I was northbound (nobo) on the GDMBR last week (Thursday, June 12th) and I literally nearly got blown off Brazos Ridge in northern New Mexico. There were countless snow drifts and many snow fields, but the tire/feet sucking mud was endless. At one point the wind blew me up a 5% rocky road at 5 mph for about a 100 feet and I never pedaled a stroke. That was fun!
Then the road turned direction and a gust of wind picked me (170lbs) , the loaded bike (50+ lbs) and my trailer (18 lbs) with a load (45 lbs) up (airbourne) and threw me and the load off the road about 10 feet. Instinctively I tucked and rolled like a pig in a pile of shit and fortunately did not get injured. Unfortunately my derailleur hanger got bent and the derailleur was in between the spokes. I gingerly straightened the hanger so that the derailleur was away from the spokes and in a safe middle gear.
For several miles on either side of Brazos Ridge (more on the north side than to the south) the Forest Service "roads" are now creeks. Where it is dry there are gullies 2-3 feet deep with a narrow 1-2 foot wide level patch in the middle. The so-called rocky "unrideable" section just before you get to Brazos Ridge (sobo) is actually the best piece of real estate up there.
An angel sawyer on a motorcycle has bucked up a lot of the downfalls to the north of Brazos Ridge. They have also done a great job of punching paths through the many snowdrifts, but the downhill side of each drift it is wet, icy, and muddy (i.e., slippery).
I got as far as Horca, CO where I learned that 3 out of the 5 major passes in Colorado are still officially closed as of Friday, June 13th. The snow and mud are one thing, but the constant 30-40 mph winds with gusts to 60-70 mph really create a significant hazard. A few more gusts like the one that sent me and my load (almost 300 lbs total) airbourne and I would have been blown over the edge. That was at a little over 11,000 feet elevation. After that I hike-a-biked the rest of Brazos Ridge and was constantly ready to hit the deck and grap as much soggy terra unfirma as I could to keep from getting blown over the side of the mountain.
I know these racers are a lot younger and tougher than myself, but that was my experience. I wish them all well and safe travel. You can check out my web site (www.bikerbobonthegdmbr.com) where I have posted a lot of pictures of the New Mexico section that I just traveled nobo. I am working on getting captions attached to all the pictures and more details of the trip in my posts. I had hoped to meet some of the racers on the route this year, but for now I am off the route. I've had all the fun I can stand for now. As usually I am watching their progress by their reports, and I am very excited about the ability to track them with the SPOTs.
Brazos Ridge in northern New Mexico
I was northbound (nobo) on the GDMBR last week (Thursday, June 12th) and I literally nearly got blown off Brazos Ridge in northern New Mexico. There were countless snow drifts and many snow fields, but the tire/feet sucking mud was endless. At one point the wind blew me up a 5% rocky road at 5 mph for about a 100 feet and I never pedaled a stroke. That was fun!
Then the road turned direction and a gust of wind picked me (170lbs) , the loaded bike (50+ lbs) and my trailer (18 lbs) with a load (45 lbs) up (airbourne) and threw me and the load off the road about 10 feet. Instinctively I tucked and rolled like a pig in a pile of shit and fortunately did not get injured. Unfortunately my derailleur hanger got bent and the derailleur was in between the spokes. I gingerly straightened the hanger so that the derailleur was away from the spokes and in a safe middle gear.
For several miles on either side of Brazos Ridge (more on the north side than to the south) the Forest Service "roads" are now creeks. Where it is dry there are gullies 2-3 feet deep with a narrow 1-2 foot wide level patch in the middle. The so-called rocky "unrideable" section just before you get to Brazos Ridge (sobo) is actually the best piece of real estate up there.
An angel sawyer on a motorcycle has bucked up a lot of the downfalls to the north of Brazos Ridge. They have also done a great job of punching paths through the many snowdrifts, but the downhill side of each drift it is wet, icy, and muddy (i.e., slippery).
I got as far as Horca, CO where I learned that 3 out of the 5 major passes in Colorado are still officially closed as of Friday, June 13th. The snow and mud are one thing, but the constant 30-40 mph winds with gusts to 60-70 mph really create a significant hazard. A few more gusts like the one that sent me and my load (almost 300 lbs total) airbourne and I would have been blown over the edge. That was at a little over 11,000 feet elevation. After that I hike-a-biked the rest of Brazos Ridge and was constantly ready to hit the deck and grap as much soggy terra unfirma as I could to keep from getting blown over the side of the mountain.
I know these racers are a lot younger and tougher than myself, but that was my experience. I wish them all well and safe travel. You can check out my web site (www.bikerbobonthegdmbr.com) where I have posted a lot of pictures of the New Mexico section that I just traveled nobo. I am working on getting captions attached to all the pictures and more details of the trip in my posts. I had hoped to meet some of the racers on the route this year, but for now I am off the route. I've had all the fun I can stand for now. As usually I am watching their progress by their reports, and I am very excited about the ability to track them with the SPOTs.