We are into New Mexico! I tell you, the scenery could be straight from a hollywood set for a classic western! The red rocks/ mesas, painted desert, tumbleweed, horses, everything!! Here is a photo of the mountain that all of us kept saying looked just like a mural or a hollywood set. It's been great to see all the trains cruising along the countryside as well!
Had a little tumbleweed get scooped up into my crank arms, but no harm done - it just tumbled on out again.
Shorter rides yesterday and today (86 miles to Gallup, NM yesterday and 70 miles to Grants, NM today); mellow terrain. It really IS a vacation!!! We are carrying Rich's bike-flag on Ira's bike; Rich stopped riding yesterday as he could only get that much time off work. And a few folks finish tomorrow, so we will be carrying their flags to Boston as well.
The usual group got joined yesterday by Barbie, Nancy, and Champ. (I think word is getting out about how much fun we are having). :) And today we had Barbie, Nancy, Jack, Charlie, and even Willie, Chris, and Mark for a while.
Today we crossed the Continental Divide. (Didn't actually test the concept of water flowing to the Pacific on one side and the Atlantic on the other - taking their word for it).
Had a little tumbleweed get scooped up into my crank arms, but no harm done - it just tumbled on out again.
Shorter rides yesterday and today (86 miles to Gallup, NM yesterday and 70 miles to Grants, NM today); mellow terrain. It really IS a vacation!!! We are carrying Rich's bike-flag on Ira's bike; Rich stopped riding yesterday as he could only get that much time off work. And a few folks finish tomorrow, so we will be carrying their flags to Boston as well.
The usual group got joined yesterday by Barbie, Nancy, and Champ. (I think word is getting out about how much fun we are having). :) And today we had Barbie, Nancy, Jack, Charlie, and even Willie, Chris, and Mark for a while.
Today we crossed the Continental Divide. (Didn't actually test the concept of water flowing to the Pacific on one side and the Atlantic on the other - taking their word for it).
We were only on I-40 for ~ 10 miles today, but it was by far the worst shoulder of an interstate we have encountered - debris everywhere and it was thick!! Thick gravel with an asphalt-type sludge. Then bits of glass, shreds of steel-belted tires and wood blocks thrown in as well. We all made it through without incident though - felt kind of like mountain biking!
Then fun times on Route 66. We stopped at the first Dairy Queen for our small group - really only because Harry from Liverpool has never seen a DQ. I think he is a little confused as to what all the fuss was about.
Qoute of the day for yesterday: "We're not going to waste any time today!" (We knew we should get some miles under us quickly to beat the afternoon winds). Well, 0.3 miles into the ride we saw a photo-op that we couldn't resist, and with all the posing for each of us, I think we easily spent 15 minutes!!! But I say, it still was not a WASTE of time.... :)
It sounds like you have your priorities straight by not missing any stellar photo ops. What luck to have a fun group to ride with. I would imagine it would feel like a very long trip otherwise. It must be hard to say good bye to some of the folks you have been riding with, but at least you will pick up some new blood later in the trip.
ReplyDeleteIf you have time when you are in Albuquerque tomorrow you should check out Duran's Pharmacy. There is a restaurant in the back of the store that I saw on some Food Network show and it gets great reviews and most importantly it’s were the locals eat. They serve New Mexican food with homemade tortillas. It looked really cool. One potential problem is their hours are 9 a.m-6:30 p.m. which might not work for you. They are located at 1815 Central Ave NW near Old Town.
If you have time when you are in Albuquerque tomorrow you should check out Duran's Pharmacy. There is a classic soda counter restaurant in the back of the store that I saw on some Food Network show. It looked really cool.
What do you mean "thick" ,debris everywhere, really on the side of the road. Why is it different?
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