Decisions, Decisions…
Today was a day of decisions…some were good, some were great, some were, well, questionable.
We started our day in Grants, with a decision as to whether we take the paved alternate route directly south of Grants through the El Malpais National Monument or the further west route that is dirt and more closely follows the CDT. The monument was something neither Ray, (nor Nathaniel), nor I had ever seen, despite the fact Ray and I have been in NM for decades. After 28 day on the trail, and seeing as though the alternate route through the monument was an approved route, we chose the paved option.
Now, we might have been making a thoughtful decision, or we may have just been providing ourselves a rationalized way to ride a smooth road (probably the latter), but as we found out later, many but not all, of the TD riders at this point were opting for the monument route.
So off we were to visit the monument! The pavement was smooth and flowing, with very little climbing in the first 30-40 miles of the route. It was a completely enjoyable morning as we engaged in conversations that we normally couldn’t have while riding dirt. The sights of the volcanic flows to our west contrasted with the rim rock bluff views to our east. Soon we were passing La Ventana Arch, a stunning sight and one I would love to visit again.
After about 40 miles of buttery smooth pavement, we arrived at the left hand turn onto a dirt road that would take us to Pie Town, NM. As we made our turn we decided to stop and have a quick snack and drink before heading down the arrow straight road that disappeared over the grassy horizon. (Though at times the “grass” horizon was more of a dirt horizon, owing to the often seen overgrazing by cattle in the area!)
The next thirty miles were undulating with the road rising, falling, and eventually wandering through the Pinon and Juniper country that is a hallmark of this area of New Mexico. After about two hours, we had arrived at US 60, the paved road that would take us to Pie Town, NM only a short 1/4 of a mile away.
The small village is unspectacular in appearance, and is only know for one thing to anybody but cyclists, Pies! In days gone by there were actually three pie shops in town. One has since relocated to Mogollon, an even more remote ghost town near Glenwood, NM and one has closed completely. Now there is but a single pie shop, Pie-O-Neer Pies!
As we rolled up to the shop and made our way through and around the multiple cars and trucks parked outside, we were not surprised to see several loaded bicycles parked along the rails and chairs outside the patio dining area (there is not completely inside dining at Pie-O-Neer). We quickly recognized them as the bikes belonging to Emily, Mike, and Eric. They had also stayed in Grants and had apparently left Grants just an hour or less ahead of us.
We parked our bikes and made our way into the covered seating area of the Pio-O-Neer. The seating area is large and consists of big tables with no chairs or benches. Instead, the seating is accomplished by the use of hay bales covered in serapes! It provides a cheery and colorful change to an environment and was welcomed after being on a bike saddle for hours.
We quickly ordered drinks and stated looking at the menu choices. I personally was having a difficult time in not just ordering pie, as others in the area were already eating theirs and the smells from the kitchen were incredible.
Deciding that delayed gratification was better, we all ordered lunch, Ray and I each ordered a burger and hummus wraps,. I believe Nathaniel ordered humus wraps as well, but I’m not positive if he ordered more, as I was fixated on my own lunch at this point.
We dug into our meals as soon as they arrived and were well into stuffing ourselves when one of the ladies who works/cooks/waits there came up and asked if we wanted pie!
The Pie-O-Neer makes 100 pies a day, and when they’re gone, they’re gone! They tell you what is coming out of the oven when you are ordering , and you make a choice from there. They also have a few specialty pies. Ray went off menu and ordered a specialty pie in Key Lime. Nathaniel went with Pear Ginger and I opted for Apricot. Yep, we each ordered a whole pie!
I easily finished mine, with Ray wrapping half of his for later. Nathaniel finished his pie and saved half of his hummus wraps for later.
With that, we were almost ready to continue our journey south and into the Gila National Forest.
We asked the ladies if we could fill our water bladders/bottles, which they were happy to allow. Moving a bit deliberately after filling our bellies with great food and pie, we weren’t exactly sprinting out of the place! With that, we were on our way, but we had one more stop in Pie Town to make before we exited the village.
Legendary among GDMBR riders is the Toaster House in Pie Town. The Toaster House is a hostel that is owned by a lady named Nita that no longer lives there. She just leaves it open for cyclists and hikers travelers, etc for no charge, asking folks to donate what they can. She uses the funds to resupply the fridge and for upkeep on the house. Emily, Eric, and Mike had decided that the 70 miles they had ridden from Grants was enough and had already ridden over to the Toaster House with the intent of staying the night. We rode by for a pic and to say goodby to our friends. We’ll probably see them down the road again.
It was now about 2 PM, and with that, we were on our way into the Gila!
We rode the dirt roads in the P/J country, wary of the building thunderstorms as we made our way past ranch houses and around rolling terrain, actually not far from the Arizona border. We finally took a big turn to the east an started climbing into Ponderosa country in the higher elevations. One thing about the Gila is that it is dry! No ground water is evident, other that some incredibly nasty looking stock tanks. We eventually made our way to a National Forest campground, where we took the opportunity to have an early dinner. Ray had his pie, Nathaniel his Hummus wrap and me some snacks I still had. We were also able to watch several elk as they slowly made their way past us and into the surrounding trees.
Back on our way, we decided to try to make it across the Plains of Agustin, a large grassy area of private land than abuts the Gila National Forest area we were in, on the eastern side. It was about 8 PM as we road across the plains, accompanied by the occasional curious antelope (yes, I know they are more accurately called pronghorn). The evening was cool, calm, and beautiful as we continued our ride. Or goal was to make it back to the public land of the Gila NF, at about 120 miles into the day.
As dark settled in, the winds picked up as storms began to build from the east. We knew there was no water for the next 50 miles, so that concern drove us to worry and ration our water. As we were riding through the dark and remote wilds of New Mexico we noticed some Christmas lights at the intersection of the dirt road we were on, and on smaller dirt road that led to a ranch house far off in the distance. I told the guys I was going to check them out. Good call!!!
The lights actually were the marker of a cache of water and goodies provided by, I guess, the owners of the ranch house in the distance. They were provided specifically for GDMBR riders! As we looked into the caches, filled with water and goodies, we were astonished at our good fortunes. It was a life saver!! Each of us was MORE than happy to leave a sizable donation to the cause.
We were now full up on water and snacks and back on our way. Just in time for it to start raining!
We started riding very hard in an effort to get down the road to the forest where we hoped the trees would help shelter us from the weather. After riding for about an hour, we were finally in an area we believed to be National Forest, based on signs and fences. We had ridden enough for the day, about 130 miles and were ready to stop. It was about 11 PM when we finally pushed our bikes off the road, and into a sheltered and quiet area.
We each made a quick dinner, and settled in for the night. It was a long day, but a satisfying one as well.
We’re South bound and down!
Shane and Ray
