Silver City: We spent most of the afternoon around Silver City. We went to the Superintendent of Schools office where the Superintendent and staff were extremely pleasant and helpful. The ladies in the office gave us a couple alternative routes for tomorrow that will save us a lot of climbing and time. We must soon decide to me macho men and climb Emory Pass or cut down to Deming and take highway 12 into Las Cruces. Our concern is that we can’t find a highway 12 on any map. Some interesting decisions must be made by tomorrow morning. The local paper interviewed Jeremy for a story about the ride.

Day Eleven: Jeremy expressed being a little homesick this morning as he was riding very slow and seemed down. We went off route today and headed south into Deming instead of going over the mountains. The primary goal is to get Jeremy across the US and we don’t need to take on any unnecessary hills just to prove our manhood. It appears to have been a very good decision. We left Silver City at 8:10 and were in Deming at 11:50, which was 52 miles away. We were riding southeast and had a southwest wind. From Deming we took highway 11 into Columbus, which is 4 miles from the Mexico border. Lots of border patrol vehicles’ on the road. We had some very strong cross winds to Columbus which is about 35 miles south of Deming. Lots of border patrol vehicles on the road between Deming and Columbus. About three miles from Columbus I lost a screw from my left foot clip and was unable to get my foot out of the clip when we stopped. Much to my surprise a volunteer worker at the camp ground actually had a small screw that worked. We rode 85 miles today with some pretty strong cross winds and a tail wind from the southwest as we rode south. We are hoping for a strong tailwind tomorrow as we head straight east into El Paso. We are in a very nice state camp ground close to the area of the last battle ever fought in the US against a foreign invader, Mexico in 1916. There was a very nice sunset this evening. This was the first day we did not see the sun as we had total cloud cover all day.

Day Twelve: We left Columbus at 7:20. It was a cool morning with the temperature in the mid-40’s. Around 9:30 we started getting a slight wind from the southwest. The road to El Paso was long and straight with only a couple minor climbs. This road was patrolled very heavily by the border patrol. We thought El Paso would be flat, but turns out it was full of hills. I did find a bike shop on Mesa Street and replaced the make-shift screw with two replacements. Downtown El Paso was very nice, but very Mexican. In fact, everything east of downtown El Paso was almost all Mexican stores and people. Country Club Road and Mesa Street had a lot of traffic. Once past downtown, traffic was not too bad all the way to Fabens. Total miles for the day was 108.8. Weather was great with clear skies and temperatures in the 80’s.

Day Thirteen: The road from Fabens to McNary was not bad. About 9:30 we picked up a slight tailwind. However, when we turned onto highway 192 we picked up and headwind and a really rough road. We met a self-contained biker heading west who was very happy to have a tailwind. We almost missed the turnoff at highway 34. Once on I-10 we once again encountered a headwind all the way to Sierra Blanca. There was a lot of up and down today. We did manage to get in 66 miles on an overcast day, which was a welcome relief.

Day Fourteen: We left Sierra Blance at 8:00. Much to our surprise we had a headwind the entire 32 miles to Van Horn. Upon leaving Van Horn after lunch, the wind had switched to the southwest, which is what we expected when we left. It was a cool start with temperatures in the low 40’s at 8:00. It did warm up to 82 by days in. From Van Horn to Kent, all on I-10, we had a nice wind from the southwest. The first 20 miles we had a smooth shoulder, but it got a little rough the last 20 miles or so. All the hills were minor, but there were more than expected. I rode the entire day in middle gears. We stayed in an abonded house behind the gas station next to a very busy railroad in Kent.

Day Fifteen: Today was a great day for riding. The hills were few, the wind was good, and the road wasn't too bad. About 25 miles of the 90 we rode today had a great shoulder and we made some very good time. Most of the time the shoulder was very rough and rocky. It was in the high 70's and mid 80's most of the day with clear skies. The tailwind was great. We finally saw some green in the trees about 50 miles out of Kent. Otherwise, it's been very brown. We are at a campground just west of Fort Stockton. We are hoping for 100 miles (to Ozona) tomorrow so we can watch the payoff of the NCAA.