June 25, 2021 to June 26, 2021
Beautiful vistas and killer riding
Friday morning we pedaled out of Grants, NM and Saturday evening we rolled into Cuba, NM.
Along the steep climb outside of Grants we were passed by an 83 year old bicyclist. He shared with us he swam 1 ½ miles prior to his morning bike ride, and then runs a part of the Continental Divide hiking trail, too. Inspirational.
Steve and I slowly crept up the steep mountain roads and several hot hours into the climb realized that there is zero water in the dried up springs on the mountain. The NM drought is horrible. We met a couple of guys up on the MTN top watching for forest fires. They took putty on is and gave if icy cold water and Gatorade, and saved us from dehydrating on the mountain.
Enjoyed the 8 mile speedy descent which dropped us onto a deserted highway, which led to a dirt road on the desert floor. Hot and dry, everyplace. Our clean water was minimal and needed any water that we could filter and use to drink. Luckily there was a cattle trough filled with cool green water, reminiscent of Fresca. We scooped up 4L of the Fresca water and decided if we absolutely had to drink it, we at least had something wet.
Found the landmark historic broken down horse stable, which looked like a great place to hide from the sun and rest. Another rider on the GDMBR had the same idea, so we gladly welcomed young Benjamin to our team and pedaled together in search of a place to sleep.
Dust was about to become night, so we pitched our tents on the desert floor and dined on leftover tortillas and a bag of beans. Yum. We were starved. Nice full moon and a stiff cool desert breeze to end the day.
Saturday our first goal was to find water, then get to Cuba for dinner and lodging. We had a nice breakfast of leftovers, and broke camp. Half mile down the trail we had a big momma cow and her calf standing in the road blocking our route. We asked them nicely to move, and with some shooing they let us pass.
Gorgeous morning scenery, the cool morning quickly heated up, and 4 hours and 20 miles later we found a well with amazing clean cold H2O Boujolais.
Miles of hot dusty washboard back country roads guided our decision to take the paved main country road to Cuba, NM.
Awesome NM Mexican restaurant dinner. Went to our creepy highest rated Cuba Hotel, and packed up a ox for the post office to ship home our excess junk.
Tomorrow the plan is to ride 35 miles to the top of a mountain pass, camp, and then on Monday pedal to the next town.
Yes, my ass is sor.
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Today's ride: 150 miles (241 km)
Total: 348 miles (560 km)
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