We had been building up to this day as we knew this would be the day in the middle of of riding and we had chosen it to be the most challenging.
Breakfast as usual at the Espresso Y Poco Mas Cafe where we met Susan, from Massachusetts and had just bought a GS in Texas and took the opportunity to visit the Big Bend area (good for her). We then went all together to the BBNP and separated as we went back into the dirt in Old Maverick Road and Susan stayed on asphalt (later on that day she did do Old Maverick).
We passed close to Santa Elena Canyon but this time we did not stop and kepton going through the Ross Maxwell drive until we met the junction into River Road (East). We stopped brought down the tire pressure even further as we would be getting more sand and started West towards the river. River Road is a blast, Good visibility and not as many rocks meant we could go a bit faster and every time we met a sandy section we would scoot back, lighten up the front and gave the bikes gas and they just cruised through it. Fun ...
We saw the National Park from a total different perspective as we circled anti clockwise on the South side of the Chisos mountains. Usually cars take a full day to transverse this road. We took just under 2 hours and as we approached the West section we crossed numerous washes but as there had been no rain we did them with no issues.
When the Spaniards referred to the Big Bend area as “El Despoblado,” or the uninhabited land, these flat expanses of creosote brush and sun-scorched mountains were probably what they were talking about.
I read that around the beginning of the 20th century (1903), the River Road "probably started out as a game or livestock trail, the most sensible path between mountains and to water. Over time it became a wagon trail, which eventually became a road connecting the floodplain farms, cattle ranches, fishing camps, and quicksilver mines near the river."
The day was getting hotter and we decided to stop and eat our lunch at the River Village once again. We spent this precious time with a number of other visitors to the park and shared stories.
We had just done over 50 miles of dirt under quite warm conditions so we had to decide whether to call it a day or go and tackle the most difficult ride in Big Bend ... Black Gap Road. We decided to do it !
To get to Black Gap Road, we first had to deal with Glenn Springs Road which is a rock garden and quite tiring because the bike is getting shaken, not stirred. We eventually got to the start of Black Gap and we would be doing it South to North and thus go down the 3 foot step and up the off-camber mountain. After doing Black Gap Road in both directions, I personally think this is the most tricky option. Easier on the step but much more difficult going up the off-camber.
We took time to film our feat of dropping the 3 feet on a rocky path and screaming our lungs off once we made it to release the adrenaline and then started our way towards the off-camber climb.
Keeping a clear head, standing up on the bikes and letting the machines do all the work we were all able to make the infamous climb ... yes, screaming in some cases all the way up.
I must give kudos to Tomas and Julio which not having too much experience in off-road riding behaved like they have been doing this forever. Pretty amazing.
We then made our way towards Terlingua, where we were supposed to have dinner with a friend of mine from Dallas, Richard Swim. We arrived about 90 minutes late but Richard was still waiting and had given our names to the Starlight Cafe. We sat outside on the patio and watched the sunset while we shot the breeze. After about one hour of waiting and a couple of tequilas later, they called us in and sat us down. It was a great dinner where we started with chips and salsa and then had Ribeye steak which was very good taking into account we were in a Ghost Town away from civilization.
As I went to bed, I thought about this amazing day and that every time I’ve traveled deep enough into the Big Bend backcountry, I’ve been fortunate to experience special moments, when the hair on my arms stands on end. These are the best days—the ones that catch you when you least expect. I was very glad I had been able to show my friends this unforgettable place.
For the day we had done 190 miles and spent 6 hours on the saddle.
Make Life a Ride !
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