Saturday, June 6, 2015

Bike arrived damaged, but all is well


Saturday, June 6   El Paso, TX  Day 0

This is my rear derailleur hanger, broken into two pieces! When I pulled my bike out of its shipping box, the derailleur was bent over so far it was in the spokes. I notified Paul, who hurried down to the room at the hotel holding all the bikes and maintenance stuff. He tried bending it back into place, but it cracked!

I then said something that actually kind of shocked Paul: "I brought a spare. Shall I go get it?" He couldn't believe I had a spare. Long story short - he was able to replace the hanger and put it all back in perfect working order! He also helped with putting other parts of the bike back together and adjusting my rear brakes. Thank you Paul!

Never in my bicycling life have I needed a new derailleur hanger or have I ever even had a spare until I got my new bike in February. There was an extra one, and I just set it aside. As I was packing for this trip, I suddenly thought about it and decided to take it because it's small and I remembered a year ago on my Natchez Trace tour that Bob Timmerman's bike arrived with a damaged hanger. It was a major project to go find a new one. (Bob will be arriving for this tour on my final day.)

So, a potential major incident avoided. And then today, Bob Long's airplane departing in Burbank was backed away from the gate into another airplane! So, they had to scrap both flights and for a while, we didn't know if Bob would get here today in time. But we've heard that he's booked on a flight and will arrive at 5:30. He will still have to put his bike back together, but at least he is supposed to make it here today.

This is our hotel in the historic downtown plaza, where the city took root. Our hotel in the photo was built in 1912. Last evening, those who arrived yesterday (five in all) walked to a "happy hour" bar for a beer, and then to a lively restaurant for dinner. It was fun meeting and getting to know the other three riders. Reminder: This complete bike tour is five weeks long, but lots of others are coming and going along the way. I'm doing half the ride, but the other five here in El Paso, plus Paul, are the only ones riding the entire tour to Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada.

The group I'll be with over the next 18 days are:
1) Bob Long, whom I know from last year's tour, and who is the organizer of this private tour. He's from Pasadena, and was the one who invited me to ride with them.
2)  Corey Loyd from Anchorage
3 and 4) Neil and Sue Rowland from Gainesville, FL
5) Craig Needham from the S.F. Bay area and who arrived this afternoon
6) Paul Wood of Charlotte, owner/operator of Black Bear Adventure Cycling. He's led three tours I've taken, in 08, 09, and 14. He will ride the entire route each day with us, unless something arises that requires his attention.
7) Rod Cartier, who is the guide, driver and chef, and whom I met on last year's tour. His two children, Ella (age 15) and Jack (age 13) will be with us until Winter Park, CO.


Today, after completing our bike preparation, Paul, Corey and I rode 16 miles to scope out the path for tomorrow leading us out of El Paso.We rode right along the Mexican border for about a mile or two, and then along the border of New Mexico. After only five miles, our route took us into NM. We turned around and rode on back, witnessing numerous Border Patrol trucks cruising slowly along the Rio Grande River.
 Here's a photo of the Plaza Theater across from our hotel. I note it because growing up in Hawthorne, CA, we had our own Plaza Theater, which I thought was much more stately than this one.

I'm now writing this later, after dinner. Bob DID arrive, and we all had a wonderful dinner together about 40 yards to the right of this Plaza Theater. Now we will focus on our first day tomorrow, which will be "only" 50 miles with no hills - a "warm-up" ride, if you will, north to Las Cruces, NM.

I didn't mention how hot it is here, the mid 90s. Yet when we get to Leadville, CO, our morning will be in the mid 30s. What a range of temps to pack for! Okay, LET'S GET STARTED!

(Another monument and marker in our plaza across from our hotel.)

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