Well, my time in Santa Fe was a glorious one. It brought back a wealth of fond memories and it reminded me how fortunate I am to still have such good friends there. New Mexico will always have a special place in my heart.

Riding-wise, it highlighted once more how diverse and enticing the trails are there, and just how easy accessible they are too – mostly, just a short pedal from the plaza. Now that the snow is ebbing away from the high country, I was able to get out on a new-to-me section of singletrack (the incredible Dog Park/Arroyo Hondo), as well as return to one of my favourite desert zones, Galisteo Basin Preserve, and squeeze in a number of La Tierra mini loops too.

My Mongrel SWB

As any reader of this blog likely knows, I’m a big Jones Bikes fan. I still have my OG Jones Plus set up with a Rohloff hub (just you try prying that one out of my Kung Fu grip fingers). However, whilst it’s the bike I rode for the most part on this trip, the rims need replacing (there are cracks) and the hub and shifter need a service ASAP (requiring a few specialist parts), so I’ve had to reluctantly park it to one side until I’m able to do this. Side note: I’ve been mostly riding a medium Spaceframe for the last few years and the large Diamond frame felt really good too, so I guess I am really am between the two sizes.

My OG Jones Plus, now set up with a Rohloff hub and a unicrown fork. It needs a service and a few new parts... then it will be back in action!

Luckily, I was able to cobble together almost all the parts I needed to put together a very mongrel-like SWB.

Yes, yet another Jones! I’ve had this frameset, the remnants from the original SWB Complete, hanging in my storage unit for the last few years, as my original plan was to ride it in Baja California, back in 2020. To this, I added the following:

• a front platform rack
• a Chris King headset that I’ve owned forever
• some hand-me-down SRAM hydraulic brakes from Rusty
• a Tranz-X externally routed Kitsuma dropper (one of the few that’s compatible with the Jones’ 27.2mm seat post).
• Some generic 170mm cranks
• An aluminum 27.5 x 50mm wheelset
• A carbon H-bar Loop

All I needed to complete this package was a drivetrain, so invested in a Shimano Deore 11-speed groupset from the Broken Spoke. Not only is it compatible with my freehub, but it seems to represent great value for money, and as the cassette is mostly steel, it should last too.

Tim installing my Chris King headset, which I’ve owned for many (many) years. Finally, it has a home!

Initially, I ran it with 27.5 x 3in tyres, but I ended up swapping the front one for a 29+ Surly Rabbit hole wheel I’ve had for years, to which I added a new Duro Crux 29 x 3.25in tyre. This big front wheel slackens the bike out a bit and lifts up the bottom bracket. On the paper at least, it shouldn’t climb as well as it would with two similar diameter wheels, but in reality, I was able to adjust my riding and actually found it still does a great job on techy terrain. And, I prefer the way it descends with a front, low pressure wagon wheel too.

The Mongrel SWB. 27.5+ at the back. A Duro Crux 29 x 3.25 and Surly Rabbit Hole up front!

In all honesty, I do prefer the way the LWB rides, especially over steep terrain. But for the price, my mongrel SWB punches way above its weight. It’s a super fun bike on cross country trails, especially with the dropper. It’s relatively discreet too so I worry less about locking it up around town.

Eventually, I’ll invest in a Boost-spaced 29er rear wheel and run a 2.6 tyre at the back – which is as much as this frame can take – keeping the 3.25in Duro in the front for trail rides. There’s enough clearance in the fork for all but the muddiest conditions.

The original wheelset will then be set up with a pair of lightweight Schwalbe G One Allrounds for gravel and city duties. Perhaps one day I’ll build two rear wheels with DT350 hubs to make the conversion easier, as it will mean moving the cassette from one wheel to the other can be carried out without the need for any tools.

Prott the Prius

My other big news… I drove a car again! It may well be that, aside from one or two very short trips, I haven’t driven a car in the US since I took Nancy to hospital in Santa Fe on the night Sage was born!

My friend Tim kindly leant me his 2002 first generation Prius to drive Sage back to Boulder, and then return again once more to Santa Fe. Normally, I take the a bus called the El Paso Limousine Express between Santa Fe and Denver. It’s a great service but to be honest, the hours are tricky, s it either leaves super early or at midnight, and it departs from a gas station on the edge of town that’s a bit awkward to get to. In the past, I’ve ridden out there in the late evening and hung out until the bus arrives, but obviously this isn’t ideal with Sage.

Sage, with Prott the Prius, and his bike on the back.

Anyway, despite being somewhat conflicted with the idea of driving a car again, I took up Tim’s generous offer, and Sage and I embarked on our own little American road trip! On day one, we drove to a cheap motel in Colorado Springs and ate ice cream and watched a movie in bed. We finished off the journey the following morning by heading to Hobby Town, and RC shop I’ve taken to frequenting when I’m in Denver. One thing let to another, and I ended up impulse purchasing another little RC car for Sage – a 1:18 scale Armma Grom Typhon – for when we next see each other.

From there, I drove 3 hours to Salida (through a snow storm, no less, and sadly without my copilot) and squeezed in a quick ride with Tyler, Emma, Ben, and Moxxie, gulped down some incredible homemade pizza, crashed out, went for an early run, then took to the road once more.

I’ve never driven even remotely that far in the US, and in fact, I’ve barely driven at all in the last decade. But the Prius was easy to drive, the roads were empty, and I made it back to Santa Fe in one piece. Even though it’s some 20+ years old, it even averaged 52mpg, which helped alleviate my car-guilt…

Interesting facts:

• Sage didn’t even know I could drive.
• He said “I always thought you’d drive a Prius, if you ever drove a car!”

Hahaha!

We nicknamed it Prott the Prius, as it looks like it will be part of lives for now. Tim was kind enough to suggest I hang onto it for the next trip to the US, scheduled for June. So, after heading to Moab with Jeremy (more on that here) and house sitting for Tim and Jan the week after, I drove little Prott back to Salida and parked it outside Ben and Emma’s house (cue more great food and some cuddles with Moxie). And there it remains, camping gear stashed in the boot, ready for this summer!

From Salida, I hopped on the bus to Denver (the Bustang, an excellent service that’s bike friendly too), allowing me to see Sage one last time before heading back to Oaxaca. The two of us stayed the night with Ryan Van Duzer – aka The Duze – as it turns out Sage’s school is really close to where he lives. I even got to pick Sage up in the afternoon and walk him back again the next morning, which was a bit of a treat for me. Plus, we got to test out his new Typhon Grom in a parking lot and I picked up a second hand Garmin running watch from the nearby Boulder Sports Recycler thrift store. Score! Thanks Ryan for hosting us for the night. I really appreciate it!

From there, I bused to the airport and began the journey back, via a flight to Mexico City, then a long night bus to Oaxaca. All that was left was an hour’s walk at sunrise from the bus station to Ejido Guadeloupe Victoria… and I was home once more!

Thanks for reading! Any questions, fire away!