The reason I didn't make it to Deming on Day 56 is because---about 30 miles short of El Paso on I-10, where the speed limit is 80mph---the iPhone mounted on my handlebars suddenly popped off.  I looked in my rear view mirror just in time to see it bouncing off the pavement and onto the shoulder of the interstate.  I quickly pulled over, jumped off the bike, and ran back to retrieve it.  Obviously, it was shattered!  Obviously, I felt shattered.

Lucky for me, I had purchased the Apple Care warranty plan.  My iPhone's sudden death would be a mere inconvenience.  Little did I know what an inconvenience it would be.  I thought I'd simply get into El Paso, find a Sprint store, and trade the carcass for a newborn! 

Dilemma---> the iPhone has become my primary communication AND information source.  It used to be, back in the 80s and into the 90s, that I had a dozen or so phone numbers memorized.  I could easily call a family member for assistance by dialing their number.  No longer!  I know my phone number and no others!

In those decades and before, it was an effort to find basic information about companies---such as phone numbers, addresses, locations, hours, etc.---but no longer....we have "smart" phones.  We are always connected.  Well, almost always.  My iPhone was shattered.  I was traveling in west Texas.  I was not connected.

Lacking these information sources, after arriving in El Paso and exploring for a Sprint store for quite awhile, I found one only to be redirected to an Apple store at the local mall.  Before going to the mall, though, I had one other mission in El Paso.  When I was in the second grade I lived in this city.  We were the first owners of a home in the Vista Hills area of El Paso, an area that has changed dramatically over the years.


The house can't be seen well through all the overgrown, even dead, landscaping I suspect we planted back in the 70s.  The original large lava rocks outlining the planted area are still there.  I recognized the house and the neighborhood, but it has changed.  Most of the houses now have bars on the doors and windows.  It was a theme I saw in other parts of El Paso.  The city is much more fortified than I remember it being.


Vista Hills Elementary School is right around the block from my old home.  I was in the school "safety patrol" during my time there.  At the time, the school seemed plenty safe.  I wonder if now it is as safe as it seemed back then.  Signs of a less safe El Paso were present each place I went in the city.

I made my way to the mall, where security was thick.  There were numerous patrol cars circulating around the parking lot, as well as security officers on hydraulic lifts looking out over the parking lot.  I looked over to Juarez, Mexico, a city we visited relatively freely back then that is now---by all accounts---much less safe to visit.  There has always been a stark contrast between the relatively affluent El Paso on the higher ground versus the city of Juarez which is very visible in the lower ground just south of I-10.

It took nearly half of the day to get the iPhone replaced.  I couldn't believe it when, while waiting for service, I touched the power button and it came on!  It was fully functional even in its shattered state!  Even so, I received my brand new device and was happy it only cost $54 to replace.  The day was late and I decided Deming NM was too far away to make that night.  I picked a Holiday Inn which, consistent with what I saw in other businesses around the city, had a visible security presence.

The following day, Day 57, I made it to Deming NM after stopping for a visit to Las Cruces NM along the way.

I only spent one day in Deming before heading on to Tuscon AZ, then Phoenix AZ, and onto Yuma AZ for Days 56-61.  In each of those stops, the issue of school safety repeatedly came up.  Each person I spoke with about education in New Mexico and Arizona expressed concern about school safety.  These conversations will be the subject of a coming post.

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Riding Stats: Day 56---245 miles traveled, 4 hours and 7 minutes of moving time, 3 hours and 55 minutes of stopped time, 59.4 miles per hour average moving time, 30.5 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 86.2 miles per hour.  Day 57---162.4 miles traveled, 3 hour and 51 minutes of moving time, 2 hours and 6 minutes of stopped time, 42 miles per hour average moving time, 27.2 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 85.4 miles per hour.  Day 58---228.2 miles traveled, 3 hours and 26 minutes of moving time, 44 minutes of stopped time, 66.2 miles per hour average moving time, 54.5 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 83.4 miles per hour.  Day 59---134 miles traveled, 2 hours and 31 minutes of moving time, 1 hour and 18 minutes of stopped time, 53.1 miles per hour average moving time, 35.1 miles per hour overall average, and a max sped of 82.1 miles per hour.  Day 60---241 miles traveled, 5 hours and 2 minutes of moving time, 6 hour and 35 minutes of stopped time, 46.8 miles per hour average moving time, 20.3 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 87.3 miles per hour.  Day 61---203.1 miles traveled, 3 hours and 29 minutes of moving time, 1 hour and 42 minutes of stopped time, 58 miles per hour average moving time, 39.1 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 84.7 miles per hour.  Day 62---40 miles traveled, 1 hour and 11 minutes of moving time, 1 hour and 59 minutes of stopped time, 32.2 miles per hour average moving time, 12.1 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 74.6 miles per hour.