Day 40: To Marathon

April 5, 2012

I got up at 7:40 and packed up without making breakfast. At 8:40 I pedaled up the steep hill to have a big high calorie breakfast buffet at the restaurant. Today's long route has no services.

Looking back while leaving the Chisos Basin.

The 500 foot climb out of the Chisos Basin is very steep for about a mile. Then the road descends steeply to the desert. My last huge mountain descent with the failing rims. The descent doesn't have many sharp (slow) curves, so I didn't have much difficulty with the pulsing brakes.

It was noticeably warmer at the park headquarters, at 4000 feet elevation. I left the park headquarters just before 11, still 69 miles from Marathon.

Flowering Yucca at the park headquarters.

The road slowly descends to below 3000 feet elevation, then climbs gently to Persimmon Gap. I took a long stop at the Persimmon Gap visitor center which has air conditioning and trucked in water. The temperature was 90F in deep shade when I left Persimmon Gap at 2 PM.

US 385 between Persimmon Gap and Marathon.

After Persimmon Gap is a short descent followed by many miles of level and gradual uphill. The road becomes US 385 when leaving Big Bend National Park. The high temperature was 95F. No shade, with a slight tailwind that reduces the cooling airflow. It was hot going uphill at 6 mph in blazing sun with no airflow. I stopped 3 times under bridges where the perpetual shade was deliciously cool.

5 miles south of Marathon I stopped for a few minutes in the shade at the Border Patrol checkpoint. I asked for cold water and they said I couldn't have any. I felt like lecturing them that U.S. taxpayers deserve better treatment than that.

I arrived in Marathon at 7:15 PM, stopped at the grocery store, then went to the La Loma Del Chivo hostel. It's a very funky place. Very much an intentional community. Essentially a commune. Free for cyclists, but I left a generous donation.

Courtyard at La Loma del Chivo hostel. Free food in the box.

One of the accommodations at La Loma del Chivo hostel.

Bottle house at La Loma del Chivo hostel.

The evening cooled down nicely. They even had a fire going in the outdoor fireplace. I ended up eating a dinner made by the hostess Ingrid. Spaghetti with homegrown chard. I had a long conversation with a car-free long-term bike tourist who had been there for several days.

I slept by myself in the bunkhouse, but should have slept in one of the separate tiny buildings outside.

Marathon is 4045 feet elevation. This is my last night at high elevation. From here I go east into the lowlands. No more cold nights, and it will become increasingly verdant and humid as I get closer to the Gulf of Mexico.

Today was a very long day. My stomach didn't feel well for most of the day. That and the intense heat made it very difficult.

Distance: 81.9 mi. (131 km)

Climbing: 2931 ft. (888 m)

Average Speed: 12.5 mph (20 km/h)

Today's ride: 82 miles (132 km)
Total: 2,109 miles (3,394 km)

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