While I was in Phoenix I reconnected with my friend Officer Steve Jarol; the man behind my Traveling Monkey jersey and logo. Just in case you’re wondering my connecting with Steve was not in handcuffs..  well not yet. I also met up with a good friend of mine who I had lost touch with Dave "the mtn goat" Koepke  (he used to kill us on the hills) Steve, Dave and I used to tear it up on the trails around Phx. We did a couple rides together and even though we were all a bit older and slower it was great to have the crew together and riding, it felt like old times….I will miss them both. Stephanie I know what you’re thinking I will miss you too….Love you all!                

I left Safford, AZ around 9am so the sun would have warmed the frozen earth a tad bit. It was actually quite nice out, 52deg sunny and no wind a great way to start the day. Our goal was to make it as close to Lordsburg as we could so we would then have a 2 day ride to Antelope Wells, Nm our crossing point into Mexico.  Axel was in the lead and out of sight so I set into an easy pace; I had been feeling fatigued the last couple days and was not wanting to rush. The flats of Safford gave way to small hills and large areas of cactus as I made my way towards Duncan the next town on our map.

I passed a dead tree next to a field of just harvested Cotton, it was striking set against the blue sky, I stopped for a few minutes and wondered about its life, snapped a pic and moved on. Cotton seems to be a major crop in these parts, something I did not know about Az. I have stopped by Historical markers along the way I’ve learned about the settlers, the way they lived the towns they founded and sometimes about the way they died, it makes me wonder; how will I be remembered when I die?

So far the temps in the day have not raised much above 65, though it makes for a pleasant ride it can be a bit cold when stopping for too long especially if the wind is blowing. So Axel seems to just keep going all day stopping about every 2 hours or so to take a break something I am not used to doing, I like to stop more often and enjoy the day, which has been hard with the shorter days and colder temp, I think this pace has helped set in the fatigue I feel.

Duncan could not seem to come soon enough I really needed a break and the wind was now picking up a bit, as a tailwind which was good I needed all the help I could get. I made the last hill and cruised in to town to find Axel sitting on a wall having a cup of coffee across from a store/cafe we greeted, then I headed into the store get a snack and a sugary drink for myself, I needed a rush. I talked to the lady inside and she said it was 20deg last night in Duncan, not good! We are hoping as we pedal further south it becomes a lot warmer in the mornings without getting to Hot in the day, it would make the riding a lot better. Axel and I sat on the wall for about a half hour comptemplating the coming cold and eating our snacks before we set off again to find a camp spot for the evening.

The road out of town was flat with a long hill leading to the Border of New Mexico and my 6^th state!! I stopped at the Border sign for the official photo crossed the imaginary line and continued me south eastward pedal and our camp for the night. Finding camping was not as easy as we would have liked. The road on both sides was fenced and the few turnouts had gates and locks, so we pedaled on. It is ok with me to camp in sight of the road but Axel likes to be more hidden so we butted heads a bit about the place to camp, in the end I found a gravel pit and a gate with no lock so we camped next to it away from the road in a scenic spot with a 360 degree view of the open plains and the mtn in the distance.

One of the hardest things about the short days and cold night has been being in the tent for so long each day, we get to camp around 4-4:30 set up eat dinner then are in the tents around 6-6:30 until 7am it is too cold to sit out, the night is long and the mornings are freezing cold. This has taken a toll on both of us.

Nov 14^th Desert camp to Animas, NM  60mi  33mi off road

Stats:  60.2mi  1065ft up  944ft down

Last night was a weird night. When we went to our tents around 7pm it was 38deg on my bike computer I awoke at midnight hot in my sleeping bag looked at the bike computer; I keep it in my tent at night for the time, it read 55deg. I got up went out to take a piss and it felt warm I wasn’t cold I stood around a little confused, my confusion would not be there in the morning it was again below freezing out.

We wanted to get an early start today so we could make a few more miles with extra light. Leaving at 8am it was 42 deg but seemed to warm up fast as the day continued. The road was pretty un eventful I was not in a good mood, I was tired of riding alone and was in my mind trying to figure out how to tell Axel about it, what would happen when I got there was not the way I had envisioned it.

Axel and I met at the border Patrol Station in Lordsburg, he informed me that the place was closed but he had talked to a few guys and they had told him about a road to Animas that was dirt 25-35mi long, also that the border wasn’t safe but were in Mexico really is. We headed to the McDonald’s to get Wi-Fi access and figure out what the next move would be. The original plan was to head down I-10 to the turn to Playas stay in playas then make the 60mi to the border the next day, but there was a chance we wouldn’t make Playas and have to camp in the desert, which I had no problem with as long as were camped close to the main roads, Axel was not down with this idea. He wanted to head to Animas were there was supposed to be an Rv park were we could camp safety with people was his thinking. To get there we needed to go down the dirt road he was told was in good condition and mostly flat, the problem I had was that it was a dirt road we knew nothing about we had 4-5 hours of daylight left and if we did get caught out at night then we would be in the middle of the desert not close to a main road which I thought was a bad idea. We argued about this for a while he didn’t want to ride the highway, I thought heading down towards Hachita on I-10 to Highway 81  a ride of 27miles on the interstate was the best way…in the end I got upset he wanted to put us at risk for what I thought was a bad idea but……I gave in and in a bit of a huff I told Axel we didn’t have time to eat we needed to go now if we are to make it so I took off up the hill towards what I thought was the dirt road to Animas, on the way I asked a couple in a truck and they pointed me to the dirt road.

On the dirt road I used the anger I was feeling to propel me along at faster than I like on dirt, I had only a few short hours of light and I didn’t want to get caught out in the dark. The road I was on seemed ok at first but soon the washboard started and the sand became a problem. I kept my speed at 8-12mph just to keep going and not get bogged down, the miles went by slowly, the sun edging closer to the west. I climbed many little hills and a couple long shallow ones the energy in me fading as the miles piled up. The scenery was beautiful making me less angry that I was on a road I didn’t want to be on, my tires washed out and I hit many hidden rocks each time thinking I was going to break a part or flat a tire and be stranded out in the dark. At 3:35pm after 3:45min of riding hard I made it to the paved road and the gas station at its intersection.

I bought a can of Pineapple juice and waited to see if Axel would arrive, while I waited I asked about the RV Park Axel was told about. It was closed for the season but the girl behind the counter said they had camping I asked how much and she stared at a piece of paper for a few seconds then said $20 each a night. I asked if she was sure and if we could get a discount? She left to go in the back, while she was gone I looked at the piece of paper and it was BLANK nothing on it she had made up the price. She returned and confirmed to me that the price was indeed $20 each. I said no thanks I would rather camp in the desert and left, Axel had still not arrived.

I headed to Animas a mile away and looked around for a place to camp  but found nothing. I made my way to the south side of town and there was a church on the corner or the main road and the highway 9. I stopped and asked the guy if the pastor was around he introduced himself as Leroy the Pastor of the church, I asked if Axel and I could camp in the grass, he said fine and we exchanged cards. Camping secured I went back to the Animas road I had come in on and waited to see if Axel would show up he didn’t the light in the sky fading so I headed back to the church, before I left I met a nice Border patrol Agent named Enrique, we talked about the border war and the way to fix it as well as the argument Axel and I had about safety near the roads he agreed that staying near the main roads was a better idea as the Illegals travel through the desert and don’t follow the main roads , they don’t want to detected. I felt justified in my anger now but still were was Axel??

I went back to the church and Leroy was there along with his wife who gave me 4 pieces of a tasty lemon cake 2 for me and 2 for Axel if he showed up. I set up camp as the sun set behind the mtns. I finally remembered that I had Axel’s phone number and gave it a call he answered and told me he was still in Lordsburg….what the hell was he doing there he was supposed to be riding that damn dirt road behind me so we could campo in an RV park and feel safe , I was glad he was ok but not happy that I had ridden the road for nothing, to add insult to injury a sign at eh north end of town read Lordsburg 34mi I had done 33 mi of dirt I could of just ridden the friggin road!!!! I would find out tomorrow what had happened. The night went by without problem many times I heard the border patrol go by or stop and talk on the side of the road; it was a clear and comfortable night.

Nov 15^th  Animas, NM to Hachita, NM  to Antelope Wells, NM                

Stats:   1825ft up  1690ft down 75mi  30 bike 45 truck

The sun peaked up over the Mtns at 6:30am warming my tent up to 55deg in no time.  In packed up said goodbye to the Church and headed off to Hachita to meet with Axel and find out what the heck happened??

          I lost a glove on that damn dirt road so I stopped by the store I went to yesterday to see if they had found it, but it is gone….I loved that glove like a hand….it is missed. The road was flat and a tail wind blowing hard so I was making 15-19mi most of the time. I was in Playas 10mi away in 45min and made Hachita in just over 2hours. I arrived at 11am headed to the gas station and waited for Axel to arrive, after 30min I cruised town a place I had been 10 years ago when Ben Bland and I rode the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route passing through on our way to Antelope Wells and the Mexican Border. I visited the post office to see about my package from Chamois Butt’r it had arrived.

          Back at the gas station I did some interweb updates until about 30min later Axel arrived. The conversation was a  bit tense as I was still upset about having ridden a road I was not wanting to do and he having not ridden it and did the road he didn’t want to do. He apparently thought I was going to eat in Lordsburg so he didn’t go down the road and by the time he realized I was not there it was too late to ride the dirt so he stayed in town. We hashed out what the problem was and he let me know that he might go his own way when we get to Chihuahua, MX I would not like to ride alone but if he needs to go he needs to go.

          We had to make a decision the wind was blowing at 30-40mph and the ride to the border is 45mi mostly into the wind. A check of the forecast called for light winds tomorrow, so we had 3 choices stay the night , face the wind or try to hitch a ride to to Antelope Wells and wait at the border until tomorrow for the wind to die. Riding in the wind as not really an option that’s out, staying the night was doable but Hachita really didn’t offer much and it was noon so 18hours in the tent, so that was made plane B, plan A is to find a ride to the border. We headed back to the Post office and the nice lady tells me that 2 houses up is a guy named Sam who give rides to Hikers and Bikers on the divide. So we step outside and a guy says “those are the 2 most loaded bikes I have ever seen” I smile with pride Axel asks if he is going to the border he say no I then ask if he wants to? he thinks for a second then say “Sure I’ll give you a ride” so we load up the bike in the back of the truck and in less than an hour we are at the border to Mexico. He won’t take any money for the ride just a handshake and a smile…..thanks truck dude.

          At the border it all looks like it did 10 years ago except in the once empty field is a new building being built to replace the small outdated one I had visited before. The wind is still knocking us around and we need to camp just outside the border they won’t let us camp next to the buildings. Axel leaves to take a few pictures while I change my first flat of the tour, I meet up with him and he tells me that the lady running the office is German so is Axel so they hit it off she tells us she will tell the workers building the new border patrol station that we can camp behind the containers in the yard. We head over to the yard find a good spot and set up camp, the wind doesn’t quit but builds in strength as the night comes on, sometime after 2am it dies to a breeze sleep does not come easy.

Continued In Mexico