I thought the road to Grants had been tough, but when Marco went on ahead to Pie Town (we heard that the grocery store closed at 3pm and we needed to stock up), I didn’t know that it would be so long until I saw him again.

My day started well, the legs felt fairly fresh and I seemed to be coping well with the climbing - a long steady uphill to make another Continental Divide crossing. After a short section on the highway, I turned into the West Malpais Wilderness, about which I had heard many horror stories. The track was surprisingly good and the first 20 miles passed very quickly.

With less than 10 miles to go to the highway, I got my first flat tyre. I sat down at the side of the trail and got it fixed, had a bite to eat and got back on my way. Less than 2 miles later, the bike was back upside down as I had ripped a hole in the tyre. That, and the resulting puncture fixed, I got back on my way ...

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