The DangerBird is a 250 mile bike ride that takes place on the Monumental Loop that starts in Las Cruces, NM. This year 120+ riders gathered at the Plaza de Las Cruces and rolled out at 8am with Grace Holguin leading the way on her adaptive trike. The weather was perfect and spirits were high. I’m careful not to call this a race, because it’s not a race, it’s whatever you want it to be. If you wanna go fast, that’s cool. It’s also cool if you do the full 250 Loop or one of the other two more mellow loops (Green Chile ~ 123 miles or Red Chile ~ 133 miles). In fact you don’t even need to bring your bike to participate. There were a few fast-packers out there, which I learned is a fancy way of saying run/walking in the desert with what I saw seemed to be very minimal supplies or clothing. The point is that if you want to get weird in the desert any way that makes you happy, then the DangerBird is your spot!
I spent the morning hoping around to different spots in the van taking pictures of riders and chatting with the ones that stopped to say hi. I met some really cool folks and enjoyed getting to see so much of the route, but driving in the van taking pictures of everyone riding was harder than I imagined. It made me really want to ditch the van and ride my damn bike, so that’s what I did. But first, pictures from the morning. I’m sharing some of my favorites here, but there is a link to all the images I took over the course of the DangerBird at the bottom of the page.
I had agreed to pick of Green Chile Burgers for 5 friends that were running behind and Sparky’s in Hatch closed at 4pm. So I hatched a plan of my own to ditch the van on the route and ride into hatch hopefully in time to order burgers for my hungry friends. Finally, I was on my bike and damn it felt good. Finally, I was riding these ditches I’d heard so much about. And Finally, I was riding straight into a 30-40mph headwind all the way into Hatch. I hadn’t accounted for the wind when I planned my route and while RWGPS said I’d be at Sparky’s by 3:30pm when I started, it was now saying 3:40! So I got as “aero” as I could, put my head down and pedaled like a man possessed by the cravings of a Green Chile Burger. I made it with 15 minutes to spare, ordered 6 Burgers and Fries, ate mine, and then hung out at Sparky’s waiting on the rest of the group. It was great timing as probably 50 or more riders stopped to eat or ride by while I was there. Again giving me an opportunity to chat with the riders. As a podcaster you can imagine that sitting around shooting the shit with likeminded folks that are out on a great adventure is right up my alley. I was in bikepacking podcaster heaven. It also gave me a chance to work on my burgeoning photography skills.
The burgers I had been hoarding were for Matt Mason, John Watson, Cjell Monē, Dillen with Baphomet Bicycles, and Josh Weinberg. When they arrived you could tell they were hungry after a long windy day in the desert. Not gonna lie being able to buy a burger for these outstanding group was a real honor, so was being invited to camp with them that evening. After they ate we made a mandatory stop at a Pic Quick to stock up on snacks and water before heading back into the desert. While there the sunset put on a fucking show!
That morning the lighting was great and I took advantage while everyone drank coffee and broke camp. A little later in the morning Riders started passing our camp as they started their day. We got a chance to chat with many of them, everyone sharing similar stories of wind, sand, rocks, and HAB’s. Yup, sounds like the Monumental Loop! We also talked a lot about it’s beauty that surrounds you, the small centipedes that seem to be attracted to b*holes (or at least Matts), the 500,000 acres of National Monument land that is typified by the Organ Mountain range, and at night you can’t beat a desert night sky. After the group was packed they set off to finish their ride and I set out to go ride a different section in hopes of catching up with some other riders on route.
I decided to go on a route Matt had taken me on when we bike camped on the Monumental Loop before recording an episode for the podcast the next morning. It goes straight from town up to the base of the Organ Mountains and I wanted to go seem them up close again. I only saw a handful of riders, but everyone stopped to chat and shared similar stories of enjoying the route and the weather. You know come to think of it, I only saw smiling faces that weekend. I wonder if spending time outside riding your bike makes people happy?? duh.
That evening Sarah and I van camped at the base of the Organ Mountains and it was my turn to take some pictures of my bike:) I made a few changes to the CHUMBA Stella Ti just days before going on this trip. I added beefier Maxxis Rekon 2.6 tires, swapped back my front suspension, and for fun added some Velo-Orange Curvy Bars and Ergon Bio-kork grips. It turned out to be a very sick setup for desert riding. The whole weekend left me wanting to do more riding and spend more time on the Monumental Loop and with its’ bearded founder.
I also left the weekend with an overwhelming amount of gratitude for Matt Mason and for what he has created. I know that from talking with many of the participants that they feel equally grateful. It was incredible to be there that weekend and to see it, and experience it, and realize that without Matt Mason none of us would probably have been there. To support the past, present, and current work that Matt is doing in Southern NM I have started a Monumental Loop Fund. If you’d like to show your support for Matt and the good work he’s been doing this is a great way to say thanks!
