Waking up in the pines at over 6300ft in the Apache National Forest was amazing. This was definitely one of my favorite places to camp. The morning was cold, and I actually decided to stay bundled up in my sleeping bag until about 7:30am, long after the sun had come up. The morning air so brisk and fresh almost burned the nostrils as I breathed it in, but as I took some deep breaths I really felt like my lungs were filled with good clean oxygen, and I was instantly awake. I took my time taking down camp and enjoyed some granola and an apple before leaving my little mountain hideaway.
Most of the morning ride was downhill, so the absence of the need to pedal and the cool breeze kept me from warming up right away. I ended up stopping to put on my $5 gloves in order to keep my fingers warm as I continued through the mountains. I also stopped a few times to walk around and wiggle my toes as they too were getting chilly. Traffic was light, but the few trucks I did see on the road seemed to be hunters, and most of them gave a little wave as they drove by. Six miles up the road and I had crossed the border into New Mexico, and the Apache Forest changed to the Gila Forest.
Not long after crossing state lines, while continuing downhill, the forest abruptly ended and rolling hills covered with tall brown grass continued alongside the road. There were also patches of deciduous trees covered with yellow and red leaves. Their presence seemed to indicate that there must be some source of water nearby. I didn't see one cactus along the route, maybe I was still too high for that, but besides that the scenery definitely seemed different than anything I saw in Arizona. The ride was nice, although some of the hills wouldn't let me gain much momentum while coming down one and before going up the next. All that meant is that I had to work a little harder, but seeing as most of my morning was downhill, I wasn't really worried about it. At about 15 miles into New Mexico the road I was on crossed with highway 180, and I decided to stop at the intersection to snack and hydrate before heading south.
Having finished all my water, I looked at the map and saw the next spot to fill up would be the tiny town of Buckhorn, about 10 miles away. I'd survive without water for that long, and just focused on enjoying the ride. I noticed that the biggest thing in some of the towns that I had passed by that morning was the fact that they had a post office, which ended up ususlly being nothing more than a shack on the side of the road with an American flag out front. I could see how people would enjoy living out there, so far from everything, although I'm not sure that I personally was looking for that at this point in my life.
At Buckhorn I stopped at the Last Chance Liquor Store and Market, which looked like something out of the set of an old western. First thing I noticed when I walked in was the warm temperature and the wood burning stove in the middle of the store. The kitchen was open and I was hungry. I ordered a chicken sandwich and fries, which I think may have interrupted the relaxed conversation that the two ladies in there were having, but there didn't seem to be any fuss about it. They were curious about my trip, so I told them but the conversation eventually turned into one of local gossip, which must've been what they were talking about before. Both women were super nice and weren't shy about complimenting me on how handsome I was...which is always pleasant to hear. One of them joked about taking me home to meet her daughter until I told her that I was 30 years old, and then she said I was too old. Ha!
During my hour rest in Buckhorn I charged my phone, which was still without signal, and filled my water bottles. I had already made it over 30 miles and it looked as if I had about 40 yet to go. The day was still young and I figured I'd be in Silver City before nightfall. As I set out down the road I hoped that I'd get cell service soon because I needed to figure out where I was going to stay in Silver City. I had tried to contact my cycling buddy James about three days prior in order to get the contact info of his friend Ben who lived in Silver City, but I still hadn't heard back from him.
Maybe a good 20 miles down the road I finally got a weak signal on my phone, so I took the opportunity to stop and snack and check my messages. There was still no word from James, but if nothing else there was camping close to Silver City where I could stay the night. Just as I was getting ready to get back on my bike I noticed another fully loaded cyclist coming down the road. He stopped and we went through the usual touring cyclist routine of "where are you from?" "where are you going?" "where did you stay the night before?" etc. After all the formalities I noticed he was riding a Co-motion bike, which are made in Eugene and pretty rare to see...and which I coincidentally remember is the same brand that James' friend rides. I asked his name, and he said "Ben", then he asked mine...and then we both shared an "Aha" realization at exactly the same time. This was James' friend Ben that I was hoping to get ahold of! He had remembered my name from talking to James back when we were riding together, and here we were 20 miles outside of Silver City having a truly serendipitous encounter. Ha! This is the kind of thing that bicycle touring is all about.
We soon got back on our bikes and rode together back towards town. It was good to talk to a fellow cyclist, and I actually felt a little more talkative than usual. I guess I had been feeling a little conversation deprived the last few days. I learned that Ben was just coming back from Brock Canyon Hot Springs, where he had spent the night. I think we both were still reeling in the randomness of our meeting, and cracking some jokes about it when a cute blond girl with glasses pulled up in a minivan. It was Ben's friend Cat, and she was meeting him out there so that she could ride back to town with him. It seemed a little odd to me that she was just going to leave her van out there while she rode her bike the rest of the way back with us, but I also thought it was awesome that it was the kind of place where you could feel totally comfortable doing something like that.
Having two new and interesting people to talk to really made the uphill road into Silver City go by quick. We crossed the Continental Divide, and were soon heading downhill into Silver City. Ben had previously invited me to stay at what he referred to as "The Bike House" and I jumped on the opportunity. When we got into Town we split up with Cat and Ben brought me to his house. It wasnt hard for me to identify "The Bike House" as we rolled up to an artsy looking two-story house with bicycles welded together to form a fence around the front yard. We headed up a dirt road that ran alongside the hose, and entered the property through the back yard where bikes were leaning up against everything. Then we entered through a sliding glass door into a kind of covered back porch area which was filled with bikes, bike tools, and giant paper mâché creatures. Then we wheeled the bikes into the main quarters where a wood stove was keeping the place warm.
The Bike House is basically just a big house where 5 artistic bike enthusiasts live together and share resources. It definitely reminded me of a few places in Portland, and I just thought it was awesome how welcomed everybody made me feel as soon as I got there. I was really just a stranger passing through town, but they made me feel like an old friend and even offered me the spare bedroom with a bed to sleep in. I had the feeling I was really going to enjoy Silver City.
Ben invited me out to a little local place with live music where some other of his friends would be. I was looking forward to meeting some more people so we got ready and headed out. We stopped by Cat's place and picked her up and then rode to downtown Silver City and stopped at a little restaurant/bar called Diane's where we met up with two other people. I think the three of us were super hungry from the ride, so we ordered food right away, and as we waited for our meals other friends trickled in until there was a table of about 10 of us. Everybody I met that night was super friendly, and it seemed extraordinary to me that so many interesting people were all sitting together at one table in this small town. I was more or less convinced to stay an extra day in town by everybody there, and I had a feeling that I wouldn't be disappointed.
The night didn't go on too late, and soon we all dispersed. Ben and I rode back to The Bike House together, and we shared another laugh about the randomness of our crossing paths. I was very pleased to meet both Ben and Cat, and looking back it seemed like quite an amazing day. Once again I hit my usual wall after a full day of riding and went to bed early. The room I was in was unheated, but it was still warmer than if I were to be outside and I fell asleep quick in my warm sleeping bag on the spare bed.
Miles: 69 miles
RRD: A broken bicycle frame
-D
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