Day 9: Sunday

Distance: 20.86 mi.
Average: 10.2 mph
Maximum: 28.6 mph
Time in Motion: 2:02:36
Temperature: Warm

Today we slept in, bummed around the mall, and took a quick bike ride across the border to Juarez City and back.

It was extremely easy to cross and to return. Just pay a quarter and walk across the bridge.

Ciudad Juarez was very busy. Many people were begging in the streets and selling all manner of stuff. Prescription drugs, eyeglasses, and dentistry must be less expensive in Mexico. These shops are located everywhere.

One proprietor even tried to lure me into his shop by proclaiming he had “muscle relaxers for the bike.” I said no thanks.

At first, I was wearing my Lycra bike shorts. Someone whistled. Soon after, a Mexican man pointed at me and laughed as he walked. And almost everyone stared. We didn’t exactly fit in. Lycra in Mexico = bad idea. Luckily, I brought along some shorts to wear over the spandex. I put them on. We still attracted attention, but at least I no longer attracted ridicule.

We walked our bikes around the crowded Mexican streets for an hour or so before crossing back to the El Norte: .

Pictured above, a child begs Jesse for money near the market. And here is one final snapshot of Ciudad Juarez:

Tomorrow, we ship our bikes and hop a plane for home. In the last 9 days we survived 6 flat tires, 2 broken spokes, 1 destroyed tire, miles of vertical climb, 3 states, 2 countries and 514.22 miles. That’s an average of 57.14 miles per day.

The sunset tonight was absolutely amazing: