Dreux's Great Divide Adventure

What worked and what didn't?  I often said while riding the Great Divide, "you should begin your adventure with the equipment you have." If you wait until you have just the perfect equipment, you may never start your adventure. Money will buy lighter and more compact equipment but with that comes a more fragile equipment. Taking too much stuff. This is a common mistake you hear all the time. It's said you pack your fears. I was guilty of this as well. I could have reduced weight by at least 20 %.  Clothing - For the most part, the clothing was dialed in. I would have left the rain booties home and switched for water proof socks. A hooded rain jacket would have been ideal rather than a helmet cover.  Bicycle - I enjoyed riding the drop bar steel bike. The brakes and shifters were a joy. More tire clearance would have been nice in the mud and a granny gear for those early big climbs. Ideally, better balance of the packs would have eliminated a sli...

Thanks to my riding mate Pete, I had the privilege of trying both Antelope Well and the Columbus trail terminus. Pete arranged to have a ride waiting for us at AW and return me to Hachita. As usual, we are up at 4:45 AM to beat the heat. For the past week we have been waking up to Christophe Cross, Ride Like The Wind as our alarm. Met a few angry rattlers the last ten miles. Mixed emotions rolling into AW. We jumped around, took photos, high five’d and then an F16 does a barrel roll about thousand feet right over us! Wow, was that for us? Turns out there is an air base that does training... good timing. I still want to believe it was for me.  The adventure  could not have ended better. Rolling into Hachita with the Jeff and Jeffery a vailable for assistance. 2 great guys that are helping both the racing / touring cyclists and their communities. Jeffery S. has so much experience that he gladly shares not to mention his hard work on the community Center. Jeff C with...

Riding through a cow pasture, the long way, 5 plus miles to avoid the never ending peanut butter mud.  Rest day in Silver City. Tried some cultural activities on my day off and visited the University museum. Who knew those crafty Indians were into micro brews.  The crew enjoying Silver City Up and on the road before 5:00 AM to avoid the hot days, 98 degrees today.  Last gravel road to the finish.  Next to last town, Hachita, NM to the finish. 

Sunrise campsite.  New feature to the team. Steve, from the UK has joined the team to the finish. Great guy who fits in well with our sophomoric humor.  Not sure if the exact count for Continental Divide crossing but in the high twenties.  Our team searching out peanut butter mud.  From the first hours entering New Mexico, the state has been kicking my ass. New Mexico has a special beauty but most challenging. Today we wake up to the smell of recently extinguished forest fire. Safe but a fair amount of smoke. 1 hour later it’s another round of sticky “peanut butter” mud, fourth in NM. I been saying that I signed up for the deluxe adventure package. Yet somehow, as hard as it was today, it was a great day.  182. Miles to the finish. 

We continue to ride in some beautiful high plains desert.  Pie Town has 3 restaurants that make their own pies. I tried the spicy NM apple pie with chilies and pine nuts, excellent.  Off to the infamous Toaster House where the owner has been hosting hikers and bikers stay for years. The house is filled with all kinds of mementos from past guest. Met up with some cowboys who were getting ready for elk hunting season.  Pleasantly surprised to find a GDMBR box in the middle of the desert offering water and goodies for riders! Signed the guest book and ate snacks.  Long miles, 3 days to Silver City so we dispersed camped along the road. 

Last map section, less than 400 miles.  The GD route briefly use the historic Route 66.  So what do Great Divide ride eat while on the route and in the wilderness? My favorite is tortilla wraps with avocado and Fritos, nutritious and delicious.  Off to Pie Town for free pie and unlimited fries for Great Divide riders. 

The theme has been heat and monsoon rains in the afternoon and evening. Loading up on water when riding. We were invited to spend the night at the home of a Navajo family in the White Horse area. It was a special stay. Large, multi generational family with all types of pets and livestock. They were all so generous with feeding and putting us up for the night. I really enjoyed learning about the community, their family and their way of life. Lots of love and caring people. So glad we were able to spend time here .... thank you. Scenery is still changing

Scenery in New Mexico is changing. Nearly ran over a rattle snake, I never saw it. My riding mates said it was close. This could have ended badly. Sorry, know one was willing to get close to add perspective. Guessing around 5’ long. Great Warm Shower host, Mehedi and his dad were so generous and terrific host. Both are global bike travelers. 

Leaving Del Norte, CO heading for NM we encountered cows who refused to share the road -  Last pass in CO - The new team heading into NM are Pete who I met on day one in Banff and Heidi who I met at Seeley Lake miles ago. Here we are enjoying entering the last state, NM.  It has been challenging riding in NM with the monsoon season in full stride. Ran into peanut butter road on day one and two. My bike stopped rolling! Heavy rain and hail every afternoon.  Even the cowboy hearding the sheep was wondering what we were doing out there.  Trail Angels We encountered 2 trail angles today. Frank in his new, new 2019 Ford Ranger offered to help us through a section of peanut butter trail that was not rideable. Then at the campsite, Jim, offered to cook us dinner! Grilled pork chops, chicken, and mix veggies. Folks are so kind, I’ll need to be sure to “pay it forward!”