I made it to Wednesday, April 3rd. Today was going to be a climbing day. The downhill road from Panther Junction to Rio Grand Village now was uphill for 20 miles back to Panther Junction. I slept a little better on the hard ground without rocks. It was a short reprieve until tonight. Riding away from the group campground back to the intersection by the store the right turn waited. The chip’n seal road wound to the tunnel and beyond. I made several stops on the road to Panther Junction. Another cyclist just passed me coasting to Rio Grand Village. A Border Patrol officer stopped and asked if I was okay. I asked if he gave a tow and he said yes but was going the opposite direction.

The 20 miles took awhile and when I reached Panther Junction I stayed there about an hour before heading out. Partially this was to recover and more because of the huge climb waiting up the road when I turned left to Chisos Basin. I ate my lunch while waiting hoping the energy would propel me up the climb. Back on my Canyon Endurace I rode through the parking lot to the road. About 2.3 miles later I turned left. The summit loomed large ahead. I pedaled hard to 25.3 miles got off the bike and walked to 25.7 miles to a pull off with a bear and mountain lion sign. I waited for the van and a ride to the summit. My legs wouldn’t pedal anymore. Evan pulled up in the van, loaded my bike and drove slowly to the summit. There was a parking lot to the left with enough space for the van to park and get my bike out. Before descending I talked to a man from New Jersey who was waiting for a parking spot. The descend down to Chisos Basin was tricky with a couple of switchbacks and steep hills. I found the group campground and rode to the van. The campsite consisted of rocks, just what I wanted! When it came time to setup the tent the stakes wouldn’t go in the ground and Chris put large rocks on the stakes to hold my tent in place. Dinner was cooked by another team and we headed to our tents as the sun set. My ground pad and air mattress softened the rocks some. The restroom was insight but the way to get there wasn’t short. I think I made 2 trips in the dark with my flashlight. Wind was a problem during the night buffeting my large tent frequently.

Before dinner Evan drove everyone in the van to Study Butte to a motel for showers. For $2 we each got 6 minutes to shower. while we showered Evan took Jim’s Cervelo bike to Desert Sports to fix the rear tubeless tire. He would pick it up the next day, Thursday.

Thursday was a rest day with no riding. I stayed at the campsite while other went hiking to the basin wedge. Two days sleeping on the rocks was hard. So far Jim and I had not cooked dinner. Our day was coming.

Link to photos.