DISTANCE TRAVELED: 46.15 Miles
AVERAGE SPEED: 10.39 MPH

          Around 6:00, I heard people starting to get ready for the day. At 7:00, I heard people saying that overnight, a few people had gotten flat tires since there were thorns were we had camped. I thought nothing of it until I heard Stu say that my tire was flat! A little unhappy at the start of this last day, I packed away all of my things and ripped the old tube out of my tire. I fixed it in about ten minutes and then packed up the rest of my bike. Once again, we ate at the cafe in town and then, after buying some more drinks, we continued on to the Mexican Border at 9:00. Riding out of Hachita, we were all in a great mood riding in a large group. Spanning the entire two lane road, we felt like we owned the entire place or at least the entire Continental Divide. (Picture239) Riding along the pavement, we traveled at a good pace. (Picture240,Picture241) Everyone was making guesses as to how far in the distance we would have to go. In the beginning, a few mountains were in front of us and no one though that we would have to go past them. However, within a few hours, we were not only at them but through them and into a huge desert valley. Around 12:00, we stopped for our first break. After drinking sodas and eating some food, we got ready to continue on. Mike and I both looked down at our tires and realized that they were going flat. We were both concerned that we wouldn't have enough air to finish without having to patch the tire. Not wanting to waste any time, we continued on always watching our tires. Eventually, we had to stop so we pulled off as the rest of the group continued on not realizing that we had some problems. Also, as we were talking about trying to patch the tire, we found out that neither of us had extra tubes and we were the last ones on the road! So we quickly pumped up our tires and continued on hoping that the pressure would stay up. As we rode on, I looked back as I frequently did to make sure cars weren't coming. About three or four miles back, I saw a black dot and had this feeling that it was my car. Five minutes later, sure enough, my parents drive up. After talking face to face for the first time in 75 days, the gave Mike and I sodas as we continued to ride along so we wouldn't loose any time. The ice cold root beer tasted much better than the hot orange gatorade that had been our primary drinks. Soon, we were left to our own again as drinks were taken up to the larger group in front of us. Within a few minutes, we caught up and had a second drink before continuing on for the final 13 miles. (Picture242) We all grouped together at the one mile mark riding accross the entire road watching the border come into view. (Picture243) As we crossed over into Mexico, I didn't feel like it could possibly be over. Each of these people that I had never known before had come into my life for such as short but important 75 days. Finishing up with pictures and giving the two books to Brian and Lou, we all realized that we had accomplished an incredible trip. (Picture244,Picture245,Picture246, Picture247,Picture248,Picture249,Picture250,Picture251,Picture252,Picture253) I packed all of my gear into my car, (Picture254) said goodbye to everyone, and began the drive home.