Southern Tier Section 3

via bicycle from El Paso, TX to Del Rio, TX

March 24 - March 30, 2008

435 miles with 10,333 feet of elevation gain and 13,001 feet of elevation loss

Date	Location	Miles
Section 3
March 24	Fort Hancock, TX	47
March 25	Van Horn, TX	74
March 26	Ft. Davis, TX	90
March 27	Ft. Davis, TX - rest day	0
March 28	Marathon, TX	60
March 29	Sanderson, TX	54
March 30	Armistad, TX	111

Remember, the first map is the Adventure Cycling map and shows our actual route; and for the 2nd map I used the AAA online mapping service to print a map that shows their suggested highway route to each night's stop--of course these highways are not always the best highways for bicycle riders and are NOT indicative of our route, but it gives you another view of the area we are traveling.

Section 3 - I rode 362.7 miles

Day 19 Day 20 Day 21 Day 22 Day 23 Day 24 Day 25

Day 19 - March 24, 2008

El Paso to Fort Hancock, TX - 48.4 miles

info (back to beginning of section 3) weather

Today was a GREAT day. We didn't start until 8:30 because it was a short day and we didn't want to get to the motel early as the rooms probably wouldn't be ready and there isn't much to do in Fort Hancock so I slept in until 7 o'clock! This meant it was a little warmer when we started, and it continued to get warmer throughout he day, but it never got hot and I never took my arm warmers off. For the first 6 miles we were in El Paso, but the traffic wasn't bad because of our later start then we followed the mission trail for the next 8 miles and saw 2 old Spanish mission churches--Socorro and San Elizario. There was a head wind today, but it was only about 1/3 as strong as yesterday's wind and was not hard to ride in. At mile 22 in the little town of Tornillo 4 of us followed the directions on our route sheet and took a short detour to the La Calesa Mexican restaurant for lunch. Several other riders were already there and more came in while we were there. We made it a great day for that small family owned restaurant. I had 3 shredded beef tacos, rice, and refried beans--it was delicious. I got into the motel a little after 3 and found out that the entire town is without water. They told us it was expected to be back on at 4:30, but it didn't come on until 6 o'clock and then the flow was restricted and, of course, there was no hot water. After dinner I was able to finally get out of my bike clothes and take a warm shower, but we were told not to drink the water. I got two of the bottles of water out of the trailer--one for tonight and one for my water bottle in the morning.

El Paso to Fort Hancock map

elevation chart showing the insignificant 353 feet we gained today

Los Portales constructed in 1855 in the territorial style as the family residence of Gregorio Nacenseno Garcia and called Portales because of its distinctive gallery (portal)

the San Elizario Mission Church

plaque explaining the church

interior of the church

old car on display at the La Calesa Restaurant

Day 20 - March 25, 2008

Fort Hancock to Van Horn, TX - 73.7 miles

info (back to beginning of section 3) weather

Today was another good day. There was some climbing, but it was primarily 1-3% grades. At the end we had mountains in front of us, to the left, to the right, and behind us--we were surrounded by mountains. The one thing I did not like is the chip and seal that Texas uses on many of their minor state roads (they call it shake and bake). At one point we were to exit I-10 at mile marker 90 and ride 16 mile on the Frontage Road then get on US Bus 10. I was riding with Katie and Cheryl, and we saw several riders pass us riding on the interstate which was nice and smooth with a wide shoulder and the Frontage Road was chip and seal. After 5 miles Cheryl was the first to cross over and she walked her bike through the grass to get on the interstate then when we came to an exit/entry ramp Katie and I joined her. We all rode on the interstate for 5 miles then Katie exited onto Lasca Road, but Cheryl and I continued all the way to US Bus 10 at Sierra Blanca. At one point all the interstate traffic had to exit and pass through a border patrol checkpoint, but all he asked was if we were US citizens and when we said "yes" he waved us on. Most of the riders including Katie stopped for lunch in Sierra Blanca, but we had a strong tailwind and Cheryl and I kept riding--this time on the Frontage Road!.. It was great for 8-9 miles then we lost the STRONG tailwind, but still had a weaker one coming at us at an angle. At one point there was a bad wreck and the Frontage Road was closed, but they let us walk our bikes through and later when the sag vehicle came along they let it ride in the grass to get by. Later we found out that a 39-year-old truck driver had a heart attack, left the west bound interstate, crossed the Frontage Road, and crashed his semi. He was dead at the scene. We rejoined I-10 for about 9 miles after about 22 miles on Bus 10 and exited back onto Bus10 when we arrived at Van Horn. While on the interstate we passed a large sign that told us we were entering the Central Time Zone which meant we were losing an hour.

The Best Value Inn we are staying at used to be a Best Western and is a good motel, and as usual Linda fixed us another good dinner and she will supplement the motel breakfast tomorrow as it doesn't offer any protein. Tomorrow is a LONG day so breakfast is at 7 o'clock and dinner tomorrow is scheduled for 7:30 as they expect it to take 12 hours for some of us to ride the 90 miles since a lot of climbing is involved.

Fort Hancock to Van Horn route

elevation chart

picture from outside my motel room just before we left

they obviously have flash floods in west Texas as we saw a lot of these signs

Day 21 - March 26, 2008

Van Horn to Ft. Davis, TX - 40.1 miles (I sagged 50 miles because of sore right quad)

info (back to beginning of section 3) weather

Today I wore my knee braces because my right knee had hurt a little bit yesterday, and we would be climbing a LOT today. I got us at 5:45 am and after getting ready and packing ate some cereal and drank some juice in the motel breakfast room. They didn't have much, and the room was quite small. Then at 7 o'clock I went to Linda's breakfast at the trailer and ate some scrambled eggs, drank some more juice, and ate some dried fruit--especially prunes. Then we waited for it to get light enough for us to ride. Finally at 7:40 (which is really 6:40 because they are on daylight saving time) we left. Since we were leaving before sunrise and were riding east we saw a beautiful sunrise--see picture below. We started out by riding the Frontage Road for 21 miles. It was still chip and seal, but it was in better shape than the road yesterday and we had a tail wind! Carol was the sag driver, and she had the first sag at mile 21 right before we got on I-10 for 16 miles. Wouldn't you know it I-10 was chip and seal too. After exiting the interstate and turning onto SR 118 we turned south and the tail wind became a cross wind, and I noticed that my right quad was hurting if I rode in a big gear and put much pressure on it. After just a few miles at mile 40 we had a lunch stop with a marvelous lunch prepared by Linda because we didn't pass through any cities where we could buy lunch. I had planned to keep riding after lunch and see how far I could get today, but when my quad started hurting I thought I shouldn't continue to put pressure on it as I didn't want to have serious problems so I quit. Eight of us got in the van at the lunch stop and Linda and Michelle picked up one more rider who is coming down with the flu like illness that several of the woman have had. They took the nine of us straight through to Indian Lodge at Davis Mountains National Park where we will be staying for two nights, and unhooked the trailer. Then Michelle went back to see if anyone else needed a ride. The rooms are marvelous, see pictures below, and we are all in the same general area. Quite a few finished the route today with the last two riders coming in at 7 o'clock. They all said it was harder than the climb to the top of Emory Pass--it was a much longer day and the climbs were steeper. Several got so tired their legs wouldn't pedal so they got off and walked up a hill or two and said that helped as it pushed the lactic acid out of their muscles.

That evening we had a Mexican buffet in the Black Bear Restaurant at the Lodge paid for by WomanTours. It was a good meal.

There are a lot of javelinas that hang out around the Lodge and I saw them frequently during the day, and each night they came up to the rooms at the back of the lodge looking for food, and I was in one of those rooms. The first night they woke me up about 10 o'clock snuffling and fighting over some garbage that Linda had left in the refuse container. The next night they came through earlier and all I heard were their hoofs on the sidewalk as there was no garbage. I opened my door, and 3 javelinas walked right by me.

Van Horn to Ft. Davis route

elevation chart

we left before sunrise and saw this gorgeous sunrise as we were riding

our first view of javelinas was of them crossing the road at the lunch stop

Candace helping load Sandra's bike on to the van

entrance to the Rancho del Cielo

windmill beside the entrance

Indian Lodge at Davis Mountains State Park

this display honors the CCC who built Indian Lodge and Davis Mountains State Park 1934-36

pictures of my room in Indian Lodge

view of the Davis Mountains from my window

several of us saw 4 javelinas in an area in front of our rooms

we were following these javelinas through a field and I went one way and everyone else went another and they chased them across the street right in front of me

this javelina walked right in front of my door when I opened it

Day 22 - March 27, 2008

Ft. Davis rest day

info (back to beginning of section 3) weather

Michelle ran several shuttles for us today. She took a group to the town of Fort Clark at 9 o'clock and picked them up at noon. She took a group to the McDonald Observatory at 10 and picked them up at 1. Then she went back into town at 2:30 to pick up people who wanted to spend more time in town. I chose to go to town at 9 and be dropped off at the Fort Davis National Historic Site just outside of town and spent two hours touring the reconstructed fort. The fort was originally constructed in 1854 on the eastern side of the Davis Mountains in a box canyon near Limpia Creek where wood, water, and grass were plentiful and was named after Secretary of War Jefferson Davis. The soldiers protected emigrants, freighters, mail coaches, and travelers on the San Antonio-El Paso road. With the outbreak of the Civil War the federal government evacuated the fort. Few of the original structures remained when the Ninth US Calvary reoccupied Fort Davis in 1867 and a new post was built just east of the original site. Construction continued through the 1880s and Fort Davis became a major installation with more than 100 structures and quarters for over 400 soldiers. The Comanches were finally defeated in the mid-1870s but the Apaches continued to be dangerous until Victorio and most of his followers were forced into Mexico where they were killed by Mexican soldiers on October 15, 1880.

In July 1866 Congress increased the size of the regular army and stipulated two cavalry and two infantry units shall be composed of colored men. These troops served proudly on the southwestern frontier, and the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry called "Buffalo Soldiers" by the Indians who compared their hair to that of the buffalo served at Fort Davis.

After touring the fort I walked on into town and bought some post cards and a great ice cream cone. Then I came back to the park with Michelle and several of the others, cleaned my bike, aired my tires, brought my web pages up to date (but I can't post them yet as there is no internet service here) and relaxed!

At 5 we had our map meeting for the next day's ride and had a small birthday party for Clark. Linda had got her a birthday cake and several riders gave her small presents. Then we went to eat in the Black Bear Restaurant. They have very good food, good service, and the food is very reasonably priced.

Fort Davis is considered perhaps the best preserved of all the 19th Century frontier forts and one of the best preserved "Buffalo Soldier" forts in the west

Fort Davis at the foot of Sleeping Lion Mountain and Hospital Canyon

row of officer quarters

west Texas travel routes

one of the enlisted men's barracks

overall plan of the fort

Commissary Sergeant's Office

commissary prices

some of the food items in the commissary

a kitchen

Servant's Quarters furnished for a woman

two of the rooms in the commanding officer's quarters

one of the rooms in another officer's quarters

Clark's birthday

Day 23 - March 28, 2008

Ft. Davis to Marathon, TX - 60 miles

info (back to beginning of section 3) weather

gage hotel

We had a great buffet breakfast in the Black Bear Restaurant and starting riding a little after 8 o'clock. As usual it was a little cold, but it warmed up and by the time I got to the sag at the 20 mile mark I removed my jacket and warm gloves and left them in the Subaru. The first 20 miles we were riding between two mountain ranges that were very close to the road and it was beautiful. Then shortly before the sag stop the canyon widened and the mountains were much farther back and it was still beautiful. We rode on SR 118 30 miles to Alpine in a SE direction, and the wind didn't seem too strong. Then at Alpine we turned on to US 90 and rode east into a STRONG head wind. My speed was cut in half, and I was working hard. It was also cold. I stopped and put my arm warmers on which helped a lot, and when I reached the sag at mile 40 I put my jacket and warm gloves back on. Finally we turned back to the SE and the wind was a cross wind. Later the wind seemed to shift a little and we sometimes had a tailwind depending on which way the road turned.

The Gage Hotel where we are staying tonight is a Texas Historic Site. The brick building was constructed in 1926-27 for Vermont native, Alfred Gage, the largest cattleman in Trans-Pecos. The hotel has been expanded by adding 20 rooms and a swimming pool on the west side. The rooms surround a beautiful courtyard. As you can see in the pictures below my room and the courtyard it faced was very nice.

Ft. Davis to Marathon map

elevation chart showing the 1,006 feet we gained today

we have been following the Texas Mountain Trail ever since we entered Texas

a yucca plant

two murals I saw at the intersection of 118 and 90 in Alpine

the original part of the Gage Hotel

the adobe addition

the courtyard

two views of my room

ceiling of my room

Day 24 - March 29 2008

Marathon to Sanderson, TX - 54 miles

info (back to beginning of section 3) weather

Today was a relaxing day--only 54 miles and downhill grades instead of uphill. We didn't have breakfast until 8:30 and therefore didn't start riding until after 9 o'clock so it was warmer this morning. However, it didn't warm up much during the day as it was cloudy and there wasn't much sun. The temperature was only in the low 70's when we finished. The wind was from the SE and we were basically going east, but thankfully the wind was light until later in the afternoon and by then we were well into the downward grades.

We had a few hills until the first sag at a small roadside park at mile 21 then we had slight 1, 2, and occasionally 3% downhill grades with some flat areas and an occasional short uphill stretch the rest of the way--it was great. We rode on US 90 the entire way, and it had a shoulder as wide as a single lane of traffic. However, Michelle warned us that when we crossed the Pecos County line the road would get rough and would remain rough the entire 11 miles we were in that county. She was only half right the shoulder was rough, but the highway wasn't. Since there was hardly any traffic I rode to the left of the white line moving over when I heard a vehicle approaching, and only 9 vehicles passed me the entire 11 miles.

We almost had to bring sleeping bags and sleep in a church or some other building in Sanderson as there was an oil strike in the area and the oil workers took all the available motel rooms. However, somehow WomanTours got the Outback Oasis Motel and Budget Inn to give us rooms for the night--I don't know how they did it.

Marathon to Sanderson map

elevation chart for Marathon to Sanderson

explanation of the Ouachita Rock Belt

first example of the Ouachita rock belt

closeup of the rock belt

another example

entrance to Big Buck$ Ranch

Day 25 - March 30, 2008

Sanderson to Armistad, TX - 111 miles

info (back to beginning of section 3) weather

Today was originally our longest day, and it was compounded by a strong headwind in the afternoon and a very bad chip and seal road. Everyone got in OK but several didn't finish before the dusk cut off time and had to quit. I can't understand why they had breakfast at 7:30 which meant we didn't leave until almost 8, told us that it would take some of us 12 hours to complete the route, then pulled us off the road at 7 o'clock. Those of you who do this ride in the future need to ask what the cut off time is. I had a flat tire at about 2.5 miles and lost 40 minutes at the very beginning which was discouraging. I worked very hard trying to make it to the lunch stop at the 60 mile mark by 2 as I thought I would have a chance then, but the hills and the wind were just too much. I did catch up with and pass three riders but I didn't get to lunch until 2:30. I told Michelle and Linda I knew I wouldn't be able to finish because of time limitations but I wanted to keep riding and do as much as I could. Michelle suggested that I be bumped up to the next sag stop at 80 miles to shorten their support base. I agreed, but I had to wait 30 minutes for the last riders to get in and the bikes of the riders who were quitting at the halfway point + mine to be loaded onto the van. When I was dropped off I continued to ride until I was pulled in due to the time limitation. I rode 87 miles today which was good considering the head winds we had, the hills, and the poor condition of the shoulder of the road. In fact my flat was caused by a sharp rock cutting into my tire then into my tube. I now have a small hole in my tire and have a dollar bill in it for a boot. I feel I should have been allowed to finish the last 4 miles as I was only about 100 yards behind two riders who were allowed to finish, but they were finishing the entire 11 miles, and I just wanted to finish what was in front of me.

Since Linda had fixed lunch for us, they ordered Pizza Hut pizza for dinner, and I ate 3 pieces of the Hawaiian style, 2 cinnamon sticks, and had a cold 20 oz. Sunkist soda. Then I did my laundry and went to bed.