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...

The pretext for the timing of this trip was an invitation to visit the Lightning Field , a land art work by sculptor Walter de Maria and sited in Catron County, NM. In order to experience the installation one needs to request a reservation by entering a lottery on February 1 at midnight Mountain Time. I luckily received a May 23 booking, and elected to link it to the conclusion of my Southern Tier bike tour. I booked a one way flight to El Paso, and Michele would join me for the Lightning Field portion of the trip. We flew to El Paso on May 20th, with a stop in Dallas Ft Worth. For the first time I was using Apple Air Tags and could observe my bike and luggage locations. Our connecting flight to El Paso was delayed by ninety minutes, because our pilot hadn't yet arrived from Tulsa. While we were stuck on the tarmac, I saw my bike removed from the aircraft and the Air Tag showed it retuned to the terminal. I was braced for problems.  We arrived in El Paso two hours late, and my bike...

Southern Tier Part 3 - Day #1 May 25, 2023 El Paso, TX to Leasburg Dam State Park, NM - 74 Miles Start 10:22 AM Finish 8:08 PM Total Duration 9:45 Moving Time 5:18 Stopped Time 4:27 Ascent 1282'  Descent 1254' Tour Total 74 Miles Details at: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/122349907 I slept so-so in room 115 of the Gardiner hotel in El Paso. Michele had an early flight and I was unable to fall back asleep after she left. I got out of bed at 6:30 AM and started assembling my bike. The rubber O ring in my pump was mangled so I drove over to Crazy Cat Cyclery to purchase a new one. I had gone to Crazy Cat last year to get my bike box for the return. Rob the mechanic tried lubing and replacing the damaged O ring but was unable to find the correct size. He sent me over to El Clavo hardware where I found one with a good fit. There continued to be some sort of suction problem, and I returned to Crazy Cat to buy a new pump. While inflating my tires I met a female cyclist who was riding n...

After my tire dip I booked a room at the nearest hotel, the Ocean Villa Inn, which was adjacent to the bike trail and Dog Beach. I stopped for a few cans of margarita mix and cold beer, and then pedaled to the hotel. Room #46 was on the second floor, and had a back porch that overlooked the path I had just come in on. My front tire and feet were still covered in sand. I took a shower and then sat out on the porch. The next morning I enjoyed a humongous breakfast burrito from the airstream food truck out front. I stopped by the hotel lobby and paid for an additional night. I rode around Ocean Beach and enjoyed a street market. I went to Kilowatt Brewing where I sampled the Guava 250 KWH IPA. That evening I met up with my son's cousins Chloe and Dylan at Wonderland, where I enjoyed a few pints of Eppig 10:45 to Denver. We sat out on the westward facing balcony and had front row seats for the sunset, drum circle, and fire twirling.  My room wasn't available for a third night so I ...

• 1059 total miles were pedaled • Total Southern Tier Mileage   Part #1 734 miles   Part #2 1536 miles   Part #3 1059 miles   Total 3329 Miles  • I cycled for 13 days with 0 off days • The daily average was 81 miles/day • I rode three centuries on days 3, 11, 13 • The longest day by mileage was 109 miles on day #3 • The shortest day by mileage was 62 miles on day #12 • The total moving time was 95 hours 43 minutes • The average daily moving time was 7 hours 22 minutes per day • The longest day by time was 11:12 on day #13 • The shortest day by time was 5:18 on day #1 • The average start time was 7 AM • The earliest start was 5:35 AM on day #12 • The latest start was 10:22 AM on day #1 • The average finish time was 6:44 PM • The earliest finish was 1:53 PM on day #12 • The latest finish was 9:03 PM on day #11 • The bike plus gear, water, and food weighed 83 lbs. • I rode through 4 states: Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California • The highest point of the trip was ...

 <<BIKE>> • Surly Long Haul Trucker 64cm frame 700c wheels  • Shimano HG400 9-Speed 11-34t Cassette  • Shimano CN-HG53 Chain - 9-Speed, 116 Links, Gray  • Shimano Alivio FC-MT210-3 Crankset - 175mm, 9-Speed, 44/32/22t, Riveted, Black  • Shimano BB-MT501 English Bottom Bracket  • IRD Drillium brake lever set silver  • Kool-Stop Cross Brake Pad: Threaded post, Triple Compound  • Quality Wheels Value HD Series Front Wheel - 700, QR x 100mm, Rim Brake, Silver, Clincher  • Quality Wheels Value HD Series Rear Wheel - 700, QR x 130mm, Rim Brake, HG 10, Silver, Clincher  • Chris King NoThreadSet Headset, 1-1/8" Black Bold  • Brooks B67 Saddle  • Shimano PD-M324 dual sided pedals  • Tubus Cargo Evo Rear Rack  • Tubus Tara Front Rack  • Schwalbe Marathon Plus HS 440 700 x 35C Tires (New) • Bondcush (3mm) Tempo BLACK Bar tape  • 3 Planet Bike Water Bottle Cages  • NiteRider Lumina Max 2500 Front Bike L...