Day 24: To Las Cruces

March 20, 2012

I got away from the motel at 9:15. It was sunny but the northwest wind was still very strong. Temperature in the 40's.

The ride started with a 400 foot climb to warm me up. Then a gradual but very cold 10 mile descent to the Rio Grande valley. At the intersection with highway 187 I stopped at an RV park to take shelter in the warm store and drink hot chocolate. A couple miles down the road I finally warmed up by sitting on the sunny side of a building that blocked the wind.

I never got close to Caballo reservoir which is a large lake on the Rio Grande. It looks very muddy.

I crossed the Rio Grande 3 times. It's not a very impressive river because so much water is pumped out to irrigate farms and supply the city of Albuquerque.

I passed many miles of Pecan orchards. Also a few cotton fields. I passed many chili pepper companies, indicating that the bare fields grow chili peppers during summer.

There aren't many services along highway 187. Hatch is the only decent size town along the route south to Las Cruces. It's a farm town and it appears that most residents speak Spanish. Hatch chili peppers are well known throughout the southwest.

Many signs are bilingual. I think most farm workers speak Spanish as their first language.

The pecan groves are irrigated by flooding.

Adobe house with the Organ mountains in the distance.

I was surprised how little traffic was on the road when coming into Las Cruces on highway 185, Valley Drive. I got a room at the Day's End lodge. $34. The temperature warmed up to 55F when I arrived in Las Cruces at 4:30 PM.

Today was cold and very windy, but it was tolerable with sunshine and a tailwind. It would have been miserable with a headwind. It was an easy and fast day thanks to the tailwind and mostly flat terrain.

Distance: 80.6 mi. (129 km)

Climbing: 1212 ft. (367 m)

Average Speed: 15.7 mph (25 km/h) !!!

Today's ride: 81 miles (130 km)
Total: 1,303 miles (2,097 km)

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