Bikepacking New Mexico 3/10-3/15

[weisan]

Under the kind invitation of another forum pal, I decided to drive up to New Mexico to meet up with him to do some bikepacking. This thread is to chronicle the trip.

We will essentially be utilizing this route and taking a lot of the advice from the author:
http://www.bikepacking.com/routes/bikepacking-new-mexico-history-tour/

I am using the Van Dessel gravel bike with 650b X 2.0 tubeless tires, two rear pannier bags, and one handlebar bag, carrying 5 water bottles, using a Marmot Pulsar tent.

http://alicehui.com/bike/NM/bike8.jpg
https://vimeo.com/320821845



Current weather forecast in that area from Sat - Thur.
http://alicehui.com/bike/NM/IMG_3457.jpg

Some of the challenges will be the wind, the cold, the rain, and the mud. It will be quite an experience .

I am breaking up into 2 days to drive up to NM. It was 80 degrees yesterday, too nice to pass that up, so I stopped, took out the road bike and rode around the Lampasas TX area for a couple of hours. This area is really beautiful. Every year we have a ride called Atlas 4000 that comes over here.

http://alicehui.com/bike/NM/IMG_3453.jpg

http://alicehui.com/bike/NM/IMG_3454.jpg

I slept in the van last night parked outside Walmart at Stillwater, will continue driving all the way to Socorro NM today, hopefully early to mid afternoon so I can take the gravel bike out on some of the gravel roads to get familiarized a bit. Then maybe dip in the indoor pool at the local Best Western follow by a good night sleep before we officially start on our route Sunday morning.

Stay tuned, more to come...

[roguedog]

Very cool. Look forward to the updates!

Did you buy the bike just for this trip or did you already have it? Interesting rack set up!

[SlowPokePete]

Sounds great...can't wait for the updates.

SPP

[weisan]

thanks pals, will do, about to set out in an hour or two after breakfast.

Rogue pal, I already have the van dessel for almost a year.
https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=222052

I have another Ti gravel bike (https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=227263).
http://alicehui.com/bike/Plug/three.gif
but I picked the van dessel because it has that extra bit of tire clearance for 650bx2.1 and it has the top brake levers which I like when I am riding on the top of my handlebar for easy access to the brakes - can only do this if it's mechanical disk, the other bike has hydro so can't do it.

[R3awak3n]

have fun!!!!

[skiezo]

Looking forward to the updates. Looks like a great trip and a nice long range forecast.
Call me jealous,cause I am.
I am planning one or two east coast trips this year.

[Clancy]

I’ve been eyeing this trip as well - looking forward to your reports.

Particularly interested in the logistics of the train travel.

I’m jealous! Have a blast

[wtex]

Weisan,
I'm up the road in ABQ if you need a place to stay or any tools, etc.
It appears to be off your track, but if you can hit Pie Town, it's awesome. This place is the best of the pie makers: https://pieoneer.com/ - they have some unusual hours. The other cafe is also quite good, but not a specialist like Pieoneer.
Also, just 200 yards outside of Pie Town is this VLBA dish: https://public.nrao.edu/gallery/vlba-pie-town/
It's not visible from the main road, so you have to know to look for it. VLA is definitely worth a stop, as is the Bosque del Apache, should be a lot of migratory birds there this time of year. The Bosque is a real treasure, very peaceful, good gravel roads too.
San Antonio has a really good green chile cheeseburger place. They have a bunch of pics of celebrities who've stopped there. The photo of Dave Mustaine cracks me up, every time.

[weisan]

http://alicehui.com/bike/NM/IMG_3472.jpg
http://alicehui.com/bike/NM/IMG_3473.jpg
http://alicehui.com/bike/NM/IMG_3474.jpg

http://alicehui.com/bike/NM/IMG_3475.jpg

[weisan]

Weisan,
I'm up the road in ABQ if you need a place to stay or any tools, etc.
It appears to be off your track, but if you can hit Pie Town, it's awesome. This place is the best of the pie makers: https://pieoneer.com/ - they have some unusual hours. The other cafe is also quite good, but not a specialist like Pieoneer.
Also, just 200 yards outside of Pie Town is this VLBA dish: https://public.nrao.edu/gallery/vlba-pie-town/
It's not visible from the main road, so you have to know to look for it. VLA is definitely worth a stop, as is the Bosque del Apache, should be a lot of migratory birds there this time of year. The Bosque is a real treasure, very peaceful, good gravel roads too.
San Antonio has a really good green chile cheeseburger place. They have a bunch of pics of celebrities who've stopped there. The photo of Dave Mustaine cracks me up, every time.

Wtex pal thanks for your kind offer and tip!

[dbnm]

I'm in ABQ too if you need anything.

[SlowPokePete]

I'm curious about having that much weight in the back...my one time (poser) commuting home on the Ahearne with Ortlieb panniers in the back really effected the handling...like if I stood up the whole bike would wobble. I do have a front set that I subsequently bought but haven't really tried them out.

Have fun!

SPP

[merlinmurph]

Looks like a great trip!

How are you geared?

[weisan]

The trip was cut short for a number of reasons, mainly because my back was acting up again. We encounter vicious wind, incessant rain, freezing cold and my partner pressed on after I turned around but he too bad to turn around about 5 miles later when he encountered snow on the higher elevations.

I don't regret for a bit in doing this. This is what I had signed up for. Too bad we couldn't make it all the way through. I am sure we have more trips coming up in the future.

Below are some random pictures with some descriptive text in no particular order.

I met a cowboy driving a truck when I rode out of the national forest park and got to the intersection of 60. He was in his way to Socorro to pick up some supplies. He threw my bike over the back of his truck and gave me a ride back into town. Glad I met him. That's after standing there in freezing rain for more than 30 minutes with a dozen cars/trucks drove past, none wanting to stop, in fact, they accelerate as soon as my hand sign went up. Thank you Walt pal, you are a kind soul.

http://alicehui.com/bike/NM/IMG_3530.jpg

After I got back into town around noon , the rest of the day turned out pretty nice at 70 degrees, didn't want to pass that up, so I did a bit of hiking at a local park....but that's after pigging out a large meal at the local Chinese buffet place.

http://alicehui.com/bike/NM/IMG_3532.jpg

Also get to walk around the New Mexico Tech campus a bit, took a shower at their gym and also did a bit of web surfing, photo/video processing in their library.

http://alicehui.com/bike/NM/IMG_3534.jpg



http://alicehui.com/bike/NM/IMG_3535.jpg

My partner sent me a picture of the snow on the ground.

http://alicehui.com/bike/NM/IMG_3536.jpg

Screen grabs from the video camera. Don't mind a bit of the fisheye effect.


http://alicehui.com/bike/NM/nm2.png

You can see the clouds moving in. We got rained on during the first night of camping inside the national forest.

http://alicehui.com/bike/NM/nm3.png
http://alicehui.com/bike/NM/nm20.png

http://alicehui.com/bike/NM/nm8.png

My partner shielded me from the vicious wind all day but in the end, it was still not enough to get me through. Once my back starts to hurt, I knew it was just a matter of time before I had to give up.

Thanks partner for taking such good care of me on this trip. Let's hope we have better luck next time....

http://alicehui.com/bike/NM/nm6.png

[tv_vt]

Every time I've visited my brother in ABQ in March, the winds have been howling. Enough to sandblast car paint at times. Tough month to try this trip. Bet 4 or 5 weeks later would be awesome.

[papa bless]

If you're still in Socorro, be sure to get a burrito from Burrito Tyme. Steak, potatoes, cheese, and green chile will hit the spot.

[dbnm]

NM has a joke
"Don't like the weather? Wait 5 minutes."

I'm sorry you had a rough go at it.
NM is beautiful.

If you come back, be sure to let me know. You can camp in my backyard if you'd like. I live on the Rio Grande and next to a bike path that leads to some really amazing riding.

[weisan]

Not disappointed at all!

This trip is not over yet.

On my way back, I will be doing some hiking at Lost Maples State Park and Garner State Park on Wed and Thurs with the weather forecast being sunny and in the 70s, follow by a weekend long of road riding in the Leakey area with a group of cycling friends.


Lost Maples
https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/ca84a87f-480b-46c9-b37e-bdc3b28ad2e7.jpg

Garner State Park
https://cdn.onlyinyourstate.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/The-Emerald-pools-of-the-Frio-River-HDR-5175226482-700x477.jpg

The cycling route that is famously known as the Texas Rambler
https://texasrambler.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/map-day-21.jpg

Hiking at Bosque Del Apache Wildlife Reserve
https://insider.kelbyone.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/BosqueBourne4.jpg

[cgolvin]

NM has a joke
"Don't like the weather? Wait 5 minutes."

Funny, I always heard that was NH not NM. I'm sure there's truth in it for both.

[Jaybee]

Funny, I always heard that was NH not NM. I'm sure there's truth in it for both.

I hear it all the time in CO too. I think every area with reasonably sufficient topographic variability (i.e. mountains) will have some lack of stability in short-term weather patterns.

[marciero]

Was great having Weisan join me for part of this trip. So far this trip has had



Beautiful, remote, rugged terrain,
sustained headwinds of 25mph with gusts much higher. My route had me headed into the teeth of the prevailing winds. This is normal state of affairs. Then there are days with "wind alerts" with much higher winds.
Eerie howling wind noise in desert.
Ice-covered road following
Overnight snow, 1-2 inches on day 1 camping.
Overnight rain,
daytime rain
getting turned back on mountain pass by snow
pea-sized hail
call of shame after getting stuck in "caliche" (sp?) mud after a t-storm. This stuff is no joke. Even pushing the bike was impossible. Walking is difficult also as it sticks to shoes. Is not even "muddy" and appears to be totally rideable. Was dicey even for the rescue vehicle. I am duly chastened.


Here is a link to some photos (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l1sb8lrci7k3ge6/AAARB0eALnkTNb3HRgex3FRea?dl=0)

Am back in ABQ right now weighing options. Have to clean the bike and gear. Today is a wind alert day with 35-40mph sustained and gusts 60-70, depending where you are. Last I looked there is storm warning in Santa Fe with either 3-6 inches or 6-12 inches snow depending on elevation. Meanwhile, a "potent cold front blasts the state Wed..."

[weisan]

Now that the mystery person revealed himself, all I have to say is Mike pal is a stud. He protected me and shielded me from the wind all day long. Yesterday's ordeal was crazy! I am glad everything turned out ok.

I am now at Fort Stockton TX making my way back. Taking a nap at a truck stop. Earlier today I stopped by Fort Davis and did a bit of hiking. The temperature here is 70 degrees sunny blue sky. I will joining another group of cyclists to do some riding on the weekend at Leakey.



Thanks Mike for letting me join you on your adventure.

[m_moses]

Looks like it was quite an adventure. NM looks like a beautiful place to ride. Kudos to you both for pushing your limits.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[AngryScientist]

we never learn anything if things always go according to plan.

thanks for sharing the adventure gentlemen. strong work.

[Jaybee]

Was great having Weisan join me for part of this trip. So far this trip has had



Beautiful, remote, rugged terrain,
sustained headwinds of 25mph with gusts much higher. My route had me headed into the teeth of the prevailing winds. This is normal state of affairs. Then there are days with "wind alerts" with much higher winds.
Eerie howling wind noise in desert.
Ice-covered road following
Overnight snow, 1-2 inches on day 1 camping.
Overnight rain,
daytime rain
getting turned back on mountain pass by snow
pea-sized hail
call of shame after getting stuck in "caliche" (sp?) mud after a t-storm. This stuff is no joke. Even pushing the bike was impossible. Walking is difficult also as it sticks to shoes. Is not even "muddy" and appears to be totally rideable. Was dicey even for the rescue vehicle. I am duly chastened.


Here is a link to some photos (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l1sb8lrci7k3ge6/AAARB0eALnkTNb3HRgex3FRea?dl=0)

Am back in ABQ right now weighing options. Have to clean the bike and gear. Today is a wind alert day with 35-40mph sustained and gusts 60-70, depending where you are. Last I looked there is storm warning in Santa Fe with either 3-6 inches or 6-12 inches snow depending on elevation. Meanwhile, a "potent cold front blasts the state Wed..."

I was going to suggest heading a couple hours south (http://www.bikepacking.com/routes/monumental-loop/) to warmer, dryer country, but Las Cruces is under a high wind advisory (30-50mph) right now.

[marciero]

I was going to suggest heading a couple hours south (http://www.bikepacking.com/routes/monumental-loop/) to warmer, dryer country, but Las Cruces is under a high wind advisory (30-50mph) right now.

That was among options I considered while sitting in a hotel room in Socorro. Truth or Consequences was 100 miles south, then Las Cruces another 130 or so. T/C would have been 100 miles directly into the ~25-30 mph southerly wind, over very remote terrain with no services. But then would just be another wind alert today. I could have laid out a day and enjoyed hot springs, then two-day ride south to LC. But at that point I would need a day of limousine or bus service to get back. And again, as you note, LC weather not ideal. So I decided to do "easy" 55 miles north to Belen. With tailwind! Then I would have had options to ride or take Roadrunner train back to ABQ. I should have made the conservative choice (as I did the day before when turning back on the mountain pass) and taken paved roads.
Another caution should have been that two routes that I routed earlier in the ride, using either rwgps or dynamic watch, across the same section of desert either were gated/private or road did not exist. That's what happened on this route-after 15 miles of side but mostly tailwind the route seemed to go off the road. I followed the road closest to parallel. Zooming out on the garmin showed it to be on course to intersect with the route later on. I also was able to confirm with the route map on my phone which I had downloaded. Things were going so great until they weren't.

[weisan]

I drove by T/C and Las Cruces yesterday.

I have a hard time controlling my 2-ton odyssey minivan in the wind.

And it took forever to get to Las Cruces.

If one or both of us had ridden there, we should be automatically crowned the winner for this year's Tour de France.

Actually, Mike, you at least deserved this for what you have been through.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcScc48IAuGt8I3e70FNekAXaX3j4tEUH BdF0DbYbnUyzSggnPpd

[marciero]

I'll say also it was great riding and hanging out with Wei pal. He also witnessed one or two other bonehead camping 101 moves on my part about which he is sworn to secrecy.
Interesting story- Weisan befriended an older couple at the motel in Socorro where we met. They had totaled their car. He took them to dinner-that's where he was when I got there- and then loaned them his car for two days while we were out on the ride. Nice guy.

[weisan]

Hey! I thought our secrecy pact was mutually inclusive! :rolleyes:

:p
The calm before the storm.
http://alicehui.com/bike/NM/IMG_3716.jpg

[AngryScientist]

^^^^

Is that the “older couple” ?















:banana:

[marciero]

^^^^

Is that the “older couple” ?

I know, huh? One of us a bit more than the other.