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Musings about life on two wheels
Day 5 actual: made it! Just bearly.
Tl:Dr; Gila singletrack is hard. Take more water. Trail angles rock, hole in sleeping pad. The plan for today was ride from Silver City to the Black Canyon campground, about 56 miles and 6200 feet of elevation. A fair bit of pavement with hiking trails (aka singletrack) through the Gila National forest. Seems doable… Except:…
Crossing 2
Day 5 plan: Black Canyon campground
The next town is Pietown, some 180 miles & 16k feet of elevation away (those are the conservative numbers, probably 20 miles more TBH). Zero chance of doing that in a day. Most folks seem to stop at Beaverhead – 80+ miles and over 11k feet of elevation. That sounds like a lot. Yesterday was…
Day 4: Out & About in Silver City
The last post was pretty much about repair, but I had a good Father’s day in Silver City. A few calls to bike shops in the A.M. All closed. I walked into town for some breakfast, and to see if I could find anybody at a shop on their day off. Breakfast was at Roxy’s…
Day 4: Rest & Repair – Brakes: About a half left
My rear brake is pretty done – I think it got air in the line on the plane. My front is still working ok, but also seems soft (and it’s annoyingly dragging a bit). Hoping to get some repair today. Update: all the bike shops are closed, so I’m working on a backup plan: Baby…
Day 3 rambling update
Tl:Dr: CDT south to north, then Silver City. Slept ok, good breakfast. Thank you Hatchita Bike Ranch. Later: 70 miles to Silver City is a lie, but I mostly had fun. Current status: taking an outlaw bath at Motel 6. Maps & stats at Strava: https://strava.app.link/ZbpD5hk7sKb More below the photo… Song of the day: Every…
Did you know… & Plan for tomorrow
The eyes of spiders shine like little gems in bright lights. It’s kind of amazing, I thought it was maybe pyrite or something else in the soil – nope: tiny spider eyes. Also: just saw a shooting star. Tomorrow: start early, do the CDT northbound. Then head for Silver City
Crepuscular days
Riding in New Mexico is different than in Canada (or Colorado). Because it’s so hot, you end up becoming Crepuscular: active in the morning and evening, resting during the day and at night. It’s a pretty huge shift, and an (additional) strain on the system. The biggest challenge is resting during the day – the…
Day 2: Back from the CDT – what a night
Tl:Dr; the hard part is hard, harder in the dark. I have to go do it again to stay in Touch Divide, but tomorrow. Today: rest. Strava: https://strava.app.link/7p2rJkr50Kb Today (June 13) is when the real racers (Willy, Everett, Steven) showed up to prepare for the Grande Depart. Great to meet them. Willy & Everette were…
Notes to self
Tighten the light mount Tighten the bike computer mount Lube your squeaky chain Remove cactus barbs and take a shower!!
Got any book recommendations?