Hopewell Lake to Abiquiu

Well today turned out just peachy! I'm on the porch of a wondeful home near Abiquiu (spelled wrong all last post) watching lightning WAY off in the distance, with good company and a great landscape. Georgia O'Kefe moved to Abiquiu to paint this area (among other reasons I'm sure).

It didn't start off great. It rained during the night and I woke up with a hard decision: Try the Divide dirt route, which may be wet and full of Murder Mud, or take the pavement detour. This, as well as stress about tomorrow's waterless dry camp woke me with considerable anxiety, and I battled that anxiety much of the morning. Anxiety at 10,000 feet makes you even shorter of breath, and I had to use all my grounding tools to pull out of it (and some satellite support texting from Andrea). 

Honestly, let's be real here, a lot of what I'm trying to do, alone, is terrifying. It's very easy to make a bad decision without anyone to check you.

Eventually I got to riding, and I decided to take the divide route and risk it. Most of the ride was good - just rough roads and very steep, but I did have to push my bike through over a mile of murder mud. It got so bad my back wheel was just dragging.  I ran into it several other times too, but none as bad as that mile or two.  

I also followed a day old track through it, and I can only assume Steve is back on dirt (or never left it.) Also, I found a water bottle in the murder mud... Maybe he's leaving me a trail of bread crumbs.

Eventually I made it to Canon and Vallencitos, two sweet old hispanic style towns with adobe buildings and what not. In Vallencitos the guy running the community center opened it up for me and gave me water and company. Then it was another long dirt climb and descent into El Rito, also super cool, and then 20 miles or so of pavement to Abiquiu.

Abiquiu is a bunch of old adobe buildings turned chuches and art galleries, and really no-where to stay. After striking out at a bike hostel (no reply), and several other places, I met two wonderful sisters from New York who invited me back to their place to stay. A short truck ride later and I'm hanging with them on their beautiful land, am showered, fed, and have wifi!  They are true angels.

Tomorrow I start a two day waterless stretch over a very difficult climb to Cuba. I'm very nervous, I hate dry camping. I plan on carrying 12 liters of water for the 74 miles push and camp. I could try and do it in one push, but it's very, very tough riding so I'm not sure I should.  It doesn't seem to be wet though, so that's good. No murder mud I hope.

I feel that more experienced riders would carry half the water and just do it, but I hate being thirsty when riding. They say you pack your fears, and when it comes to water... guilty for sure.