Days 34 to 40

Today (day 40) I made it a short day and got a hotel in Abiquiu, NM. Due to the changing terrain and weather, and me pretty much running out of food a day ago, I wanted to take a little time to reset and plan out the next section. For the rest of the way through New Mexico food and water options are much more limited and there is one section that appears to be 3 to 4 days without any food resupply options.

I got my first flat today, which is normally a non-issue, but found out that the glue in both of my patch kits had hardened and was useless. I had a spare tube to put in but that leaves me with limited options (going back to tubeless) if I have another flat. In the morning I plan to check the local stores for tubes but most likely will not find them.

Pictures/video and commentary on the last few days appear below.

Salida, CO to primitive campground at Upper Dome Dam:

Salida is a really nice town for bicyclists and I had separated bike paths to use almost all the way to Poncha Springs. After that the climb to Marshall Pass started. The first 10 miles or so were a highway with plenty of shoulder. After that was dirt.

For whatever reason I was really strong that day and just flew up the pass, using mostly 3rd gear (22/15) and occasionally 4th (22/17). I usually grind up these things in my lowest gear (22/36). Not sure what was going on but it was fun.

After getting rained on for an hour or so on the descent I had lunch and dried out at a cafe in Sargents. After that it was a highway stretch to Doyleville before getting back on dirt and making my way to Upper Dome Dam for the night.

Top of Marshall Pass:

Somewhere on the descent:

Along the road to my campsite:

Upper Dome Dam:

Upper Dome Dam to Del Norte:

It rained a bit overnight and I woke up to a very foggy morning but the rest of the day was clear. The fog really didn't matter since I was on dirt roads with almost no cars. Not much else to say about this day except that there were some wonderful mountain bike trails on the descent into Del Norte. I spent the night at an RV campground that was far better than most for tent camping. They had a separate section along the river, well away from the RVs and their generator noise.

Random pictures along the route:

Convenience store in the tiny town of La Garita where I picked up some snacks (I was hoping for more of a food resupply but they only had junk food):

The descent into Del Norte:

Below is the only signage marking the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. I wish I could say it is there to help riders navigate the route but it is just there to keep us from straying onto a dirt runway airport.

Campground in Del Norte:

Some raccoons visited my picnic table overnight, leaving paw prints all over it but surprisingly did not find my food. It was on the ground right below the bench my bike was locked to. The odor proof bags I use to double bag it before putting it in a bear sack (Ursack) is apparently good enough (no need to hang it in a tree).

Del Norte to Skinner Campground (just north of Plataro):

This was probably the most challenging day so far. It included a climb over the highest pass on the route (11,910 ft Indiana Pass), hail, and hours of rain.

Pictures from the climb:

At the top:

Just past the top is a former mining town (Summitville) and now EPA superfund site. Just as I reached it the hail started. Some bad prediction by me followed by the hail:

The hail stopped after only about 10 minutes but I could see there was another thunderstorm lined up to come through soon, so I stayed put. Sure enough, 15 minutes later the rain and wind started. It went on for about 2 hours. Due to the strong winds I couldn't get warm despite having four layers on and ultimately ended up taking shelter in a vault toilet for about an hour. Not exactly glamorous but it kept me warm and dry.

Once the rain stopped my only goal was to get the heck off the top of the mountain. After dropping a couple thousand feet the riding was really nice despite being a bit muddy. I ended up stopping at Skinner Campground, about 5 miles shy of my goal of Plataro due to darkness setting in. Pictures from the rest of the day appear below.

The end of the rain:

Descending to Skinner Campground:

Skinner Campground (CO) to Lower Lagunitas campground (NM):

Just a few miles into the day I reached Plataro and had breakfast at a cafe there. Just as I pulled up Aaron, Blair and a couple of other riders were leaving the nearby lodge.

After breakfast until about noon was spent slowly dropping through a long canyon to the town of Horca where I ate three Amish pies at a convenience store. After that was a steep paved climb up to La Manga Pass, followed by a very fun descent that saw my bicycle computer max out at 39.9 mph.

From there I returned to dirt road, entered New Mexico, and quickly found out how rough the New Mexico backroads are. They had me walking for a couple of miles.

I ended the day at Lower Lagunitas campground. Unfortunately there was no Lagunitas there. Nobody except me, myself and I were there, making for a very quiet night.

Looking down on Plataro:

On the way to Horca:

Entering NM:

Lovely NM backroads:

Lagunitas campground to wild campsite just north of Canon Plaza:

I don't remember much of this day and didn't take many pictures along the way. The riding must have been too easy. The only thing that stands out now is the wonderful wild campsite that I ended the day at. It was right near a clear stream (which were starting to become much less common), allowing me to replenish my water supply and to clean myself up.

Pictures along the way:

Canon Plaza to Abiquiu:

Based on my map I was expecting a convenience store in Canon (pronounced Canyon - the n should have a tilde over it) but found just a shack that was closed for the season.

From Canon Plaza to Valecitos was paved but traffic was almost non-existent and I was able to enjoy a gradual downhill between the two towns. There were no real services in either town and about half the structures in Valecitos were abandoned and crumbling.

After Valecitos was a long, gradual climb through pine forest, followed by a gradual drop to El Rito. Some sections of the road were washed out due to recent storms but I rarely had to walk over any of it.

The drop to El Rito turned much more desert like. Thankfully there was one open store there and I was able to pick up some food.

From there it was paved road to Abiquiu and the wonderful Abiquiu Inn, where I spent the night.

Canon Plaza summer store and town: