As some already know, Frank interrupted the trip to support his father after a back surgery. The doctor says that the surgery went well, but the pain is still immense. That’s why Frank decided to fly home so he can be there for his father and help with everthing that has to be organized now.
After 4 weeks above 7000 feet and three mountain passes in a row between Durango and Montrose, our van tells us that we should check the engine.
The good thing is that the van still drives normal and that we find a Fiat Professional dealer in Montrose. The bad thing is the american diagnostic tool don‘t communicate with our european van.
After 6 days in and around Durango we move on towards Crested Butte. On our way we overtook two german mountainbikers with bikepacking gear. We stopped and chatted for a while. Before our trip started we followed their blog. The bikes and the bikpacking gear is all they brought over for their 3 months trip from Las Vegas to Denver. Somehow, I think our roadtrip with our van is very luxurious.
No, we are not participating at the Colorado Trail Race. But we met some of the riders during our stay in and around Durango, that are crazy enough to race the 500 miles from Durango to Denver. The fastest guy, Kurt Refsnider, arrived today in Denver after 4 days and 13 hours. Wow! We (just) did some segments of the Colorado Trail which were beautiful!
That is how free campspots in Colorado look like. Those two spots are in Colorado just 2 miles behind the New Mexican border. Both are on 10.000 feet, which is higher than the summit of the Zugspitze, which is the highest mountain in Germany with an elevation of 9.718 feet.
Abiquiu Lake is our last stop in New Mexico. We enjoy the lake and are happy that Paul is joining us. The next day we ride the Rim Vista Trail together.
It is very hard to describe this place in Santa Fe named „Meow Wolf“. It is definitively a unique place that keeps you busy and astonished for your two hours visit. Don’t expect to understand what you see. But is it definitly worth visiting. There will be a similar place in Las Vegas soon and within the next couple of years they will open more places like this in Denver, Phoenix and Washington D.C..
It was hard to find a good trail around Santa Fe even with the help of local riders. There are almost no trails at all. It rains all the time and it is almost to cold for mountainbiking. In addition, after the ride it was impossible to find good food. That’s why we can not recommend New Mexico as a good riding destination. People, go to Texas. It’s way better there.
* The truth is the opposite, but don’t tell anybody! We were told to tell nobody how awesome it is here.
Continue reading Don’t go to New Mexico for Mountainbiking.*
Santa Fe liegt auf knapp 2.200 Meter. Wir spüren die dünne Luft und gewöhnen uns an die Höhe mit einer kleinen Gravelrunde. Auf dem Weg zum Start der Runde überfahren wir fast eine Klapperschlange.
Santa Fe is located at almost 2,200 meters. We feel the thin air and get used to the altitude with a short ride on our gravel bikes. On the way to the start of the ride, we almost run over a rattlesnake.
ladydiontheroad.com 