Days 41 to 44

Day 41: Abiquiu to just past top of un-named pass about 30 miles south

This day was the hardest of the entire route. Indiana Pass was a close 2nd. Because of a flat the day before, and finding out that the glue in both of my patch kits had turned to rubber, I left Abiquiu with pretty minimal options for fixing flats.

Leaving Abiquiu the route has an almost uninterrupted 5,200 ft climb to the top of an un-named pass. The start is mild but miles 5 to about 10 were very steep and hot. I rode that section with another rider named Graham, up until the point when I got another flat. Not sure whether I failed to remove whatever caused the flat the afternoon before or if it was a new issue. I tried to patch the tube with a generic auto/motorcycle/bike patch kit I had picked up in Abiquiu but it did not work. The patch clearly was not sticking and just peeled right off. So I went to a back-up option. I used the only bottle of sealant I had, and 1 of my 2 CO2 cartridges to convert the rear to tubeless. Now I really felt I had no options if I got another flat.

I had only gone about 5 more miles when I spotted a foot or so long piece of barbed wire on the trail, about a foot in front of my right tire. It was like the world went into slow motion as I watched it go under my wheels despite doing my best to avoid it. At first I thought I was ok. 10s after hitting it both tires still had pressure. Another 10s though and it became apparent that I had a flat in the front. I plopped down in some nearby grass and shouted some colorful words at the sky. After calming down I decided to eat a grapefruit I had in the rear pocket of my jersey and think about my options. I eventually decided I had to make the generic patch kit work (either that or walk back to Abiquiu). I spent about the next 30 minutes doing the most meticulous patch job I have ever done. I used the glue from the generic kit with a proper patch from a bicycle specific patch kit, an abnormally long amount of prep, and a long time letting it dry. Thankfully, it did the trick.

During the next 8 miles the road turned into a jeep trail. It was a mixture of huge rocks that had been shaved flat, and sand. I fell twice when the front wheel sunk and turned sideways in the sand, leading to more swearing, a minor scrape on my shin, and my helmet bumping the ground (a first for me). After that I switch to walking whenever sand appeared and ended up walking about 4 miles of that 8 mile section. By the end of the day I had only managed 32 miles. I had been planning on 50. I thought Graham was nuts when he told me he was just hoping to manage to get to the top of the pass by the end of the day, but he was pretty much spot on in his estimate of what could be done in a day. I camped in the woods about 2 miles past the top.

The climb out of Abiquiu:

Just Before my 2nd Flat:

8 miles of crappy road:

I met a couple in a factory 4 wheel drive truck of some sort and they actually gave up on this and turned around, saying it was going to take them too long to get through.

At the top:

My campsite for the night:

Day 42: Top of un-named pass to Cuba, NM

Just after starting out in the morning I ran into a few hunters who asked if I had seen any elk. Up to that point I had not. Just two or three miles after running into them though, 3 beautiful, large elk ran across the road in front of me. Sorry to the hunters, but I am glad they were not around.

About 15 miles into the day I spotted a couple of trailers in a grassy area just off the side of the road. Since the owners (John and Kurt) were out and about I decided to ask for some water. I wasn't in desperate need since I still had almost 4 liters, but didn't want to end up there later. While I was filing up on 1 extra liter of water they asked if I wanted any coffee. I initially declined but after they asked again if I was sure I didn't want any, I took them up on the offer. Soon after they were insisting I have breakfast with them, and asking all kinds of questions about my trip. I spent about 30 minutes talking with them and enjoying a wonderful egg, sausage and cheese wrap. One had spent 25+ years working at Sandia National Labs and occasionally travelling to Lawrence Livermore lab. It was surprising to meet someone who knew exactly where Tracy is when I told them where I was from.

Shortly after that I ran into Graham again and he was having his own tube issues (2 flats in 5 miles). After he insisted he had what he needed, and worst case could call for a ride from his brother on his garmin mini, I kept going.

The rest of the day was not particularly memorable. It was 50 miles, mostly downhill, to Cuba NM, through Santa Fe National Forest. The last 11 miles into town were paved and on a road that was not very bike friendly. It had me watching my rear view mirror closely and ducking off the road a couple of times when large vehicles were coming from both directions.

In Cuba I had a meal at Subway, checked the hardware store for tubes or a proper bicycle tube patch kit, and stocked up on food at the grocery store. The hardware store had the patch kits but no tubes in the size I needed. I spent the night at Frontier Motel (recommended by a worker behind the counter at subway). According to a Facebook page, 1 of the 3 motels in Cuba turns away all great divide riders. Not sure which one it was but I had no issues at the Frontier.

Kurt & John:

Santa Fe National Forest:

Riding into Cuba:

Day 43: Cuba to wild campsite near BLM wildlife enclosure.

The first 15 or so miles out of Cuba were on a major highway but were relatively enjoyable since there was a huge shoulder, almost no traffic, and it was slightly downhill the entire way. After that it was back onto a dirt road and into a very desert like area with few people around. The only people I ran into were a couple of riders from Switzerland (Sybil and Steve) headed the same way as me but at a bit slower pace, and a couple of northbound riders out for only a few days.

About 0.3 miles before my camping spot for the night I got another flat and decided to just walk the rest of the way and deal with it in the morning. That was no longer an issue thanks to the hardware store in Cuba. The only minor challenge was two large thunderstorms that rolled through right as I was setting up camp. I didn't get wet since they passed a bit to the north of me but the wind was quite strong and was pushing on my tent hard enough to repeatedly pull some of the stakes out of the ground. I ended up climbing inside instead of going through my normal routine, just to keep it from blowing away. Once the storms passed I was treated to a beautiful sunset.

Pictures from the day:

Day 44: wild campsite to Grants, NM.

Aside from the last 15 or so miles into Grants this was another day of remote dirt roads through the desert. A few pictures from the day appear below.