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| Old 180 to Deming NM |
I totally hammered it today, riding 87.1 miles to Pancho Villa State Park in Columbus NM, thanks to a gentle tailwind and the loss of almost two thousand feet of elevation.
Now I should be positioned to move into Texas tomorrow, since El Paso is only 80 miles away.
I decided to detour onto a more southerly route early this morning, after realizing it would take me 4 days to get to El Paso if I continued on the Adventure Cycling Association route northeast through the mountains, where the campsites and other accommodations were inconveniently placed.
I want to get into El Paso by tomorrow, Monday, because high winds are being forecast for Tuesday.
I want to be positioned to sit out any fuss in a nice hotel in an interesting area, instead of having to fight vicious headwinds on a sandy, desolate mountain road somewhere.
Pancho Villa State Park, which is very close to the Mexico border, had plenty of campsites available when I arrived. Alas, the museum documenting Mexican General Villa’s 1916 raid on Columbus, along with the town’s restaurants, were closed. But Columbus’s new Family Dollar was open, thank goodness. So I was able to buy some iced tea and junk food before checking into the park.
One of my park neighbors, Tom, is a retired policeman from Escondido, CA. He’s ridden his BMW hog from Florida, where he now lives, to Alaska four times. He asked me if I was carrying a gun. I said no but that I did have a can of dog spray and a boat horn. He seemed to think I’d be better off with a gun, so I’m assuming he was packing even though he denied it when I asked him.
DM: 87.1; TM: 915.3; 7:36 hrs riding time; 11.1 mph avg spd.; 915.3 ft. climbing
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| Bike path along Old 180 |
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| Roadside rest on Old 180 |
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| BP checkpoint on Hwy 11 north of Columbus |
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| Pancho Villa State Park |
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| Pancho Villa SP campsite |
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| Tom |
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