The weekend of August 20th-23rd Casey and I embarked on a bike-packing trip to scout a portion of the New Colo Bikepacking Route.
The route was created by Casey and will have an inaugural race, beginning in fall of 2022. It totals a little over 1,000 miles through southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. The route has mixed mediums- gravel, single-track, road, and as experienced this weekend, bush-whack.
We set out to do the east side of the route, a 270 mile section beginning in Chama, New Mexico, heading south for 70 miles of single-track on the Continental Divide Trail (CDT).
My rig, Chan Chan
The Route
We begin our route on Friday afternoon, on what our research claimed to be “green and flowing single-track”, which means it should be smooth and fast. We met a cowboy named Dave at the trailhead. He was riding south on the CDT on his flea-bitten grey gelding, a pack mule and two collies at his side. He was friendly and as interested in our bikes as I was in his animals.
The ride immediately begins with epic-views and our hopes are high. My trusty ass is strapped to the front of my bike, he and I were both eager for adventure. We didn’t know what was ahead, but we were excited.
Eeyore the ass surveys the meadow
Friday afternoon rushed by with riding of all types. We sailed down beautiful single-track, pulled and pushed our bikes through gnarly bush-whack, and cruised on ATV double track. We rode for 5 hours and covered 20 miles, which was less than we originally wanted, but we were content and decided to make camp and have a fire for the night.
Eeyore soaks up the last light
Beer to celebrate the day
Saturday morning began early and easy. We had camped at the top of a climb from the evening before, which meant we got to spend our first handful of miles descending on a fun trail. We knocked off some beautiful miles, and figured we would finish the 70 mile single-track section by mid afternoon. The timing would be perfect to grab lunch at a small, home-style Mexican food restaurant in El Rito, New Mexico.
Part of the adventure of backcountry riding is the unknown.
Our trail turned from green and flowing single track, into monster bushwhack. Our pace creeping into covering just 2-3 miles per hour as we hoisted our 50 pound bikes on our shoulders. We did just about everything you can do with a bike, besides ride it.
For the next 14 hours, we pushed, pulled, and cursed our bikes over 48 miles. We would gloriously encounter a 4 or 5 mile stretch of rideable trail, rejoicing at being on our bikes rather then next to them. The few miles would pass, and we would be bush-whacking for an hour again.
Green and flowing singletrack
NOT green and flowing singletrack
Pushing my loaded bike for the better part of 14 hours that day is officially the hardest day I have ever had on my bike, or beside it, so far. It was TOUGH. Thankfully my partner is no rookie to hard days on a bike, and he pushed me through.
We made camp Saturday night at the top of a hefty hike-a-bike. I was as mentally exhausted as I was physically. We had expected to finish that segment by the afternoon that day, and we were low on snacks and out of meals.
The next morning we knew we had about 5 or so more hours of questionable riding, but there was Mexican food at the end of it. I fell asleep thinking about the gratitude I have to be able to suffer on my bike in the backcountry. At the end of the day, I didn’t want to be anywhere else.
Here for the BEER
Sunday morning began the same as Saturday. We descended through an amazing meadow, shared breakfast with cows, and eventually were back in the bush-whack with our bikes.
After 5 more hours, half of which was not rideable, we emerged from the wilderness onto an actual road. We were frothing at the mouth for the Mexican food that was supposed to come 24 hours earlier.
Eeyore hunting for Mexican food
The great nose of our ass led us to the infamous El Farolitos in El Rito, New Mexico. We completed our Mexican food mission, with home-made green chiles and black beans.
A challenging and epic weekend, which left me with renewed gratitude for my bike and my body’s abilities. The inaugural New Colo bikepacking route will premier August 2022, and I will be riding it.
