Kevin's Blog

Hanging out in Van Horn, TX
Date: 01/21/2013

The most interesting thing in town.

There is nothing to do in Van Horn. It’s Monday of the MLK holiday and what little there is to do is closed up tight. The cute café. The few shops. I took a 2 hour walk up and down the main drag and the (second) most interesting thing I saw was the El Capitan hotel – if I’m ever back here and not on a budget I’m totally staying there. I snagged a decent lunch at Chuy’s, which is home of the “John Madden Haul of Fame”(sic)… I have no idea what they’re hauling but the story here tells why John Madden is involved. So I spent the day planning, watching the inauguration, and other tv. Fun times.

View from the roof of the El Capitan.

I’ve got 630 miles to go. I’m planning to ride it in 8 days. This is the route I plan to take. I’m going to do a little bit of fun sightseeing along the way, so it’s not the most direct. But I’ll still get done a couple days before my flight out of Austin. After spending some time looking at the route I’m starting to look forward to west Texas a bit more.

Texas is just too damn big.

As I was planning the rest of the trip, I was thinking about the road traveled thus far. Here are some random and somewhat disorganized stats:

• 1104.63 miles traveled over 20 days
• 64% of the total miles completed
• 125 hours 41 minutes spent riding
• 44k feet climbed
• 3 days were spent off of the bike as rest days
• 7 consecutive days on the bike (max)
• 55.23 miles/day average
• 64.98 miles/day not including the days off
• 8.78 mph averaged across all days
• 50+ cyclists seen on the road (all but 5 were seen on the same day)
• 11 dogs have chased me on the bike (once by a pack of 6, but they actually looked friendly)
• 11 nights spent with warm shower hosts
• 7 nights at hotels (including tonight)
• 2 nights camping
• 1 night with family (hurray Ruth and Ben!)
• 0 bike related injuries
• 0 flat tires
• 0 pain killers

So far, so good. Looking forward to getting back on the bike tomorrow.

Horizon, TX to Van Horn, TX
Date: 01/21/2013
Distance traveled: 109.44 miles (1104.63 miles total)
GPS tracks: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/264585415

To know me is to know that there is hardly an hour that goes by without a song in my head. I generally wake up in the morning with some song on the tip of my tongue. The surprising part is that it is frequently a song that I haven’t head in a very long time. The most interesting part is trying to figure out why my subconscious picks the songs that it brings to the fore. Sometimes it’s clear, often it’s not.

Today it was easy figure out – all day today I had “Radar Love” by Golden Earring stuck in my head. That’s because I’m ready to be home. I’m ready to get done. From here on out, it’s all about getting done and back home to my baby.

That’s one of the reasons I went so far today. I think I’m ready to start racing across Texas, get to Austin, and maybe even catch an earlier flight home. I don’t know if I can really keep up that pace. I’m going to try not to miss out on any of the interesting bits. I am still “enjoying the ride” – don’t get me wrong, I’m having a good time on the bike – it’s just that I know where I’d rather be right now.

Dawn and Dan. Dan was heading out to help lead a ride that morning.

The ride was actually a really nice ride today. I started super early this morning after a great breakfast with Dan and Dawn. Bacon-sausage, biscuits, grits, eggs… oh my! I was out the door by 8am, which let me consider doing a 100+ mile day. Did I say how much I enjoyed staying with Dan and Dawn? I did. Dan has done his own touring and is super active in the El Paso cycling community. He had some great advice & I really enjoyed talking about his various adventures. He’s where I got the tip to stop for burritos in Fort Hancock… it was a little off route, but worth it!

Arzate Grocery #2 – they make your burrito to order. I think his wife cooks them in the back. The brisket was great, as was the rojo and the verde.

The weather has finally warmed up – it was the first day where I’ve biked in a short sleeve shirt since California! The roads were mixed – highway 20 out of El Paso was quiet and smooth, parts of I-10’s shoulder was complete crap, and then there were long-long stretches on unused frontage road that paralleled I-10 that was very safe but not perfectly smooth. It was a good day to be lost in thought on the bike.

Not sure if that wall is not effective at all… or super effective… at keeping folk out.

Tejas… why u no make good road?

Lots of flat with nice views of the mountains.

The empty frontage road along I-10.

I got to Sierra Blanca, TX around 3:30-4pm, which left me with about 30 miles to go to Van Horn. I decided to do it because (1) I didn’t like my camping options in Sierra Blanca, (2) I wanted to get to a bigger town for a day off on Monday and (3) I really really want to get my daily mileage up to get home. So I rolled on.

That meant I finished in the dark, riding the last 10 miles along the interstate shoulder. Late night, midnight on the interstate. It was actually very peaceful despite the fast traffic. I don’t mind interstate riding – the shoulders are generally nice, wide and smooth. I got into Van Horn, found a cheap hotel, and settled in… I’m staying here for a day off… I haven’t had one in about a week. My body needs a break. And I need to do some planning for the rest of the trip.

I had intended to camp here… but being that it’s closed and for sale, and I was too lazy to find another place to camp, I ended up at a cheap hotel.

 

 

Las Cruces, NM to Horizon City, TX
Date: 01/19/2013
Distance traveled: 69.75 miles (995.19 miles total)
GPS tracks: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/263868849

Mountains and trees – the scenic ride into El Paso.

[Aside: Thank you all for the comments and the encouragement. Please keep them coming. :) ]

After a lot of humming and hawing, I finally decided to stick close to the Adventure Cycling Association’s route rather than diverge a bit… I had been thinking that it would be nice to see more parks before heading into West Texas. I was looking at going up to Hueco Tanks State park, and then over to the Guadalupe National Forrest. But time and distance changed my mind.

So I set out this morning on highway 28 and unceremonially crossed into Texas. There was no sign. No marking of any kind. I kinda feel cheated. But all of a sudden, bam, you’re in Texas and you didn’t even know it.

Mesilla is a cute little town just outside Las Cruces.

I had intended to avoid El Paso entirely rather than ride straight through it. There’s a nice route that takes you over and around the city (through the Anthony gap). I hate city biking so I thought this looked like a great plan. If only I hadn’t missed my turn!

I didn’t set up the Garmin – I was just going to look for the road sign instead. But I got distracted. Highway 28 is a well known bike route and there were A LOT of bikes out. I counted 50 cyclists total before I lost count. I even ended up riding with a woman who was training for a half Iron Man for 25 or so miles. My average speed was about 5mph faster when I was riding/racing with her than normal. It made for a fast and enjoyable morning.

So I missed my turn off while I was racing along. Biking through El Paso sucked. The roads/sidewalks nearly knocked my teeth loose. Glad to be passed that.

My end point tonight was with another awesome warm showers host. They live in Horizon City, TX. Horizon City, TX is (not surprisingly given the name) uphill from the route. 5 miles out of the way, but worth it!

Dan and Dawn are great hosts. You’ve got to love dogs to stay here! She owns a Great Dane rescue and has 5 adorable and well behaved great danes in the house, with Benji the terrier to keep them all in line. I really enjoyed dinner and playing with the dogs. Lots of sad rescue stories about the puppies. You just wouldn’t believe the condition of some of these dogs when they come in. It’s sad to see what folks will do to these poor dogs.

Tyranny was my favorite dog. You should see her pics from when she was rescued. Be warned, they are pretty graphic.

Dawn and the doggies.