Tour Divide '24: Day 3 - Polvadera Mesa to Cuba

 While getting settled in my bivy I practiced using the zipper as I rarely zip the bivy closed. I don't want to get trapped inside when nature calls!! I was able to close it about 3/4 of the way, leaving a nice vent for cooler air so I didn't feel like I was suffocating. I finished futzing with it and sometime after dark I believe I dozed off for a bit.

That only lasted a couple of hours. Why? I was awaken to the pitter-patter sound of raindrops hitting the bivy. This continued all night. Nature did call during the rain and I relented and took care of business quick in the light rain. At least we had the common sense to put our shoes/socks under our rain gear along with the helmet, etc. I tried going back to sleep, but it wasn't happening. Daybreak arrived and I could hear Justin moving around, but neither of us wanted to get up. The thought of packing wet gear in the rain isn't something I like to do, but the rain wasn't relenting and we needed to get going.

We did our best to keep things as dry as possible while packing as quickly as possible. Before long, we were ready to go. We still had another 1200' or so until the summit. We delayed breakfast until we were well on our way.

Our moist campsite, all packed and ready to go.

Rode some, walked most. It was slow going in the wet cold.

We found a place to eat breakfast with a log to sit on and some tree cover. The rain was never intense, steady was the name of the game. It was also on the chilly side of things, maybe hovering around 45º. Leaving camp I had thought to myself how this was prime hypothermia conditions. We needed to keep moving to generate body heat, hike-a-bike sure helps with that. However, when we stopped, I was feeling pretty crappy. Maybe it was a lack of calories combined with the cold. I couldn't really feel my hands or feet, but I wasn't shaking. I knew I had to eat and the thought of what we had to do to get out of there was quite daunting - don't focus on that - focus on eating. I managed to choke down my Hostess coffee cake from Bodes when that uncomfortable tingling, pseudo burning sensation came over my hands. Kind of like the fringes of frostbite, but it wasn't that cold. It was actually a good thing, because I was beginning to regain feeling in my hands and my general being started to feel better, like we actually CAN get out of here today. We started to move again up the mountain. I'd prefer to not relive the previous 20-30 minutes while on a ride again.

After breakfast, we were able to crack a smile or two.

We were nearing the top when a northbounder approached. His name was Mitch, from Bozeman, MT. He began telling us how his evening went: heavy rain, lightning, hail!! Yikes. I guess I'm glad we stopped short of the pass. He mentioned how a few buddies had committed to the ride and they were all planning this grand tour of the route. I interrupted him, 'and here you are, all alone'. He laughed, yep. Going solo. We wished him luck and continued on. *He has a tracker of the GDMBR page, listed as 'M'.

Soggy 2-track near the summit.

Same area as above, from where we came.

A few of the northbound riders informed us of an upcoming section of route that was tore up. Some thought is was a logging operation, others roadwork. The length seemed to vary from a half mile to two full miles of mud. Yet everyone's bike looked exceptionally clean. It did rain. Hmmm. 

During the initial 1000' descent off the top we leapfrogged a few folks who had been car camping - including a Prius. Not long after we passed the vehicles for the final time we found the section of road in question. One of our first thoughts was: There's no way that Prius is driving through this. Zero.

Yuck. Active road grader, in the rain.

We debated for a couple of minutes on our approach. The roadbed looked horrible. I made the suggestion to try and ride the grass next to the road. If it's only a half a mile, we can do that. We started on the downhill side since it was fairly clear at first, but then had to move to the uphill side of the road.

Let's do some freeriding!!

We had to navigate a fair amount of down trees, get creative with the routing, climb a little extra, etc. It was slow going and taxing. At one point, we were down by the road and I went to start pedaling, slipped, pinning my left calf between my bike and a giant boulder. It was awkward and could've easily ended badly. It felt like a Charlie Horse to the calf, but otherwise I was fine.

We continued off the road for a bit more. Another northbounder was approaching, walking through the muck and not looking like he was enjoying himself. I yelled down to him: 'Is that as horrible as it looks from up here?' He spotted us, shrugged, and said 'At least the tires keep rolling'. From what we could see, they were. Not a minute later we saw the road grader returning down the road. Justin and I looked at each other and the terrain in front of us. The rider mentioned it was at least another 1 1/2 miles for us. Our decision had been made: drop down to the road like everyone else.

It looks horrendous, but it was more greasy than sticky.

Our feet sunk in the mud a couple of inches, but the bike didn't. We knew if we tried to ride, we'd sink right in, the ground was too saturated to support that kind of weight. We were both fine with our shoes looking like shit, just keep our bikes 'sort-of' clean-ish. On a couple of short downhills, we hopped on one pedal, coasted a bit to speed up the process. It mostly worked and before too long the two miles of slop was behind us. We knew when we reached Cuba, we'd be on the hunt for a hose or car wash.

With the muck now behind us, the rain let up a bit. We could now focus on riding and getting off the mesa. We knew the final descent was a ways off with a couple of climbs along the way. We had been hovering around the 9000' mark for what seemed like 20 miles. Where is that big downhill again??

Now the riding was getting good.

A glimpse of civilization. First structures we'd seen since lunch the day prior.

We ran into a couple from New Zealand who informed us the downhill was coming. They told us it was a few more miles of undulating terrain. Oh, okay, that isn't so bad. Almost there!!

We pedaled on, rounded a bend and coasted down, then a short up, pedal, pedal, down we go...a short up and repeat....repeat....repeat. Go ahead and repeat once more...and again...and again. One more for good measure...nah, how about another...another?? Yep. Ok, just one more...oh, for the love of God, where the f#@k is this long sustained downhill to Cuba?!? Undulating, my ass. We were fully engorged in the Land of 1000 False Downhills. Ugh.

Doesn't look like much, but it's uphill No. 534 on the downhill.

This was an odd sight, a deer, alert and lying roadside. It didn't seem injured. "If I don't move, I'm invisible"

We kept toying with the downhill that never arrived. Took a break and saw a couple of tents and bikes at a really nice campsite only a short bit after crossing our first running creek since the shade break the day before. Two more northbounders getting ready to tackle the Polvadera Mesa the following day. They insisted the downhill was coming, maybe one more mile they proclaimed. Justin and I had our doubts.

Off we went. Uphill...down....up,,,,down....up.....down, down, down....is this finally it??? Down, down some more and now we're just flying!! Yessssss!! Two miles after the start, the dirt ended. Seriously? That was it? We were now on the paved road to Cuba...and climbing once again - through a one-lane construction zone. One where there is no flagman, only a traffic signal. Would we trip the signal or was it timed? GREEN. Let's go. The construction zone was very short and we soon reached a high point. Next thing we know, we're traveling down the paved highway at 35mph. In a blink of an eye 10 miles are behind us. So, the giant downhill we'd been waiting all day for was essentially on pavement. Talk about the biggest 3000' descent letdown evah. Meh.

Cuba incoming.

We received some good intel on bike friendly places to stay, so after downing a chocolate milk we made a hotel reservation and asked about a hose or car wash. There was a self-serve car wash in town. We tag teamed the wash effort and even hosed each other down since our shoes, rain pants and backpacks were covered in mud. It was a very efficient, successful 2 minutes.

Cuba welcome center has seen better days.

I had been craving a tuna sub from Subway the past hour or so, only to find out the Subway in town was temporarily closed. McD's to the rescue. Shovel in the calories.

It was a tough day and once again we failed to reach our 80 mile goal. This was our shortest day of the three so far and we were now about 50 miles behind schedule. I think it was while we were chowing down, but I brought up the idea of sticking to the Tour Divide route instead of the dirt route we had planned. For one, the skies were still looking unsettled and that route is no place to be when wet. The paved route would be a few more miles, but much faster riding. We knew if we could make it to Grants the following night, we'd be practically back on pace. The catch? That meant we'd need to pull off a 125 mile day. We were both game and alarms were set for 5:30a.

The hotel was perfect for our needs and only $73.

Back at the hotel, we unpacked everything making use of every possible space. Our gear was quite wet. If it didn't completely dry in a few hours, that was okay, as it wouldn't be needed if we made it to Grants. 

Route:

Strava Link

Full photo album for Day 3

Here is a full Tour Divide Index from each day on the route.

Tour Divide '24: Day 2 - Cañon Plaza to Polvadera Mesa

 As tired as I was, no sleep was had. Couldn't seem to shut my brain off. Only one yahoo drove loudly by our campsite around 11:30p, but that wasn't why I couldn't sleep. I did lie there with my eyes closed most of the night and for me, that's good enough. I still felt rested in the morning.

The riding was easy from camp, nice way to get the day started.

We had camped about 5 miles shy of Cañon Plaza, which lie in the valley below.

It may not look like much, but this is the famed Silvia's Snack Shack. A bit too early on this day, but she practically has a convenience store in there.

Fast paved section through Cañon Plaza all the way to Vallecitos.

Justin waits for me as we make the turn onto the infamous 'Dog Alley' of Vallecitos.

I have to admit, after hearing story after story of dogs chasing riders as they pass through, I was on high alert. I was very much looking forward to putting this short bit behind us. Although I can't say I recall anyone ever actually getting attacked or bit, crazed dogs can be a tad unnerving.

Justin leads the charge, rather a soft pedal down the alley.

Look closely at the photo above. There is a white dog, lying in wait just beyond the speed limit sign. It would be the only dog we'd see and it couldn't even be bothered to stand up or bark at us. Dog Alley: Dud. Whew!

Whoever this Asshole is, no, not Justin - the sign, they have a good sense of humor. Ha!

There was and up & over coming on route leading to the next town, El Rito. I think if we knew how easy and fast the riding was to this point and the availability of wild camping, we would've pushed on the evening before. But, we didn't and we were making good time so it felt like a win.

Justin noted a nearby creek, good time to top off on water before reaching Abiquiu in a few hours. However, he realized his filter was painstakingly slow. My BeFree was gushing fast, so we shared it the rest of the way.

Good road surface and a nice grade made for some pleasant climbing.

El Rito Ranger Station as we begin to transition out of the forest.

Interesting little town.

In 1999 the Mars Polar Lander was launched and subsequently lost, the joke here is, it landed in El Rito. Or was this just a disguise for a cell phone tower? Either way, it's quite the sight and a true slice of Americana, a stop on the roadside oddities tour.

Long fast downhill towards Abiquiu. The lower we got, the warmer the temps.

We passed a few northbound tourers on the descent. We had seen about 10 so far, stopping to chat with almost everyone. It was great to get first-hand knowledge of the upcoming route and pass along similiar info to them. Everyone was in a great mood and stoked to be out on route. It was a real highlight of the entire ride. You can follow the touring dots on Trackleaders too, white are southbound, gray are northbound.

High desert attained. Cerro Pedernal Peak dominates. It was often the subject of Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings as she could see it from her home on the Ghost Ranch outside of Abiquiu.

Rio Chama was flowing thick.

Bodes General Store, now over 100 years old.

Bodes had everything. First things first: chocolate milk. I think I went inside for three separate transactions and we made a pizza stop next door. It was a much needed resupply and this time I bought suitable dinner and breakfast items.

The daunting 4,000'+ climb up the Polvadera Mesa was now on deck. We both had heard the stories of how rocky the roads were. I was very curious to find out as I ride on a lot of rocky jeep roads here in Arizona. I figured I'd feel right at home.

It was now midday, pushing into the lower 90's. Good time to climb, eh? Well....

The pavement quickly turned to dirt and I was pedaling slow, watching Justin creep farther and farther ahead.

We stopped at this creek for a much needed shade break.

I was feeling like garbage, not bonking, but the heat was really taxing my system. I wanted to take a nap. So I closed my eyes for a couple of minutes. We met another northbound rider who noted this was the last water source for quite some time. We were good and resumed our slow gain in elevation.

After 1500' of gain, we reached a flat section and noted the building storms and surrounding lightning.

Ahh, much better at the higher altitude and increasing cloud cover.

Entering the Santa Fe Nat'l Forest.

We had stopped to put on rain gear as the drops began to fall and of course barely five minutes later it stopped. No complaints as we weren't ready to find out if this was death mud or not.

Justin topping out on a climb before the one downhill on our way up.

Cue the downhill. Side view of Cerro Pedernal.

The downhill came at a good time, some 12 miles after our climb began.

It flattened out and got a bit sandy, but rideable. We met a lady from Switzerland who was not enjoying the sand on her skinny tires. Like all the other northbounders, she was extremely positive, which also put us in a good mood. She asked us how far we planned to get and we told her we wanted to be over the summit and down a few miles. She seemed shocked at our ambitions and noted the rocky terrain. We told her the sand didn't last long and the climb was short, then a long downhill waited for the final miles to resupply at Bodes.

Here come the rocks. I was able to ride it and that seemed to be it for a while.

The bigger nuisance was the deeper sand. It was that really fine, powdery stuff. Hard to pedal when it gets a couple inches deep.

This was our view for miles on end. Slabs of solid rock.

The grade wasn't too bad and riding the slabs was fairly easy, but the constant dips between slabs began to take a toll. The rain also decided to return and out came the rain gear again. We were somewhere around 8400', the climb topped out at 10,200'. We opted to hike-a-bike for a while, use different muscles and keep the effort down a bit.

 The elevation was slow to come by and it was now getting late in the day. I was beginning to think I may regret only bringing a bivy and not my one person tent. Would the rain stop so I could set everything up, and change into sleeping clothes?? Or was I destined to be damp/wet all night. Time would tell.

We kept going and by the time we reached 9100', the rain had indeed let off the gas. We were feeling the effects of the effort and began looking for a good place to call home for the night. It didn't take long and we got everything set up and I actually enjoyed a decent dinner.

We crashed out before darkness fully settled in. It was another day not reaching 80 miles, a bit over 66 on the day. We'll have to try and make it up somewhere else. Maybe tomorrow? There is a big downhill off the mesa...

Route:

Strava link

Full photo album for Day 2

Here is a full Tour Divide Index from each day on the route.

Tour Divide '24: Day 1 - Cumbres Pass to Cañon Plaza

 One last time, let me set the stage for my return to the Tour Divide (TD) route. In a nutshell, back in 2019 I lined up for the race out of Banff, AB. I made it to Salida, CO, some 1800 miles down the route, but a nasty staph infection (MRSA) manifested above my right knee ending my ride there. I met a cool cat, Justin Heckman, from Council Bluffs, IA during the ride sharing a bunch of miles and some campsites along the way. He too did not reach the end, but made it farther than me, scratching in Del Norte, CO.

We've been trying for 5 years to return to the route to finish the deal but life has a funny way of getting in the way of grand plans. Let this be a lesson to those with lofty goals: it'll never be perfect, just GO!! Our 5 years went like this: 2020: COVID. 2021: Justin tweaked his knee while training so I went back to Colorado and rode the section between Salida and Del Norte with a long-time friend. 2022: We were set to finish it from Del Norte, but two weeks prior to launch, New Mexico closed all their National Forests due to wildfire danger. We didn't want to ride all the paved re-routes, so we opted to finish off Colorado on a leisurely two day ride over Indiana Pass. 2023: My wife had a health scare and I needed to stay home. 2024: All the stars aligned. Let's ride.

Red line is the 2019 Tour Divide route with major resupply/checkpoints noted.

Only a 'few' climbs. :) Note: Forgot to tag Abiquiu, it's the big dip after Vallecitos before the huge Polvadera Mesa climb.

Now that you're up to speed on how we got here, our plan wasn't to race to Antelope Wells, but we weren't exactly touring either. Fast touring?? Sure. Our original plan was to take the dirt route between Cuba and Pie Town along the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR), but we also had the option to stick to the paved route the Tour Divide racers use if weather became an issue as it's impassable when wet. The fresh release of the 2024 Tour Divide gpx file saw three changes in New Mexico. One of which I helped scout last year with Scott north of Hopewell Lake. We hadn't planned to ride that since I rode it last year and we kind of wanted to stick to the 2019 route since that's what we started. The other changes were intriguing though, one south of Silver City and the other leaving Hachita, both cut out pavement in favor of dirt. I'll always opt for that, or so I thought. More on those later.

Our goal was to shoot for 80 miles per day which would set us up to be in Silver City on Friday night. That would give us an easy, trending downhill, 80 mile day to Hachita where we could rest up and time our pickup from the border much easier.

Justin ready to go, just waiting on a friend...

Ok, the stage has been set, how'd it go? K and I decided to head to Santa Fe a few days early for a mini vacation, which we both needed and really enjoyed. Justin was leaving his truck in Chama, NM and we'd pick him up on our way towards Cumbres Pass. The TD route peels off Hwy17 about 1 1/2 miles north of Cumbres Pass onto CR117. That's where our next TD chapter begins.

Justin and I ready to ride. Photo by K.

Heading off on CR117. Photo by K.

About to cross the historic Cumbres & Toltec Railroad. Photo by K.

Patches of snow here & there near 10,000'. Meanwhile, back home it reached 112º.

We were feeling the altitude early on, at least the climbs weren't steep.

Three miles into the ride, we finally reach our last state: Welcome to New Mexico.

I was here last year with Scott, but today felt different.

The high alpine riding continued.

There was a pretty good climb to get up here and we both cleaned it, which was saying something. Maybe our fitness was a little better than the two of us thought. PeakFinder app.

Nearing the Brazos Ridge overlook, our high point of the entire ride. This would become a theme as the highest remaining points became a notable checkpoint as we rode south.

Sweeping valley before we climb to the overlook.

Ahh, the Brazos Ridge hike-a-bike. Justin checking to see how long this goes on...

Long enough. Not too long though, maybe 15-20 minutes.

The view at the first overlook was pretty ok. PeakFinder app.

We knew we'd be battling the heat down south, so we were quite stoked to walk through a couple of snow drifts.

It's really not the Tour Divide if you don't experience all of nature's elements.

This second drift was rather impressive in depth.

High point of Brazos Ridge near 10,950'.

The descent off the ridge is fast, but has a fair amount of chunk. It's not big chunk, but it'll rattle you around and mess your day up if you don't pick a good line. I love this kind of riding as Arizona is loaded with it, so I let 'er rip. Justin was a bit more cautious and he was running a rigid fork, while my Lauf helped ease the bumps.

Back down in the trees, we were now dodging mud puddles instead of snow.

So beautiful up here, still felt like Colorado.

The miles were ticking by, but the sun was intense at this elevation. It wasn't hot, but it was warm.

Little bit of an aspen alley.

The racers won't be on this section any longer now that the CDT near Lagunitas CG has been added.

I caught up to Justin here and he pointed out the Tesla Cyber Truck driving away. Talk about a random place to see one.

My friend, Lee, bought this place a couple years ago. It's right on the GDMBR route and he's done a great job making it livable. Too bad he had to be away this weekend.

The best part? Clear, cold running spring water on site.

After our short break at Lee's place, we had a 5 mile paved climb to Hopewell Lake. I wasn't really looking forward to it, but the grade was less than I thought. It's always tough to tell what a climb is like when you've only ridden down it at mach speeds. The final pitch was a bit of a drain.

No need to go down to Hopewell Lake since we topped off at Lee's.

We had a bit more climbing to do, getting back to 10,000', then a long descent with a few climbs thrown in to break it up. We were now over the 60 mile mark on the day, but also feeling the effects of riding a loaded bike at elevation all day. By the time we crested the second climb on the descent, the sun was getting low and we decided to call it a day.

One of the climbs after Hopewell Lake.

We weren't too far from Cañon Plaza, about 5 miles, and we weren't sure about the camping situation between there and Vallecitos. We would need another 10+ miles to clear both and we decided to do that in the morning.

We found a nice flat spot in the woods and set up camp with the remaining daylight. For some reason, I did a poor job of planning my first dinner and following breakfast. I don't recall what I ate, but it was just snack food. I'll do better going forward.

First day was in the books at a bit under 67 miles.

Route:

Strava link

Full photo album for Day 1

Here is a full Tour Divide Index from each day on the route.