cyberhobo

Today’s outing is part of two experiments. One is to find good outings that are fully human powered – gasless from the doorstep. Back in 2001 I used to see how far into the Front Range I could get from my apartment in Highlands Ranch in a day on my mountain bike. Recently a Dirtbag…

A wind tears through Idaho Springs as if the Sasquatch and Paul Bunyun decided to have a contest to see who could blow the town down the mountain first. We’ve procured a lonely parking spot at the Indian Hot Springs Resort. We seem to be the only ones willing to pay to endure the wind…

We crossed the Continental Divide Trail in Silver City, and today we find it again at what must surely be one of its most remote road crossings, New Mexico highway 12. We stop long enough to recall our concerns at the time, dry springs, injured feet, and the lure of Pie Town in the north.…

Toward the end of our 2004 Continental Divide hike, we met a bike tourist named Glenn. We had exchanged a couple of emails with him since and were able to arrange a meeting for coffee and breakfast at the Yankee Street coffeehouse in Glenn’s current home of Silver City. It really is good to reconnect…

The drive over Emory Pass is unexpectedly twisty, slow, and beautiful. A cold rain pours down, and when we make a pitstop on the far side of the pass we find a shivering German bike tourist in the restroom! Uli is most thankful for a hot cup of coffee before he heads to his next…

This funky town that named itself after a 1950’s game show embodies much of what I love about New Mexico. There are soft colors, prominent mountains, desert birds, and hot springs to enjoy in a cultural setting that defies explanation. This old, struggling tourist town in the middle of a desert filled with ranches, mines,…

We drive out Buckman road after dark just to spend a night outdoors. With no moon it’s wonderfully dark, and a couple of spectacular meteors flare through the blanket of stars. Groping in the dark with my headlamp, trying not to collide with any cacti, I find this cozy little nook between a cholla and…

Ann shows me a ride she used to do way back when, with a bonus stop at the charming San Marcos Café. Again the sky is blazingly clear, and wind has a chilly edge. I’ve been enjoying the biking we’ve been doing while Ann’s ankle isn’t yet strong enough for hiking. We didn’t take pictures…

Of the three mountain ranges that converge near Santa Fe, I’ve only begun to explore two. To remedy that I get a nice early start on a clear day at the north end of the Sandia Range. A cold wind keeps me moving upward to views of ever more majestic cliff bands. The views are…