April 6, 2012
Day 41: To Sanderson
In the morning I spent a long time talking to people and looking around the buildings at the hostel. In town I bought groceries and had a sandwich. It was almost 11 AM when I left town, heading east on US 90 to Sanderson. Today should be an easy day.
There was a south crosswind at first, but by 2 PM I had a headwind blowing from the east. The high temperature was 89F, but it wasn't too bad because the wind got stronger as the temperature rose. Still no natural shade, though. I stopped twice under bridges and once at a covered roadside picnic area.
There is more traffic now, so motorists seldom wave at me. Waving is only widespread on very low traffic roads. Compared to most places the traffic density is still low. Maybe 5 vehicles per minute.
In Marathon I rejoin the ACA Southern Tier route for the last time. I will stay on the route until Vanderpool, in the Texas Hill Country.
On the road I spoke briefly with a guy named Gee, 60 years old, who is pedaling from Niagara Falls, New York to San Diego. He appeared to be stronger and faster than 50-year-old me.
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Today's scenery is quite monotonous. There are very few houses or buildings of any kind along the route. The only real entertainment is watching Border Patrol vehicles prowl the dirt paths along the fences.
The landscape changes subtly as the day progressed. Near Marathon the surrounding vegetation is mostly sparse scrub that doesn't look like it would be very productive for grazing. Near Sanderson are many small trees such as juniper and mesquite. There is green grass near the road, but not in the distance. Even flowers growing along the edge of the pavement where rain runoff is concentrated.
The geology changes in a not so subtle way. I left behind the dark rounded volcanic mountains and entered a zone of angular yellow limestone canyons. The last 20 miles descend slowly in Sanderson Canyon, a big dry wash. The canyons have steep cliffs but the hills are much smaller than the mountains I've seen recently.
I arrived in Sanderson at 4 PM and rode back and forth through town. I got a room at the Sunset Siesta motel for $50. Despite the headwind, today was an easy day because of the generally flat terrain and the net descent from 4080 feet in Marathon to 2789 feet in Sanderson.
I stocked up on groceries because I doubt that any food will be available in Langtry, tomorrow's destination.
Later in the evening another cyclist checked into the motel. Gavin is from San Jose, California. Eastbound on the Southern Tier.
Distance: 63.1 mi. (101 km)
Climbing: 711 ft. (215 m)
Average Speed: 12.5 mph (20 km/h)
Today's ride: 63 miles (101 km)
Total: 2,172 miles (3,495 km)
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