Although the calendar says October 15th, we have been enjoying fabulous weather in the mid 70’s for the past several days. However, this morning we were greeted with 45 degrees, thick clouds and brisk wind. We bundled up with all we had and were glad we were headed to El Paso, where Kelley’s high school friend Jennifer Campbell was waiting. She graciously agreed to host us for an evening, and to accept our final resupply box which had our warm clothes! Much to our surprise and delight, we actually had a tailwind for the first several miles of the day. We were making great time riding beside the many cotton fields. Even though it was chilly, we actually got fairly warm and comfortable riding. We were averaging about 18mph until Kelley got a flat tire. Once we stopped moving we realized how strong the tailwind was. It was extremely challenging to change the tire as the wind kept blowing everything away, and our fingers were numb from the cold. While looking for the object that caused the flat, we got the tire turned inside out, and the combination of numb fingers and cold, unpliable rubber made it nearly impossible to flip back. It took both of us to finally get it to turn. When entering a large city a cyclist can sometimes feel like a despised alien. Impatient drivers yell or blare their horns if you cost them one second by having to switch lanes. Dogs invariably snarl and bark and chase you, and you are met with glares and stares. However, as soon as you are face to face with citizens, they are almost always inquisitive, kind, and complimentary. We stopped to eat our rehydrated vegetable soup in the courtyard of a Catholic Church. Soon a priest came by and was at first suspicious. We chatted a bit and he seemed relieved we weren’t ne’er-do-wells. He went in the church but soon returned offering us a chance to go inside to warm up and use the facilities. We took him up on his kind offer. We wound our way through the city and near the campus of UTEP. We found a bike shop there that could replace Bruce’s tire and chain and do some other minor adjustments to both bikes. While waiting, we went across the street to Geogeske, a fun restaurant/bar. Nastassia made us a tasty drink, and she was a delight to chat with! When we finally got our bikes back and our gear loaded back on them, we headed to Jennifer’s. We were still over 9 miles away... 9 hilly miles on a horribly busy road with no shoulder. We ended up riding on the sidewalk for many miles because the road was so hostile. This involved constantly dipping down into the side streets and then jumping the curb to get back on the sidewalk. Once we got off that road, we were relieved to see we had a bike lane, but it was already dark, and getting chillier. Soon Jennifer drove by and let us know we were almost there. We were so thrilled to see her! Jennifer and Chris, along with their two sweet dogs and two sweet cats, were wonderful hosts. We enjoyed a delicious dinner containing the three P’s- protein, potassium and Pinot! We had grilled steak, baked potatoes and haricots verts. After dinner we spent a long time in the hot tub relaxing and catching up on life since high school! We were up late but it was so worth it! It was a memorable evening.
Although we saw many interesting sites, we didn’t take any photos because it was so cold, and the effort to get the phone out, take off our full finger gloves, and take the picture seemed like too much! Total cycling mileage: 70 Total hiking mileage: 2