Our route from Albuquerque to Santa Fe took us up 14 North, also called the Turquoise Trail. We did a lot of climbing today. Once we got out of town, traffic decreased and the grades were long and steep. The north wind wasn't as much of a hindrance early in the morning. Vegetation changed dramatically as we went higher and higher; trees gave way to scrub which gave way to high desert. The views were spectacular. It was cold, with threatening skies - I felt a few rain drops and then saw snow flakes! The snow fall didn't last long, but was a fun addition to the ride. We descended through Madrid which is famous as a location used in the movie "Wild Hogs." The road then turned upwards again with rollers all the way in to Santa Fe, but by this time the wind had come up and we had to put our heads down and grind out the miles. Dan and I rode together all day. Despite the long slog in Santa Fe, it was a fun day of climbing through some wonderful countryside.
Several of our group were only riding to Albuquerque. Sad to see them go. Oliver, Franz, Daniel, Julia, Lee, and Dennis have been replaced by some new riders: Lori, Paul, Joanne, Tom, and Laurel, some of whom are riding to St. Josephs, MO or Champaign, IL. Mary is leaving us from Santa Fe.
5:33; 68 miles; 4,716' climb; 3,255 Calories
Tomorrow is a rest day! :)
A full flag of wind - unfortunately from the direction we were cycling.
Threatening skies
From left to right, flashing head light, route slip, Garmin computer.
Mobile sculptures displayed by the road into Santa Fe.
I'm so glad that you were greeted by the same cactus! Love the bicycle mobiles.
ReplyDeleteToday was a quiet day for the Redondo Peloton - windy conditions and plenty of climbing. Lost the main field after the first climb so we were in a breakaway for pretty much the entire route. Tomorrow we also have a rest day because one of us needs to judge obedience and rally at a Basset Hound specialty (I noticed that I received plenty of time to judge my 6 entries - I suspect these are very slow dogs...).
Jim, I don't know if you have any sort of traffic counter on your blog, so I wanted to let you know that I am also enjoying your adventure. Saw one of the posts on Facebook a few days ago and went back and read from the beginning. This is the ride of a lifetime, and you have done it more than once. Wishing you fair winds and good weather for the remainder of your journey. This is Tiller from the defunct D2D board.
ReplyDeleteTiller! Thank you for your kind words and wishes.
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