DAY THIRTEEN - Wednesday, November 5, 2008
I woke up 20 minutes before my alarm went off., and got out of bed at 4:10am. My inner clock knew this was gonna be another tough day, and wanted me to get as early a start as possible. Last night over dinner, I had decided to think about making it to Peoria today. It would take a ride of about 575 miles, but I was gonna be leaving west Texas within the first couple of hours of my ride, and I was hoping that the winds of east New Mexico weren't gonna be as bad as the ones in west Texas.
My first stop of the morning was in Sierra Blanca. It was only a 37-mile leg, but my morning coffee was not being gentle in its demand to be released. Plus, I had to put on some more layers of clothing. I knew I was going to go up and over a pass leaving Van Horn, but I thought I'd go back down the other side. Nope. Between the rise in elevation and the change in the weather (it was November for goodness sake), it was pretty darn chilly. No worries, my Dad who had been a scoutmaster, had taught me how to pack for trips.
Only carry enough clothes that you can wear at one time. No need to pack 2 sweaters, unless you can put one of them on, over the other. And… hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Good advice for anyone… anytime… right?
An hour later and 68 miles down the road, about 30 miles from El Paso, I stopped again. This rest stop should be the last coffee release of the day. I got off Honey and looked at the time on my phone. Hey it must've stopped (?!?)… it showed 7am, but it had shown 7am an hour ago in Sierra Blanca. Obviously there was some kind of a rift in the space-time continuum. Oh, that's right… the phones these days have built in global positioning software, and I had crossed the line from the central time zone, to the mountain zone. Technology. It never ceases to amaze me.
Honey was thirsty when we got to El Paso, and it worked out fine, 'cuz we weren't making any time anyway. I was in the first traffic of any sort I'd been in since leaving the GPA exactly one week ago today. It was a culture shock, after so many miles of open road.
After filling up, I was slightly concerned about the health of my best girl. I could only put 2.8 gallons in her stomach before her food reached the brim of her mouth. She had asked me to flip her reserve valve about 10 miles back, so she should've had room for one more gallon. Poor girl… something was wrong with her. I hoped she wasn't in pain. Hopefully something simple, like a little sand in one of her arteries. It may sound insensitive, but a clogged vein on a trip like this would be a minor issue in the grand scheme of things.
She wasn't showing any signs of discomfort… she was still purring like a kitten and at least outwardly, seemed to be quite happy. The 3,386 miles she'd taken us in just a few hours over 12 days, put her close to the mileage she normally gets her well baby doctor's visit. This would typically have taken us weeks, if not a few months to reach… I wondered if that might be part of the problem. She was still a young gal, and perhaps she was feeling the strain of the lengthy trip.
This was the first trip we'd been on, other than a couple overnighters to Yosemite… which were only about 500 milers. When we got back on the road, I decided to take it easy on her for a while, even after we left the greater El Paso area (GEPA), and the road once again emptied for us, as we crossed the border into New Mexico.
That reminds me of something cute(?) I forgot to tell you about. On my way to Killeen, when I stopped for the night in Carrizozo, I saw a t-shirt in the MMGS in town. It was a tie-die that said, "New Mexico… not really new, and not really Mexico." I thought it was cute anyway.
I cruised at about 65 for about 10 minutes. There, that should be enough. I didn't want her to get lazy and think the trip was almost over… we still had the better part of three States to cross.
At about 9am we were going thru Las Cruces and I got bummed. The wind was starting to pick up. Maybe Peoria and the free room and board and loving smiles of Eron and her mom weren't in the picture for me after all. I had already decided that if I didn't make it to the GPA as one of my overnight stops… I wouldn't stop there.
10:30am - Demming. I was sleepy for the first time. I decided to do something I normally didn't. I stopped for food. I remember wondering why I was choosing food over a red bull or something… food normally makes me sleepy… but for some reason, it felt like the right thing to do.
After a burger and shake I got back on the road and surprisingly… I felt refreshed and wide-awake. I figured my drowsiness had a lot to do with the fact that I had been on a 4-lane freeway for longer than at any point on my trip, and that I was feeling as if I was stuck in a hypnotic doldrum. Fortunately my route was gonna put me on Hwy 70, which was one of the favorite crooked little black lined roads on the map that Honey and I (and Alyson) were more comfortable on.
I haven't mentioned Ally in a while, have I? She was continuing to be a wonderful passenger. I think she was a little bummed when I turned her around and faced her backwards in her seat, but I was concerned because the severe cross winds had been catching her arms and legs and forcing her to ride sidesaddle and I figured it was a choice of safety first for my little green friend.
Riding sidesaddle in the winds of West Texas
Lordsburg, Duncan, Stafford and Blyas. These were my stops before reaching Globe. I had decided to focus my energy on riding safely, and had stopped my efforts at meeting and talking to people every time I stopped. I passed up three girls and a group of bikers who were trailering their show bikes to an event in Las Vegas. But the thing that disappointed me the most was when I passed up the opportunity to hang out with some teenagers at a public park at the outskirts of Duncan.
There must've been about 15 of 'em, all on bicycles, riding around on a makeshift 'track'. It would've been classic. I stood outside the chain link fence, watching them… visualizing taking Honey thru the gate, and asking them if I could take her thru the obstacle course they had set up.
Even on a good day, it would've been a very difficult feat, but I wisely chose not to even consider it, being as tired as I was and knowing that Honey wasn't at her best either. I had fun watching the movie I played in my head though.
When I reached Globe it was 4pm and I was pooped, but after I filled up Honey and was pushing her away from the pumps to park in front of the MMGS, I was still considering going the remaining 110 miles to Peoria.
As I went to get off Honey… I forgot to put down her kickstand… and as I was falling over, and trying to push myself away from her, so I wouldn't get squashed by her 800-pound body, I decided it would be a better choice if I went ahead and spent the night right there in Globe, rather than continuing on that evening.
I remember calmly saying out loud, "Oh shoot," as I was going over in slow motion. Fortunately there was no one parked on my left, or I might've really hurt myself. That would've been just great. Pinned between Honey and a car, with a broken back. That would've made a horrible entry in my journal.
Even before I got to my feet, two young men were offering to help me get my fallen horse up on her legs. I remember trying not to act too self-conscious or embarrassed. I remember saying something like… "Thanks guys, I'm normally much more graceful during my dismounts."
After readjusting Honey's left side mirror, and confirming that there was no damage, I slowly opened the left side saddlebag, to take a peek at my laptop. I didn't see any apparent damage to the cardboard box it was in, so I re-secured the velcro straps, and crossed my fingers that it would fire up ok, after I checked myself into the nearest motel.
When I called Eron to tell her I wasn't gonna make it to her house that night, I omitted the details of my poor parking incident. No need to give her any reason to worry about what kind of a toll the trip was (obviously) taking on me.
I comforted myself with a good hot comfort food meal of meat loaf and mashed potatoes at the restaurant next to the motel… verified the condition of my laptop… whew, it was fine… and don't even remember turning on the TV for company when I fell asleep.
465 miles for the day and 3,730 for the trip.
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