We had a great view of the sunrise from our desert campsite. The morning’s ride continued on high-quality smooth dirt through the desolate landscape. I saw jackrabbits and weird giant centipedes and a pair of dung beetles rolling perfect spheres of poo across the road, just like you see in nature documentaries. We stopped for a Gatorade break at the trading post on I-10, did our very last stretch of gravel along the highway, and then made quick work of the paved miles to Hachita. We stopped at the only store in town and met trail legend and proprietor Jeff, who had lots of stories about his own rides on the Divide. Finally, we made our way to Jeffery Sharp’s fabled Hachita Bike Ranch. Jeffery is a singular character and he really made our last days of the trip both easy and a lot of fun. We secured beds at the house and did laundry and prep work for our final day of riding, then kicked it with some beers and watched ‘Ride the Divide’. Later in the evening, a guy named Andrew showed up- turned out he was embarking on a nobo ITT trying to break the course record! He was off to a bit of a rough start because the airline had lost his bike, but he was optimistic he’d get it delivered soon. It was crazy to talk to him and hear about his strategies- he was planning to average 200 miles per day and had his setup dialed down to the gram. We could barely fathom such a thing, but we’ll be watching his dot. Get it Andrew!