Ride Report: Hunqapillar on Monumental Loop

[WETH]

I spent a few days with a friend exploring Las Cruces, NM and the northern half of the Monument Loop 2.0 (https://bikepacking.com/routes/monumental-loop/).  I rode my Hunqapillar and found it equal to the task.  The Monumental Loop contains paved roads, paved bike paths, gravel paths, dirt roads of varying quality, single track, and sections of hike-a-bike trails.  I find the desert therapeutic, especially in early spring!  The camping spots we found were beautiful and remote. We divided the northern half of the loop into three 45ish mile days, which was the perfect pace at which to enjoy the scenery, to eat meals in a few of towns we passed through, and to insure remote camping spots.  

Photo of the Hunqapillar here: https://erlhouston.smugmug.com/Family/2022/Monumental-Loop--March/i-JwThrQ3/A

More highlight photos of the trip here on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CbuahSlu6FA/?utm_medium=copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/p/CbxCEBbuTbw/?utm_medium=copy_link

All the photos from the trip here on SmugMug:

https://erlhouston.smugmug.com/Family/2022/Monumental-Loop--March

Hoping everyone can enjoy their favorite type of riding in 2022!

Erl

Kensington, MD

[Doug H.]

Weth,

Thank you for sharing. Looks like you guys had a good time. The scenery is beautiful. The photo with your bike upright with the kickstand and the hardtail on it's side made me think of how useful the small things on a bike can be.

Doug

Athens, Ga

[Patrick Moore]

Lovely photos. I was going to say " despite the barren landscape" but then read your Instagram remark. Still, it is barren compared to Southern England, heck, even compared to the high ABQ desert, but like all deserts it has a beauty of its own.

From the rugged trails, 45 miles per day seems a lot.

Thanks for sharing.

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

[John M]

Great ride report Erl.   You picked a good burrito stop in Hatch!  

[Patrick Moore]

Speaking of desert beauty, read (all of you, not just Earle) Edward Abby's "Desert Solitaire," IME his best book (The Monkeywrench Gang and The Brave Cowboy notwithstanding).

[Jon Dukeman]

Wow! Thanks for sharing.

Lots of fun.

[larson....@gmail.com]

Very nice images and a great bike! I have enjoyed following Pondero’s bike travels for several years. Interesting to see how the Hunq fared alongside a titanium hard tail. I just built up my first Riv, a 62cm Appaloosa, and am looking forward to seeing what types of riding it is capable of. Early impressions very favorable. I have always loved the Hunqapillar but could not get my hands on one. Good work!

[jinxed]

SUCH a great trip! Wow, the ML has shot to the top end of my list for sure. Some great shots of two of you also....so often we only get to see the bikes! And I can't believe your AWC mug has held up as well as it looks. 

So what's the story on the closet/bed? 

How long were you on the bike each day?

You mentioned stopping in towns, but did you carry food/water for the three days?

Beautiful pics all round. Thanks for sharing.

[Bob Ehrenbeck]

Excellent pics from what looks like a fantastic adventure -- so remote!

Bob E

Cranford, NJ

On Friday, April 1, 2022 at 9:32:41 AM UTC-4 WETH wrote:

[John Rinker]

That looks like near-perfect terrain for the Hunq, and that blue sky! Wow, that was worth the price of admission! Is the Loop friendly to tires with tubes in 'em?

Cheers,

John

[WETH]

Hi all,

Thanks for the positive responses.  It was truly an amazing trip.  I'll attempt to answer everyone's questions and comments in this one post.

Doug,

Yes, I loved having the kickstand.  Although, I did joke about the extra weight on a few occasions! ;)

John, 

stopping in Hatch was a treat and a delicious one at that.

Patrick, 

Desert Solitaire is a favorite book which I reread every few years.

Brad, 

the AWC merchandise is just high quality! :) 

The closet bed was my room at the B&B that served as a homebase.  It was cozy. We averaged about 7.5 mph so I guess we were riding/hiking for about 6-7 hours a day.  We'd go to sleep at sunset which was about 8pm and be up about 7am and on the road between 8 and 9 am.  The route on bikepacking.com has cattle tanks and restaurants well marked so we only had to carry enough water to cover those distances.  I think we tried to have 4 liters each to get us between most points.  I carried coffee and oatmeal for breakfast along with snacks for days when we were not in a town for lunch and/or dinner.

John,

The loop is not friendly to tires with tubes.  I had a tubeless wheelset built for this trip and other trips I hope will follow.  I picked up lots of goatheads, but I never saw evidence of leaked sealant.  The bikepacking.com description states that tubeless is a necessity.  We both ran tubeless and had no issues.

[Richard Rose]

This looks like a simply stunning ride / experience.

Sent from my iPhone

On Apr 2, 2022, at 4:56 PM, WETH <erlho...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi all,

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[Craig Montgomery]

Hot damn Erl, was this your introduction to the Southwest? Good start...for its beauty and because you picked a region that isn't too topographically challenged which makes things nicer the first time around.  Haven't toured in that specific area but have done a fair amount a few hours to the northwest and southwest. It just reeks of history, prehistory, geology, and a few other -ologies. Several mammoth kill sites dating back over 10,000 years in that area. And the night skies...holey moley...the Milky Way woke me up one morning about 3:30 it was so bright.  You could spend years just reading about that country and years riding it. Your Hunq is/was more than adequate for a ride like that. And after 40 years down here I found that tubeless has never been a "necessity". 

Thanks for some great photos.

Craig in Tucson

[Jason Fuller]

This is fresh inspiration for what I'd like to do on my Bombadil - thank you for sharing!