Adios Amigos

It's been just over a week since we hang up the cleats and I think we've slowly come back to reality.

Lady luck followed us closely for the last days of the ride. She showed up with perfect timing on Indiana Pass, down in the small time of Horca and in Abiquiu. First she came in the form of Robin, who offered to carry all our kit with him in his truck to the next campsite. He didn't have to ask twice and within seconds the panniers were cut from our bikes. He also hid beers on the trail for us to enjoy before we climbed the last 1000 feet up to 11900 feet. The beers and the view provided the perfect motivation. Not only did he give us a couple beers but when we got to the campsite he had the kind of food we'd been dreaming about since our 50th packet of two-minute noodles. Once the words 'help yourself' came out of Robins mouth the packets of tortillas, hummus and salsa were torn into and then we sat drooling as Robin cooked salmon and sweet potatoes. 

Second, she came in the form of a leathered-up biker gang in Horca, who upon hearing our story offered us everything but their bikes. Water, chocolates and turkey sandwiches went down a treat and the lads were fueled to get up La Manga Pass.

And third she came as a lady called Mamacita in Abiquiu, who gave us refuge on her pizzeria's patio after we put back the 2 of the second best pizza's in the state. So we definitely had our fair share of help over the last few days, but the next day on the stretch of trail that followed in New Mexico soon made us feel as if the world was against us. After 8 hours and only 60 kms we had to call it a day and pitched camp in the middle of the wilderness. The following day we set our sights on Grants and as the Aspens and pine trees faded away behind us we knew we were finally out of the woods and into the desert. 

My time limit of 6 weeks on the bike was up as we rode down into Grants, New Mexico, and it was with a bit of sadness and relief that I was out of the saddle. Our second last day of riding was our longest at 210 kms. The pins had to work overtime for 15 hours. The ride took us out of a perilous stretch of trail in the New Mexico mountains and through the small town of Cuba. We parked off at midnight about 70 kms away from Grants in the middle of the desert. Riding into the night gave us an amazing perspective of the desert. Under a full moon the canyons and rocky outcrops were illuminated and it made the grinding a lot easier. The next day it was a straight 70kms on tar to Grants, and as we pulled in the reality of being finished was there. The life of camping, cycling and adventure had come to an end for me. Cam and Keith made the border run and made it there 4 days later after a total of 48 days on the bike. I was supporting them all the way, whilst having a Great Divide beer and watching the Ride the Divide documentary.

The adventure that we had definitely exceeded our expectations. We rode through desserts, forests, snow, hail and blazing sun, most of the time with a smile on our faces, sometimes not on very rare occasions. The people that we came across along the way that helped us by putting a roof over our heads, feeding us or just pointing us in the right direction made a huge contribution to our adventure. We want to thank everyone that gave us a helping hand along the way as well as all the other riders that we met on the trail. Meeting complete strangers with the same goal, creates a strange comraderie that is infectious and provides much needed motivation. I'm not sure if its the cycling thing or just the fact that everyone on the Great Divide is there to have an adventure, get out of their comfort zone or to just spend time in the wilderness. All of those are great reasons to saddle up and ride the divide.