September 20, 2024
Day 33: From wilderness through Cuba and back to wilderness.
Today we woke up to a very frosty morning. That wasn’t surprising considering how I felt in the tent. I still had another layer for the legs available and a couple on top. We thought we were out of the cold nights but we were still at high elevation. Wearing gloves making breakfast made it challenging to open the little instant coffee packs but we got it done.
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2 weeks ago
We were moving on the bikes by 7:30 and headed downhill towards our first destination of the day, Cuba, New Mexico. Something I didn’t mention in yesterday’s journal. I was concerned that the road conditions were terrible climbing and they would likely be the same for descending. Thankfully, the roads were very good once we made the crest of the hill. And that continued today as we rolled mostly downhill through the ponderosa pine forest. Interestingly, when you leave the forest there is a sign that reads “Land of many uses.”. This strikes me as odd. To me this says this forest is here for our use and not for preservation which in my opinion is a better message.
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We made great time on the gravel and as we were just about to turn right onto pavement leading to Cuba I called out “hey, there’s Ken!” It was another strange moment of reality TV. We last saw Ken about 36 hours earlier but he chose to stay on the highway for the diversion like the Kiwis. That meant he jumped ahead and started that difficult pass likely 4 hours ahead of us. We only ran into him because he made a navigation error and turned left and wasted 7 miles of riding.
He created us with “Wow! Great job getting over that pass guys.” He has a good vibe and he’s very enthusiastic about other’s achievements. We rode the last 10-15 km downhill into Cuba. It was a very long road descent with almost no traffic. It felt a bit like being in the Tour de France and I had to scrub speed occasionally, although mostly I was off the brakes entirely.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cylindropuntia_imbricata
1 week ago
He said when we got to town that he was going to McDonald’s. And somehow that’s where our bikes went as well and then Kate and Owen showed up (mother/son) and another guy Dean who we’d heard stories about. Peter and I both had a combo with a massive Powerade plus a large coffee. Although I’ve tried to maintain healthy eating on this trip I’m excited to eat vegetables again. I mean we’ve had some but nothing like how I normally eat. We did our usual stuff (charge batteries, fill bottles, use the restroom) and then headed for a grocery top up. I’m finding the people of New Mexico to be very friendly. The places we’ve been have been very modest and there doesn’t seem to be an economic engine at work but then again the people are happy.
By this point everyone was separate again. Kate and Owen left ahead of us and we didn’t know what Ken decided to do. Dean was going to a motel to regroup. About 4 km out of town on the highway we spotted Ken and caught up to him. We had a 15 km stretch to do and we ended up making a good team with each taking turns breaking the 30 km/hr headwind. It was remarkable how much easier it was as the third wheel then leading!
As soon as we turned onto the gravel we met Owen and Kate and chatted briefly and then took off as a threesome. All afternoon we tried to work together into the wind. The scenery really started to develop from what looked like African Savana (trees and sage) to wild stuff I’ve never seen. There were these hoge caverns that looked like upside down hoodoos. And then later really huge canyons with large formations of rock and dirt. Occasionally we had to circumnavigate deep road ruts obviously from a couple days ago when the rain came. A few times we had to go off road to avoid mud but that was minor compared to fighting the wind.
We stopped many times for photos and enjoyed getting to know Ken a bit. He’s a 58 year old grandpa who tries to get on his bike regularly for adventures. He epitomizes the fact that that it’s the rider and not the bike. He’s riding a bike likely from the 90’s and he’s a strong rider.
We are most certainly in dry country now. We saw a few muddy holes that we’d use if really desperate but this is a time to really be vigilant about water. We stopped and refilled at the end of the day at a reliable well and then finished our ride with a 2 km stretch uphill to an informal campground. Ken stayed back to camp by the water and then Kate and Owen joined us. It’s much warmer tonight as we dropped a lot of elevation.
Tomorrow our goal is to get to Grants, New Mexico which is the end of this map. We plan to get a motel, do laundry, and do more research. It will be a big day to get there similar to today.
I’m riding with this trip it’s less about thinking how far you can get and more about time riding. There are so many variables that impact your distance (road conditions, wind, elevation) that it’s best just to put your head down and ride and see what happens. We’ve remained very consistent with our strategy. We wake early, ride a long time, and take short breaks. I feel a sense of urgency about shopping fast and being efficient. That may seem counterintuitive on a vacation but this is about riding and moving through spaces. And not about sight seeing, at least in my version.
Snickers count - 16 (not as practicel as Oreos that don’t melt
Alcohol - 0
Highlights:
-descending through the forest from our camp
-meeting up and riding with Ken
-break in Cuba was nice
-afternoon scenery was spectacular
Distance - 135 km / 1444 m elevation gain
Today's ride: 135 km (84 miles)
Total: 3,722 km (2,311 miles)
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