2ND ride of the day, to the top of my mountain at 10,000 feet.

#1
now that the bike is behaving again I really wanted to give it a work out. Climbing to the top of Thunder Mountain on which I live ( 8,000 feet).
I've done the trip a few times on my Trail King mini, but never all the way with the Hawg Ty bike.
This ride would make or brake the bike. There would be just stupidly steep climbs up abandoned roads, a decent that would make the Pope cuss and then miles of dirt road leading back to the mountain which I would need to climb over again in order to get home. I would drive a 25 mile loop.
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A mile from my house is an access port to another world.
I'm not going to bore you with a mile climb over rocks that look very much like all the other photos I have posted. Just the top of the mountain and what lies up there.
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I'm at a mesa 9,000 feet up the mountain looking due East. In the far distance in the gray haze are the mountains of Santa Rosa. They are 110 miles away.
I need to head south and climb another 1,000 feet to the summit over the steepest road on my mountain.
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Who ever lived here in the 50's had one hell ova climb. I cannot imagine how it was in the dead of winter with six feet of snow covering it.
The climb is over a mile long with no let up.
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you can see it just keeps going up and up. It is tough to walk up let alone ride a bike. But it did it without missing a beat.
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Out of the climb and rocks and onto a flat. The house is abandoned and vandalized. There are a few things scattered around that would have value to a collector.
I just like the view from the top of the mountain.
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The old well head was full of sprockets.....

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I decided to take a short cut through the brush back to the access road.
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So begins a 2,000 foot descend off off the mountain and into the mesa heading East. I'm going to ride a large loop back home.
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That is a natural rock formation "Drive-Way" to my left. On my right covered in brush is a shear drop off. The drive-way went for almost a mile.
I just cannot see a family commuting to work from this location twice a day. No water,no electricity,winds are over 60 mph during the winter plus cold in the minus zero's for days at a time. No wonder they walked away.
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Still on the drive way, its been more than a mile.
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This smooth rock outcropping went on for hundreds of yards. This looks so cool in real life.
How one would obtain traction in the snow and ice is anyone's guess. A slip to the right and your dead.
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The smooth rocks lead to this dirt road that goes North East for almost 60 miles. I will only be doing five and turning North West to head back.
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The sun came out just as I made my turn. I have to cross over that mountain to get home.
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I just hit the fire trail and again begin to climb.
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I just crested the mountain and start my drive down the west slope. Sandia Mountain is 38 miles away.
END OF PART 1 OF 2.
 
#2
Part 2
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I'm on our side of the mountain again. A mile of nice dirt road to the asphalt.
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On the pavement and hauling ass down a slight decline. The bikes governor kicked in at 40 MPH. with tires filled with 24 oz. of Flat Proof, this is a good safe speed.
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I'm climbing my drive-way again.
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I pass my house on the right and continue to my "Fire Road" at the back of my property. Fire Trucks cannot climb my drive-way without dumping most of their on board water. I had to cut the road for over 1/2 mile to get to level ground. before I could buy house insurance.
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On the back road tooling along.
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Still a good way to go before I reach the end of my road.
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I love this time of year. The wild Sun Flowers bloom and cover the sides of the roads. There are areas where you drive past miles and miles of them.
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Before too long every thing will be dead and brown again. This is New Mexico.
Thank you for viewing this post.
Rob.
 
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