Day 18 - Texan Lhasa

Today has been a joy. Work up well after 09:00, a slow buffet breakfast with the paper, back to bed for the best part of 2 hours TV, skype with home, and an afternoon of route planning and equipment checks. My legs feel noticeably better for it. And with 4 hard days in the desert, then a 4 day slog on to Houston up next I didn't feel remotely guilty.

The only trip outside was to pick up the bike, from the very decent blokes at Crazy Cyclery. They've done a cracking full service on the girl and she seems to be riding very well. On route to the bike shop, I took a detour through the University of Texas in El Paso (UTEP) grounds, confirming two things.

Juarez from Wimp's Hill

Juarez really is just at the end of the campus: Campus, I-10 Freeway, Rio Grande and then Mexico. At the end of each avenue the sprawl of Juarez sits framed by the manicured lawns, flower beds, and buildings of the campus. Peaceful picture perfect US university life in the foreground, narco-city warzone in the background. I guess you would just get used to it, but I found it strange to say the least.

After reading up about Juarez, the original plan to go and get a Mexican stamp in the passport "for a laugh" was shelved. I was going to go and take pictures of the border, but as I couldn't see a fence when I got near the I-10 I rather chickened out of hanging out under the freeway, and went and had more sushi. Later internet research confirmed there is a fence, and hence was just being a wimp.

Internet research also confirmed a hunch. Yesterday's post stated the university architecture was Hispanic, because I'd assumed my original observation was a rather obnoxious frequent travellers thought. I just presumed the buildings were all Mayan/Mexican inspired,  and the striking similarity to Tibetan architecture was simply a coincidence that only Himalayan obsessed oddballs like myself would notice.

Turns out I was spot on, the entire university is modelled on Tibetan (well Bhutanese technically, but will save you the boring academic differences) structures. Apparently it was on the whim of the first Chancellor's wife. With the bleached mountains in the background, squint and you really could be Lhasa. Mexico, Tibet, and Texas all in one. El Paso is a funky little city, no doubt.

I'm heading into proper bush for the next 4 days odd, so posts may become more intermittent. That said I thought that before and was emailing from a Starbucks in a casino within 3 hours, so who knows.

Route - El Paso - Mostly in my room, giving my body a rest from the elements, not least my right ear. As I've been riding East for the whole trip, the sun starts the day square in my face then rolls round the right side of my body, and I'm usually into a town by the time it's square on my back. As a result the right side of my face is very weather beaten, and my right ear is a very noticeably browner than my left ear. Browner and peeling.

Breakfast - Cherrios, fruit salad and bagels and peanut butter from the hotel buffet.
Lunch - Skipped. Breakfast was late and big, although did have a latte and frozen yogurt from the Tea House mid-afternoon.
Supper - Same as lunch yesterday. Mirai Japanese Canteen. Better second time round. Washed down with a rather mediocre Rasberry smoothie.
Sushi, bagels, frozen yogurt, latte, and a smoothie. Have fully satisfied my rather pampered city boy tastes and feel fortified and ready to face BBQ, Denny's and truckers country again.

Day 17 - Pecan perfection

If yesterday lifted my spirits, today was perfection. My visit to New Mexico may have been a brief 3 days, but it's been brilliant. With only a short 45 mile hike on the flat, I wasn't on the road till 09:00. However from the moment I left the motel and turned south under the freeway, I was out in the beautiful Rio Grande Valley.

With the Franklin mountains off to the East, the valley is a slim North-South strip of beautiful farmland north of El Paso. There's rice and wheat grown and vineyards galore, but the key crop is pecans. And for mile after mile the pecan groves arch over the road and stretch into the distance, as the road winds through sleepy little villages. Much like the orange groves east of LA it's so almost there as a tourist spot, sweet little cafes crop up ever few miles, and there are the odd homestay and farm shop available, but it's as if no one's quite noticed how beautiful it all is. It's all the more charming for this very reason, but with a little thought and attention this area should be as famous as Napa.

Twinned with Yorkshire

There's not much more to add about the ride, there was a fair tailwind that whipped up dust at points, and the last 45 mins odd into El Paso was as bleak as all city outskirts are, but bottom line it was a great little ride. In fact getting in around 13:00 has left me a bit disorientated. With a full afternoon free, the day has felt twice as long as normal, but no complaints as El Paso turns out to be a cracking spot.

There really can't be any other city like this anywhere on earth. You are definitely in Texas, as the truck size and BBQ joint density per square mile has shot up noticeably the second you're over the border, but this is very much a Hispanic city, not least in the architecture of the university area where my hotel is. Certainly in the area I'm in it's a thriving, decent, fun little city of half a million odd, with everything you could need and a nice atmosphere. But all of this is by the by.

What makes El Paso extraordinary is from my 5th floor hotel window, 500 metres away at the edge of the University grounds, I can see the sprawling 1.5 million strong Mexican city of Juarez  crushed up hard against the Rio Grande. Type "Juarez" into Google. Unless there's something wrong with you, you'll be shocked. It is quite regularly put behind Baghdad and Mogadishu as the 3rd most dangerous city on earth. It's controlled by the Mexican army on the streets and has the murder rate of a war zone, 1000s a year, and that's only the recorded deaths. Yet 500 metres over here I'm in the second safest city in the USA, and about to have sushi for supper and to try and find a bar full University of Texas students out on "party night" (as the bloke in the bike shop sold Thursday to me earlier).

I really can't think of another place on the planet where two worlds, two countries live in such close proximity. Even in more comfortable areas of Brazilian or South African cities you're still the same country. There's no Rio Grande and patrolled fence keeping two worlds 100 metres apart.

It's odd, but I guess I'll get to explore it more tomorrow. With a planned stop here, and laundry done and bike in the menders tomorrow will be focused on getting the route to Eastern Texas planned up and resting my legs after a tough few days. I can't wait.

Route - Mesilla - La Mesa - El Paso

Breakfast - Huevos di Chorizo - Chilitos, Las Cruces, NM. Like scrabbled eggs with chorizo, a tortilla and refried beans. A good solid start to the day, protein rich and sugar poor.
Snacks - 2 red apples.
Lunch - Japanese Teriyaki tray - Miraibowl Japanese Canteen. Sushi, squid salad, Teriyaki grilled chicken breast and steamed rice. Spot on, and bliss after a week lumped with small town eating options.
Supper - To be decided, probably something similar to lunch, going to wait till the sticks till I take on Texan BBQ.

Day 16 - Tailwind treat

Famous last words, but New Mexico is proving a godsend. If yesterday turned the corner, today was a perfect straight. The ride was not that fascinating, cruising for 120 miles down the shoulder of the I-10 freeway, but it felt like a breeze.

With a 25 mph tailwind either dead behind me, or tucked in behind for the majority of the day, I was sailing. Add to that the fact I stand corrected and actually crossed the Continental Divide 25 odd miles into the day (oddly in the flattest riding terrain to date), which resulted in a gentle slope 95 miles downhill into Las Cruces, and you have the perfect birthday treat.

Riding wise there is little else to say. I finally broke after 16 days, and succumbed to McDonalds in the small town of Deming. To my surprise, given it was 11:30, the place was almost full and there can only have been 2 other customers under 50. Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe it's a just the way things are done round here, but everyone was immaculately dressed. The tables were split by language pretty much 50:50 English:Spanish, but everyone was turned out impeccably; Suits, ties, jackets, Stetsons, the lot. And all in a fairly worn out highway Maccers.

Aside from that, the only other noticeable thing was the build up of border patrol vehicles on the highway. Less than 50 miles from the Mexican border I guess it makes sense, but I still find it surprising to see the checkposts every 100 odd miles. Whole sides of freeways being re-directed through open ended warehouse like structures so trucks and cars can be searched. I've not been through a check yet, as I've always been heading towards the border, but it will be interesting to see what they make of me and the bike when I start heading away next week.

I'm laid up in a rather basic Motel 6 in Las Cruces tonight, and finally got to see why people were a bit cautious about this chain. Whilst checking in the guy on the desk was very clearly agitated, and it soon became evident why. I not sure how I missed it on the way in, but out in the parking lot a chap was kicking in the door of a car, with a lady still inside. Seeing as the car is made of reinforced metal, this seemed a rather self defeating exercise, and the lady appear quite safe, but lot of other residents then seemed to be trying to get involved to calm him down or pitch in, and it was clearly getting tense. At this point, to my great excitement, the chap at the desk "called the cops."

However when the 3 cop cars did pitch up, I rather took the wimps option and scuttled off to my room, double locked the door and put on my glasses in the vain hope that "no one would hit a man with glasses." It all appears to have calmed down now, but the door is still firmly double locked, and I've taken note of where a tough looking bloke I met in the lobby who is ex-navy is staying. He and his ex-sheriff wife looked like they would take no crap. I'll be glad to be out of here tomorrow. I'm sure it was a fuss over nothing, but I've booked myself into the Hilton in El Paso for two nights tomorrow just to get a break from the motels.

Route - Lordsburg - Deming - Las Cruces

Breakfast - Cherrios, toast and Orange juice at the motel
Lunch - Agus Delux meal - McDonalds. It's bad, I know, but I needed something fast and cheap that I understood, this is what McDonalds was invented for. That and hangovers, and as a place for students to waste away their afternoons buggering about at the drive-thru
Supper - Chicken Mexicana - Chipotles, Las Cruces, NM. Very decent meal, grilled chicken, salsa and rice. Spot on, and great little family restaurant.

Day 14-15 - Headwind hell

New Mexico: Land of Enchantment, but not sign maintenance evidently

To my great relief today was a great day's riding; 75 miles of decent country road, clear skies, a couple of reasonable passes which must've taken me over the Continental Divide, and then long stretches of flat road with a tailwind as I pushed into New Mexico. It has been a huge confidence booster after a few days that had left me rather shaken.

Arizona is unlikely to come in as my favourite State of this trip. The scenery was stunning, and every person I spoke to was polite and kind to a fault, if slightly reserved, it was just such grim riding. After the cold and rain into and in Phoenix, there was then the tough day in the mountains, and then their was yesterday.

It was meant to be an easy 80 miler through vast chunks of the Apache Nation's land, and I made the cardinal mistake of leaving Globe late. With in 5 miles I had realised my mistake, this was going to be a brutal day. The land rolled significantly for almost the whole route, and by 10:00 I had a vicious wind howling straight into my face at 25-30mph. If you don't cycle much outside urban areas headwinds are the absolute killer, and this was the worse I've ever ridden in. It accentuates every hill, and bump in the road, and highlights every ache, pain or niggle you have, as you have to hammer into the pedals all day just to keep moving, even down hill. With my left knee already giving my concerning bother from a fall on the second day's riding and the day in the mountains, this was really gritty stuff.

But I guess this was always the point of all this. Arriving in the prosperous farming town of Safford as the sun set a 19:00 I was genuinely over the moon, and relatively proud of myself, if aching all over. And to be fair the scenery was stunning, and every member of the Apache I spoke to was charming, even if their towns and villages were depressingly windswept and, to put it bluntly, looked short of funds.

All this made today's happy exploits all the more enjoyable, added to by a 20 mins conversation with a chap cycling the other way. It is one of the great joys of the trip bumping into guys doing it the other way. You stop have a chat, and share tips and generally enjoy some company on the long isolated stretches.

Bar that not much else to report. I'm holed up in a windswept little highway town called Lordsburg in Western New Mexico, and off to find a chemist to pick up further supplies for my brutalised legs. Always a fascinating exploit, given the shear size of the chemist stores, even in a small town like this. Guys out here must have an encyclopedic knowledge of medicine, because there are rows upon rows of drugs. It's most impressive. Back home I'd probably just let my GP write me a prescription and be done with it. I feel staggeringly ill informed.

Route - Globe - Peridot - Safford - Duncan - Lordsburg

11 April
Breakfast - Cherrios, bagel, apple and banana at the motel
Snacks - Cherry and Almond Cliff bar
Lunch - Grim sandwich and a banana from the supermarket in Peridot
Supper - Weird deep fried chicken and beef escalope thing and chips - Jerrys Diner, Safford. Quite the most revolting thing I've tasted in I can not remember how long. Made the mistake of asking the rather cuddly waitress what she would recommend, and thought she said this was grilled. Horrible, just horrible

12 April
Breakfast - Wheat flakes, bagel, apple and banana at motel
Lunch - Chicken wrap and fresh chips and salsa - Hilda's Kitchen and Meat Market, Duncan, AZ. This place is never going to win awards, but if you are ever hungry in Duncan, AZ, I would recommend it highly, lovely ladies, and no nonsense food, produced well
Supper - Grilled Chicken, rice and veg - Kranberry's Diner, Lordsburg. Not going to set the world on fire, but did what it said on the tin. I was happy.

Update postponed due to weather

After 10 hours slamming into a brutal headwind I'm knackered and heading to bed. Update will come tomorrow, but bottom line it was tough.

Day 13 - Mountain mauling

Facing what I thought would be a relaxed 80 miler, I took it easy getting up and was on the road by 08:30. And the first 5 hours of the day were great. The sun was out again, the drop in temperature was spot on, and there was little wind. It was truly ideal cycling conditions.

First was a 30 mile cruise out through the Phoenix suburbs. Being Sunday the roads had little traffic, and what activity there was seemed to be entirely church based, as most shops were closed this early. Every church I past seemed to have a full or filling car park, and when I came across what I thought was an open air concert, set out for a few thousand, I was surprised to find out it was just preparations for the standard Mormon Sunday jamboree. It certainly all looked like a good thing and very family/community based, and from an entirely selfish basis meant the roads were full of some of the least aggressive drivers on the planet.

After the last suburb the road opened up and I was rapidly up in the hills of the southern Tonto National Forest, accompanied by hundreds of Sunday motorcyclists, mostly elderly men on Harley's taking in the bends on the road, and the staggering views. I've struggled to find out what the mountain range is, and can only conclude it's the bottom of the Rockies, but with vast valleys and snow capped mountains on the horizon, it was properly sunning. Throw in the good roads and I was in a great mood over my delicious Mexican meal in an awesome little cafe in Superior.

That was until I looked at the map again and realised the pass I'd covered in the morning was not the main one for the day, and half the size of the one I needed to cover in the 23 miles to Globe and my motel. Almost immediately after lunch it got really brutal. Very tough climbing for well over 90 mins on roads without any kind of shoulder, and a 400m mountain tunnel. If riding on a shoulderless road in mountains with trucks roaring past is frightening, then taking on a mountain tunnel is in some undefined category above. It was not fun on any level.

As I entered Globe for the night cramp in my knee spook me it was something more serious. Adding this to the exploits of the last 3 hours riding of the day, I've spent the evening working out future routes that will avoid passes of that intensity. With the all the kit on the back of the bike, it is not only seriously hard work, but just too unnerving on the shoulderless mountain roads.

Luckily it looks like I've worked out a good route south. However it has also thrown up another worry: Apparently much of my route for the next 2 weeks odd is in a Tornado zone, and April/May's the "season." Some research on Wikipedia proved fruitless.... there is really no advice for cyclists, and the recommendation to "find a cellar in a solid building" is about as unhelpful as it gets. I guess I'll just take local advice and pray, the gold plated solution to most problems in life.

Globe is a decent mining town in the Copper belt. It's tired looking like a lot of mining towns, but definitely prosperous. And certainly more so than Miami, AZ the next door town. Definitely head for the FL option if you are given a choice.

Aside from that not much else to add, although I thought I'd share something made me smile today. I try to ride to work everyday from Fulham to Canary Wharf, which is almost dead on 10 miles each way. When I'm out riding here I find myself sizing up distances in my head based on bits of my work route. It just seemed laughable suddenly that I was working out the final distance to my motel through huge sky industrial scenery of the mining belt of mid-Arizona as "twice the distance from home to Peter Jones."

Route  - Tempe - Apache Junction

Breakfast - Frosties and 2 English muffins in the Hotel
Snacks - Cliff maple bar. Delicious and healthy, as part of my improved diet following much female concern about my choices to date.
Lunch - Chimichanga - Cafe Piedra Roja. If you ever find yourself in Superior, AZ (an unlikely prospect I know, but stay with me) head to this place. Run by a lovely Mexican American family the food was fantastic, fresh and prepared from scratch, a real joy.
Supper - Southwest Chicken Salad - Jerry's 24 hour diner, Globe, AZ. Not bad, but not quite as healthy as I'd planned. As for the diner, exactly what you expect of a 24 diner in a mining town in the copper belt of mid-Arizona. As with so much of the trip it looks like something straight out a movie, and the staff were utterly charming. That said was a little concerned about the sign on the door that requested "No open carry, please" (i.e. please conceal you handgun), I'm in the deep West for sure.

Day 11-12 - Taking a Rain Check

After a relaxed start to Friday, another map reading error meant the easy 50 mile ride into Phoenix was actually over 70 to get the motel. A situation not improved by rain for the first 3 hours and a puncture 15 miles in. The latter took well over 30 mins to fix, as the first of the 2 spare inner tubes used had a faulty valve, and the new tyre was stiff to remove. Even the endless F22s flying in formation out of Luke Airforce Base didn't really cheer me up, and I was glad to see the sun, as I hit the city.

The ride through the sprawl of Phoenix took me through the heart of suburbia and along the Arizona canal, which was more interesting than it sounds. Phoenix has exploded in the last 60-70 years, and it's fascinating to see the 60s/70s suburban dream writ large, and what parts of Americana have survived the desert setting. The green lawns are replaced by manicured desert scrub with cactus and desert shrubs but mail boxes remain. And whilst not every building hits the mark, many of the modernist designs are genuinely cool. Phoenix certainly looks distinctly individual, and for me that's a good thing.

Gone straight in the diary

That said, I saw nothing of the city centre. And who knows, I might've missed out on one of the great experiences in life, but that was a risk I was willing to take as I checked into the motel nearest to the Arizona State University in Tempe, ironed a shirt and the chinos and headed out to find the best bars in town. A fruitless search as it turned out, as the only bars I poked my head into frankly scared me. I was back bed in the motel, defeated, by 22:00, disappointed the "student sports team" the owner had informed me were also staying, were a blokes racquetball team from Penn State.

Today has always been a planned stop, and it's huge relief it fell on the day it did. I woke up to torrential rain and the temperature had plummeted significantly. It's been a perfect day to stay put and get next 2 weeks planned up, and rest the legs in front of Star Wars and Indiana Jones. My only ventures outside, bar lunch and supper, were to the laundrette and to get my wheel trued and pick up supplies from the "granola eaters" (copyright P. Luken) at REI (outdoors superstore - great chain). 

Pretty sure I'm the only man to have visited that particular laundrette in a T.M. Lewin Shirt and brogues, with a book on the financial crisis for company. However, all my cultured affectations proved worthless when faced with the complexities of the laundry machines. The other customers were seriously kind and patient in helping me out, walking me through process and generally not pointing out what an incompetent I was being. They were also great company, and once you throw in a visit to the Mexican supermarket next door that seemed to do a roaring trade in religious icons along with bread and milk, it made for an interesting hour. That said, I'm looking forward to getting back on the road tomorrow, as the weather improves.

One final point, apologies on the quality of photos today, all a bit rushed and dictated by rain as to when I could take shots. 

Route - Wickenburg - Sun City - Scottsdale - Tempe

Friday

Breakfast - Lucky charms and bagel at the motel.

Snacks - Beef Jerky

Lunch - Mozzarella and Tomato sandwich with gazpacho soup - Bike Cafe. Absolutely delicious, and extra special after a week of burgers. Awesome cafe too, literally in the corner of a bike shop, odd but it worked.

Supper - Chicken Salad - Pita Jungle. Again delicious. Great little chain.

Saturday

Breakfast - Frosties and English muffin

Lunch - Lamb Kofta salad. Pita Jungle.

Supper - Not sure yet, just about to go.