GDMBR Day 17

• Start: Informal roadside campsite

• Finish: Abiquiu, NM

• Miles: 53.9 miles

• Odometer: 639.5 miles

• Ascent: 4,200 ft

• Descent: 6,800 ft

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

Highlights:

I love running into other bikepackers. Although bicycle touring on roads has been going on for a very long time, doing the same thing up in the mountains is relatively new. Certainly the bikes and packs that are geared for this specific purpose are new. I ran into Dan and Sarah from Albuquerque who were up in the mountains on their bikes packing for the weekend. We shared a few stories and talked gear, and then they gave me some insight into what the trail is like ahead of me. They think it’s going to be a challenge with snow as I get closer to Colorado.

On my way down the mountain towards a Abiquiu, NM (home of artist Georgia O'Keeffe), I expected to find plenty of water for camping and dinner. To my surprise, unlike the other side of the mountain, there was very little water until I got 14 miles from town. So rather than stopping I pushed on to Abiquiu as the sun was going down. I worried about getting a motel because many of the small town motels are unstaffed at night. Since I had no cell service, I sent a satellite message to Robin and she wang-jangled up an Airbnb and that’s were I landed: sleeping on the couch in an artist’s studio. On my way over to the AirBnB I picked up the last two remaining cheeseburgers under the heat lamp at the local gas station. I was starving and they went down fast.

Lowlights:

The descent from the mountain was horrendous. The road was just a long path of boulders and sand. The whole experience took a greater toll on my body then climbing up the mountain. My bike handled it well but I think I knocked a couple of fillings loose. 

I am currently listening to the book entitled “The Greatest Story Ever Sold” by former New York Times op-ed writer Frank Rich. This book is about how the Bush administration sold the Iraq war to the American public despite the absence of any hard evidence that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. The spin doctorin’ and manipulation was first class. What is particularly distressing is the parallels to our current political environment. Listening to the book made me a depressed.

Observations:

I cycled well above 10,000 feet for a good portion of the day. There is snow on the ground but it is melting fast.