Arriving in New Mexico I had the typical premonition of anyone who as not spent any meaningful time in the state. “New Mexico is just a giant desert, there’s not much there...its going to be a long ride.” Wrong, New Mexico is a well kept secret at its best. My first real destination in the state was Silver City, a small mountain town sitting at about 6,500 feet, surrounded by copper mines, national forest and historic mining towns. The town is also home to the well-known cycling event “Tour of the Gila” which happens annually in May. I arrived in Silver only knowing that I wanted to spend a night or two exploring the area. Since all the local campgrounds were out of my five dollar price range I found myself walking into the one of the local bike shops and asking if there were any cyclist designated places to stay in or around Silver City. I was immediately pointed in the direction of the “bike house.” A house that supposedly would welcome any traveling cyclist with a place to camp, a floor, or even a bed. Not long after I was given directions, I found myself right up the street knocking on the front door of a strange house. This strange house welcomed me with open arms and thanks to all the great people living there I felt right at home. Within a couple days of being in Silver I was hooked on what a cool little town it was. I ended up staying for a week. I put the bike aside for a couple days and hitched up to Gila Hot Springs and Gila Cave Dwellings National Monument, spending a couple great nights under the stars in the Gila National Forest. The rest of the week I spent my time getting to know the people and places of Silver City. After waiting out a snow storm for a couple days, putting together some bikes for the bike cooperative in town, and shoveling cheap one pound burritos into my mouth at Chip’s Las Palmas, I got back on the bike and continued on, riding down out of the mountains and into warmer temperatures. On my way towards the New Mexico/Texas border I stayed a couple nights at different state parks around the Deming area. City of the Rocks State Park provided some beautiful hiking and a great campground situated between a maze of giant boulders. Rock Hound and Spring Canyon State Parks, provided world class views of the Florida Mountains near the NM/Mexico border. Rather than camping in one of the two parks I found some BLM land down the road to camp on and was fortunate enough to be invited to dinner because of it. Stories where shared and I got a real meal of pot roast and potatoes. My last days of riding in New Mexico were full of dust and wind. I managed to avoid a big dust storm for about half a day, but arriving in Las Cruces I intersected it. Riding through the giant cloud of dirt, visibility was low and progress slow. I rode the rest of the day through the giant pecan orchards that lined highway 28 occasionally catching a break in the dirt and wind. By the time I got to La Union, just short of El Paso, my lungs felt like two dirty vacuum bags and I could feel the grit between my teeth. Riding through New Mexico I ended up covering about half the distance I covered in Arizona, in over double the time, taking more time to stop and take things in. The people in New Mexico are easily some of the friendliest around and I was taken in like family by everyone I met. The roads in the state and the scenery that surrounded them made for enjoyable riding all around. Leaving the state, part of me wanted to stay longer and see more. After thinking it over, I decided to move on to Texas with plenty of reasons for coming back to New Mexico in the near future.
Camping in tumbleweeds just outside of Lordsburg, my first night in New Mexico.
Riding over a low point of the continental divide, coming into Silver City.
Smooth roads and mountians on the horizon, entering New Mexico.
The “Puppet Loft.” If you are one of the fortunate travelers to stay at the Silver City bike house this is where you get to sleep, unless you don’t like waking up to the stares of life-sized puppets, then you might prefer the floor or a couch downstairs.
Jamie milkin' it. Jamie rides his bike more than he milks goats, but this is the only time I had a camera handy to catch Jamie in action. This guy in addition to being one of the most sustainablilty-minded guys you will ever met is also an extremely energetic professor, social scientist, soil scientist, political scientist, artist, evolutionary biologist, conservation biologist, professional cyclist and goat-cheese aficionado. Thanks Jamie!
One of the many murals that cover the walls around downtown Silver City.
Evening soak at the Gila Hot Springs.
My campsite in the Gila National Forest. The temperature got down to 6 degrees this night.
Jaia and Jayden were two other travelers that showed up at the bike house while I was staying there. Jaia, a yoga instructor who has lived all over the country was heading to New York in her Ford Coachman, also known as the Ommmbulance.
Wandering around Silver one day I stumbled upon this hidden gem. With a perfect bowl, huge transtions, an artfully done donut hole, and a great little street section. A concrete park you would expect to see in the Northwest, not in small town New Mexico. Riding bmx and not having my bike to ride this park was pretty hard. I spent the rest of the week loitering at local bike shops trying to find a bike or someone to ride with, but had no luck. In the end I resorted to taking a few runs around the park on the Kona.
A snow-covered frontyard at the bike house. Silver City caught the tail end of a heavy blizzard that hit the midwest pretty hard. I was glad to have a roof over my head and good company around during this. It would have been a cold couple days otherwise.
The Silver City Skatepark and previously mentioned donut hole.
Bike Works, the bike cooperative in Silver City. This place offers kids and adults alike, a place to come put together their own bike or work on a bike they already have. Individuals can learn a little bit about the different aspects of building bicycles in a friendly environment where they are provided with high-end tools, knowledge and parts. Silver is lucky to have a place like this.
A great campsite in City of Rocks State Park.
Sidetrip to the Florida Mountains. On the road to Rockhound and Spring Canyon State Parks.
Getting ready to cruise back down a 17% grade after a early morning hike n’ Bike in Spring Canyon State Park. As the French would say... Ouiiiiii!
Full moon camping on a perfect piece of BLM land at the base of the Florida Mountains.
A beautiful start to what would end as a very dusty and windy day. Notice the dust in the background. I watched this dust cloud grow in size as it moved across the desert just south of interstate 10. I didn’t actually get hit with this until I cut south in Las Cruces. Being from Northern California and completly unfamiliar with dust storms, this was pretty fascinating to watch.
Sonny Campos. According to his friend, "the most photographed man in New Mexico." According to the internet, there are many.
My route through the southwestern corner of New Mexico.
Day 27: Lordsburg to Silver City(40 miles)
Day 28: Silver City to City of the Rocks SP (30 miles)
Day 29: City of the Rocks to Rockhound SP (50 miles)
Day 30: Rockhound SP to La Union (70 miles)
Day 31: La Union to Cornudas, TX (80 miles)
Riding through Stahmann Pecan Farm. Supposedly the largest family owned pecan farm in the world, located along highway 28 between Las Cruces, NM and El Paso, TX.
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