Day 8 Silver City to Hatch, NM; Day 9 Hatch to Las Cruces

Day 8 Distance:99 Miles
Elelevation Gain: 5,850

"A hard day of bike riding is better than an easy day of working." (by Anonymous)  Rode out of Silver City at around 8 thinking that the first 22 miles leading up to the beginning of the Emory Pass climb would be flat and easy.  Wrong.  I've learned 2 things about riding in New Mexico.  The first is the elevation never drops below 4,000 feet.  The second is there are no flat roads..  The day started off at 6,200 feet and went up and down between 6,800 and 5,800 until the climb up to Emory Pass.  I dont know if it was the altitude or just being worked from the climb into Silver City, but cresting Emory was an accomplishment.  It's one of those things where you're glad that you did it but never want to do it again.  At about 7,200 feet I noticed ny throat tightening from tryinng to get oxygen. Fortunately at about 8,000 feet the grade flattenned out to 4% & 5% grades.  While at the crest of 8,228 my riding partner Neal and I stopped for a photo op with the Emory Pass sign.  While we were there 3 hikers came out of a trail to cross the road.  Turns out that this trail is the Continental Divide Trail that runs from Mexico to Canada.  These hikers started in Mexico and were heading into Canada on a 7 or 8 month expedition.  From the top of Emory, we dropped down to 4,500 feet over a distance of 12 miles.  I counted about 40 cranks of tbe pedeals over those 12 miles.  A bikers dream.  Found a nice cafe in Hillsboro but decided to ride an extra 20 miles to Hatch and stay at the one hotel in that town.  We got in aroun 6:30 only to find that the motel closed about 6 months ago.  So we found a little RV Parkd and set up camp.  For me, camping is only for emergency.  I only have a liner that goes as far as my waist and did not bring a bed roll.  But being as tired as I was, it didnt really matter until about 2 a.m.  That's when the temp dropped into the 30s.  I woke up to find the ground under my tent was freezing.  So I went into my b ike bad to get my las piece of extra clothing to put on which was my rain jacket.  Finally at 5:00 Neal asked from his tent about 10 feet away if I was cold.   I think he heard my teeth clattering. The thermometer was at 33 degrees.  We trudged over to the market nearby which luckily is open all night and drank hot chocolate and waited inside until the sun came out.  Tomorrow, the Tour of Gila rides most of this same course, I would love to see the pros take on this climb.

Day 9:  Hatch to Las Cruces was pretty much a rest day.  We logged 44 miles and Neal's shifter was in need of repair so we found a bike shop.  We were both pretty beat up from the last 2 days of riding that the prospects of riding an extra 45 miles into El Paso didnt sound appealing.  So we can call Day 9 a rest day or a "nero" (near zero).  I decided to return the Satellite Phone to San Diego and lighten my load by a couple of pounds.  I think from here on out I should have decent cell phone reception so the satellite phone is just extra baggage..  I found a Fed Ex within walking distance which was on the New Mexico State Campus.   On a positive note, I had 3 flat rear tires in 3 consecutive days.  I finally figured out that the piece of glass that caught my wheel on day 3 had caused enough damage to slowly cut the replacement tubes starting on day 5.  After setting up camp in Hatch I put on a replacement rear tire and have had no problems since!!!!