Southern Tier Part 3

My trail name is RustyCrank. I'm an artist and college professor from Brooklyn, NY. In the last five years since I set out to cross the United States on the Adventure Cycling Trans American route, I've logged thousands of miles all over this continent and others. I’m back on the Southern Tier route to complete my third and final segment. When I arrive in San Diego, I'll have achieved the Triple Crown of American long-distance cycling.  Because of the intense summer heat and bitter winter cold, the Southern Tier route needs to be cycled in either the spring or fall. As a college professor those months are unavailable to me, so I broke the route into three sections. Starting in 2021 during spring break, I took advantage of online teaching to cycle the first section from St. Augustine, Florida to Biloxi, Mississippi. I was accompanied by my dog Blanka, whom I pulled behind me in a wagon. In 2022, and again at spring break, I hired subs for the extra week and rode solo from Bil...

• Introduction • Table of Contents • Getting back to where I left off • Southern Tier Part 3 - Day #1 El Paso, TX to Leasburg Dam State Park, NM • Southern Tier Part 3 - Day #2 Leasburg Dam State Park, NM, to Hillsboro, NM • Southern Tier Part 3 - Day #3 Hillsboro, NM to Forks Campground - Gila National Forest, NM • Southern Tier Part 3 - Day #4 Forks Campground - Gila National Forest, NM to Tyrone, NM • Southern Tier Part 3 - Day #5 Tyrone, NM to Twin Knolls, AZ • Southern Tier Part 3 - Day #6 Twin Knolls, AZ to Globe, AZ • Southern Tier Part 3 - Day #7 Globe, AZ to Sycamore Creektrail, AZ • Southern Tier Part 3 - Day #8 Sycamore Creektrail, AZ to Phoenix, AZ • Southern Tier Part 3 - Day #9 Phoenix, AZ to Wickenburg, AZ • Southern Tier Part 3 - Day #10 Wickenburg, AZ to Quartzite, AZ • Southern Tier Part 3 - Day #11 Quartzite, AZ to Orita, CA • Southern Tier Part 3 - Day #12 Orita, CA to Ocotillo, CA • Southern Tier Part 3 - Day #13 Ocotillo, CA to San Diego, CA • Epilogue • Stats • G...

Southern Tier Part 3 - Day #11 June 4, 2023 Quartzite, AZ - Orita, CA 100 Miles Start 6:13 AM Finish 9:03 PM Total Duration 14:50 Moving Time 9:09 Stopped Time 5:42 Ascent 2405'  Descent 3490' Tour Total 896 Miles Details at: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/123593060 I slept fairly well last night wild camping outside of Quartzite and up towards the hills off of Dome Rock Road. It never did cool down and I slept with both tent flaps open. I laid inside on my Thermarest sweating. I dozed off but woke again at 1 AM. I could no longer take the heat so I got up, pulled up the stakes, wadded up my fly, and stuck it under a large rock. Back inside my tent, the bare mesh interior was much cooler. Later in the night I pulled out my silk liner. I had slept on a rocky surface and it was a slow pack-up in the morning. The gravel road was replete with baby head sized rocks and was tough to ride with my narrow tires. I finally made it back to the road and took a left heading west. I noticed t...

Southern Tier Part 3 - Day #12 June 5, 2023 Orita, CA - Ocotillo, CA 62 Miles Start 5:35 AM Finish 1:53 PM Total Duration 8:18 Moving Time 5:27 Stopped Time 2:50 Ascent 1143'  Descent 744' Tour Total 958 Miles Details at: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/123670688 I slept so-so stealth camping in back of the farmhouse near the alfalfa fields alongside California State Highway 78. I was about a quarter-mile off the side of the highway but it was loud. Trucks felt like they were barreling through my tent. It was great to be horizontal and to be cool. I woke up before sunrise and noticed a tractor out in the fields. I quickly got up and started packing. I had leaned my bike against a stack of cut up two inch pipe segments that were organized like firewood. It was a pretty quick pack-up, and I got out of there before anyone noticed. Soon I was pedaling west on the highway. Now that it was daylight, I could see the immense fields of alfalfa and all of the irrigation canals. Further dow...

Southern Tier Part 3 - Day #13 June 6, 2023 Ocotillo, CA - San Diego, CA 101 Miles Start 6:47 AM Finish 8:39 PM Total Duration 13:52 Moving Time 11:12 Stopped Time 2:40 Ascent 7708'  Descent 8092' Tour Total 1059 Miles Details at: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/123788665 I slept ok on the cement slab behind the Red Feather Off-Road Market & Cafe in Ocotillo. The nearby Great Escape Food & Spirits had been open until 9 PM but I was too tired, and went to bed while the sun was still up. I had climbed into my tent at 5:30 PM. I was exhausted and the wind was turbulent. The mesh of the tent protected me from the blowing dust and fine sand. There was a nearby RV trailer park and people opened and closed the gate several times during the night. It was extremely windy all night long. Occasionally it would settle down for a moment, and I could hear the motor vehicles on Interstate 8. I woke up before the sunrise, and it was still windy. My Windy app forecast wasn’t working, and ...