9.19.2012
Start: I-10 / 46 junction
End: Antelope Wells, NM / MEXICO!
Today’s miles: 65
Total miles: 2755
Splats: 0
Divide crossings: 1; 32 total
Wildlife: tarantula, fox
This is it. The last day. My parents dropped me off where I stopped yesterday and I started riding. It’d be 65 flat, paved miles to the border. It seemed to take forever for me to get to the mountains that had been looming in the distance. When I finally got there, I was still nowhere near close to being done. I stared at the white line on the road and kept pedaling; I’ve gotten pretty decent at that by this point.
Something on the road caught my eye and I hopped off the muni to investigate. It was a tarantula! I dug out my camera and tried to get some shots from its level. The tarantula was either attracted to the camera or possibly it wanted to eat me. Either way, it chased me around as I tried to take its picture.
Fourteen miles from the border, I started riding like I was drunk. I didn’t want to accept it, but I knew what it meant – flat tire. I’d suffered multiple thorn punctures in my tire and decided that I’d had enough; I was ready to quit the ride right there. Fortunately, riding to my parents car at the border was the shortest evacuation route so I had no choice but to swap out the tube and ride on.
I was a little dismayed to see closed gates and ‘restricted area’ signs at the border crossing as I rode up. The flat had set me back and I arrived about 20 minutes after the crossing closed for the day. I ducked under the gate to seek Mexico anyway; stopping 100 yds from the goal after 88 days and 2755 miles was not an option! I went past the closed inspection station up to a second gate. Went under that one and took a step into Mexico as the Mexican guards with big guns looked on with amusement.
I MADE IT!
While my parents waited for me to arrive, they had plenty of time to chat with Tim at customs. We visited him in his nearby house where I tagged his wall and was treated to ice cream and a cold coke!
The riding is over, thank goodness, but stay tuned for more updates, gear reviews, pictures and videos!