Tour Divide 20 days, 14 hours, 10 minutes, 12 seconds

The last day- North of Silver City to Antelope Wells, ~150 miles


What a morning; I woke up to a beautiful sunrise over the southern desert wilderness, I had a big smile on my face, and I knew hot food wasn't too far away. I packed up my stuff and started hiking. After about half a mile the trail smoothed out a bit and became rideable.

I realized as I was riding that the trail wasn't that bad in the day light. I also realized that the edge of the trail that had seemed like a vast abyss in the dark was actually a pretty freaking steep drop off. I still can't believe I didn't kill myself out there....

I hit up the roadway at the campground where the CDT dumps out. The road climbs for a bit but since it was still cool out I was able to cook right up the few miles of climbing. After that, the roadway drops right down into Silvercity.

I stopped a local couple in a car and asked where some good eats were. The pointed out a nice cafe that was on route. Bingo! I stopped in, called my wife, and ate three helping of breakfast. My wife told me that DJ and Ben weren't too far behind me. 

Time to go!

The meal and the thrill of actually having somebody to race really got me pumped. I rocketed right out of town. As I was riding along the highway I was waved down by a guy in a truck. He asked me if I needed a ride in from the border.

To be honest I hadn't really planned what I was going to do. My wife had originally been planning to pick me up but I was going to beat her to the border by several days because I had drastically overestimated how long it was going to take me.

I told him that I did need a ride. He called a friend of his that ran a border shuttle. He said that he would track my spot and get the shuttle to me about the time that I hit the border.(There's an illegal immigration joke there somewhere.)  I wish I could remember his name...

Thanks dude!!!

Taking a walking break during the heat of the day.

More progress towards the border....

I got a flat about half a mile from the little gas station at Separ. It was so hot I couldn't stand changing it out under the open sun. I walked the last bit to the gas station and changed the flat in the shade.

A guy walked up and started asking me about my bike. I explained where I had been and where I was going.

He said, "You know that's like 70 miles from here right?"

I responded, "Yup."

He then looked at the thermometer on the building and said, "You know that thing says it's 115 degrees out here right?"

I responded, "Yup."

He asked, "You know you're crazy right?"

I smirked, "You have no idea..."

I finished up the flat repair and headed into the gas station. I drank six helpings of lemonade from the soda machine (that's like 180 ounces of lemonade!), ate a ton of ice cream, and some candy. Then, I left the store, hit up the last pavement section towards the border, and let my body go.

The last video before my phone died.

I was pretty much on autopilot by this point. So, I fully enjoyed the sunset, the smells, and waving at the same border agent that passed me about 40 times. It was wonderful.

I looked back often hoping to see Ben or DJ and at the same time hoping that they didn't catch me. The later wish came true.

About ten miles from the border a van pulled up next to me. There were a few people in the van and they were hooting and hollering. I was confused but I waved back, said thanks, and kept riding.

I rolled up to the border and the same white van was there. It was DJ's girlfriend, Aidan Harding, and Sarai (the chick who was covering the race from pushpedalcrank.com). I rolled up to the last gate at the border, got off my bike, and just stared into the darkness beyond.

I really wanted to just keep riding. I wanted to know what was out there. I wanted to feel the rhythm of the land, the cycle of the days, and the oneness of nature that I had become so used to.

A voice came from behind me, it was Sarai the reporter, "How do you feel?"

I thought for a few moments and responded simply, "Cathartic."

Then I smiled.

Aidan gave me a beer and we shot the breeze while I waited for my ride. It was a great ending to a hard race. I mean, I finished the worlds toughest bike race and totally had a beer with one of my heroes!

My chariot showed up, a 1995 lincoln town car. A 70 year old dude step out and helped me pack my bike into the trunk. I said good bye to my new found friends and I was off to a little town on the interstate near Separ. ( I can't remember the name of the town but Fixie Dave stayed there during his ITT bike loss fiasco.)

The shuttle driver mentioned that he had talked to some guy who was hoping to catch me a ways back on the course. Just about then we saw a bike light off in the distance. He pulled over and it was non other that THE Ben Oney. I jumped out and congratulated him on such a great race. It was really cool to finish within a few hours of somebody that I had been racing for 20 days.

When we got to the town, the driver stopped at a gas station for me. I got food and some clothing. I looked ridiculous but it was better than my hole laden bike shorts.

I look happy to be in comfy clothing.

The next several days were spent stuffing my face and traveling by bus to Las Vegas to meet my wife. I stopped off in Phoenix to ship my bike. I ended up at this swank little bike place, Sunday Cycles. They were super cool and I recommend checking them out if you are ever in the area! 

Stay tuned for one more Divide blog post where I plan to do a 'look back' at what I did to get ready, what gear I used, and what I would do differently.