What Worked, What Did Not Work (Part 1)

Now that I finally accepted the fact that I am not going to do more of the GDMBR this summer I am starting to chill out. After a good night's rest I thought I would go for a little ride up Bear Canyon this morning, but then I got whammed with a wicked migraine headache. Usually I only get them when I am not exercising enough, and with a week off from the strenuous exertion of the GDMBR my body is slipping into slouch mode.

Two pills and three hours of sleep later I am groggy, but overall feeling much better. It could be a reaction to the old trail mix I was munching on yesterday as I reassembled my bike and trailer, or maybe it is just "after the battle" syndrome. In any case, I need to set some new goals for the summer and continue training and planning for next summer.

Just for chuckles yesterday while I was reassembling my bike I weighed my wheels - tire, tubes, sealant, cassette, rotors, and all - yesterday and discovered that my rear wheel was 6 pounds and the front one was 4 pounds. It was little wonder I struggle on the uphills. They were very reliable wheels, but that weight was a bit excessive for the amount of climbing on the GDMBR. Assembled, but unloaded, the whole bike weighed 35 pounds. I really appreciated the reliability and at times the full suspension, but I will be rethinking the weight issue; particularly the rotating weight.

Another issue was that with the BOB trailer I was unable to stand up on the uphills to use different muscle groups and relieve pressure on my butt. Without the trailer I could stand whenever I wanted, but with it I found it impossible to stand while climbing. That situation gave me a significant disadvantage, because my butt was glued to the saddle for the many, many long climbs. So I was forced to either slowly spin my way up or walk. The walking was as much to get some circulation to the butt as to stretch out the legs. In any case, I was a slow climber, and I need to work on that problem.

The Schwalbe Marathon XR tires were great on everything except sand. With the tubes installed I ran them at 50 psi to avoid pinch flats. Without the tubes I maintained the tire pressure between 30 - 40 psi, and they did better in the sandy/silty stretches. However, with the tubes and 50 psi it was hellish coming down the miles of sand on Polvadera Mesa south of Abiquiu, New Mexico. My front wheel would wash one way and the rear in the opposite direction.

Several times I nearly crashed, and then finally fatigued and did go over the bars on a relatively easy, but sandy section. I later learned that Cas, who was also using Schwalbe Marathon XR tires, also crashed in the same sandy section. On the other hand, they did great in the rocky sections, and of course on the pavement and packed sections too.




The front wheel washed out in the sand coming down (nobo) Polvadera Mesa south of Abiquiu. It wasn't even technical, but I was tired after 15 miles of rocks and then sand.

The Schwalbe Marathon XR tires did not hold up as tubeless tires. The casing broke in two places on the rear and did not look super great on the front when I changed them out after Grants. However, in all fairness, I did use those tires tubeless for several months as training tires and they easily had fifty thorn, cacti needle, and goathead punctures in each one before I started the GDMBR. I put about 4 ounces of fresh Stan's sealant in each one just prior to the ride, and there was always a slight amount weeping through the holes in the tires.

I first noticed a slight bulge in the rear tire when I awoke at Beaverhead Work Center in the Gila N.F. However, they never gave me any trouble, and they held air fine until the rear tire casing broke through. At that point there was no sealant left in the rear tire. I put a tube in it and made it all the way to Grants, New Mexico (about 90 miles) without any further problems. I think there is still a lot of commuter miles left on those tires with a boot and a tube.




I was bivied next to my bike at the Beaverhead Work Center in the Gila N.F. In the morning when I sat up is when I first noticed this slight bulge in my rear tire.




It held up until about 20 miles south of Pie Town. I had just blown down an eight mile stretch at speeds over 30 mph, but fortunately right here I was climbing a slight grade when it flatted out. It had been so long since I had a flat with the tubeless system that for a second or two I did not even acknowledge the infamous symptoms of a flat. I was unable to get it to hold air, so I put a tube in and rode on.

Logistically New Mexico was every bit as much of a bear as I expected. I did find a lot more water, than was advertised. At the same time the quality of the water was often repulsive to the uninitiated. Twice I filtered and treated water that had dead animals floating in them. Usually there were great clumps of algae growing and lots of bugs and little critters swimming around (extra protein).



Baby squirrels floating around in the main windmill tank just north of La Jolla Canyon south of the Plains of Agustin!



Yummy for the tummy algae near the Valle Tio Vences Campground 30 miles south of Pie Town.

When we got to our first "spring," Meason Spring in the Gila N.F., one of the group rode right past it, another asked if we needed to use a filter (before looking), and another started reading the instructions that came with his filter.




The word "spring" conjures up images of fresh, clear, cold water flowing out of the side of a mountain. That is so innocent and sweet, but in New Mexico the word "spring" or "ojo" can be anything from a cow piss mud hole to some sort of trough full of warm filthy water. A good, field serviceable, water filter is essential. Using a chemical backup is smart too; especially when you are filtering from a source with dead animals or coyote poop floating around in it. If you think "third-world," then you will have a clearer picture of the water situation on much of the GDMBR in New Mexico south of Grants.




This is the upper San Lucas Spring which is about 5 miles north of San Mateo Spring near Mt Taylor (north of Grants). Due to the steep terrain it was difficult to find even with the GPS, but here is a picture of a "spring" that you could put in a dictionary.

Using my Garmin eTrek Vista HCx and the Garmin MapSource USA Topo maps I found many "springs" that I never would have found otherwise. The only one that was a bust was Luterio Spring in the Jemez Mountains. It should be renamed "Moses' Spring," because the GPS Waypoint led me to a couple of big boulders in a meadow. I guess you are suppose to say a prayer and whack the rocks with your tire pump to make water gush out. I did find another source of water about 100 feet away, but it was so neglected and overgrown with bushes that it was not a good source for water. The cattle had beaten the area up pretty badly, and I waited until the next morning to get water somewhere else.

In the Carson N.F. north of El Rito, New Mexico, using the GPS I found a spring next to a bone dry creek bed. It was only when I dismounted and walked about 50 feet did I see the "spring" in the shade. It was actually in plain view, but totally blended into the landscape. It even had a little gutter carrying the water to a long metal trough. So, even with my trained eye I almost missed it



Can you see the "spring" across the bone dry creek bed and in the shade?

I had to actually walk over there to find it, and it was in plain view only 50 feet away!



That is a good start on what worked and what didn't work for me in New Mexico. Stay tuned for more ...