Whelp, this has been a rough year, but we decided to make a go of it anyway. This year Team Bums consists of:
- Greg
- Andrew
- Morgan
- Joey
We’ll be doing out best to social distance by riding our bikes through some remote sections of New Mexico and Colorado.
The journey begins in Santa Fe, where we will head north out of town and take the High Road through some of the oldest villages in the US as we make our way up to Taos. From there, we take a scenic loop around Mount Wheeler along the Enchanted Circle. Next, we cross the Rio Grande – where we will surely take a dip in the gorgeous Black Rock Hot Springs (right on the river!) – and make our way across the high desert and into Colorado. At Antonito, we’ll break west, following the Conejos river deep into the mountains. The pavement will fall away and we’ll climb over Elwood pass at 11,650 feet. We then snake our way through the mountains, up through South Fork and then along the Silver Thread highway. We’ll roll through Lake City, Gunnison, and finally the little mountain town of Crested Butte (which I will always read as “Crusty Butt” thanks to an old friend), before we head over Kebler Pass – on more dirt! Finally, we’ll eventually join up with a bike path that will take us into Glenwood Springs and then up through Glenwood Canyon – hopefully it won’t be flooded this year like it was when I rode it in 2013. From Glenwood, Morgan and Joey will get a car back to ABQ, while Andrew and I will install ourselves into an Amtrak-provide hermetically sealed pod back to Cali.
So, a ride over high mountain passes on dirt roads in late September during a pandemic – what could happen? The only guarantee is that it will be both gorgeous and adventure – what more could a Bum want!?