Great Divide Mountain Bike Route
(GDMBR, Segment, Alternate Route - Rain, Colorado to New Mexico):
Platoro, Spectacle Lake, Get New Tire, Horca, La Mangas Pass (10230'/3118),
Cumbres Pass (10022'/3055m), Colorado-New Mexico State Line,
Cumbres-Toltec Scenic Railroad, Chama, Los Ojos, Cebolla, Tierra Amarilla,
Echo Amphitheater and Campground, Ghost Ranch (Georgia O'Keeffe), Abiquiu;
By Tandem Bicycle Tour; July, 2016
Highlights
Day 2:
We returned to the trail after a ten day absence with a new tire (the manufacturer issued us a new tire).
We had no cycling issues with the bicycle or new tire.
We saw plenty of deer (no elk).
We climbed over two passes, La Mangas Pass (10230'/3118) and Cumbres Pass (10022'/3055m)
We saw the Cumbres-Toltec Scenic Train, Railroad, and Depot at Cumbres Pass.
Day 2 - Rocky Mountain Lodge, Spectacle Lake, Horca, La Mangas Pass (10230'/3118m),
Cumbres Pass (10022'/3055m), and Cumbres-Toltec Scenic Train
Above Left: Sundown.
Above Right: Sunrise.
Above Left: Moonsrise.
Above Right: The Bee is ready. We stayed at the Rocky Mountain Lodge (cabins). We will repeat a few miles to Spectacle Lake, where we last ended our previous ride.
Above Left: Cows greet us in the morning.
Above Right: Ducks avoid us in the morning.
Above: Spectacle Lake and Camp Ground. We had reached the final-location of our previous tour.
Above: Riding south on NF-250 along the Conejos River.
Above Left: South on NF-250.
Above Right: Deer.
Above Left: The same Deer.
Above Right: Cattle Chute.
Above Left: Fisherman's Fence Bridge.
Above Right: Moi (Dennis Struck).
Above: Log Cabins.
Above Left: Rio Conejos [Rabbit River].
Above Right: Following NF-250; we have about a mile to CO Hwy-17.
Above Left: We had arrived at Horca; we were at the intersection of NF-250 and CO-17.
Above Right: We will turn right.
Above Left: SE bound on CO-17.
Above Right: We are going to take the Alternate Route to Cumbres Pass and we will be in Chama tomorrow. We're taking the Alternate Route because it is raining every afternoon and the map indicates 'DO NOT Take the Primary Route if it is Raining'.
Above Left: Climbing for La Mangas Pass.
Above Right: We saw a Heart.
Above Left: Area Information - We stopped for a snack and sunscreen.
Above Right: Climbing for La Mangas Pass.
Above Left: Deer.
Above Right: Climbing CO-17 for La Mangas Pass.
Above Left: Side View.
Above Right: That is not the crest but we have reached a major climb angle decrease.
Above: This area was having a huge Daisy Bloom.
La Mangas Pass (10230'/3118m)
Above: Dennis and Terry Struck and the Bee at the summit of La Mangas Pass (10230'/3118m), Colorado, on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route
(Tandem Bike Tour, 17 July 2016).
Above Left: This is the same spot at La Mangas Pass. Notice the remote weather station. While we were there we heard the Anemometer spin and whir like crazy and speed-up and then slow-down - There were some really good wind gusts up there.
Above Right: There was a lot of Iron Particles stuck to the magnetic leg-base of the Gorilla Pod (which we just used to take the La Mangas Pass picture). Ergo, there is a lot of Iron around here.
Above Left: We headed south on CO-17 for Cumbres Pass.
Above Right: A waterfall of Daisies.
Above: We found the Cumbres-Toltec Scenic Railroad's tracks.
We found the Cumbres-Toltec Scenic Railroad
Above: Water Tank and Tracks for the Cumbres-Toltec Scenic Railroad (a joint venture, now owned and run by the States of Colorado and New Mexico).
Above Left: Rio de Los Pinos [Pines] river valley.
Above Right: Plenty of water up here, side view.
Above Left: We found the turn off for NF-117. The Primary Route follows NF-117 and the Alternate Route follows CO-17. We took CO-17 because the Adventure Cycling map for this Segment of the GDMBR clearly states to NOT take the Primary Route if it is raining. It had rained every afternoon or evening for about a week and it will continue that weather pattern for a few more weeks.
Above Right: An Information Kiosk at the turn for NF-117 has a lot to offer.
Above Left: Welcome 'Caminante' and Ciclistas to ...
Above Right: ... Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic & Historic Byway
Above Left: The Great Race to Build a Railroad.
Above Right: The railroad laid beneath us.
Above Left: That gap is Cumbres Pass and we could hear Train Whistles.
Above Right: About 4-500 yards/meters from Cumbres Pass we could see the Cumbres-Toltec Scenic Railroad train.
The Cumbres-Toltec Scenic Railroad Train at Cumbres Pass, Colorado
Above: The Cumbres-Toltec Scenic Railroad Train at Cumbres Pass, Colorado.
Above Left: The Cumbres-Toltec Scenic Railroad Train.
Above Right: Approaching Cumbres Pass.
Above Left: A Train Garage.
Above Right: Approaching Cumbres Pass and the Train Depot.
Cumbres Pass (10022'/3055m), Colorado
Above: Cumbres Pass (10022'/3055m), Colorado.
Above: Terry and the Bee visit an Information Kiosk.
Right: Winter Operations and too much sunlight.
Above Left: Preservation History.
Above Right: Workers Shack.
Above Left: The Train Depot is getting a facelift.
Above Right: The metric elevation is a little low (around 3055m).
Above Left: Train Schedules for the two train companies that operate here, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad and the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad.
Above Right: The view south from the Depot Platform.
Above Left: Looking north at the Depot.
Above Right: A fully operating water spout (the cistern is out of view, uphill, and burried due to winter freezing).
Above Left: Track Maintenance.
Above Right: My favorite Stoker, Terry. Thus ended our bike tour but not our day.
Cumbres-Toltec Scenic Railroad Train
Pictures Taken Later
Above: Cumbres-Toltec Scenic Railroad Train Pictures Taken Later.
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![GDMBR: Rio de Los Pinos [Pines] river valley.](Abiquiu/2016-07-17 088.JPG "GDMBR: Rio de Los Pinos [Pines] river valley.")
