Beauty of northern New Mexico

Friday, June 12   Day 6   Española to Chama, NM   86 miles

Echo Mtn was a surprise highlight today as we rolled across vast swaths of beautiful hills and mountains in northern NM. See that scooped-out wall at the end of the road? In that large natural amphitheater, the echos were incredibly distinct. And you barely needed to yell at all to get the echo. Fun!

The day began colder than we've had yet. I should have worn a bit more, and tomorrow I will. They did not have a satisfactory breakfast selection at our motel, so we all rode a mile to the McDonalds. It worked. Then we continued north, all pedaling gingerly to let our legs recover from yesterday difficult climbing.

We came to famous artist Georgia O'Keeffe's home and studio. We didn't tour it, but it was cool to be able to ride by it. In 1929, she visited from New York where she already had established herself as an artist, and loved it so much she remained here until her death in 1986 (age 98). Many of her most famous works are of the New Mexico scenery that we are enjoying on this bike ride.

Our first rest stop of the day (mile 24) was in Abiquiu, which is where the Old Spanish Trail began (or ended). Traders brought back mules and horses from Los Angeles, CA during 1829 to 1848.

I could have taken photos like this for most of the day - one spectacular scene after another of those colored cliffs.

Here's another shot of what I like to call "The Road Ahead". Even the clouds made for impressive scenery as we pedaled northward. Yes, it's not all uphill; these descents are nice. It's just that cyclists think more about our climbs since they last so much longer than the descents.

I took this photo at the summit of a climb, looking into the valley where we are tonight - Chama. We had about 5000 feet of climbing today, but no hills were as steep as yesterday. We even had some tailwinds helping us along. And look at the snow! I'm guessing that is in Colorado, since we are only 19 miles away tomorrow morning.

At our final rest stop, Neil took this picture of me. The mileage chart shows how we had come 65 miles from Española, and we had 12 miles to go to our destination (Chama). I have no idea why those two numbers add up to only 77 miles since my odometer for the day showed 86. Overall, it was a wonderful day for a bike ride. I'm doing great except for some saddle sores.

Our dinner was at the town's "happenin" place - their liquor store/saloon/restaurant. Being a Friday night, it was packed and they had a live country music group. It reminded me of the honky tonks in Nashville.

Bob tells us that tomorrow will be our best day yet. He has ridden this route from southern New Mexico to Canada before, I think 9 years ago. He always gives us a preview of what we'll see the next day. It will be 88 miles with our most elevation gain yet - 6700 feet. And, we will ascend to Wolf Creek summit at 10,800 feet!! Also we will have our first crossing of the Continental Divide.

Here is the map link if anyone is interested:   http://ridewithgps.com/routes/7806940