Del Rio to Bracketville, TX - 42 miles

A little headwind, more chip-seal, heat and humidity today. We arrived at Fort Clark Springs which used to be a calvery base until WWII. After a day of riding in the heat it was refreshing to have a dip in the pool which is filled with natural spring water. The temperature of the water remains 68 degrees all year long.

Map 4

Sanderson to Del Rio, TX - 111

Headwinds and chip-seal!!! That's all I have to say about today.

Marathon to Sanderson, TX - 54 miles

This morning started out foggy and overcast. Then the sun came out to turn into a beautiful day. We are now in Sanderson, the Cactus Capital of Texas. The population is 861 and the elevation is just below 3,000 ft. That's it.

Fort Davis to Marathon, TX - 60 miles

Marathon, population 455, is the "Gateway to Big Bend National Park." In the 1920's it served as a railroad shipping point for livestock and silver and mercury from mines in the south. Marathon also is the only US factory for natural rubber made from the desert plant guayule. Someone said that it got it's name because it reminded someone of Greece. I think person was hallucinating.

We are staying at the Gage Hotel and it is truly an oasis in the high desert (4,000 ft.). It is like a luxury hotel and beautifully decorated. See my new friend (above photo) It will be hard to leave in the morning. By the way, because of the elevation it has been very cold in the mornings and very windy in the afternoons. We had gusts up to 30 miles again, then it tapered off, but the winds seem to come from every direction. Sometimes it comes from the North, other times from the East, or then again from the West, and sometimes from the South. March is a windy month here is Texas.

THURSDAY, MARCH 27
Fort Davis -Rest Day
I spent a couple of hours in the town of Fort Davis, population 1,050, elevation 5,000 ft. Fort Davis was named after Secretary of War Jefferson Davis. The garrison was established in 1854 to protect the Overland Trail between St. Louis and California.

For you astronomers, the McDonald Observatory is a few miles from Fort Davis. The Observatory's jewel is the 432 inch Hobby-Eberly Telescope, one of the world's largest.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26
Van Horn to Ft. Davis, TX - 90 miles
Everyone agreed that today was the toughest day so far because of the climbing and some 10% grades. Many confessed they had to walk up parts of it because it was so steep.

We stayed at the Indian Lodge, a nice retreat in the mile-high mountain slopes of West Texas. It was built in the 1930's and modeled after southwestern Indian pueblos and has adobe walls more than 18 inches thick.

Fort Hancock to Van Horn, TX - 74 miles

Well, we rode 74 miles today and we are still in the middle of nowhere. The scenery hasn't changed much...still desert. It was a long hot ride but we had some nice tailwinds to help us ride into town. Don't know much about this place except that "Lonesome Dove" and "Dead Man's Walk" were filmed here.

The above photo is one of my riding buddies. This is Katie from Maryland and her Bike Friday.

We did go over 1,000 miles today and we crossed into "Central" time zone. Ugh, I feel like we have lost many hours that could be well spent sleeping...kind of like Daylight Savings Time.

El Paso to Fort Hancock, TX - 47 miles

A nice relaxing ride to Fort Hancock along the Mission Trail. About half-way we stopped at a very small town called Tornillo for lunch. Great little family owned restaurant called La Calesa with great food at very reasonable prices. I don't know much about Fort Hancock except to say that it is in the middle of nowhere. Sorry, no pictures today. I forgot my battery and charger in my motel room in El Paso. Luckily, the van hadn't left El Paso because they had grocery shopping to do and was able to pick it up for me.

Map 3

Las Cruces, NM to El Paso, TX - 67 miles

Yahoo! We are now in the Lone Star State! So, we had our "crossing the border" margarita party! We won't be having another party for three weeks when we ride into Louisiana. Judy from North Carolina on my right and Michelle from Maryland on my left. Oh, by the way, Happy Easter everyone. We sure got a lot of looks as we rode down the road with our bunny ears on our helmets.

Kingston to Las Cruces, NM - 88 miles

It was a nice mostly downhill ride with a few climbs here and there. We rode thru many small communities such as Hillsboro, Arrey, Derry, Garfield, Salem, Hatch and Radium Springs. Hatch is known for growing red chili peppers. We crossed the Rio Grande twice along the route.

Yesterday, March 21st, was the most painful day of all. One lady described it as harder than the "Climb to Kaiser." At one point we crossed Emory Pass (above photo)which is 8,228 ft. in elevation. Then dropped down to the small community of Kingston which is roughly at 6,000 ft. The population of Kingston is 20! However, Kingston was a booming silver mining town in the 1880's. Because we were in such a remote, I did not have cell service or internet service, therefore, no post.

The day before, March 20th, was a rest day in Silver City. I was fortunate enough to be invited to have lunch at a beautiful new home of a local quilter. What a treat....great food, great view, great studio, and beautiful art quilts through out the house.

Lordsburg to Silver City, NM - 47 miles

"Painful" is the only word I could use to describe this day. We just climbed and climbed forever!!! Someone said that our total climb was 3,700 ft. Silver City is at an elevation of over 6,000 ft. At mile 25 we crossed the Continental Divide. Phyllis from Boston is on my right and Pat from Vermont is on my left. Whoo Hoo! but am I tired. I was so tired that I tried to wash my hair with body lotion. It took me a while to figure it out since I wasn't getting any suds after adding more on my hair. Those darn bottles all look the same. Things could have been worse...I could have brushed my teeth with Bengay.

I am glad tomorrow is a Rest Day. My body is screaming "No More."

Safford, AZ to Lordsburg, NM - 75 miles

Whoo Hoo, we crossed another border. We are now in New Mexico! And you all know what that means....margaritas! Todays ride was a straight shot to Lordsburg on Highway 70. We are at 4,300 ft. elevation and the total climb for today was 2,500 ft.

Globe to Safford, AZ - 83 miles

What started out to be a questionable day turned out to be a beautiful day. At 7:30 this morning it was cold (37 degrees) and sprinkling. But in a few hours, the sun came out and by mid-afternoon it was 57 degrees. Best of all, we had a great tailwind to push us into town. Some of the small communities that we passed thru on our route today were Bylas, Fort Thomas, Pima, and Thatcher. In Pima I found a cute little quilt shop but couldn't buy anything since I don't have any room on my bike. Darn.

Also, Pima is known for it's cotton. It's not as nice as Egyptian cotton but most of the Pima cotton is grown in the Southwest because of the climate is similar to Egypt.

Many of the other ladies in this group are also doing blogs and if you are interested in reading what they have to say about this trip and see their photos, go to http://www.womantours.com/ and scroll down to the bottom of the page to "Blogs."

Apache Junction to Globe, AZ - 56 miles

Rain is in the forecast so we all geared up for rain and it did sprinkle a little. Today is a climbing day...back up to 4,000 feet again. At mile 30 we were stopped by the State Police and were told we couldn't go further. Ah, gee, too bad. It was snowing up ahead and cars might not be able to see us on the road. The last 26 miles we all rode into Globe in the van.

Phoenix to Apache Junction, AZ - 53 miles

Today was like a short version of Tour de Phoenix. We rode through the city, then to the outskirts of Scottsdale, Mesa to Apache Junction. From our hotel, we have a view of Superstition Mountain (above photo) where the legend of the Lost Dutchman Mine is hidden. Jacob Walz was actually German, not Dutch claimed to have discovered a fabulous gold mine in the 1870's. To this day it remains a secret.

Map 2

Wickenburg to Phoenix, AZ - 67 miles

We made it to Phoenix! Another metric century! Whoo Hoo. It's hard to believe we have ridden 429 miles so far. We have had great weather...a little on the warm side...83 degrees and that wicked desert wind picks up in the afternoon...up to 23 miles per hour (according to the TV).

Dinner was fabulous as it is every night. We were warned that we should not expect to loose weight on the trip and I am beginning to believe it.

Salome to Wickenberg - 57 miles

March 12 - No cell phone or internet connection day
Blythe, CA to Salome, AZ - 64 miles
Another metric down! Whoo-hoo!
Upon leaving Blythe, we rode 4 miles to the Colorado River (photo above) crossing which is also the border crossing. We are now in Arizona! Then we started climbing to the 2,000 feet level and rode through places like Quartzite, Brenda and Hope. At the end of the day we all celebrated our first border crossing with a margarita party! I can't wait for a next border crossing.

Today we rode 57 miles to Wickenburg, the Dude Ranch Capital of the World. Wish I had the energy to check out the local dudes, but I am too tired and smell like Bengay. I should buy stock in the company and some in Advil, too. I think those two things are going to get me thru this trip.

The scenery is beautiful and weather has been perfect these past few days. People who know me know I like cows and like to moo to them on my bike rides. These guys (photo above) came over to the fence to greet me. Aren't they too cute? Reminds me of the movie "City Slickers."

Blythe, CA - Rest Day

Today is bike cleaning day and laundry day. We are now one mile from the Colorado River and near the Arizona/California border! Whoo-hoo.

Yesterday was a rough, tough day but saw some different scenery...from desert to sand dunes (they must have filmed Lawrence of Arabia here) to the lovely Chocolate Mountain ranges. We started very early because of the distance..89 miles. The first 40 miles were the hardest because of the fierce headwinds. I have never experienced riding in such strong winds before. At the lunch stop I decided to SAG (as many of us did) the next 29 miles only because of the rolling hills and NO bike lane! If you had to pull over, you were in dirt or sand and with as many big trucks on the road, I choose not to ride. I could have done the final 20 miles because the wind had died down but I was too comfortable in the SAG van and decided not to bike in.

Jacumba to Brawley - 66.5 miles

Yesterday was a small chain ring day and today was a big chain ring day. Well, for part of it. We started out with a 5.5 climb, then a 10 mile decent of 3,000 feet! The rest of the ride was mostly flat but horrible headwinds. Then a few miles before we reached Brawley we were below sea level. The photo above is of Holly Sugar plant and there is a marker in blue on the first silo showing the sea level. Some of the towns we rode through were Seely, El Centro and Imperial.

Alpine to Jacumba - 45 miles

Today was a hard day...lots of climbing. I think my average speed was between 3 and 4 miles per hour. We climbed to 4,000 ft, and had some nice downhills to make up for all the climbing. The scenery was very beautiful and the winds were very strong and the weather was a lot cooler today which helped in climbing. Some of the towns that we rode through today were Pine Valley, Buckman Springs, and Live Oak Springs. When we arrived at Jacumba the mineral hot springs were waiting for me. What a nice treat. The above photo is the entrance to our Hot Springs Motel with Michelle our tour guide standing in front.

San Diego to Alpine - 35 miles

To officially start our journey, we rode to the beach and dipped our back tires in the Pacific Ocean. It was a beautiful day today...got a little too warm in the afternoon....85 degrees...not good for all the climbing we did. We are at 2,000 ft and tomorrow will be more climbing. We are in a town called "Alpine." That should have been a clue to me that we are climbing. One of the gals said the the climbs were 8% grades. I can say one thing, it was kind of nice not having my bicycling coaches yelling at me to pedal, pedal, pedal.

Dinner tonight was talapia, broccoli, boiled potatoes and salad. Absolutely delicious.

Two Divas!

Today was orientation day and meet the group...30 strong! Whoo-hoo. Looks like there will be two divas on this trip. The other Diva is from Texas. The rest of the group come from all over the country...Montana, Massachusetts, Florida, Oregon, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Vermont, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Washington, Indiana, Tennessee, California, and Shanghi, China. Just by the brief introductions, I think we are going to have a lot of fun.

Kanreki

Toshiiwai is a Japanese rite of passage celebrated at various ages to pray for long life. This tradition was brought to Japan from China, and originally was celebrated once every ten years beginning when one turned 40. Since the 16th century, toshiiwai has come to celebrate beginning when one turns 60 (Kanreki), and subsequently at ages 70 (koki), 80 (sanju), 88 (beiju), 90 (sotsujo), and 99 (hakuju). The Japanese characters in the kanreki literally mean "return" and "calendar." The traditional calendar, which was based on the Chinese calendar, was organized on 60-year cycles. The cycle of life returns to its starting point in 60 years, and as such, kanreki celebrates that point in a man's life when his personal calendar has returned to the calendar sign under which he was born. (This information was provided by the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii)

So, being of Japanese decent and 60 years old, I view this trip as a beginning of a new adventure to a new life cycle.