Pushing hard - Cuba to Abiquiu in 1 day! - Great Divide Northbound - Bikepacking - Day 10

Day 10 (June 9): What a day! Big thank you to our quads for playing along
🙏 😂 ⛰🚴‍♀️🚴 We climb 7000+ feet over 80 miles from Cuba to Abiquiu.

It’s amazing how much the the landscape changes from the desert rock and sand to the volcanic rock formations of Polvadera Mesa to cooler, forested high country, and then descending again - on a fun and challenging Mountainbike section - into beautiful, Abiquiu - back to the desert heat and feel.

We carry 7 liters of water each and plenty of snacks for this long, hot day without certain water sources on the second part of the day. Most riders do this trip in 2+ days, so we prepare for a night of camping in case we need it. Water is such a big factor in wild in New Mexico - the last years have been dry and many water sources are currently dry too, making long remote adventures challenging and careful planning inevitable.

The ride: It’s beautiful - and hard. We climb out of Cuba in the early morning, through rolling hills and farmlands. Soon, we are climbing up into the forested high-county - this could be Austria - feeling transported to a different world… weren’t we just in the desert a few miles ago?! It’s not even 9AM and we already are up above 9000 feet again… and going up still!
We continue to drop and climb and blaze through the sand, loose gravel, and volcanic rocks, finally dropping into Abiquiu - with miles of unforgettable views of the valley. Somewhere on the wild downhill, Marion looses her camp shoe but @zachandasabike come to rescue and find the much needed shoe on their way down.

The charming Abiquiu Inn is our beautiful shelter for the night and we celebrate the big day with a beer and big dinner. Tomorrow will be a short day. The 🍻tastes amazing 🤩.

Strava GPS:
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