Aug 18, Day 54 - Cuba

Abiquiu, NM to Cuba, NM

Distance 61.5 miles; Av speed 9.5 mph

The main off road route between Abiquiu and Cuba is described by most as the toughest section of the entire route. Not just because of the gradient (a climb of almost 4,000ft back up to over 10,000ft) but because of the terrain, which is volcanic, rocky and sandy. Oh, and you have to carry enough water for a day and a half. Plus, if it rains, the road is impassable…….. The day before, Bill had called to describe it as just awful, “think Lava Mountain and then double the pain!” Not only was the ascent tough, but the descent is technically tricky; he had to descend at 5mph, his hands glued to his brakes. He had also fallen off, luckily not injuring himself too badly, just his hands, but enough to leave him shaken. He said he just lay in a crumpled heap underneath his bike and started to cry.

After much heart searching, Numb Stuff and Dirtbaby decide to take the pavement option instead. Dirtbaby feels she does not have the strength or mountain bike skills to cope with the descent, and it is too remote an area to even flag down a car if one of us did get injured.

While enjoying our final breakfast at the Abiquiu Inn, we see a familiar bike pull up, it’s Harry! We wave him in to join us for breakfast, which he does, followed by some of the Socialite group. The Socialites have now split into 2 groups; Gerry, Phil and Steve have gone on ahead, while Harry has joined Ann, Vicky and Jim. They all look totally exhausted, as they have not had a rest day since Salida, except Harry, who now looks a lot happier than the last time we saw him. Vicky has torn a tire, so she and Jim have decided to take the pavement to Cuba, while Vicky and Harry are going to rise to the challenge of the off road route. We hope Vicky has made the right choice as she really looks so tired but as she is an experienced mountain biker, we figure she must know what she is letting herself in for.

The ride to Cuba is a delight, passing the Abiquiu dam then winding up through trees again, before descending into town. There are 3 stores open along the way which makes a rare change and we buy Gatorade at 2 of them.

While checking into the motel at Cuba, we meet Phil, who looks totally shellshocked. He, Gerry and Steve attempted the off road ride from Abiquiu to Cuba – Steve made it in 2 days while Gerry and Phil had to camp out an extra night because they weren’t going to make it to Cuba before it got dark. Phil said it was the most awful experience of the whole trip – if he had seen a pick up truck, he would have offered the driver $100 to take him out of there. He felt so bad, he could not continue riding with Gerry and Steve but stayed in Cuba another day to try and recover. That helped settle our minds as to whether we had made the right decision! Phil asked if he could ride to Grants with us the next day, and we arrange to meet up for breakfast at 6.30am at McDonalds, the only place that seems to be open that early.

That evening, we have superb Mexican food at El Brunos, plus a couple of excellent margaritas, then settle into bed for a good rest.