He had a big smile as he rolled through Hatchita. I got a picture but I can't figure out how to post it. I can email it to someone who knows how to post photos.

Up early here in Hatchita to cheer our leader on when he passes by. I rode down here from Silver City yesterday a bit ahead of my schedule and I will ride to AW to meet my ride in the morning. The town of Hatchita has been great to cyclists over the years by opening their community center for a safe place to camp. Today the community center is having a fundraising BBQ so any rider family in the area can come on by and support some great people.

A north bound rider came to the Toaster House early this morning after an all nighter in the mud. He had it rough with mud clogging up his recumbent trike. I saw his tracks all day along with hand fills of mud from him clearing the bike of mud. Sometimes every 100 yards. For me the roads were perfect and I had no issues refilling water along the way. Currently I am 15 miles south of Old Horse Spring. Lots of baby pronghorn out here, they are great entertainment.

In a normal year, it could take another day even two. The forecast 1" to 3/4" as a 1st rain for months may well get sucked unground leaving only dampness in 1/2 hour. 
 Your conditions may vary  ; -)   This Buds 4 U 

Thanks. It rained all last night and I have been out hiking here in Pie Town during  lull. The roads are drying out nicely except where there has been a lot of vehicle traffic. More rain is expected this afternoon and early evening. I will hang at the Toaster House until the morning and then continue on.

The weather forecast keeps getting worse for Saturday for Pie Town and the Gila. Now it is 100% for thunderstorms and rain. It looks like a one day thing. I am in Grants heading south (not racing) and I am curious what the drying time is for the roads after a one day storm as opposed to the daily monsoon.

Best of luck to all.  Be safe.  When you get to southern NM if you encounter an old fool riding the trail who looks like he probably has a revoked driver's license that will probably be me.  Stop and say hi and have a cigar on me.

We just built a guest house here at our place in Phoenix and you are welcome to use it if the timing works out.  I am going to be riding the southern NM portion of the GDMBR starting June 13th so I should be back by the time you are coming through Phoenix but I am off again to Park City on July 1.  If that window works for you you are welcome to it.

Dave

Anyone have any info on the Buzzard fire in the Gila?  The official report states that portions of the Continental Divide Trail are closed.  The best I can tell is this is west of the Plains of San Augustine toward Reserve.  Any info would be greatly appreciated as I am heading south from Grants on the 13th.

I have been using the in reach for a couple of years now.  The device I have seems cheaply made but it hasn't failed.  As noted their plans suck.  They are designed to up sell you and it works.  I think I am paying $58 per month.  It reminds me of what a plumber once told me "You know you priced the job right when the customer squeals but still writes a check".

I spend a lot of time in areas with no cell reception and I am often alone.  Being able to communicate with home on a daily basis is well worth the price. 

Nice.  But please don't be so judgmental about ebike riders.  My wife who used to ride both road bikes and mt bikes, dive, run marathons and climb suffered a serious knee injury.  After several years of suffering she had a total knee replacement in June.  I bought her an ebike and it brings a lot of joy into her life.  Hopefully one day she will be riding her high end mt bike again but for now the ebike is perfect.  Every day you have your health count your blessing.

"Underground" implies enough criminality to make it interesting.  "Underground" is not tracked by satellite.  Enjoy it for what it is, nothing more and nothing less.

The stupidity of some drivers out there plus news of cyclists deaths like Mike Hall, Eric Fishbein, and Michele Scarponi has really put me off riding on roads. I just don't want to mix with traffic. On my commute to work it doesn't seem to matter how well lit up I am with lights reflective clothing etc. there always seems to be idiots who either choose to drive aggressively or just don't pay attention. The other side of the coin of course is that in events like this endurance riders are at their limits and may not fully have their wits about them either. The really sad thing is that people are paying with their lives. RIP to our comrades and let's hope there are no more fatalities.

AZ DOT publishes a study every year on all sorts of traffic accident including bicycles.  It is about 50 pages of accident statistics and they do break out bicycles.  They look at it from every angle.  The worst times for accidents is commute hours.  Urban areas are much less safe than rural.  The worst day and time is Saturdays early in the evening.  Holidays such as Forth of July, Labor Day and Memorial Day also have spikes.  This matches my experience closely.  Since I moved to Phoenix my road bike is used very little.  I spend my time on the Fargo and fat bike avoiding streets as much as possible.  After several close calls with 80 year old snowbirds in their mega RVs I am touring off road more these days.  Maricopa County had just under 1,000 accidents involving bicycles in 2015, that is enough to make a coward out of anyone.

Such lights are blinding to following riders and there is also the issue of target fixation. 

It would be interesting to look at the number of fatalities per mile comparing various forms of riding including randoneuring and other endurance events along with casual riding.  RUSA has been talking about this for quite some time.  I suspect there is no easy fix.  That said there is an interesting idea that I believe Los Angeles has adopted, it is the creation of a civil cause of action against drivers that get too reckless near a cyclist.  It is very similar to a common law cause of action for assault where no contact is required.  It specifies minimum damages of $1,000.  In theory a cyclist could collect photos of the misconduct and file small claims actions against several at once.  Being a civil action the burden of proof is simply more likely than not the wrong happened.  Then like the bill collectors do, get judgments against them one after another on the same day in court.  Such ordinances would be adopted on a local level which is much easier than on a state level. Word would get out real fast that getting to close to a cyclist gets real expensive real fast.  I had a lengthy email discussion on this with the Phoenix mayor's office and they seemed quite interested but so far I have seen no action.  Phoenix is one of the worst cities in the US for cycling on the road, everyday someone is getting hit.

I probably should not have made the comment about craftsmanship as the crack may be the result of impact damage from the fork failure that has grown.  The initial construction could have been just fine.  The idea of riding a bike with a compromised triangle is like playing Russian roulette.

No zip ties needed.  Carbon fiber bikes are made the same way fiberglass is done except carbon fibers are used instead of glass fibers resulting in much more strength for the weight.  The field repair suggested would be ugly but stronger than the original.  It is like a cast on a broken arm except it is adhered to the original material.  The job would take about 10 minutes and then a little time to cure.  I would have more faith in the repair than the underlying bike after such apparent "craftsmanship" was exhibited.

Watermelon, I share your taste in reading, I just picked up a copy of Trout Fishing in America in a used book store the other day.

On that frame damage if the frame is trashed anyway why not wrap the break with fiberglass tape and soak it with resin.  Then have lunch while it cures and be on your way?  The materials are available at almost any hardware or auto parts store.

[Pick your obscenity] FB.  FB is evil.  Cyclists should support the sites that make these things happen, not FB.

Sold yesterday off the CL ad.  Thanks to all who expressed interest and thnks to Scott for providing a space for classifieds.

No, I am super happy with the fat bike I have.  Price reduced to $750.

Photo sent