Silver City - we are drawing this one out!

Alright all you Spot Stalkers out there. Yes, we are still in Silver City. But in just 17 or so hours time we will be 124 miles away from here, five sweaty and smelly bodies rolling into a sweet All-American Cadillac sedan (I would almost call it a limousine) "with cold air conditioning" and being shuttled (chauffeured) to Phoenix AZ some 300 or so miles away.

But before then, we will have rode our bikes through the night - all 124 miles of it - from Silver City to the big smoke that is Antelope Wells. If this seems like a silly idea I can assure you we have conjured up some worthy justifications: We miss the oppressive day time heat, we get to knock out 124 miles in one go which is pretty cool, and even better we get to ditch our "beloved" Bobs for this final stint by not breaking the ride into two days - ah freedom at last! But perhaps most important of all, Matthew Lee rode 29 hours straight in his final stint to win the Tour Divide 2009 (the race along the same route), and in our efforts to be more like him the least we can do have the experience riding through the night to Antelope Wells.

So come 7 pm tonight, some cheap but satisfying mexican burrittos in our stomach, maybe a coffee and a coke or two, we will be on our way, headlamps at the ready, for what should be one hell of a way to finish this epic adventure.

But first we will have said goodbye to yet more local heros. This time is is Jamie, who's flat we have been staying at for the last two days, after finding him at the local bike shop on our arrival to Silver City. Jamie raced the Tour Divide this year on a whim and is quite the local legend. His flat is also nearing legendary status as a shrine to all things bicycles, with all five flatmates having an un-natural attachment to bicycles. Within moments of meeting us, Jamie had offered up his front yard for us (which quickly turned into unrestricted use of his flat) and being right near the down-town of Silver City the location is perfect. Jamie's flat has been a base for us as we have made and re-made our final plans. We also have his buddy and fellow local-legend, Jeff, to thank for our new ride to Phoenix, not to mention helping us out in many other ways to ensure a smooth departure. Legends! (And Simon, I don't use that term loosely!)