Monday, September 21st, 23 miles and 525 accumulated vertical feet up.
Special announcement: Thanks for reading, I have not had the opportunity or ability to respond to all of your comments but as soon as I get home I will reply or comment to each one Thanks again!
Today we woke to temperatures in the mid 20’s and frost on everything outside our little hiker/biker cabin in Platoro Colorado. We started out as usual but with a weather forecast for Tuesday through Thursday looking a bit worse than we had been seeing.
Since we left Sargents after that lost day caused by rain we have been keenly aware that the weather forecast is looking like more rain as we move South. We decided to pedal down to a small town called Horca. In Horca we could get lunch and resupply and if needed to we can contact a local Warmshowers host for advice and maybe a layover for the rain days.
So we arrived in Horca and sat down for a great lunch at the Red Bear Haus. Their resupply store was pretty much wiped out because they didn’t restock ahead of their seasonal closure next week.
We connected to the WiFi and checked the weather, several sources:
Out of the next ten days the weather forecast has the chance of rain in the areas of New Mexico where we would be riding being 24% or higher except for 2 days (one being 19% and the other being 23%). On Tuesday the predicted rain amount was 0.36 inches, on Wednesday 1.12 inches, on Thursday 0.23 inches, also a concern was Flash Floods and freezing conditions at the elevations we would be traveling. On the route there was no hotels or lodges or cabins until Wednesday night (so informal camping Monday & Tuesday). After Wednesday there were 2 more nights that would require camping at “informal camping spots” This means there’s nothing there, no shelter, no pit toilets, no running water. Normally in dry conditions that’s just fine. But now in the rain and cold these conditions would only make biking miserable.
A couple of weeks ago as we were going up the north side of Union Pass we ran into a North Bound biker coming down. His name was Rich. He was doing a 10 day bikepacking trip North from his house just outside of Horca. He told us that he was a Warmshowers host and to contact him if we needed anything. So we texted him from the Red Bear. He told us that he could not recommend us moving forward along the GDMBR assuming that the weather forecast was correct. He said he would come and pick us up take us to his house and would spend considerable time reviewing alternates. While we were talking at his kitchen table Scott got a text from our new Alaskan friends concerned as we were.
Rich invited them to peddle up to his place and spend the night with us and discuss as he had with us. Al, Tim & Kim were there within an hour and we talked and looked over maps and ACA resources.
Rich made several suggestions. But the only way for us to move forward was to “stay on pavement” avoiding the probable muddy trails, lack of services, possible flash flooding, and snow/ice. These pavement alternatives were 2 lane highways most with small shoulders or no shoulders and we were probably going to be traveling about 200 miles to Grants New Mexico on these roads. This is not how I envisioned finishing, but I considered it. The thought of cars and trucks zooming by us (even if traffic is light) with wet roads and rain was not a pleasant thought.
I have had a WONDERFUL adventure on this surprisingly difficult and unique GDMBR trip rolling down the spine of North American on my favorite toy. Oftentimes crossing physically the Continental Divide only to see some sensational vista that words and pictures cannot describe. So for me I want to preserve my WONDERFUL memories, I do not want this adventure to end with memories that would taint the first 59 days of enjoyment. And! I have a wonderful wife and family at home that I miss every day, so I don’t want to be sitting around a hotel room waiting for seasonal rains to come and go.
I have decided to have Rich help me create a path home from this crazy adventure. So along with Jenny, Rich and I, we have made the plan and tonight (Tuesday) I will be back home.
The Alaska Contingent has also decided to go home at this point.
Scott has decided to ride to Grants on pavement, he is attempting to join up with another rider we met along the way.
Rich and Anna have been married for a long time, they have 3 grown children and a few grandchildren. Rich is 70 and Anna is in her mid 60’s. They both grew up in Albuquerque and knew each other as kids. Imagine how gracious they are, they have hosted over 450 GDMBR riders & CDT hikers as guests in the past 11 years, tonight there are 5 of us (me, Scott, Al, Tim & Kim). Anna made us an amazing, adequate and delicious dinner of 🥔 salad (potatoes, carrots, pickles, hard boiled eggs, mayonnaise, celery, and secret ingredients) with air fried chicken, and sliced apples. Because of the intense amount of activity going on in house tonight, I stayed in the kitchen with Anna and helped in anyway she needed making dinner, we had a great time talking and learning about each other. We all took warm showers, sat up until 9;30 at the kitchen table talking about our special experiences in life. Kim has completed the Iditarod dog sled race. Al had a great career with the electric utility company in Anchorage. He has 3 kids all currently in grad schools located throughout the US. He is very interesting to talk to and appears to be a leader of this Alaska contingent. Tim enjoyed a career with the Railroad that serves most of Alaska. He has helped train Iditarod dogs, has done other cold weather endurance events including biking. Kim retired from an Alaska telecommunications company and has a big family. All 3 are going to do the RAGBRAI in 2027 and would like me to join them.
3074 miles on the GDMBR total. I got to within roughly 21 miles north of the New Mexico/Colorado border.
Thanks for Reading!
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