After Albuquerque, I headed south, almost as direct as possible towards the border with Mexico. There were no big mountains so I decided to ride around 120km per day. This generally went fine since it was largely flat, barring some undulations. The road followed the Rio Grande river which helped because in the desert landscape a bit of water helps sustain life and the resulting trees. The first two days were quite dry and almost nothing grew there. This changed on the third day, after Truth or Consequences town. There were chilies, cotton, cabbage fields along the road, the chillies processing factory smelled so good, made me hungry!

Truth or Consequnces – a strange name for a town, I thought. Apparently, the town of Hotsprings renamed itself in order to host a radio show and the name of the town changed permanently thereafter.

On the fourth day, I had to briefly go into Texas, to go via the town of El Paso to cross into Ciudad Juárez. I was a bit anxious of cycling close to the border but it was just like any other place and the crossing itself was quite straightforward and the trip ended.

This trip had been phenomenal, a variety of landscapes, weather, meeting tons of other people and cyclists, made it an enriching experience. I am grateful to life itself for this experience. 

Thanks to all those who encouraged me, especially the Edron Kids which kept me going even at some of the difficult times. 

Route: Albuquerque – Socorro (123km) – Truth or Consequences (120) – Las Cruces (129) – Ciudad Juárez (84)