GDMBR Day 13

• Start: San Mateo Springs, Cibolla NF

• Finish: Informal Campsite #25

• Miles: 57.1 miles

• Odometer: 512.3 miles

• Ascent: 2,300 ft

• Descent: 4,800 ft

• Location: https://share.garmin.com/Judice

Highlights:

I had ideal conditions riding through the desert because the road had dried out from all the rain, the temperatures were fairly mild, there was no strong headwind, and there was still some water available to filter in ditches if I needed it. However, I can see how this would be an extremely difficult ride even later in the month and certainly in the summer. The views of mesas, mountains, and rock formations were outstanding so I stopped and took a lot of pictures. I even came across desert flowers and a couple of snakes. I left San Mateo Springs with 6 ½ L of water. My plan was to filter local water sources near my campsite destination. And if water was unavailable, I planned to rest for a couple hours in the shade and push on to Cuba, NM under the cover and coolness of dark. However, a CDT trail angel supplied me with tons of fresh water and two iced orange sodas near my campsite destination, so I camped for the night. The trail provides.

Lowlights:

I am using a GPS route for my primary navigation and a paper map as a back up. Using the excellent application GaiaGPS, I can run my iPhone in airplane mode to conserve energy and still track my progress. To conserve still more energy, I turn the display off while I’m riding and turn it on at intersections so that I don’t miss a turn. It is not full proof. For instance, today I rode past my turn and had to turn around costing me about 5 miles. Not happy.

Observations:

Local ranchers cannot fathom why anyone would want to ride their bicycle on rough dirt roads through the desert. I came across a rancher in his pick up truck and we stopped to visit for a second. When I told him I was riding 70 miles across the desert to Cuba, NM, he thought I was nuts. He just kept shaking his head. For a second I wondered whether he was right.