Robert's Ridge of the Rockies bike ride 2024: Day 17: Over Hill and Gorge

Like Day 13, today's 112 mile route from Chama to Taos New Mexico was not at all direct. Instead of heading southeast to Taos, we turned in exactly the opposite direction and rode north over the Combres Pass into Colorado, roughly following the tracks of the 3' narrow gauge Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad to Antonito. Then we turned south to ride down the San Juan Valley and across the Taos plateau on US 285 before rejoining the more direct route on US 64. US 64 crossed the Rio Grande river on a very high bridge over the gorge then delivered us into Taos.

It was a great day of riding because the first 90% had everything a cyclist could wish for: very low traffic volumes, the few drivers that were there were polite, the roads were smooth, the skies were clear and there wasn't much wind. But... it could have been warmer during the first hour or two. And the last 10% --- getting into Taos proper --- had a lot more traffic as you might expect.

The last factor making it a great day was the environment, a taste of which is provided below.

The first light illuminates the mountains north of Chama (elevation 7825'). For some reason this light always seems the purest. Temperatures were in mid to high 30s.

We climbed 1500' on an easy gradient to the Colorado Border and the first rest stop, I was certainly warmer inside my many layers, but I thought I should keep those warm clothes on instead of shedding. (Side note: at the rest stops there is a net bag for you to place your superfluous layers of clothing. The bag will get to that night's motel and all you have to do is remember to grab your stuff when you arrive.)

Damn Tourists!

After the rest stop was an flatish stretch then we saw that more was to come. You can see the climbing road cutting across the midsection of the hill below:

A bunch of us got grouped together when a one-lane road project had a red light, On the left you can see a small sample of the dead spruces I discussed yesterday.

After another 700 feet of elevation gain we reached Combres Pass. At the same place we crossed the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) and the scenic railroad tracks.

In a meadow after the pass I saw a coyote running briskly along in the distance. It was aware of me and looked up as if to say "Do I need to worry about you?" Deciding no worries it went on about its business, which I suppose was relocating to better hunting grounds.

An incredibly beautiful valley opened up. Looking west:

Facing eastward, you can see the scenic railroad tracks trundling along:

After a final climb to 10,250', we dropped into the valley of the Conejos River. We followed the river (which looked to be a fine fly fishing spot) until the canyon opened up into the San Luis Valley (which I mistakenly called the Alamosa Valley). Turning south we ran into the start of a one-lane road construction project right at the NM border which was also where our third rest stop was located. In the distance was a magnificent mountain dome:

Closer view:

This sign gave me its name and warned of elk in the area.

The road climbed around the shoulder of the mountain

After cresting that shoulder we had a very fast stretch on new pavement to the lunch stop. It was extra great because that one-lane road construction project meant that the cars came by in pulses separated by 5 or 10 minutes. During those separations the road was ours.

Eventually we reached US 64 and turned south east and into Taos County:

Big skies with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the distance. Taos is at the foot of the ones to the right.

The Sangre de Cristo mountain range is the furthest south range of the Rockies.

I kept waiting for some sign of the Rio Grande gorge which I knew we must cross to get to Taos. Instead I started to see sculptures:

And sculpted buildings:

Known as "earthships", these semi-underground houses seemed to be part of a community which must have building restrictions since there were no "normal" houses in the area.