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Week 7 : Grants - Antelope
Wells Start : Grants, New Mexico, USA Finish : Antelope Wells, New Mexico, USA Dates : September 29th - October 6th, 2022 Riding days : 7 
From Grants to Pie Town, it’s
nearly 90 miles of extremely remote riding through a new
and strange world known as
El Malpais National Conservation
Area, Spanish for “The
Badlands”. The primeval black basalt terrain of El
Malpais was created by titanic volcanic forces over the
past million years. Molten lava spread out over the high
desert from dozens of eruptions to create cinder cones,
shield volcanoes, caves, and other eerie formations. Our
route follows a gravel road dotted with lava stones and
called the Chain of Craters Backcountry Byway. |
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After leaving the badlands it’s still 32 miles to Pie Town on a rolling dirt county road through open grasslands and forests of piñon and juniper. Pie Town sits astride the Continental Divide and is located almost 8,000 feet above sea level. What was once just a nickname for this small village with a bakery known for its apple pie, eventually became the official town name. Yes, it’s worth stopping and trying out the pie because for the next 180 miles you won’t find a bakery, and definitely not a pie |
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The route from Pie Town to Silver City is intimately
connected to the Continental Divide, crossing back and
forth seven times over dirt and gravel roads. After the
Mangas Mountains,
it’s a straight shot south along the western side of the
Plains of San Agustin,
a barren dead-flat area that some believe was the site
of a UFO crash in 1947 so do not accept a lift from any
vehicle without wheels. Before you become too accustomed to the flats, the route returns into the mountains of the Gila National Forest which has some very demanding terrain with tough climbs and steep serpentine descents. On the southern end of the Gila Wilderness, you’ll ride atop the Continental Divide for eight miles, before you turn right and finish the stage near the serene Roberts Lake. Read more in the BROCHURE... |
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