To the end!!!

Our day started off with a pick up from Chris at Silver City hike and bike. He immediately helped to put our minds at rest about getting a ride by saying - wow it’s wet out this ways! Then he proceeded to tell us that it was not uncommon for people to get stuck out in the Gila National Forest for 3-4 days waiting for the road to dry once the monsoons hit. We had made the right decision for us - phew ! 
Off to Silver City we went and Chris shared some area history with us then we had an interesting conversation about politics ( many of them have been about this in our travels through America) It has been interesting to hear people’s views on this and we have heard both sides of the fence so to speak. 
Once in Silver City we left our bikes at the shop and went wandering. We found a great wee coffee shop for breakfast and had another great conversation with a local man- a lot of it about accents. 
After breakfast we explored the old town a bit more and discovered it has a vibrant art community. We wandered the galleries and they were all full of amazing art works - some I would have loved to have been able to take home with me.
As the morning turned to afternoon we decided to head up the hill to Pinos Altos and our warm showers host for the evening. We had a great evening with Carl and Damie Levi. They are passionate cyclists and supporters of local races and shared many great stories with us. It was a lovely way to spend one of our last evenings on the trail! 



The next morning we were up at our usual time of 5.30 am and flying back down the hill to Silver City shortly there after. 
A quick breakfast at Denys on the way past and we carried on south. It was a nice morning for riding, a wee bit overcast which had become usual over the past few days. We had a mixture of paved then gravel road through to Separ. A small truck stop just before the 100km mark and the perfect stop for ice cream! The day had warmed up by now and we were craving cold things. 

After our lunch stop it was on to Hachita for the night.
We also had our last continental divide crossing and probably our easiest with a barely perceptible incline in the road as we crossed, we wouldn’t have realised if not for the sign. 
We had booked to stay in the local community centre. 
As we rode towards Hachita we started to see signs of the imminent border - very exciting!! 
As well as signs of the afternoon thunderstorms- not so exciting. 
We managed to get to within 10kms of Hachita before the rain got us and it was actually quite a nice cool down! Though it was good to get inside a building and watch the lighting strikes from a safe distance. 
So this is our last night on the tour divide and we are spending in the Hachita community centre. There is an excited buzz in the air for our final few kms down to the border in the morning! 


Up and away by 6.30am - a sleep in for us! Not that I slept very well. It was very hot in the night and we were joined by several hundred crickets for the evening it seemed ! 
It was a lovely last morning for biking, again overcast. With beautiful mountains to look at as we cruised down towards the border it was a really nice ride. We had 73kms to go and all paved so estimated 3.5-4 hrs riding. We were lucky to have not much of a head wind with just a sight one as we got closer. We both biked lost in our own thoughts for the most part with the occasional shared smile and comment about being at the end. Unbelievable. 
The final 4 miles we turned a slight corner and got a slight tail wind and started to fly - 30kms per hr ! A fitting way to end our journey. As we flew into the border it all seemed a bit surreal and emotions overflowed for me. It’s an awesome feeling finally reaching your destination after such a huge personal goal! 
So we made it 4500kms across the wilds of Canada and America- what a journey!! 



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Comments

  1. PaGeJuly 17, 2018 at 1:37 PM

    Congratulations....yes a truly wonderful achievement....and one that you will forever cherish....now the flight home and reunited with family and friends....wowee...much hugs and love all round....then time to sit back relax and reflect on many many fabulous and amazing memories of an adventure and experiences of a lifetime.keep in touch when you have a spare moment.....Pat and Geoff

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