Day 38: Carnero Pass to Del Norte - 39 miles

An interesting difference between myself and my wife Lis manifests itself when it is time to pack. Be it a suitcase or a vehicle Lis always underestimates the ability to fit gear into a limited space. I, on the other hand, believe that there is an almost infinite capacity for anything and seldom if ever admit defeat. Since today we needed to fit my bike, 5 panniers, and two large suitcases into Lis' tiny rental Hyundai, our differences came to the fore. Over breakfast Lis announced that she didn't mind returning to Salida after dropping me off to continue cycling since there was no way we would get it all in the car. I told her not to worry as I was confident it would all fit. Yet again I was proven correct, and there was not even the usual nashing of teeth as Lis is horrified at my ability to "stuff" things. It all fit very tidily.

We drove the 1.5 hours from Salida to Carnero pass and it was such a contrast from Friday afternoon when we had the storm. The weather was still not looking very good, but at least we could see the mountains. On the way I did a bit of work on my notebook computer for the office in New Zealand. I commented to Lis that over the years a great deal of work has been accomplished with her acting as the chauffeur and my beavering away on a computer. I once wrote a complete manual during commutes from our home to work in Birmingham England.

By the time we got to Carnero pass (10,166'), the weather had set in. It was overcast and very cold, with either freezing rain or snow falling on us as we tried to quickly reassemble my bicycle. Things always seem to take an eternity when one is in a rush, and for me when I'm cold I am also somewhat disfunctional as well. Eventually it was all ready and I set off down the hill. That was one advantage to having completed the previous leg at the top of the pass -- I had a nice downhill run, even if it was bitterly cold.

Lis zoomed past me in the car and that set the tone for the day. She would drive ahead and read her book while I peddled along. It was fun catching up with her and having short moments together. You wouldn't know that we were an old married couple of 14 years.

The snow/freezing rain turned into rain so I put on my rain pants. It was a good thing as the road was unsealed and everything got a bit 'mucky'. The descent took me through a valley where there were a number of ranches, but not a single animal. I wondered if they had been moved in anticipation of winter. This place was so isolated it would be very difficult to sell a property, although it was beautiful in a rugged sort of way with walls of rock towering above the valley floor.

After about 15 miles the road suddenly became paved and as always I was amazed by how much my speed increased. I keep on thinking that my distances are meagre, only about 40-50 miles per day when on my trans-American trip two years ago I averaged 75 miles a day for two months. However, the effort of cycling on unsealed roads, particularly when wet, and the number of mountains explain the difference. This trip is much, much harder than a trans-American trip.

Before La Garita I turned south onto Road 38A. In the distance I saw some cyclists and I was convinced that it was Paul, Rebecca and Pascal. I had seen the tracks of their BOB trailers, and Paul's has a distinctive wobble to it as a result of his bending the wheel when he dropped his bike coming down a mountain. However, I was confused to see a fourth cyclist so perhaps it was another group.

I eventually caught up and it was them. The fourth was Alyce who was riding the route solo. She was from Butte, Montana and I had met her husband a month ago when he came into our restaurant to offer Sean and I his hospitality, having seen our bikes and correctly assumed that we were cycling the divide. As we were just setting out from Butte having indulged in a motel room we declined, but we promised to look for Alyce so I was pleased to finally meet her.

I cycled with Paul and caught up on their news. They had crossed Marshall pass the day after I did, and when they reached Sargents they had snow! They found the pass very difficult due to the poor weather (rain, freezing rain, snow) which made me appreciate how fortunate I had been with the weather; it had only rained and hailed on me, and that for a short time. Paul had also lost his temper with his bicycle which resulted in a trip back to Salida (via hitchiking) to buy a new rear wheel. I could empathise as I had felt like that more than once.

The terrain was relatively flat, however, there was a strong headwind coming from the SW which was picking up. Later, when we checked www.weather.com it transpired that the wind was 25 to 38 mph. That explained a lot. I say relatively flat because while the maps reported that it was largely downhill, we had quite a few uphill sections to do which, coupled with the wind, made the cycling much harder than anticipated. Since I was not encumbered by panniers I soon outpaced the other cyclists, feeling slightly guilty for having a 'sag wagon' to carry my gear.

The terrain was typical of the desert terrain we've had to date, examples of which are shown in the photos below.

 

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While cycling up a hill a car silently approached from the other direction, with the engine off. They stopped and asked if I had a cell phone since they had broken their timing belt. It was a couple with two young children and I thought of all the places to break down this would be towards the bottom of my list. I got out my cell phone but, not surprisingly, there was no service so they had to continue coasting downhill and hope to find someone else who could help. I wished I could have done more, but when one is on a bicycle there is only so much you can do.

The route eventually took us onto a "primative" road. I expected to find Lis waiting for me at the turnoff, but there was no sign of her. She had gone to admire a natural arch which was a few miles off the route, but had taken a few wrong turns. After waiting a while I decided to head off so I turned down the road and began peddling. The photo below shows what it was like.

 

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After going about a quarter mile I heard a car horn and I saw Lis trying to follow me. Fortunately, she soon realised that this was no place for a Hyundai and so backed out. I cycled back and, after warming up and enjoying a break from the wind, we agreed to meet in Del Norte. I then returned to my cycling while she went back the way we came.

I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, in no small part because of the ruggedness of the road. For once I was not encumbered by 20+ kg of gear and so I was able to hoon along, getting 'air' as I jumped over parts of the road, and flying around corners. It was great. It was also largely downhill so I was able to get up a good speed, although I always had to be ready to slow down or stop when there were jagged rocks in the road, or dry streambeds to cross.

At one point I saw an animal in the distance that looked like a wild husky. I realised when I got closer that it looked more like a wolf than a dog, so I'll add a wolf to the list of wild animals I've seen. It stood some distance off watching me cautiously, before bolting into the hills.

Eventually I came out of the hills and in the distance I saw a hill with a large 'D' on it -- Del Norte. They have a habit of publicising towns that way and it has come in useful more than once. I cycled down past the airport and then onto a paved road, heading in the general direction of town. I was pleased to see a silver car parked at the intersection with the main highway -- Lis had found her way without any problems. She had even seen them towing the vehicle of the couple who asked to use my cell phone which was great news. I gave her a hard time about where she stopped to wait for me. It was obviously a popular hangout for the locals as there were condoms lying all over the place.

Lis had already booked into a hotel so I cycled over and moved my gear in and had a huge lunch/dinner. Lis was keen on some exercise so she donned my helmet and shoes, the latter stuffed with tissue to make them fit a bit better, and headed out. I did some work on my computer. While she was gone a storm started, but it wasn't too bad at the hotel. Poor Lis got caught in the worst of it and came back an hour later like a drowned rat. Coupled with the strong headwind she had much more exercise than she anticipated!

While Lis was cycling there was a knock on the door and it was Paul & Co. They had spotted the car and dropped in for hot showers (I had invited them earlier). When cycle touring it is a fantastic treat to have a shower and Alyce commented that she was all done it but the shower rejeuvenated her. I felt sorry for the motel as the four of them showered, then Lis and I. At least there was a good hot water cylinder!

After they left we tidied up and then went over to the laundromat to do some washing. It was my last chance for a while. The rest of the gang were there doing their laundry. I offered to watch over things and Lis drove them to the supermarket to stock up on food -- there are no stores for 175 miles. I always marvel at the shear size of appliances in America and the laundromat was no exception. The driers were larger than anything I've seen in New Zealand and they even had washing machines for 3 and 4 x regular loads. Since the regular load is about 1.5 - 2 a typical New Zealand load, they were just massive.

Eventually everyone returned and Lis and I went back to our motel room. The others were talking about getting a room as well and in the end they did. It was a good call since the weather was abominable that night; freezing temperatures with lots of rain. I repacked and then we enjoyed a quite evening together, our last for a while as Lis leaves tomorrow.

On to the next day ...

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