Tour Divide - Day 21 - The Finish

I had gone to sleep at about 9pm but was now awake at 10pm. It was hot in the room which made it hard to sleep but I was also ravenously hungry. I got up to eat most of what I had bought earlier this afternoon and began to worry that I might have done myself some damage in the Gila with my lack of nutrition. My body had to get the calories from somewhere and that somewhere seemed to be my muscles.

After eating everything I tried to go back to sleep but only managed a fitful sleep. It wasn't because of any excitement at finishing the race tomorrow, more because the room was bloody hot. When my alarm went off at 1:30am I felt wrecked, so reset it for 2:30am and went back to sleep. But I still didn't sleep very well and got up at about 2am. If I couldn't sleep I may as well ride.

I packed up my gear and left the hot house hotel. Pedalling back a quarter mile to get on the route where I turned off to get to Gila Hike and Bike I then followed the main 90 which the route leaves town on.....until I came to a "bridge out" sign. What?! I then had to ride right past the front of the hotel I had left 5 minutes earlier and find my way through the back streets of Silver City and back onto the 90, cutting out the closed bridge.

As I left town I still had cell service and my phone pinged away. Who would be messaging me at this hour? Checking it and I could see that at least one person back home had noticed my blue dot moving again. Mr Ride Mechanic, creator and purveyor of awesome lubes and balms was giving me some cheers about making 20 days instead of the 23 I had targeted. But I still had  200km to go. Alice had said yesterday that Dave and I would "fly" on our geared bikes to the finish as it was downhill then flat for most of the way to Antellope Wells. I had noticed on Trackleaders that Dave and Alice hadn't stayed in Silver City last night but had gone on to a little RV park about 25km out of town towards Antellope Wells. The park isn't even marked on the ACA maps and again demonstrated how route knowledge gave a rider the upper hand. I suspected that they would have been up early to beat the heat as well and yesterday would be the last I saw of them.

The road had been a bit up and down so far this morning but being dark you can't see how high the climb is and the downhills seemed to go on forever. I eventually came to the left turn off the sealed road at the little locality of White Signal and started on the penultimate section of dirt for the divide. I had a nice breeze at my back and it was still trending downhill so I was ripping along at around 30km/h for quite a while and hitting 45km/h at times. The road dropped 500m over the next 55km to Separ, on the Interstate and as Alice had said, I made great time.

There was a full moon out and I tried a few times to get a photo but to little avail.

The sun was starting to approach the eastern horizon and apart from myself, the desert seemed deathly still.

Almost there!

I had been able to see the hazard lights blinking on a large radio antenna at Separ for quite a while now and finally I could see the few buildings around this truck stop in the morning light. But, I had some loose sand and sandy washboarding to give me some final grief before I was done with the dirt of the divide.

I just had to cross over a railway line, then under Interstate 10 and I was in Separ.

I had been riding for 4 hours now and had decided that if the diner was open I was treating myself to a cooked breakfast but alas, it was still too early and the shop was closed.

I turned east, along the service road that ran parallel to the Interstate. This was partly sealed and partly dirt, so this WAS the last dirt that I would ride on the Divide. Was I sad? HELL NO! I was so over energy sapping dirt, hills and headwinds that I would have almost hitched a ride if someone had offered!

But thankfully no one did because it would have spoiled my ride. The 12km along the service road was done with the wind at my back. There was a constant stream of cars but mainly trucks along the Interstate and as I pedalled along, one of the trucks hooted me a few times. Another blue dot watcher?

The final run to the border came into view. I stopped for a moment to take a photo of that sign.

65 miles.

 105 kilometres.

 Then I would be done. I had to ride to those hills in the faar distance...then ride about that far again past them.........

The wind was pretty much all crosswind now and I hoped that was as far around as it would go. Hoping for a tailwind would be too much to ask for and I didn't want to anger the Divide gods in my weakened state.

I began pedalling for the final stretch, not in a sprint but finally with the knowledge of what that last 65 miles would take out of me. It doesn't seem much after what I had covered but it was definitely not to be sneezed at.

While it was still cool I was enjoying the ride and taking photos but I knew when the heat kicked in I would have to just zone out and not think about anything at all. As I had done in The Basin, on Bannack Road, on the Sheep Creek Divide, on the road to Del Norte.  Not thinking about the aches and pains, not think about the hills or headwinds, not thinking about the distance to go, to just zone out and pedal, getting the job done without thought or emotion would be the only way I could manage to go on........

Twenty miles along I came to the very last town on route, Hachita. Town is a very kind term for what looked like a derelict and deserted outpost of yesteryear. Everything had that closed down look and had been that way for some time.

I had to make a left, then a few hundred metres further on, a right. The last navigation task on The Divide.

Leaving Hachita a brown Volvo rolled up next to me. It's driver said "hi" and asked who I was. I told him and he told me his name, which I can't remember, and that he was a blue dot watcher and I "was doing awesome". I wasn't feeling very awesome this morning but it made me feel a little better all the same. He wished me well and then turned around and I was on my own. I put my ear buds in and listened to some music for a while. I was sick of my play list so played some of the kids "poppy" albums.

A short time later I heard a loud tearing roar. I ripped an ear bud out to hear the unmistakable roar of a fighter jet and then saw two F16s roar past me, at low level heading east. Awesome. Top cover! They would fly back and forth twice more before I reached the border. I was also noticing the big green and white border patrol cars now. Some were roaring past while other sat menacingly by the side of the road. I didn't take any photos as I know how touchy these security types can be about that sort of thing.

Another car approached from the direction of the border. This one had 2 bikes on the roof and when it stopped next to me Alice hung out of the rear window, a huuge smile on her face and said "hi". Dave was also wedged into the back seat of the small car and I was pleased to see them both. They had finished a few hours ago at just under the 20 day mark. We chatted for a bit and they said they had seen the Kiwis at the border, so Greg and Evan were done as well. They offered me some water but I had heaps so I politely declined. Wishing each other the best, we parted ways.

It was getting hot now, the road had been gently but steadily climbing and each time it turned to a westerly heading I had to endure headwind. This was getting OLD!

I thought Mile 13 some sort of omen.

My family had flown in from Australia a couple of days ago and were my extraction plan as there is absolutely nothing at Antelope Wells except for a border crossing. I wasn't sure where they were as I had virtually no cell service these last few days but they had not passed me and I was beginning to wonder if they would make it before I finished. 13 miles was probably less than an hour to go. Less than an hour? YEAH!

Then a black car roared past me and cut across right in front of me. WTF? To be taken out this close to the finish? Bloody idiots! I kept my line and rode past the car stopped on the side of the road when I noticed that it was the wife and kids....who had almost taken me out! (my wife later told me that she had burst into tears when she saw me and then couldn't see me!)

I just kept pedalling and they drove up next to me. I said I wasn't stopping and to just drive next to me like everyone else had that morning. It was good to see them and I was a little bit emotional and couldn't talk. This thing was almost done and they were here to see it. I choked back a few tears at the realisation I was going to do it, I was going to finish this impossible race....

 I could only wonder what they thought of the sight of me. (I was to learn that there had been a large group of blue dot watching friends back home and while they followed me along each day there was no way to know the hardships and privations I had suffered apart from the very infrequent updates I posted. I only spoke to my wife 2, maybe 3 times in the three weeks I was racing)

I told them to go on to the border and wait for me there.

It wasn't long to go now and at about 8km(5mi) out the road turned southeast and I had that tailwind again. I was hooking along at 30km/h now. What a way to finish!

One mile out and I was flying. Then this song came on, via shuffle, for the run to the line.

The small collection of buildings that is the Antelope Wells border crossing was in sight.

 Will came running out to meet me and gave me a high five. Lucy did the same.

Then, I was done.

After some hugs all round I downed a couple of ice cold chocolate milks then we took some photos.
Lucy held my bike for a minute and complained about how heavy it was while I made sure I had a finishing photo. I was not coming back to get another!

Seeing them in their clean clothes made me realise how rough I looked.

I went for a quick ride (as if I hadn't done enough) to try and find the old border crossing point for a photo there but it didn't look too friendly near the Border Patrol buildings and I retreated back to the main gate. 

Coming back out I remembered to look at the time on my GPS. It said 11:23am. 

I had finished 3 or 4 minutes before that so my time was 20 days, 3 hours and 20 minutes. My Spot tracker checked in at 11:26am, so the Trackleaders website has that as my finish time.

20 days, 3 hours and 26 minutes. 

I'll take that!

The elation of finishing was starting to be overtaken by the fatigue I had been carrying for days or even perhaps weeks now. I needed to sit down but there was nowhere to sit. I had to fit my bike into a car full of luggage before I sat down, in case I couldn't get back up. I took the seat bag and handle bar harness off plus both wheels and just managed to squeeze it all in the rental car.

We drove off, back toward Silver City, where I planned on having my bike shipped home and getting myself started on the road to recovery.

What a journey!

Cheers and thanks for coming along with me.

Tour Divide - Day 18

I slept in until 5:30am this morning. 

When my alarm went off  I just lay there for a few minutes, thinking how comfortable this was. I knew I had to get up but I was tired, very tired. But this was a race and lazing around in Cuba wasn't in the program so I jumped up and started packing all of my dry, clean gear onto my bike. 

I had plenty of snacks for today's easy ride to Grants but I did need to backtrack to the gas station for some new Spot batteries. I then cruised down to the diner for a proper breakfast of bacon and eggs all washed down with the de'riguer bucket of ordinary coffee and an orange juice.

The place was almost empty except for three divide tourers who were just finishing their breakfast. One of them came over to chat and asked if I was a racer. I replied that I was just two thirds of a racer now as I had noticed last night that I had lost some serious weight in the last few days. He replied that he was in awe of us guys because we were racing the divide. I replied that I was in awe of the tourers as I cast a glance at his heavily loaded bike. The slower you go, the more you have to carry, making touring a tough endeavour as well. Anyway, we exchanged gen on trail conditions north and south and I pitied these guys having to climb the Polvadeara Mesa and in hindsight, I reckon they might have pitied me my day ahead on the road.

I rolled out of town with the rising sun at my back and a spring in my step. My route notes indicated 200km (124 mi) to Grants with only 1000ft of climbing, all on a sealed road which made me very happy. I was buzzing along at 33 km/h and I had to keep telling myself to take it easy.

The cool morning air and clear skies were very welcome after yesterday afternoon's thunderstorm-fest. The countryside looked like something out of an old western movie with different coloured strata on the hillsides.

I was passing quite a few tourers heading north this morning and we exchanges friendly waves. One guy shouted out "the store is excellent" as we passed. I was only aware of the one store at Torreon, so guessed that was what he was talking about.

The wide open spaces and lack of trees hinted at how hot today might become but for the moment it was cool and I was making great time.

I can't believe how thin I had become!

The Torreon store soon loomed into view. I didn't really need anything but I decided to stop anyway, just to take a break. I wandered around and only bought an ice cream as it was starting to warm up.

There wasn't a sign to say where I was so I asked the girl behind the counter if this was in fact the Torreon store. She replied that it was and asked me where I was from. "Australia", I replied. She had a blank look on her face. "Near New Zealand" I added. Still a blank look. She didn't know where either was. That was cool as I didn't know where I was......

I pedalled onward, passing a few buildings where I saw this interesting sign on each gate. Talk about micro management by the local law!

This area was the "Reservation" that I had read other racers describe in their blogs. While I had heard many disturbing things, today in the hard light of day there was nothing to be worried about apart from the heat. I did see some random people walking around in the middle of nowhere but they all waved as I pedaled past.

Yes, this was "only" 200km but I was noticing that there was more than 1000ft of climbing. I had done 1000ft in the first 50 kilometres so I began to grumble on each climb now about the extra hills (looking at my notes now I see they indicate 4100ft climbing-yes, I was tired). I was in New Mexico proper and it was hot an open.

I was powering this ride with small bags of nuts that can be bought from gas stations for between 50c to $1 each. I couldn't even begin to estimate how many I ate during the race but it would have been a small mountain!

I began passing through mining country and I was glad of the shade that this overpass provided, once I made it there! It was like a mirage on the horizon that took forever to actually arrive but when it did I took a short break under it's shade..

The next few hours consisted of looong straights and more confounded climbs. I again had nothing left in the legs so I was happy to get off and walk parts of the climbs. In hindsight I realise that everyone else must have been hurting badly as well because I was waiting for people to pass me at any moment, yet no one had. I felt like I was absolutely crawling along.

I crawled past what looked like old mining country. These turned out to be old uranium mines. These were where the US mined it's uranium from the 1950s and had been closed for years now but there was still quite a bit of activity as contractors worked to clean up the countryside.

There really isn't anything else to say about this section of the divide. There was nothing really worth photographing and by the 100 mile mark I really wanted today's ride to be over with. I ran out of water about 10 miles out of Milan/Grants (Milan/Grants is a dual town setup) and was surprised at how thirsty I was now. 

To rub salt into my thirst wound I had to wait for 5 minutes at the boom gates on the railway line just outside of Milan as two freight trains roared past. At least the waiting cars waved me on once the boom gate was raised and I set my sights on the Love's Truck Stop, the first stop in Milan.

I pulled in, bought a chocolate milk, downed it in the blink of an eye then proceeded to buy my usual turkey sandwich, Gatorade, water and ice cream.....to start with! 

As I sat out the front of the Love's in the heat I was deafened by the horrible music being piped out of the speakers in the forecourt. I wasn't sure if it was to keep young people from loitering there or if the speakers were just worn out and distorting the music. Either way, I couldn't stand it any more and decided to press on, looking for a diner or proper supermarket. 

As I passed over the tracks and so from Milan into Grants, I noticed that the town looked a little more affluent. Milan was characterised by the multiple Payday Loan Shops and Pawn Brokers whereas Grants looked a little more normal. I soon found the post office and packed some maps and all of my arm/leg warmers and full finger gloves into a parcel back home. I don't think there was much weight saving here but there was considerable bulk gone.

I asked the clerk if there was a supermarket nearby to which she replied that there was a Walmart "just down the road". This "just down the road" description was one that was treated with great skepticism by riders as the person giving the directions always had a car in mind, not a bicycle, powered by a cyclist who had ridden 200km in 38C heat.

Ten minutes down the road I crossed over the Interstate to a newer section of town and saw a Walgreens. Close enough I thought and proceeded inside. I am not sure what a Walgreens is meant to be but it looks like 20% supermarket, 70% chemist/pharmacy and the other 10% I dunno. Anyway I filled up on water, juice, Coke and more Coke. I quadrupled my Coke intake for the Divide at this stop.

I sat outside the store, even though it was bloody hot as I was getting funny looks inside. I knew I looked like shit and quite probably smelt like it as well but I needed some chain lube as I had used the last of my Ride Mechanic Bike Mix last night in Cuba to cure a very sick chain. Now, it was squealing like crazy and doing my head in. I sat pondering what might work as an improvised chain lube from the Walgreens pharmacy and whether I should go back in when I decided to just Google "Walmart". The search came back saying there was one just across the way! I jammed all of the water into my bike bags and backpack and squeaked my way over to Walmart.

Entering the store I was almost floored by the coolness of the airconditioning! It felt sooo good! The first thing I saw were these huge punnets of strawberries for $2. $2! They would have been $10 back home! I grabbed one punnet then went to find some chain lube. They had White Lightning lube so I bought one, dragged my bike into the foyer of the store and lubed the chain in the cool. I was feeling pretty cooked so I just sat, answering a few texts and eating strawberries. I didn't want to go back outside.

Eventually, I am stuffed with strawberries and decide that I must press on. It is too early to get a room despite common sense suggesting that I do so. To cool off and get a good nights rest then get going again in the cool of early morning made good sense. But I wasn't listening to myself. Backtracking to the route (past several motels) I am grateful that the race follows the paved El Malpais alternate as there are lots of thunderstorms around now and I don't want to be on dirt road if it is going to rain.

I feel the sun biting the back of my already sunburnt legs as I slowly pedal out of town. I have a few drops of rain splat on me and am surprised as I would estimate that the nearest storm is at least 20 miles away! I use the rain as an excuse to stop into a Subway at the truck stop on the Interstate about 10km out of Grants and grab a huge red Mineral Water. I find a seat in a comfy chair, leaving my bike unlocked around the corner, out of sight. I really don't care if someone takes it right now. I notice I have cell service and make my one and only call in to MTB Cast. I have tried to call-in a few times before but the pay phones have all been broken and I have had almost zero cell service on the divide.

I make my call then head out to find my bike still leaning against the wall. Damnit! Time to pedal on again. I cross the overpass over the Interstate as trucks whizz past below me. Anything over 15mph looks jet-like to me now.

I decide that my target for tonight is the campground 27 kilometres outside Grants in El Malpais National Monument. I am half way there already and it is still hot so I am not looking forward to camping.

I roll into the campground to find a huge Rottweiler bounding toward me. It barks viciously and the owner says accusingly "he doesn't know what you are, on a bike". Well, for fuck's sake, it isn't my place to educate him but I will if he comes within range. I am hot, tired, hungry and now angry. The dumb shits should probably have this land shark on a leash in a public campground but somehow it is my fault?

Stopping at the first sheltered park table the rain started to splat down again. I was also being eaten alive by midges or sand flies or something similar that likes the taste of divide rider. I decided to set my tent up under the shelter, tying it to the bench seat and posts of the shelter. This I did in record time so as to escape the biting bugs. 

So I sat in my tent, eating the remaining strawberries, reading my map and coming to the realisation that I hadn't really planned out what supplies I would need for this next section of the race. I had been really frazzled from the sun in Grants and despite great facilities, my limited stock of supplies was questionable at best. I mean, what the hell was I doing with a can of pineapple pieces? How heavy was that?!

 Looking at my map I could now see that after Pie Town, which was 80km down the road, the next resupply was in Silver City, some 296km (194mi) of dirt away. Shit. How did I overlook that during planning or even going over my route notes during today's ride?

It was still light, still hot and I was still hungry as I dozed off to sleep. I would be up at first light tomorrow to beat the heat but I was thinking that I really should have stayed in Grants, got a comfortable air conditioned room and a good rest then started riding at 1am........oh well, too late now..........

Cheers.