Divide Story Time: Part Two

I have just finished the Divide and am back at Jeffrey Sharp's Bike Ranch in Hachita, where I stayed last night as well. It's hot, but overcast today so less difficult than yesterday. My laundry is drying outside - I washed everything so that I can be less gross for Andrea when I see her tomorrow - but for now I rest and enjoy the the desert Bike Ranch, sighting the occasional Wild Hare and Road Runner out the window. 

At the end of the Divide last year I wrote down some stories from the road that I heard. I heard fewer stories this year, as the Divide is much less crowded down south and also less busy this year, but I still heard some, and I'd like to related those now.

Well That Was Lucky

This first story was related to me by Dan, my old buddy and host in Denver, on the way to dropping me off in Silverthorne. I will likely get the details a bit off, but the details don't really matter in a story like this.

Dillon, CO used to be where the Dillon Reservoir is, the giant lake thing that provides water to Denver through the Continental Divide via giant tunnels.

Back in the 1850s Dillon still existed, as did a town near it with a name that I forgot. One night in winter Dillon through a huge party, and the entire population of the other town came to it - maybe each town had about 50 people at the time.

During this party an avalanche came and wiped out the entire other town, yet there were zero casualties, as everyone was at the party in Dillon a few miles away. Relatedly, the population of Dillon doubled that night. Ironically, Dillon was then wiped out several decades later by a dam and a similarly named reservoir.  

There are lessons here:

1) Don't build your town in an avalanche zone.

2) Always go to parties. 

3) Denver might eat you.

Speaking of Liquids

Storms and rain were the theme of this year. I related last year Casey's experience with bike breaking mud in an area that I came through when dry a few days later.  Similar stories came from this year.

The Divide is a bastard sometimes, but I got lucky as usual. I was surrounded by storms every day but the last couple, but only caught in rain twice, and only had to deal with real bad murder mud twice and for short distances.

Indiana Pass is the highest pass on the Divide, and beautiful. It's the one that goes through the superfund mine sight outside of Del Norte.  The ride for me was hard, but dry and overcast by the afternoon. The kiwis passed through it at few days before me, and were pounded by rain the entire time. After me by a few days, some motocross riders I met tried to ride it and had so much rain and mud that they couldn't even ride up it with motors.

Similar stories were passed around at many hubs like the Toaster House and in other places where people met up. Same areas, very different experiences depending on the weather.  The Kiwis were able to ride Abique to Cuba where I was mudded out and on pavement, whereas I was able to ride Platoro to Abique (including Brazos Ridge) but they were mudded out and on pavement. For both of these they were just a day or two in front of me.

Speaking of Other Riders

Steve finished around August 10th. I found out what happened to him. He broke some spokes on the climb and leadup to Brazo's Ridge, which was some very rough roads and had to detour to Santa Fe. I saw evidence of him in a rider log at a trail angel water stop outside of Pie Town awhile later, and he checked in via e-mail when he finished.

The Kiwis are still on rest days in Silver City, having taken some side trips and extra time. After spending three days and two nights pacing together a discussion about the impressions we had of each other came up, and we both answered with jokes - The kiwis think that our cheese and bread has too much sugar in it, and I think they are willing to tolerate some rough coffee.

However, my real impressions of the Kiwis are the they are incredibly nice and generous, and will share their hard carried food and treats with you without a thought or reservations. They are friendly to strangers and welcoming, inquisitive and thoughtful, level headed yet adventurous, and my life and trip are much better for having met them.

I met many nice people on the trail, and also am also glad to have met and spent time with Steve, The Abique Sisters, Alyssa in Silver City, Jeffrey in Hachita, Nate the Trail Hunter in Salida, The Artistic Goat Farmers  in Pie Town, Trip McGuffin the Fly Fisher and the dudes who gave me beer and rain shelter in Sargents, the owners of the Chaco Trading Post, and many others. There isn't a story to go with this part, I just like 'em. 

Concerning Dogs

This the time to stop reading if you don't want to read about vicious dogs and death.

I have two stories concerning Dogs, the first related to me by Casey from when he finished last year. He and I both opted to carry our bear spray with us even out of Grizzly Country for protection from Dogs (and humans).  Many folks think this is silly, but he almost needed his. He was camped south of Cuba last year when 5 dogs attacked him and chased him up onto a rock with his bear spray. I asked him if he had to spray them, and he replied that he "spoke to them quietly about it and they decided to seek easier prey."  He was also grateful for a rock to stand on.  I can understand.

Chaco Trading Post has a much more horrible story, but still one I'd like to relate as it's so... large.  

Many dogs are abandoned at Chaco Trading Post. It's on the edge of the Navajo Reservation and part of the culture there, apparently, is to abandon female dogs at the trading post rather then get them neutered.  As a result the trading post had a small pack of friendly dogs that they took care of, the leader of which was named Fluffy.

There was also a pack of wild dogs in the area, led by a Rottweiler.

Fluffy was apparently quite the deterer and protector, because when Fluffy was tragically hit by a car and killed, things changed. Less then a week later the wild pack of dogs broke through the fence at the trading post and vicously murdered and ate the trading post pack (on security camera).

Since I was l sleeping there, alone, that night, I asked if the pack was still around. They said that the pack then started taking out cows, so one of the ranchers took out the pack out with a shotgun.

Holy shit, y'all it gets real out here, and that's why I'll always tour with bear spray.

Hachita to Antelope Wells: The End

Well holy crap I'm done! I quoted all the mileages and days yesterday - although one correction - this year it was 17 days riding with 1 rest day to make 18.  In a following post I'll post more "Stories I heard on the Divide" like I did last year.

The final ride was... easy... as expected. Only 47.63 miles over relatively flat pavement (a slight uphill mostly, to be honest, that just cut the top end of my speed) resulting in 3:13 on bike about travel time from 7:30-11:15am. It wasn't too hot or windy, thanks to a slight overcast.

I took one break at 30 miles to stretch out, but for the most part pushed the ride, trying to figure out what to think about on such a momentus occasion.  I was suprised by how beautiful it was. I was expecting a flat, open desert - which while intresting - I didn't expect to be beautiful. However, this included some very intresting terrain and uplifts, and the morning light played well on the hills.

I mentally went through the whole Divide, as I've done many times before now. Starting in Rooseville last year, I replayed the entire trip in my head, thinking of the terrain, who I met, where I camped, what joys and difficulties I was having, what thoughts were filling me up, and what lessons I was learning.  This late in the trip that process can take over an hour, and about half of my riding was reviewing the trip up until this point.

The Divide was more life-changing for me last year - the lessons harder and more profound - and they were lessons that I continued working on throughout the year break. Last year, when I ended, I said that a goal would be to find a way to have the mental freedom of a tourer, and the ability to think thoughts that take longer than a minute, day, month, or year even when not on a tour. Another goal would be to figure out how to extend time like on a tour, where a day feels like a week, and a week feels like a month, and a month a year.

I sort of achieved those goals, I sort of didn't. Work bullshit didn't make it easy,  and (to borrow a term) samsara kept engulfing me. But, I kept working on it, and I did make progress. One result being that when I returned to the Divide this year the lessons of last year had settled and matured. As I said before, the Divide was just as hard - New Mexico harder - but I was still comfortable. I settled in easily and it felt like home. I've been through some dark times, and I know that I can be broken again, but right now I feel stronger and more at peace then I ever have before. I feel like the world speaks to me through many previously unnoticed voices, and I also feel like I've become much better at listening to it, finding the lessons, and finding the good.

I healed and recharged quite a bit the last few weeks out here, and had great adventures, saw wonderful things, and met wonderful people. I don't know how I feel now that it's over. I've been working on this goal for 5 or 6 years now, and now I've done it.

I have future plans, of course -  The Oregon Outback, The Sierra-Cascades, The New Zealand North to South tour, and of course the Canadian section of the Divide.  The longer ones I hope to bring Andrea along on a tandem.

But, for now, I'm done with this chapter. I feel great, strong, recharged, rested, and ready to be home. I will feel pulled back out here again, I know I will. But, for now, I feel peace. I like that.

Silver City to Hachita

Well here it is, my second to last day on the Divide. Tomorrow I ride 48 paved and flat (and HOT unless I leave buttcrack early) easy miles to Antelope Wells and then I've finished the US section of the Divide!  18 days and 1,088 miles for this "half", or if you count RAGBRAI this year that's 25 days and 1,563 miles this summer.  Last summer was about 1,500 miles on the divide over I think 25 or 26 days, and maybe 1,975 miles with 33ish days counting RAGBRAI.

Together it'll be 2,088 miles of Divide over about 44 days.  A slow pace, really, but how I like to do things. I like exploring and meeting people and contemplating life. I really need to do the Canada section now too! I think that's another 500-700 miles, a shorter section by comparison.

Today's ride continued this section of New Mexico's tradition of fun riding. The ride out of Silver City was paved and had some easy long hills, and then at 15 miles I had a nice 35 mile long section of fun gravel through Yucca Desert. It was a bit roller-coaster like, and I had a sweet tailwind for the first 35 miles or so of the day.

The rest of the day, and some of the gravel, was a sidewind, but that helped it stay cool as it got very hot.  With the tailwind I pushed the first 50 miles to Separ without a break, but with only 3:23 on bike. I finished in Hachita at 78 miles with only 5:14 on bike (flat pavement helped), and rode from 8:30 to 3:45.  A long, but comparativly easy day.

It's always bittersweet to end a bike tour feeling really good, since that means you are in peak shape. I've had several hard weeks of mountain training at high elevation, and this lower elevation flat shit is practically like have motors in my legs. Two months from now, after going back to normal life, I'll be half the rider I am right now.  But, that's the cycle. I hope to run my first marathon this spring, so that'll help me stay in shape.

Even though the riding was easy, I didn't actually feel good all day. I picked up a stomache upset in Silver City, I think mainly due to food I ate and a weird Cider/Tequilla drink at a bar that now regret the night before, so I was queasy for the first 50 miles. Pepto-Bismo fixed it up, but my rest day certainly wasn't the most restful.  Fun, but not very restful.

Now I'm at the Bike Ranch in Hachita, where I had a chill evening of being treated well by Jeffrey and eating food. Tomorrow I leave early and likely will be done during morning times, then I chill at the ranch for the afternoon and head to Tuscon tomorrow to meet up with Andrea! Yay!

 

Black Rock Campground to Silver City Photos

The muddy morning climb. I had a lot of pushing to do, the Kiwis had to carry their bikes!

A great variety of morning terrain. Very hilly!

Several climbs in, a look into the valley that I eventually crossed off into the distance.

Yet another continental divide crossing!

40 miles or so of the day were paved, but that didn't make the riding much easier. Less muddy though.

Lake Roberts.

The very steep climb out of that valley offered amazing views.

Many miles and hours later, the Town of Pinos Altos. Perhaps most famous for the repeated raids against it by Geronimo.

The descent into Silver City

Silver City!

Since it was a rest day, I was able to stay up late and go to Karaoke with my host. It was a good time - although most of the songs I thought to sing they didn't have. Picking Karaoke songs is a talent I have not developed yet.

And first photo last as usual, this was taken on my climb out of Black Rock Canyon.  You can see the road I descended the day before (in the rain) snaking up the other side.

Black Rock Canyon to Silver City

I'm writing this sitting in a nice plaza in Silver City on a rest day, as I'm two (now one, I suppose) days ahead of schedule and had some time to kill.  I've had quite a fun last 36 hours or so, a good example of why being on the road is so much fun and travel is so rewarding.

The ride yesterday was great. I woke up early with the Kiwis, and as usual they got a out a little bit before I did.  We had a big climb to start the day and all three of us got mired in mud trying to get out of the canyon due to yesterday's rains. I had a bit of a better time of it then they did  and only had to push for awhile, but they have less clearance on their tires and actually had to carry their bikes for a bit when the wheels refused to turn. That's a rough go when it was practically straight up hill.

Eventually the mud dried as it got hotter and I gained elevation, and the rest of the ride continued the day before's survey of all that the Divide can offer. At times it felt like riding in Montana or the Wyoming mountains again. Roller coaster terrain, at times rough roads, and amazing views.

 A bit into the ride I had one of the most fun downhills of my entire riding career, flying down banked rough gravel turns into a canyon, and repeatedly crossing streams that were flowing over the road. It was divide downhill at it's finest.

Of the 60 miles the last 40 were paved, and about mile 30 I met up with the Kiwis at Lake Arnold where there was a small store for lunch. Three miles later we parted ways as they headed for a side trip up to the Gila Hotsprings and I continued 27ish more miles to Silver City over a very big 10-15 mile climb.

This climb and the interspersed and subsequent curvy downhills also turned out to be some of the best road riding I've ever done.  The downhills were well banked and I could take them at near full speed, and the incredibly steep climbs were - incredibly steep and hot - but beautiful.

People were also very nice. Two cars slowed to offer me water (I had way more than I needed already) and another was someone who'd see me at a brewery in Salida a few weeks ago, and gave me a lead on a place to stay in Silver City!  People are very nice around here! It gave me hope since a town of 10,000 could be hard to find a place to stay.

I rolled into Silver City around 4pm after exploring an old ghost town up on a hill called Pinos Alto a few miles earlier. A storm chased me downhill into town so I forgot to write down my exact stats, but it was something like 8-4pm pm riding, 6 hours on bike (it was hard riding), and 60 miles. After arriving I waited out a monster storm at a restertaunt, perfect timing!

Now the story gets even more interesting. Just before the storm hit I went to the bike shop to follow up on the lead for a place to stay, and met Alyssa outside, a local musician, artist, printmaker, and EMT. She offered to let me stay at her place a few blocks away and even take rest day there!

We ended up making friends pretty easily, and I met a bunch of her other friends at karaoke last night and then we played music into the early morning. I've really missed playing music, one of the many sacrifices that bike touring usually requires (although it pales in comparison to seperation from Andrea). After a good sleep in I'm now exploring this super cool town and having a very relaxing rest day. 

This place has a lot going on for a town of only 10k. It has a vibrant southwestern style downtown with art galleries everywhere, but it doesn't have the feel of a touristy Colorado-style town. It's very much like a little Eugene.

I leave bright and early tomorrow to beat the heat on a hopefully relatively flat 78 mile ride to Hachita, then only 48 miles to Antelope Wells the following day and I've completed the US section of the Divide. Very soon I'll see Andrea in Tuscon and we'll start a roadtrip back home. A week from today I'll be waking up in my own bed. A pretty great thing to look forward to, but for now I've got some town exploring too do. 

Also, unsurprisingly, I already miss biking and my thoughts often return to the downhills of yesterday. Yeesh.

Collins Park to Black Cayon Campground Photos!

Sunset shots from the night before

At the morning ride. Where that rainbow was rained for a pretty long time last night. The result was mud in the morning under where it was.

For much of the morning the road was lined with poppies! (I think they were poppies)

This morning was many different terrains, biomes, and road types.

Yea... no shit.

At Beaverhead Work Center, this Mule tried to Help Andrew get a soda. It didn't work.

Beaverhead work Center

Diana the Kiwi!

Andrew the Kiwi!

Climbing a nice little hill, the two fine folks who I often refer to as... The Kiwis!  I'm sure there are more creative nicknames, but this seemed to work.

The later half of the day got pretty hilly.

This storm kept growing and eventually soaked me for hours.

Wall Lake

I wish this photo hadn't washed out, because this area had some nice red colors to it.

At the top of one of the first climbs, That storm is much bigger.  It hit me on this following downhill and then stuck around for another long climb, downhill, and camp.

This terrain was very Appalachian. I know, because I've bike across West Virginia. It really felt a lot like that. Also, raining.

Access to the main campground was washed out.

Camp with the Kiwis! They are route planning here.

Sunset tonight

And one final Collin's Park photo - because first is always last!