Goat Camp

Smooth and Flowy, that’s what it was all about. We made a trip to the White Tanks, tryin’ to squeeze one more longish ride while it’s still cool in the mornings. The beginning of Mesquite Canyon trail pretty much climbs for the first couple miles. It starts out relatively smooth, then devolves into some rocky loose techy stuff.

I’ve told Mark, you ride with me long enough, you’ll end up walking sometime. I think it’s part of the adventure, others…not so much.

As we rode and discussed upcoming trips and past adventures, we rode around a corner and saw this little guy in the middle of the trail. A Gila Monster. He kinda growled at us and slowly meandered off the trail. First time I have ever seen one bike riding. Lethargic is a good description of these lizards, one of only a few venomous lizards. No super cool strike like a rattler, no dance and pounce like Rikki Ticki Tavi, just a vapid chew to spread a neurotoxin to the unsuspecting prey. Anyway, still a cool uniqueness added to the ride.

The last real walking story took place in Durango, on the Molas Pass to Coal Bank Pass trail. That put the death throe into Kev’s shoes. After that ride and slog, those shoes went the way of the dodo bird and old shoes were forced out of retirement. Since he was using old shoes, a little patching and preventative action was necessary.

We completed the climb out of Mesquite and Ford Canyons, up onto the inner valley. Here there is a little more breeze and a gentle, continuous climb.

We made it to our planned turnaround, put down a little more sustenance, and pulled the trigger on the return.  Going down all that was just climbed had it’s own rewards, but also accentuated the abruptness of the waterbar transitions in the trail. And when those transitions are abrupt and jagged, the tires don’t respond so well. A sharp encounter even with an aramid reinforced sidewall was enough to make the tire bleed. Even Stan’s won’t fix everything. Cue, When Dove’s Cry or Tire’s Bleed as the case may be.

Fortunately, we each carry a tube and I had a tough fabric scrap that allowed a makeshift patch of the tire and re-inflation of the tube.  Once the tire is booted, and the tube re-inflated, we continue our trek down the trail. Summer is on its way and we had a little bit of a late start, so by 10:00 it’s getting quite warm. Our destination is reached and we shed riding clothes in exchange for dry cotton ones. A little side note, one glorious but simple pleasure is a cold, wet washcloth at the completion of the ride. This is made reality as I store several in the freezer, packaged in ziploc bags. Usually, the ride lasts just about long enough to thaw the washcloth and make for a quite refreshing face cleanse.

Ah, loaded up, wiped down and homeward bound.