Epic Bike Ride Day 15 June 11
Thoughts from Kelly: I love Chama! Everyone was so nice and we really felt welcomed. I definitely want to come back and explore the area more. It rained again most of the night, but everything was dry by the time we hit the road at noon. I know, another late start, but we had to go to breakfast and talk to the neighbors at the campground! We didn’t go very fast today, mainly due to stopping and enjoying all the sights. We crossed the border into Colorado (I’ll miss you New Mexico! TTFN) and right away noticed more pull offs and signs explaining the surroundings and historic markers. It’s hard to just drive past so much beauty, so we kept stopping and taking pictures and videos. We even hung around to watch the Cumbres and Toltec steam train come down the mountain. A very cool scence, that never gets old. There were a few other people waiting for the train also, so we got to chat with them and exchange adventurous stories. Mark climbed about 2,800 feet in 20 miles, crazy strong beast! And that’s after not feeling up to riding when we woke up. Way to push through Mark!
We continued meandering through the beautiful mountains and made plans for where we thought we wanted to end the day. The map for this section didn’t have as many hints to help us know where we were, so we had to guess a bit. Around 5pm I told Mark we had 9 miles til the next store/road junction (in Horca CO) so we planned to meet there. Well, it ended up being 6 (my eyes apparently played a trick on me) so I stopped at the 6 mile mark where the store and junction was, then went a little further to check the conditions of the new dirt road, since it had been raining on and off for the last 3 days. Once I could tell that the road looked good, I turned around and waited for Mark. I waited and waited and waited. I then started to get worried, so I drove back to the last point I had seen Mark, the 6 miles (that I thought said 9), he wasn’t there! I figured he had gone the 9 miles, so I drove back down the mountain and finally found him. Phew, it sure is a yucky feeling when we can’t find each other!! Happily reunited, we went into the store and bought a coke and a pint of dairy free ice cream, and had a great conversation with the store owners. It was now 5:45, so we continued on, knowing there were lots of camping options in the next 10 miles. The first two campgrounds wanted $26, which I don’t like paying when the only service they offer is a glorified port-a-potty (we’ve been paying $10 for similar parks). We knew there was dispersed camping ahead, so we kept going. We came upon another campground that is privately owned, and Mark talked to the owner, telling him we just need a spot to park and sleep in our truck. The owner allowed us to stay free of charge, and there is a bathroom with running water! What luxury! Oh, going back to that pint of ice cream I bought. Mark couldn’t have any since it had tree nuts, which he is allergic to, and since we only have a cooler to keep things cool, I had to eat the entire pint. I don’t do well with sugar, so by the time we got to the campground I was not feeling great, and pretty much made dinner for Mark and had to lay down. I knew I shouldn’t have bought/eaten that whole thing, but when you are allergic to dairy and gluten and you find ice cream you can have, it’s hard to pass up. Hopefully a good night sleep will mend my woes.
Thoughts from Mark: FANTASTIC breakfast burrito at Fina’s Cafe in Chama to start the day. I have eaten a lot of breakfast burritos in my day (some people would probably say too many), but I don’t think I have ever had more bacon or green chile in a burrito. It was so big, I had to take some of it in a doggy bag, and it tasted even better after about 10 miles of hard riding. I climbed into the mountains, and we had some amazing views along the ride. Eventually, we dove out of the mountains into Horca, which was a small, but really scenic town in a valley. As Kelly said, there was a miscalculation on distance (and a convenience store that did not look like a convenience store), and we ended up missing each other in Horca. Eventually we were able to find each other, and we enjoyed talking with the owners of the store.
After we left the store, we got back onto the gravel roads, and rode along a few stables and dude ranches. At one of these, which butted up to the road, one horse came trotting up to the fence as I approached, and another horse came SPRINTING up. They were obviously used to being fed by passing cars, and one of them allowed me to pet/scratch his/her nose. After a few minutes I rode on, and we saw about 20 elk feeding in the valley, next to a scenic river. As we continued up the road, there was a group of 5 deer about 20 yards from the road, and one of the young females began running alongside the road, in the same direction I was riding. She obviously wanted to race, and she absolutely smoked me! This entire 20-30 minute section of the ride was one of the highlights of the entire trip so far. After saying in an earlier post we hadn’t seen a lot of animals, this is no longer the case.
Miles for the day: 43.55 Feet climbed today: 3,583
Total miles ridden: 664.91 Total feet climbed: 43,599