Day 4…..Now that was testing!

Warning….explicit content! I was getting so frustrated!

Looking back at what I called a Day from Hell a couple of days ago…..I was mistaken! Today made two days ago seem like a holiday! We all awoke around 5:30 and set about decamping before going over to the grandfather/grandson camp to grab hot water for coffee and porridge. My stove had stopped working due to altitude. As had Jake’s! The coffee was delicious. We then turned our attention to the trail ahead. After descending to the trail from the campsite we very quickly realised that this was gonna be one tough day. Within 300 metres our bikes had become unrideable. The rain had turned the trail to what is referred to as ‘peanut butter mud’ – a thick, clay like mud which grabs on to every part of the bike, especially the tyres, clamming the whole thing up, so the wheels can’t turn. You end up with dragging the bike, not wheeling it. Then you’d de-mud it, only for it to completely seize up again. The tyre tread disappears so you have no chance of gaining traction. My cleats on the shoes clogged up so there was no way to clip in….mind you, there was feck all option but to push/drag anyway so clipping in was somewhat obsolete! Mile after mile this was the story, interspersed with unrideable rocky climbs of 15+ % which I really struggled with. Jake was also in trouble so I’d get to the top, and go back down to help carry his panniers up. The favour was returned many times today as I truly struggled with the climbs. Mike went on ahead as his machine was more adept at dealing with the mud, leaving Jake and I to try get through 16 miles of this crap. As we crested each climb we’d be met with yet more mud and unrideable climbs or descents. It was a true experience of companionship for those miles as we tried to help each other, mile after mile of abject misery!

We hit the snow line, so we had sand, rocks, mud AND snow to compete with, but at least it wasn’t raining! Eventually we got to the state line between New Mexico and Colorado….we had beaten the odds to get outta New Mexico. The landscape was rapidly changing to almost alpine pass type of environment with stunning meadows and large forest outcrops. We knew at the end of the 16 miles of trail we would hit tarmac so we both knuckled under to get the final miles done. As we crested the last climb the thunder clouds rolled in…,it seemed that there was no aspect of this day untouched by sheer hell! Jake and I headed out on the tarmac towards Horca, some 11 miles away. First we had to crest a massive pass which topped out at 10,800ft. Within 2 minutes of riding tarmac all hell broke loose, with powerful thunder and lightning, snow and sleet and powerful winds. At the peak we were both frozen to the core. We then realised we had a 6 mile descent. Whilst ordinarily such a long descent would have been so lovely but…..it was absolutely horrendous. Frozen to the core we descended at 40 miles an hour, unable to use our brakes and steadily loosing consciousness. We got to Horca in a pathetic mess and crawled in to the only cafe/bar there is, which was known to be biker friendly. Mike had arrived a few hours earlier. I was a right mess, unable to control my shivering….and promptly burst in to tears! A mixture of exhaustion and elation that we had somehow beaten the odds. It took nearly 2 hours to get some heat back in the body. We stuffed ourselves with food and coffee, then realised we had to vacate the cafe to go sleep outside in sub zero temperatures 🥶. On the grounds of the cafe is a yurt which we rented so we didn’t need to pitch tents which was a relief, tho the yurt was bloody cold and wet in equal measure. By 8 we were hunkered down in our bags, with every item of clothing on…including my Gore insulated rain jacket, two thermal tops, my Castelli Gabba jacket and two base layers….i was frozen still!

A Colorado mountain train