Day 22: To Hillsboro

March 18, 2012

Today will be a long difficult day, so I tried to get an early start. I was away from the campsite at 8:50, but discovered that I was locked in. I had to wait a few minutes for someone to unlock the gate. The gate is locked at night to discourage people from sneaking in to use the hot pools.

Gloomy sky over the Mimbres river valley.

The morning started out partly sunny, but the sky was overcast for most of the day. A brisk southwest tailwind blew all day long. The riding was easy for the first 15 miles, upstream along the Mimbres river.

Mimbres river. Cottonwood trees just starting to bud.

Flowers on the roadside. Probably a crabapple tree.

Highway 61 eventually turns north, away from the Mimbres river, and climbs steadily before ending at highway 152.

Now back on the ACA Southern Tier route, I followed highway 152 east, climbing steeply.

I detoured into San Lorenzo to look for a store or restaurant, but the village has no businesses. I felt like I was in Mexico when riding through town. All the houses have walled compounds.

Abandoned adobe building near San Lorenzo.

Highway 152 climbs relentlessly to 8828 foot (2675 m) Emory pass with the usual vegetation changes. First desert scrub, then junipers, then pines. It's a huge climb when starting at 5020 feet (1521 m) elevation.

The southwest wind grew to 35 mph. While climbing at 4 mph I could feel a strong wind pushing on my back. That made the climb easier but it was cold. The temperature steadily dropped as I climbed, down to 39F (4C) at the summit.

There was no traffic on highway 61 at the beginning of the day, and light traffic on highway 152. This is a very pleasant cycling route.

Climbing in a canyon with junipers and a few pines.

Highest elevation of the trip, slightly higher than Cloudcroft.

I bundled up as much as possible for the long descent to Hillsboro. I was cold before the descent even started. Shady north-facing slopes had snow.

View from near Emory Pass looking east towards the Rio Grande river valley.

Descending with snow on forested north-facing slopes.

Descending through a desert canyon to Hillsboro.

The descent was 2600 feet (788 m) , down to 6230 feet (1888 m) elevation in Hillsboro. I arrived at 5 PM with plenty of daylight to spare. I didn't want to camp because of the cold weather and extreme wind. Hillsboro only has a population of 150, but it has a store, 2 cafes, and a motel. The store and cafes were closed when I arrived. Nobody was at the motel. A sign said to call a number, but my Verizon phone had no service.

Eventually I found a person on the street who told me my phone would have service up a certain hill. I went up there and called several times (standing in a 40 mph wind) before the motel owner finally answered the phone. She eventually came to the motel to give me a room for $54. I was the only guest at the motel, so she had to light the pilot lights for the propane furnace and water heater. The motel has no TV, no phone. I was exhausted and went to bed at 8 PM.

Today was the coldest riding day of the tour because of the wind. High temperature of 60F in late morning, but much colder and windier in the afternoon.

Distance: 67 mi. (107 km)

Climbing: 4545 ft. (1377 m)

Average Speed: 9.8 mph (15.7 km/h)

Today's ride: 67 miles (108 km)
Total: 1,222 miles (1,967 km)

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