Day 18 - The Hammer

Las Cruces NM to El Paso TX

44.6 miles 240 feet climb 240 feet of climb

Today started with a special breakfast in honor of Dennis (one of the two leaders) who is leaving the group. Kathy made omelets and Steve made hash browns and bacon on the flattop grill. It was a beautiful morning, the sunrise beautiful and unlike yesterday, no wind. We only had 44.6 miles to get to El Paso with negligible climb. Goodbye New Mexico and hello Texas. There was a soft rollout, people were relaxed and we stopped at a coffee shop on our way out of town. We saw a couple of different groups of local bike riders getting ready for group rides.

Here's anothr group photo. That's Dennis taking the photo so the other leader, Kathy in the pink jacket, could be in this one. I am on the right end.

We rode past pecan groves, had mountains on our left, and met some fellow travelers along the way. Two guys were doing the Southern Tier route from East to West and they were self-contained. We chatted a bit from across the road. They didn't start together, but met on the ride and stayed together on the route. Things were going quite well. It was a nice day and we were enjoying the ride.

Here's the two self contained guys traveling east to west. Note their equipment. Not much for a couple of months. They take their pecans seriously down here!

Then the hammer dropped. The wind, the wind, the wind. It grew stronger and was out of the SE. We were headed primarily south and it was a very strong cross wind. While not as strong as yesterday, it was strong enough to really slow us down. So much for a bucolic ride. The Rio Grande river is the border between Texas and New Mexico before it becomes the border between the US and Mexico. The GPS told us to turn on a gravel road just before crossing the bridge over the Rio Grande. We were puzzled. We thought it might be wrong and we were not thrilled about the gravel. Turned out to be a short distance to a bike path along the Rio Grande River.

Here's my stats for the day. Unfortunately it does not record wind speed. Matt is changing a tire with Tom's help. Flat tires are a reality but so far I've been lucky.

Here's the unappreciated gravel and two sunrise pictures of Las Cruces with Tom.

And we do have some fun!

Margaritas next to the motel

Karen & Sharon found a cart

Tom & Harris deep in thought

Coffee!