IT'S LIKE THAT...
New Mexico Pavement...
WORDS... April: Note: many, many hotlinked images in this post...
Hittin' the road...
With all the important gear:
So Spring is pretty much kickin' it right now... or its really trying to anyhow. But the white stuff still threatens, and lately its been scheduling its last battles for my weekends, which is beginning to wear thin on my already winter-sensitive nerves.
Shot two weekends ago in the HD Mtns...
As last weekend approached, I was becoming quite anxious to get out and ride. But ride somewhere different or new because I expected weather in town to be shite yet again. Moab, Fruita, and several other hotspots are within a days drive for me, but I wanted something new. It didn't have to be the mountain bike mecca or a new super hot technical line, just different. With the help of the www, I located a place... a place in New Mexico...
The HDT, or High Desert Trail as it is aptly named, resides just outside of Gallup, NM. Only a 3.5 hour drive, I set my sights on Gallup as my weekend destination.
(I was "this close" to driving to ABQ to ride something like Cedro or Otero, but I was getting mixed reveiws on the weather there too...)
From the Gallup NM dot Org website:
The High Desert Trail:
A narrow, single track mountain biking and hiking trail, High Desert Trail System provides a wide variety of terrain with the least technical beginning at the East Trail. Three loops off of the trail - First Mesa, Second Mesa, and Third Mesa - increase in technical difficultly of terrain.
One of the numerous trail markers along the route.
I checked a pdf map of the trail system and it looked to be about 10 miles from one end to the other, with increasing levels of difficulty if one were to start at the east side of the trail. I estimated the ride would be at least 20 miles, and that sounded just about right. So, the plan was put in motion. Friday after work, I hit the open road, set the cruise, and watched the apocalyptic vistas of New Mexico fade past like old frame from a View Master Reel....
As I beat it out of DGO, it appeared I was doing so just in time, as
a nice weather front was just beginnin to roll in...
Looking up the road was not a very promising view etiher. At this point
fingers were crossed that I would drive through the majority of it.
When I reached Cortez, the windshield wipers were working full tilt to
keep my view crisp and clean. Well, make that windshield WIPER, as
the driver side wiper sort of disintigrated. A quick stop at wallyworld
provided a nice, new Michelen wiper blade, and the opportunity to
photograph Mesa Verde shrouded in weather.
Shiny happy people in Cortez...
Back on the road, I was able to start putting some miles down, and somewhere around Shiprock, NM, the weather began to thin out a bit. I was just a hair late to get the best lighting on Shiprock itself, but I stopped for a second to shoot it anyhow (I also did some "from the hip" shots whilst driving too). I was surprised when I stepped out to the side of the road and was greeted by an almost hot breeze. I was also less than thrilled about the power lines in the way too.
And then... Shiprock was History...
Just before sunset, a nice big sandstorm began to blow across the desert. These are incredible events to witness in person, and I really hope to one day be immersed in a very serious one. The way the ground moves, the sand waves across the ground like heavy gas or smoke... so interesting. That is until, of course, so much is blowing and you can't hardly see your hand in front of your face.
On second thought, I don't really need to experience such a thing. But what I was able to witness of the mild one on my drive was pretty keen.
I rolled in to Gallup at about 8:15 or 8:30 pm. Hit up wallyworld again to see if I could pick up a card reader because I forgot mine. I found one for under 8 bucks, how bout that? Got back to the hotel, and found that I also forgot the power cord for the laptop. sweeeet. So, my evening entertainment consisted of watching all the violent crimes being reported on the ABQ news stations. Holy hell, what a place. For that matter, I can't imagine Gallup is too much more friendly. You get this feeling, coming it there at night- not that you are in danger, like when you drive in to Detroit at night, but just more like this, sort of.. feeling of being surrounded by many things nefarious. While I didn't feel that I would get gangked or attacked, I did have this feeling that I could might possibly catch a stray bullet or blade from some sordid deal gone wrong. Actually, it was an interesting sensation, and in the end, I think maybe I've just watched No Country For Old Men a few too many times...
Then morning came...
The plan was to hit the bike shop first, and pick up an extra tube or patch kit, and see if I could squeeze any trail beta out the locals. But not many bike shops open at 8am. So I cruised about Gallup a bit and got a feel for the place.
So, in the daylight, Gallup lost a little of that "No Country" feel (but not entirely)... however, it was a very interesting place - aesthetically. I almost could have skipped the bike ride and just wandered the town all day shooting it, and in fact, I may go back some time and do just that....
After a while of tooling around, I parked the Jeep (free on street parking downtown, wooot!) and found a coffee shop. I figured maybe someone there would know where the bike shop was, cause I was not seeing it (the previous night, I gangked the map from the phone book and the page with the bike shop info - there was ONE bike shop...). The coffee shop I found was large, box-ish in shape, and fairly new feeling. Still, it was sparsley outfitted, and not many of the chairs and table matched. I placed my order and asked the barista lady if she knew where the bike shop was. She informed that it had closed, and the owner was now running it out of his garage. Hmph. great. As the double espressos brewed and steam turned cream in to froth, my eyes wandered about a bit more... one person in the corner typing away on a laptop... then I notice a sign on the register - "INTERNET = $3.00 Please inform us if you intend to use the internet"... whaaaa? wow. Noticed some average-looking coffee shop art hanging about the place, nothing unsightly, but pretty much "every coffee shop art"... and a large set of square-holed shelves that held news papers magazines... on one pile I spied an old issue of Dirt Rag, so I picked it up. Paged through... check the issue number: #119. zipped back through the pages and found that this was issue I was published in - a self portrait while doing a one-footed table top when I lived in ABQ. I looked at the photo underneath mine, and noticed it was a rider that I did not know when the issue was released, but ended up meeting this guy and riding with him last summer. funny....
A stocky fellow with very long dread locks brought my espresso out and thanked me for coming in. They had good bean - the espresso was nice, not too bitter, and not overly sweet like I seem to notice in many places. keen.
Well - with no bike shop, my only option for a spare tube would be wallyworld. But even then, they dont' usually carry tubes with presta valves, so I was just hoping to find a patch kit. I ended up with some "slime" adhesive patches - not too sure about those, my luck with adhesive patches in the past has not been good, and really, i should have just bought some super glue.... either way, I was finally prepared, and so I headed out to the trail head.
The lot on the east side of the the loops. The plan was to start easy, work in to
the more technical stuff for the peak of the ride, and then ride back out through
the easy stuff....
The trail head was easy enough to find. Just head north on old route 666 (now its 491 - but if you look carefully, you can still find the 666 road signs) and look for a road called Chino something-or-other, then take a left. After the left, the road curves right, and then you see the trail head almost immediately on your left. When I arrived, there was one van in the lot, with Colorado plates, but it looked like they were the trail already. Got the bike out, made sure all was operational, and then hit the trail....
This is the first trail sign. You can see how the trail stretches out and loops back. What you can't probably see here is that there are three main loops, which is sort of a misnomer too.... you can't really just go out and ride the middle loop, you have to start one of two points on either side of the system. But, you have the option to loop back around about 4 different times if you get bored or tired or whatever. The plan was to ride the lower halves of the loops on the way out, and then the upper halves on the way back.
As the trail started out, it was standard high desert trail riding. Lots of yuccaa, sage, cacti and that loose-ish gravelly dirt. The trail itself was very well taken care of - groomed even. it was wider than what one might call singletrack, but surely not so wide to be considered double track. And though you might hear some ATVs in the distance, they are not allowed on the trail. Nice.
For the first two miles or so, I was nice riding. Smooth for the most part, very little elevation gain, and not very technical at all. A great place to bring beginner riders I thought. The trail undulated through and around little mesas, and though you did have short sections that were upwards, they were always followed by an equal payoff of a swoopy and speedy decent back down. I was also thinking about what a great trail this would be for single speeds that like to really rail it out. You could cruise this place nicely even with a stiffer gear like 32-16. Then I thought about how out of place my dual crown 6-7inch mini downhill rig was so out of place, lol. But it was still fun. I was just hoping the trail became a bit more challenging. Soon.
Standard Fare for the first few miles....
Okay, first major intersection. I started at the very right side of the map.
if I wan to deliberately check out the beginner trail, I have to take a left/down here.
But I decide to go "up" and continue on to the intermediate section/mesa. I can
ride the beginner loop at th end when I circle back, if I really feel like adding some
extra miles...
On the map above, you'll notice its called the "Six Flags Intersection".
Here are the six flags. And my bike. and huge rock cairn...
I've completed the straight-ish section to the middle loop, or "second mesa" intersection. Originally, I figured I'd ride the southern portions of the loops first, but for some reason, I deciced not to here, and I did the north half. I have to say, this the best signed trail I have ever seen. Tells you where you are, and how many miles in each direction.
Sign 5, the bike and a cairn....
On the middle mesa, the terrain became, well, "terrain". There were rocks, loose dirt, and even some
little bumps to catch air on if you kept your eyes peeled. Still not technically challenging, but it was nice
to get away from the rather sanitized feeling of the first couple miles...
What you can't really see here is the craftsmanship put in to building this
(and others) switchback. It was almost pretty, now neat and cleanly it
was constructed. This trail is very well maintained, and I have to say
it's alway well laid out too. It flows nicely.
Getting towards the next intersection, the trail begins to interact with the geology of
the area a little more, and the immediate foregrounds become much more interesting.
Lots of places for short bursts of speed - nothing sustained though,
watch out because some corners seem to come out of nowhere...
Nearest the next intersection, there are several small
areas where you get to circumnavigate some
keen sandstone structures....
Okay, so now I've come across the top of the middle mesa, from right to left... I'm 7 miles in so far, and
have yet to even take a drink of my gatorade...
So as I look towards the next section, trying to figure out which side of the loop to ride,
I notice these little metal bunnies.... and what looks like a drop off behind them...
Well, it was not really a drop off, but a sort of fun line to try to
ride down. It was steep, but not very dangerous at all. But it
was keen how you had to ride between the rabbits to hit the line.
A view of where the trail sort of goes. Again, I decided to take the north side loop.
This part decends through some more eroding sandstone sections, has some nice swoopy
speedy lines, and even some halfway techy spots. So far, its my favorite section of trail so far.
Still feeling its more a single speed trail though...
Sign post seven. The last loop, and supposedly the trickiest part. So far, I'm
not worried at all, as its been an easy ride for the most part. Nothing super challenging, but
again, the trail is in great shape, and is just a flat out fun ride. So far.... Again, I opt for the
north side (note the blue arrow in the background indicating a direction)...
I don't have photos of this part because it was too fun to stop. Not too fast, but it flowed so
nicely that stopping to shoot would have ruined the ambiance... Really. Most of it is a slow
decent to a valley floor, and at one point, you get in to a fairly steep downhill section that is
for sure not a beginner trail. perhaps the trickiest line of the entire system is on this part, about
a mile from the western terminus. For the first time of the ride, I can let my bike do its thing,
and though its not a downhill course, and the bike is still overkill for the trail, it rails the lines down
and all I can do is grin...
Okay... Sign 8. I'm ten miles from the start. one mile to the end.
The trail out is a short decent through some slickrock, then to a dirt road.
I float down the trail to the road, toally balls to the wall, two wheel drifting
the corners, and at the dirt road I can see the western trail head and map
sign thing... its only dirt road, and is a short climb, so I decide to turn around, go
back to sign 8 and re fuel, and contemplate the ride so far...
Well, halfway done, and I don't feel too bad. But then, its not been a demanding trail.
Still, 10 miles is 10 miles :)
Its sort of difficult to compare this trail... to Phil's World... Alien Trail.. they are in effect, the
same high desert terrain. I would consider Phil's World to be the most techinical of the three,
and Alien would come in second, then this trail bringing it in for 3rd. Overall, this trail
has been smooth and flowy. Sort of like if you mixed Phils World and Alien Trail in to one
network, but spread them out a bit. This trail does not have that sort of tight squeezed in feel
that the other two have. Though not as technical (even though it does have a couple tricky parts)
it flows better than both of the others, and maybe that'st he beauty of this trail. It just cruises nicely.
More pantomime animals. you'll see quite a lot of these around...
After refueling, I begin my way back, this time I will take the southern portions of the
loops. To my dismay, I find that I must have descended quite a ways, because the first two
miles on the way back are mostly upwards moving. In some places, very upwards, and even
in a couple more spots, I nearly have to walk my bike (but I pull through, really). Though these climbs
are not long, they are short little lung bursters. And they even manage some exposure in some
places, where you at the very edge, and if your tire goes one inch the wrong way, you are going down,
down down... Fun :)
Though is does not tranlate well, this a particularly
tough section to get up without touching. Its
narrower than it looks, and its an initial ten foot
drop to the right, and if you catch a good bouncet there,
you could manage another 30or 40 footer after that.
This is not a beginner section. If you are not comfortable
with technical/narrow/rocky sections with little room for
error - skip the west loop.
I loved it though :)
This was the sun dial. it was off by about 10 minutes.
we might be in trouble....
You can't see it here, but route 66 and I-40 are lurking in the background...
The way back on the southern halves of the loops seemed like it was mostly uphill, but I could have
just been tired. But I think, I'd recommend doing the north halves, if you start from the east.
After about the 3rd mile on the way back, the trail sort of leveled out, but the rocky stuff was
all gone, and the trail returned to its previous state of nice groomed loose gravelly desert dirt.
I did the beginner loop on the way back as well, and I would almost recommend to do it on
the way out, if you are starting from the east side.
Another note - in some areas, the trail seemed like it was either new, not ridden yet after a good rain, or
just something... it would become very rough and almost stippled. I was puzzled by this for quite a while.
Also, there are many cattle crossing gates on the trail....
I never put much stock in those things (no pun) becuase I've ridden across so many and never
saw any livestock... so I never expect to see any on a trail.
Well, on the last stretch back to the east trail head - I'm following a nice curvy trail and I bank in to a hard
sweeping right turn. Bike is beginning to lay over and the suspension is doing its thing, providing me with traction
and keeping up my speed. at the apex of the turn, there is a short tree that obstructs your view of where to exit
the turn. Just after the tree, there's a huge ass cow standing there waiting for me. The cow literally hopped back a foot
and uttered (again, no pun) a short surprised cow eeep and trotted backwards out my way very fast. wow. I almost
hit a freaking cow. On my bike.
So, mind the live stock if you ride the High Desert Trail, in Gallup New Mexico.
After letting it sink in a few days... I can say this about the HDT:
If I lived in Gallup, it would be one my main squeeze rides, maybe a couple times a week. I would liken it to
maybe the foothills at Sandia in ABQ, or the Gulch in Durango. A nice local trail. Not tart, not too sweet.
Will I drive down there again to deliberately ride it? Probably not. But not becuase I don't think its a great trail.
its just not my cup of tea. In the middle of the summer, I can imagine it getting miserably hot. Plus, Phils and
Alien trail are an hour from me, and offer about the same ride as the HDT.
Also, understand, the HDT is probably not intended to be a classic epic ride like Colorado High Country trails. It is
expertly constructed. It flows super nicely. It has a little something for everyone - but it has a little more for the
newer/beginner rider, and a little less for the more technical savvy rider. It is signed better signed than anything I've
ever seen. I take back what I said earlier - I MIGHT drive back there to ride it with the single speed, if others were
going too. I think it would be excellent in that respect. As well, its a great place to take beginners, because you
can cruise comfortably for most of it, and then if anyone wants to challenge themselves, they have the opportunity -
but are not forced to. Not all trails are like that. Not many around here at all.
If I were to find myself in the area and with a bike, I'd for sure go. If someone asked me - "hey, I'm going to be going
through or staying in Gallup, should I bring a bike and ride this HDT thing?" I'd say yes, for sure. They did a great job
in a very keen area, and managed to throw in a few surprises too. Its worth checking out...
The way home was much less eventful, shot a few here and there,
basically came home, downloaded images and crashed out...
--------------------------------------
Back to the Mountains....
The La Platas, shot from Subway in Cortez...
HD Mountains, a couple weeks ago...
On Sunday, I hooked up iwth Ben for a little more riding locally. We hit
the gulch and climbed telegraph, and he got to test out his new
40D, sweet camera - I'm excited for him to get use it after dealing
with a kodak point and shoot for the previous season or so...
This is a line looking down from the top of telegraph.
Steeper than it looks definintely applies here. But its not really
that sketchy.
We had a good ride, and forgot about a few sections of the trail that were uphill.
we'll have to do something about that in the future...
Above: Me wallriding - trigger tripped and panned by Ben.
I also got to really push the new bike set up a bit too. Pushing this rig up through the gulch and
up telegraph is no picnic. but bombing down the back, down Yellow Brick Road, Sidewinder, Cowboy
Big Canyon - very nice. I've never descended with such speed and conifidence (in the bike). With
that huge fork on it, it handles completely different, but still feels familiar... I'm stoked. Can't wait
to get the 8 inch travel bike put together!
After we completed our ride, we grubbed out and decidedto check out another trail elsewhere in
town. I brought my bike just in case we found this place, as its not on the maps, and bike shop
people will not tell you about these lines... (IF they even know!)....
Well, sure enough, we found what we were looking for.
and then some.
Last time we sought some secret lines, we found them too. and also found people riding them...
this time was no different, except that I knew a couple of them. We introduced ourselves, and
asked if they would mind if we shoot. they were cool and said no prob.... so... we shot a few, I rode
down one of the lines, gained some confidence, but still didn't hit everything... next time, really.
and to think, this time last year, I wasn't really riding too much. We have a head start this year!
Rider:Rich Photo: ME....
Rider: Me Photo: Ben
my fav... Rider: Me Photo: Ben.. keen with the mountian back there....
And that's about that... now I have this incredible urge to ride more downhill
stuff, I just won't have the time to for at least another week. grrr damn. At
least spring has sprung, and I'm riding what I'm riding....
Hittin' the road...
With all the important gear:
So Spring is pretty much kickin' it right now... or its really trying to anyhow. But the white stuff still threatens, and lately its been scheduling its last battles for my weekends, which is beginning to wear thin on my already winter-sensitive nerves.
Shot two weekends ago in the HD Mtns...
As last weekend approached, I was becoming quite anxious to get out and ride. But ride somewhere different or new because I expected weather in town to be shite yet again. Moab, Fruita, and several other hotspots are within a days drive for me, but I wanted something new. It didn't have to be the mountain bike mecca or a new super hot technical line, just different. With the help of the www, I located a place... a place in New Mexico...
The HDT, or High Desert Trail as it is aptly named, resides just outside of Gallup, NM. Only a 3.5 hour drive, I set my sights on Gallup as my weekend destination.
(I was "this close" to driving to ABQ to ride something like Cedro or Otero, but I was getting mixed reveiws on the weather there too...)
From the Gallup NM dot Org website:
The High Desert Trail:
A narrow, single track mountain biking and hiking trail, High Desert Trail System provides a wide variety of terrain with the least technical beginning at the East Trail. Three loops off of the trail - First Mesa, Second Mesa, and Third Mesa - increase in technical difficultly of terrain.
One of the numerous trail markers along the route.
I checked a pdf map of the trail system and it looked to be about 10 miles from one end to the other, with increasing levels of difficulty if one were to start at the east side of the trail. I estimated the ride would be at least 20 miles, and that sounded just about right. So, the plan was put in motion. Friday after work, I hit the open road, set the cruise, and watched the apocalyptic vistas of New Mexico fade past like old frame from a View Master Reel....
As I beat it out of DGO, it appeared I was doing so just in time, as
a nice weather front was just beginnin to roll in...
Looking up the road was not a very promising view etiher. At this point
fingers were crossed that I would drive through the majority of it.
When I reached Cortez, the windshield wipers were working full tilt to
keep my view crisp and clean. Well, make that windshield WIPER, as
the driver side wiper sort of disintigrated. A quick stop at wallyworld
provided a nice, new Michelen wiper blade, and the opportunity to
photograph Mesa Verde shrouded in weather.
Shiny happy people in Cortez...
Back on the road, I was able to start putting some miles down, and somewhere around Shiprock, NM, the weather began to thin out a bit. I was just a hair late to get the best lighting on Shiprock itself, but I stopped for a second to shoot it anyhow (I also did some "from the hip" shots whilst driving too). I was surprised when I stepped out to the side of the road and was greeted by an almost hot breeze. I was also less than thrilled about the power lines in the way too.
And then... Shiprock was History...
Just before sunset, a nice big sandstorm began to blow across the desert. These are incredible events to witness in person, and I really hope to one day be immersed in a very serious one. The way the ground moves, the sand waves across the ground like heavy gas or smoke... so interesting. That is until, of course, so much is blowing and you can't hardly see your hand in front of your face.
On second thought, I don't really need to experience such a thing. But what I was able to witness of the mild one on my drive was pretty keen.
I rolled in to Gallup at about 8:15 or 8:30 pm. Hit up wallyworld again to see if I could pick up a card reader because I forgot mine. I found one for under 8 bucks, how bout that? Got back to the hotel, and found that I also forgot the power cord for the laptop. sweeeet. So, my evening entertainment consisted of watching all the violent crimes being reported on the ABQ news stations. Holy hell, what a place. For that matter, I can't imagine Gallup is too much more friendly. You get this feeling, coming it there at night- not that you are in danger, like when you drive in to Detroit at night, but just more like this, sort of.. feeling of being surrounded by many things nefarious. While I didn't feel that I would get gangked or attacked, I did have this feeling that I could might possibly catch a stray bullet or blade from some sordid deal gone wrong. Actually, it was an interesting sensation, and in the end, I think maybe I've just watched No Country For Old Men a few too many times...
Then morning came...
The plan was to hit the bike shop first, and pick up an extra tube or patch kit, and see if I could squeeze any trail beta out the locals. But not many bike shops open at 8am. So I cruised about Gallup a bit and got a feel for the place.
So, in the daylight, Gallup lost a little of that "No Country" feel (but not entirely)... however, it was a very interesting place - aesthetically. I almost could have skipped the bike ride and just wandered the town all day shooting it, and in fact, I may go back some time and do just that....
After a while of tooling around, I parked the Jeep (free on street parking downtown, wooot!) and found a coffee shop. I figured maybe someone there would know where the bike shop was, cause I was not seeing it (the previous night, I gangked the map from the phone book and the page with the bike shop info - there was ONE bike shop...). The coffee shop I found was large, box-ish in shape, and fairly new feeling. Still, it was sparsley outfitted, and not many of the chairs and table matched. I placed my order and asked the barista lady if she knew where the bike shop was. She informed that it had closed, and the owner was now running it out of his garage. Hmph. great. As the double espressos brewed and steam turned cream in to froth, my eyes wandered about a bit more... one person in the corner typing away on a laptop... then I notice a sign on the register - "INTERNET = $3.00 Please inform us if you intend to use the internet"... whaaaa? wow. Noticed some average-looking coffee shop art hanging about the place, nothing unsightly, but pretty much "every coffee shop art"... and a large set of square-holed shelves that held news papers magazines... on one pile I spied an old issue of Dirt Rag, so I picked it up. Paged through... check the issue number: #119. zipped back through the pages and found that this was issue I was published in - a self portrait while doing a one-footed table top when I lived in ABQ. I looked at the photo underneath mine, and noticed it was a rider that I did not know when the issue was released, but ended up meeting this guy and riding with him last summer. funny....
A stocky fellow with very long dread locks brought my espresso out and thanked me for coming in. They had good bean - the espresso was nice, not too bitter, and not overly sweet like I seem to notice in many places. keen.
Well - with no bike shop, my only option for a spare tube would be wallyworld. But even then, they dont' usually carry tubes with presta valves, so I was just hoping to find a patch kit. I ended up with some "slime" adhesive patches - not too sure about those, my luck with adhesive patches in the past has not been good, and really, i should have just bought some super glue.... either way, I was finally prepared, and so I headed out to the trail head.
The lot on the east side of the the loops. The plan was to start easy, work in to
the more technical stuff for the peak of the ride, and then ride back out through
the easy stuff....
The trail head was easy enough to find. Just head north on old route 666 (now its 491 - but if you look carefully, you can still find the 666 road signs) and look for a road called Chino something-or-other, then take a left. After the left, the road curves right, and then you see the trail head almost immediately on your left. When I arrived, there was one van in the lot, with Colorado plates, but it looked like they were the trail already. Got the bike out, made sure all was operational, and then hit the trail....
This is the first trail sign. You can see how the trail stretches out and loops back. What you can't probably see here is that there are three main loops, which is sort of a misnomer too.... you can't really just go out and ride the middle loop, you have to start one of two points on either side of the system. But, you have the option to loop back around about 4 different times if you get bored or tired or whatever. The plan was to ride the lower halves of the loops on the way out, and then the upper halves on the way back.
As the trail started out, it was standard high desert trail riding. Lots of yuccaa, sage, cacti and that loose-ish gravelly dirt. The trail itself was very well taken care of - groomed even. it was wider than what one might call singletrack, but surely not so wide to be considered double track. And though you might hear some ATVs in the distance, they are not allowed on the trail. Nice.
For the first two miles or so, I was nice riding. Smooth for the most part, very little elevation gain, and not very technical at all. A great place to bring beginner riders I thought. The trail undulated through and around little mesas, and though you did have short sections that were upwards, they were always followed by an equal payoff of a swoopy and speedy decent back down. I was also thinking about what a great trail this would be for single speeds that like to really rail it out. You could cruise this place nicely even with a stiffer gear like 32-16. Then I thought about how out of place my dual crown 6-7inch mini downhill rig was so out of place, lol. But it was still fun. I was just hoping the trail became a bit more challenging. Soon.
Standard Fare for the first few miles....
Okay, first major intersection. I started at the very right side of the map.
if I wan to deliberately check out the beginner trail, I have to take a left/down here.
But I decide to go "up" and continue on to the intermediate section/mesa. I can
ride the beginner loop at th end when I circle back, if I really feel like adding some
extra miles...
On the map above, you'll notice its called the "Six Flags Intersection".
Here are the six flags. And my bike. and huge rock cairn...
I've completed the straight-ish section to the middle loop, or "second mesa" intersection. Originally, I figured I'd ride the southern portions of the loops first, but for some reason, I deciced not to here, and I did the north half. I have to say, this the best signed trail I have ever seen. Tells you where you are, and how many miles in each direction.
Sign 5, the bike and a cairn....
On the middle mesa, the terrain became, well, "terrain". There were rocks, loose dirt, and even some
little bumps to catch air on if you kept your eyes peeled. Still not technically challenging, but it was nice
to get away from the rather sanitized feeling of the first couple miles...
What you can't really see here is the craftsmanship put in to building this
(and others) switchback. It was almost pretty, now neat and cleanly it
was constructed. This trail is very well maintained, and I have to say
it's alway well laid out too. It flows nicely.
Getting towards the next intersection, the trail begins to interact with the geology of
the area a little more, and the immediate foregrounds become much more interesting.
Lots of places for short bursts of speed - nothing sustained though,
watch out because some corners seem to come out of nowhere...
Nearest the next intersection, there are several small
areas where you get to circumnavigate some
keen sandstone structures....
Okay, so now I've come across the top of the middle mesa, from right to left... I'm 7 miles in so far, and
have yet to even take a drink of my gatorade...
So as I look towards the next section, trying to figure out which side of the loop to ride,
I notice these little metal bunnies.... and what looks like a drop off behind them...
Well, it was not really a drop off, but a sort of fun line to try to
ride down. It was steep, but not very dangerous at all. But it
was keen how you had to ride between the rabbits to hit the line.
A view of where the trail sort of goes. Again, I decided to take the north side loop.
This part decends through some more eroding sandstone sections, has some nice swoopy
speedy lines, and even some halfway techy spots. So far, its my favorite section of trail so far.
Still feeling its more a single speed trail though...
Sign post seven. The last loop, and supposedly the trickiest part. So far, I'm
not worried at all, as its been an easy ride for the most part. Nothing super challenging, but
again, the trail is in great shape, and is just a flat out fun ride. So far.... Again, I opt for the
north side (note the blue arrow in the background indicating a direction)...
I don't have photos of this part because it was too fun to stop. Not too fast, but it flowed so
nicely that stopping to shoot would have ruined the ambiance... Really. Most of it is a slow
decent to a valley floor, and at one point, you get in to a fairly steep downhill section that is
for sure not a beginner trail. perhaps the trickiest line of the entire system is on this part, about
a mile from the western terminus. For the first time of the ride, I can let my bike do its thing,
and though its not a downhill course, and the bike is still overkill for the trail, it rails the lines down
and all I can do is grin...
Okay... Sign 8. I'm ten miles from the start. one mile to the end.
The trail out is a short decent through some slickrock, then to a dirt road.
I float down the trail to the road, toally balls to the wall, two wheel drifting
the corners, and at the dirt road I can see the western trail head and map
sign thing... its only dirt road, and is a short climb, so I decide to turn around, go
back to sign 8 and re fuel, and contemplate the ride so far...
Well, halfway done, and I don't feel too bad. But then, its not been a demanding trail.
Still, 10 miles is 10 miles :)
Its sort of difficult to compare this trail... to Phil's World... Alien Trail.. they are in effect, the
same high desert terrain. I would consider Phil's World to be the most techinical of the three,
and Alien would come in second, then this trail bringing it in for 3rd. Overall, this trail
has been smooth and flowy. Sort of like if you mixed Phils World and Alien Trail in to one
network, but spread them out a bit. This trail does not have that sort of tight squeezed in feel
that the other two have. Though not as technical (even though it does have a couple tricky parts)
it flows better than both of the others, and maybe that'st he beauty of this trail. It just cruises nicely.
More pantomime animals. you'll see quite a lot of these around...
After refueling, I begin my way back, this time I will take the southern portions of the
loops. To my dismay, I find that I must have descended quite a ways, because the first two
miles on the way back are mostly upwards moving. In some places, very upwards, and even
in a couple more spots, I nearly have to walk my bike (but I pull through, really). Though these climbs
are not long, they are short little lung bursters. And they even manage some exposure in some
places, where you at the very edge, and if your tire goes one inch the wrong way, you are going down,
down down... Fun :)
Though is does not tranlate well, this a particularly
tough section to get up without touching. Its
narrower than it looks, and its an initial ten foot
drop to the right, and if you catch a good bouncet there,
you could manage another 30or 40 footer after that.
This is not a beginner section. If you are not comfortable
with technical/narrow/rocky sections with little room for
error - skip the west loop.
I loved it though :)
This was the sun dial. it was off by about 10 minutes.
we might be in trouble....
You can't see it here, but route 66 and I-40 are lurking in the background...
The way back on the southern halves of the loops seemed like it was mostly uphill, but I could have
just been tired. But I think, I'd recommend doing the north halves, if you start from the east.
After about the 3rd mile on the way back, the trail sort of leveled out, but the rocky stuff was
all gone, and the trail returned to its previous state of nice groomed loose gravelly desert dirt.
I did the beginner loop on the way back as well, and I would almost recommend to do it on
the way out, if you are starting from the east side.
Another note - in some areas, the trail seemed like it was either new, not ridden yet after a good rain, or
just something... it would become very rough and almost stippled. I was puzzled by this for quite a while.
Also, there are many cattle crossing gates on the trail....
I never put much stock in those things (no pun) becuase I've ridden across so many and never
saw any livestock... so I never expect to see any on a trail.
Well, on the last stretch back to the east trail head - I'm following a nice curvy trail and I bank in to a hard
sweeping right turn. Bike is beginning to lay over and the suspension is doing its thing, providing me with traction
and keeping up my speed. at the apex of the turn, there is a short tree that obstructs your view of where to exit
the turn. Just after the tree, there's a huge ass cow standing there waiting for me. The cow literally hopped back a foot
and uttered (again, no pun) a short surprised cow eeep and trotted backwards out my way very fast. wow. I almost
hit a freaking cow. On my bike.
So, mind the live stock if you ride the High Desert Trail, in Gallup New Mexico.
After letting it sink in a few days... I can say this about the HDT:
If I lived in Gallup, it would be one my main squeeze rides, maybe a couple times a week. I would liken it to
maybe the foothills at Sandia in ABQ, or the Gulch in Durango. A nice local trail. Not tart, not too sweet.
Will I drive down there again to deliberately ride it? Probably not. But not becuase I don't think its a great trail.
its just not my cup of tea. In the middle of the summer, I can imagine it getting miserably hot. Plus, Phils and
Alien trail are an hour from me, and offer about the same ride as the HDT.
Also, understand, the HDT is probably not intended to be a classic epic ride like Colorado High Country trails. It is
expertly constructed. It flows super nicely. It has a little something for everyone - but it has a little more for the
newer/beginner rider, and a little less for the more technical savvy rider. It is signed better signed than anything I've
ever seen. I take back what I said earlier - I MIGHT drive back there to ride it with the single speed, if others were
going too. I think it would be excellent in that respect. As well, its a great place to take beginners, because you
can cruise comfortably for most of it, and then if anyone wants to challenge themselves, they have the opportunity -
but are not forced to. Not all trails are like that. Not many around here at all.
If I were to find myself in the area and with a bike, I'd for sure go. If someone asked me - "hey, I'm going to be going
through or staying in Gallup, should I bring a bike and ride this HDT thing?" I'd say yes, for sure. They did a great job
in a very keen area, and managed to throw in a few surprises too. Its worth checking out...
The way home was much less eventful, shot a few here and there,
basically came home, downloaded images and crashed out...
--------------------------------------
Back to the Mountains....
The La Platas, shot from Subway in Cortez...
HD Mountains, a couple weeks ago...
On Sunday, I hooked up iwth Ben for a little more riding locally. We hit
the gulch and climbed telegraph, and he got to test out his new
40D, sweet camera - I'm excited for him to get use it after dealing
with a kodak point and shoot for the previous season or so...
This is a line looking down from the top of telegraph.
Steeper than it looks definintely applies here. But its not really
that sketchy.
We had a good ride, and forgot about a few sections of the trail that were uphill.
we'll have to do something about that in the future...
Above: Me wallriding - trigger tripped and panned by Ben.
I also got to really push the new bike set up a bit too. Pushing this rig up through the gulch and
up telegraph is no picnic. but bombing down the back, down Yellow Brick Road, Sidewinder, Cowboy
Big Canyon - very nice. I've never descended with such speed and conifidence (in the bike). With
that huge fork on it, it handles completely different, but still feels familiar... I'm stoked. Can't wait
to get the 8 inch travel bike put together!
After we completed our ride, we grubbed out and decidedto check out another trail elsewhere in
town. I brought my bike just in case we found this place, as its not on the maps, and bike shop
people will not tell you about these lines... (IF they even know!)....
Well, sure enough, we found what we were looking for.
and then some.
Last time we sought some secret lines, we found them too. and also found people riding them...
this time was no different, except that I knew a couple of them. We introduced ourselves, and
asked if they would mind if we shoot. they were cool and said no prob.... so... we shot a few, I rode
down one of the lines, gained some confidence, but still didn't hit everything... next time, really.
and to think, this time last year, I wasn't really riding too much. We have a head start this year!
Rider:Rich Photo: ME....
Rider: Me Photo: Ben
my fav... Rider: Me Photo: Ben.. keen with the mountian back there....
And that's about that... now I have this incredible urge to ride more downhill
stuff, I just won't have the time to for at least another week. grrr damn. At
least spring has sprung, and I'm riding what I'm riding....
----------------------------------------------------------
AND THAT'S THE WAY IT IS...
New Mexico Trails...
Thanks for lookin', have a great week! :peace:
No comments:
Post a Comment