Day 16 to Cuba

"Ice cream makes good chain lube too." -Cassi

36 miles, 1400 feet climbing

We woke with the coyotes at first light. Wanting to beat the heat, we were pedaling by 6:30am. The ride into Cuba was very sandy but brought us through some beautiful sandstone canyons. We stopped so I could pump up my rear tire. It had developed a slow leak the past 2 days. A rancher kindly stopped to see if we needed any help. He was the first person we'd seen in 2 days.

We made good time and checked in to the Del Prado Motel by lunch. Cuba is a great little town with everything (post office, laundry mat, grocery, restaurants) within a few blocks of our motel. After cleaning my bike, I added extra sealant to the rear tire but it still had a slow leak. Very careful inspection showed a sliver of a cactus spine in the sidewall. I pulled it out, laid the tire down on that side, and the sealant quickly plugged the leak. I feel lucky that we had so few mechanical issues on this trip and that they were all easy fixes.

A GDR racer came by and we chatted a bit. He had dropped out yesterday from fatigue and with mechanical issues on the big climbs out of Cuba. The attrition rate is understandably high. Due to bike, body or mental breakdowns 75% of the racers don't finish

The Del Prado, where many CDT travelers stay, is a great place -clean rooms, hot showers, tv, microwave, fridge, wifi- all for $45. Mrs.Yang, who runs it, is a trail angel. When we arrived, she gave us detergent for our clothes and old washcloths and soap to clean our bikes. Since we were going backpacking the next 2 days, she offered space to lock up our bikes. Later that evening she brought over 2 beers (the one for Cassi I gave back). I love the generosity and hospitality of the people we've met along the way. You are not going to find this in any big city or hotel chain.

The experience continued across town. The post mistress wanted to make sure we signed her register of CDT travelers. The laundry mat owner interrupted his lunch at home to come make change. The pizza shop owner chatted about other bikers who'd been through and made sure we knew about the softball tournament that just started. Perhaps when you are on foot or on a bike you are more approachable. Perhaps its for the excitement or for the economic boost, but I found throughout our trip, even more than on similar biking and backpacking trips, that the people of NM were the friendliest.

We saw our first flowing water in weeks. In contrast to what we'd just ridden, the Rio Puerco in town had green banks and blue agua. In Spanish times, there was a lake here, but it had been drained for irrigation. I guess the Rio Puerco down stream has suffered the same fate.