying.

Day 2: March 25, 2013: We drug ourselves into the cold morning at 7:30 am. The campground host said it was 22 deg. For us desert rats and southern california girls, that is pretty darn cold! My fingers were numb and the water in the camelback tube was frozen. I didn’t even bother to change my clothes, just got everything packed up. That uber-kind campground host brought me a cup of coffee, which I polluted with sweetener. Shannon was pretty ticked off about that, but she was sitting nice and warm in the car with the heater on while I packed up my gear. She had to drive on in to Cornudas for coffee--about a 45 minute drive. 

The wind coming down the mountain through the passe was heavy and cold and I had to pump the brakes to keep from feeling like I was being blown off the road. I also used my right foot to assist as a brake, chewing up the cheap rubber on my wallyworld shoes. Sacrificial brakes, I thought! Anyway, the anxiety caused by the strong cross winds kept my mind off the cold air!

When I gain faith in the cycle brakes, I will use my shoe less...

Once I got off the mountains, the wind moved to my back and I had a nice tailwind all the way to Cornudas, to May’s Cafe. May and her daughters run this spot--a cafe, little curio shop, and campground. She allows cyclists to camp for free, even though Shannon was driving a car. This spot is a favorite of truckers and is the only place to grab a cup and a meal between White City and El Paso. They are famous for their burgers--we took their word for it as we are vegetarians. Shannon pulled out the leftovers from home and we feasted on cold rice noodles with a thick tomato/pepper sauce, cheese (thanks for the Drunken Goat Cheese--you know who you are!), avocados, and salad. I am now thoroughly stuffed. But still comfortable. 

So now, we will hang out in the tent for a few hours (almost 7 pm now) as the air is kinda cold again. I am double, almost triple layered but still feeling the cold. Tomorrow I will try to drag myself outta here by 8 and am facing about a 12 hour cycling day, IF the wind is kind! We will stay in a hotel--I spent way more than I wanted but it was the only hotel directly on the route we are taking. So, a nice hot shower tomorrow night, a bed with an actual mattress, and coffee in the room!

The next day will be a relatively short day--from north-eastern El Paso into Las Cruces. Thus, the first 4 days will be “hard day, easy day, hard day, easy day”. After that, I face more mountains but the wind is forecasted to be in my face, from west to east, as it usually is. 

I am grateful Shannon is here to help me through this most difficult part of the journey---the first leg, as we cross the lonely desert in the hefty spring winds, dealing with dirt, fluctuating temperatures, and no relief of a 7-11 between stops. 

I think I will cash in on all those prayers...