Onwards and upwards we go!

The 4th of July meant a holiday not only for the American Public but also us. We had a great day relaxing by the river, getting the bikes checked over, stocking up for the next few days and catching up with family back in New Zealand. It was nice to have a day off but also strange to not be riding and a little hard at times to fully relax. As it was July 4th there was a bit of a carnival in the local park very similar to something at home, a parade down the main st at 4pm and then music in the park into the evening. 

It seemed while we were there that everyone in Salida has a bike and a dog - it is a very dog friendly place ! 

There is also the Arkansas River that runs through the bottom of the town and it was a great spot to sit and watch people floating down either in blow up tubes, rafts, kayaks or just with life jackets. There is 3 man made waves similar to the ones on the Hawera River near Wanaka. 

After our day off the next day brought a big climb up over Marshall Pass and down the other side to Sargents  for lunch. We timed it well as 5 mins after we arrived the thunder and lightning started and the rain poured down! 

A nice lunch stop and a takeaway BLT for dinner we were on our way again an hour later as the weather cleared. Unfortunately the wind then arrived and of course it was a head wind - it didn’t really seem to matter which direction we went it was always a head wind! 

We called it a day at 128kms and camped at the upper dome reservoir. It was a lovely spot with just a little bit of wind that died down over the evening. 

Up at 4.30am and on the road towards our first pass for the day by 6 am after a slight detour to top up our water supplies. The first pass Cochetopa at 10067ft was a short ride ( 15kms) from our camp for the night then it was a gentle down hill and along a valley before we turned in towards the next lot of mountains and our next pass for the day. 

Carnero Pass was at 10166ft so back up we climbed this time with a bit more of the days heat on us! By the time we got to the top we decided it was a good time to sit in some shade for 15mins and eat some more food. Another gentle down hill and we detoured a km off course into La Garita hoping for a water refil and some food options from the local store marked on the map only to find it closed! Gutted we were. 

It was pretty hot out by now(37 deg) and our water wasn’t in huge supply but we had enough to make the final 30kms into Del Norte. So off we rode through the heat down a very barren valley we both looked at each other and wondered who would live out here, little did we know what the afternoon had in store for us! Once in town we went to the local brewery and had cold Pepsi and pizza before heading to the local divide riders hostel. We phoned the owners and checked in, paid, showered and hand washed the bike clothes for the next day before there was a knock at the door. It turns out the hostel was booked out for the weekend! Lucky for us the owners had some accommodation options out at there place just one little problem- Kim was away and she couldn’t get hold of her husband Mike, but she assured me she would sort something out and told us to go eat dinner at the diner next door and someone would come for us. While we were outside the hostel we had a couple come up to us and ask if we were biking the divide- yes we replied - where are you from?? New Zealand. Well this couple had been driving up the Indiana pass earlier in the day and had run into Russ and Kane and had a chat to them ! When we explained we had been riding with them up til a few days ago we started off a great conversation with this couple and then they asked us what we were up to. We explained about not being able to stay at the hostel and they were keen to help us somehow, we said it was ok and something would be sorted and after saying our farewells and getting a pic with them to send through to the boys we went across to eat at the diner. A few minutes later in walked the man we had been speaking too and he insisted on paying for our meal! It’s moments like this that really make this trip. We were truely blown away by their generosity and kindness. 

Well about 30mins later Gloria turned up. She is a neighbour of Kim and Mikes and she took us to the grocery store on the way out to their place - the very same place up the valley we had looked at earlier as we rode through and wondered “who live there!” 

Gloria set us up and gave us her number in case we needed it. What a great lady. Then Mike arrived home, offered us a cold beer and a tour of the place. What an amazing place they have. They had retired and collected numerous animals and different buildings to make into accommodation options for people. Kim is an artist and loves to sculpt and she has done some amazing things with glass and plaster in their home. They are building on to their home and it is going to be amazing once finished. 

These stairs say it all! 

Mike explained some of the history of the area and why he loved living there so much and it was great to get his view point on it. 

All in all it’s been a rather amazing stop in Del Norte today, it just goes to show you never quite know how the day will turn out ! 

Up again early the next morning Mike dropped us bs k at the hostel to our bikes and we were away towards Indiana Pass by 6.40am. It was a big climb today, steeper than we have had for a while and continuous up, a lot of the climbs so far have been a bit gentler in gradient.

We made it to the top in about 5hrs - 37kms up. So not too bad. The road was reasonably busy with ATV’s and utes of people and that didn’t stop all day! Once we had cressed the top of the pass - the highest of our tour at 11,912ft ( and no sign!) we had undulating ride over the next 30kms before climbing over another pass (stunner pass) before dropping down into Platoro. We stopped at the lodge there which has a cafe and a small grocery supply shop and had some lunch and ordered some extra ham and cheese toasties to take with us for lunch and dinner the next day. We then hopped back on the bikes and went another 40kms down to Horcas and camped at a local campground. Tomorrow we cross over into New Mexico but there isn’t any towns with food supplies until we reach Abiqui in 185kms time (2 days riding for us) so we have stashed a lot of food on board the bikes and are hoping it’ll get us through!