Written by Jon on 09 April 2010
We got on the road about noon and headed down Mesa Street in El Paso. It is absolutely beautiful with views of the strip, Mexico, and New Mexico. On the strip we ate lunch, picked up some vitamins at GNC, and tubes from Wal-Mart. The strip was very busy this time of day and we had to be defensive while riding down it. We coasted along downhill and about 10 miles later saw the signs for New Mexico. This was a confidence booster and I was all about getting pictures in front of it. The roads in New Mexico were much better than Texas. They were totally smooth and didn’t have the glued together gravel that was seen through much of Texas. We pedaled along the smooth country roads, but then unfortunately we hit dirt. We turned around and figured out we had missed a turn. Fortunately, it was only about a half mile back. The ride to Las Cruces was beautiful. We spent the majority of the day rolling through pecan groves and across the winding Rio Grande River. The shade from the pecan trees was a relief from the Texas sun we had become so acquainted to. We stopped for lunch at a Mexican/barbeque restaurant on Las Cruces and I called a campground about 15 miles up the road. The guy on the phone said they had 3 sites left and hot showers for $5 each. We pedaled on in search of it and got close by sunset. Unfortunately, I got a flat and before we knew it darkness had come. We searched for the campground quite awhile with no luck. The maps said there was a motel 15 miles up the road in Hatch so we decided to do some night riding to try to make it to better accommodations. While riding in the darkness I started to hear faint sounds of a metal chain. At first I thought it was the zipper on my jacket flapping together. A few seconds later I felt a dog at my heels attempting to bite me. I looked down and saw huge teeth right at my ankles. I tried to speed up, but I was on a steep incline pedaling uphill. I started yelling at the dog and eventually it gave up leaving me with no injuries. When we got to Hatch we found out the motel was out of business. I talked to a cashier at a truck stop inside about our options and he said to go ahead and pitch a tent behind the building. There were some cops sitting out front chatting and we tried to wait for them to leave assuming they would have a problem with us doing this. Apparently, there isn’t much crime in Hatch, because they sat there for hours. Getting tired I finally just went up and asked them if it was okay. One of the officers replied, “It’s the cashier’s property so if he says it’s okay then it is.” I am not sure the cashier working the midnight shift owned the place, but that was all I needed to hear to pitch my tent and quickly fall asleep.