Mountains and Los Alamos

Thursday, June 11   Day 5   Albuquerque to Española, NM   103 miles

This was our first truly mountainous day, with 6500 feet of climbing, and the hills were STEEP and LONG. The photo above is when I reached the highest point of the day, at elevation 9000 feet. I am looking northeast towards Los Alamos, which I rode through after a fast descent.

Earlier in the day we rode up Jemez River Canyon, which was spectacular.

That famous New Mexico geology lined our road, and around each turn we had another interesting view ahead.

Here's another view ahead, but I particularly wanted this "Congested Area" sign because we've seen many such signs in the most abandoned kinds of places imaginable. Maybe it's just that we're riding in the middle of week days, but our roads have been the opposite of congested, as you can see in the photo. There were a few trading posts ahead (we were riding on Native American reservation land, as we have been for much of our riding in New Mexico), but it was a quiet spot.

After about 40 miles, we reached the little village of Jemez. It seemed very "New Mexico-ish" - home spun. While there, Neil took my picture:

Once we continued north, the serious climbing began - steep and long. We had gone only a mile or two and came to "Soda Dam":

 

This unusual formation was created by calcium carbonate bubbling up from a spring, over hundreds of years, and hardening into this dam 300 feet wide by 50 ft wide by 50 ft high. The Jemez River flows around and through it as shown by the waterfall in the photo.

We then went up up up, and got our reprieve at the 52-mile lunch stop. We were way up in the mountains by then, but still had about a 1000 feet of climbing to go. There was a walking trail from our lunch stop to an overlook where you could see for 20 miles southward. And if you looked down, WAY below was the road we had been on earlier. It was amazing to think we had climbed from WAY down there to where we were then. 

 

 

After lunch and more climbing, we came to a broad valley, with herds of elk. If you can read the sign, it was the crater/collapse of a huge volcano that erupted over a million years ago. A fellow who also was stopped there offered me his binoculars so that I could see two herds of elk out there.

After a little more climbing, I reached the 9000-ft summit and descended into the Los Alamos National Energy Lab, which was just before the town of Los Alamos. I had to go through a security gate, and then again when leaving. It is still huge (~7000 workers), and active in performing research related to "homeland security".

I departed the bike route and went into the town to look for museums. I did visit their historical museum, and it told the story of the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb in the mid-1940s.

 

This part of the museum was a little replica of a bomb shelter that became somewhat popular during the cold war. I took the photo because there was a canister of Carnation Instant Milk, one of "my" products when I worked for Carnation/Nestle.

This is the historical museum from the outside, and you can see my bike behind the bench. The receptionist inside insisted I put my bike there so she could see it and make sure it wouldn't get stolen. Nice! This building used to be a guest cottage for a lodge dating back 150 years.

I then rode to the visitor center and told the woman I planned to also visit the Bradbury Museum which tells the story of the Los Alamos National Energy Lab. She strongly recommended against it, given that I was on a bike and if I waited any longer, I was going to face "a million" cars all going down the road I needed to be on as they went home from work. I took her advice, but it seemed like the million cars already were there with me, speeding down a steep descent for about 5 miles. It was dicey all right, but I made it.

I needed to continue down a fast descent on what was like a freeway, and the shoulder was full of debris. It was NOT good bike riding. Finally I took the offramp and headed the final nine miles to Española to complete the ride. I was pooped, after being out there for nine hours and had all those climbing miles. I rested, showered, and our dinner was super at a nice family Mexican place. No Internet connection, so I got more much-needed sleep. I was glad the phone at least worked, so I could talk with Janet. I really miss her!

Our first century day

Wednesday, June 10   Day 4  Sorocca to Albuquerque, NM  105.4 miles

One more crossing of the Rio Grande River, when we had ridden 95 miles. The final 10 miles were the hard part of the ride, since it was into a strong headwind. Fortunately, for most of the day we had brisk tailwinds, but approaching storms caused the winds to change direction. We all made it into the hotel before the rain began except for Sue and Neil Rowland. They had to seek shelter, but it passed over quickly.

It was a perfect morning, weather, scenery, and smooth-road wise. We continued to parallel Hwy 25, and at mile 17, we got on it and rode 12.5 miles. As yesterday, the shoulder was nice and smooth...for the first few miles. But then the road surface was old and bumpy, and my buns got sore absorbing all those mini-shocks.

When we departed the interstate, we had a rest stop to refuel, and then headed north again on the same road for about 30 miles. It too was within sight of Interstate 25. The two north-south features we have had for a long time are the Rio Grande River, and Interstate 25. Interspersed now and then are dramatic mountains on either side of us, sort of like this:

What a great shot, huh? Well, we actually haven't seen this exact scene; this is my photo of a photo in our hotel tonight. But some of our mountains have been sorta close to those on the left of this picture.

When we reached Las Lunas, there was our lunch awaiting us in a park. Look what Rod, Ella and Jack did for us!

The set out chairs, they made our roll-ups custom to our wishes (every day is a different delicacy), they brought us cookies and drinks so we wouldn't need to get out of our chairs. Oh my, what service!

The proud daddy has them "trained", so he can just supervise now. It was tough to get out of my chair to resume the ride. But the strong tailwinds made it more acceptable. Haha

At one point, we saw this sign and I wanted a photo since the only El Camino Real (the Royal Road) I was aware of was in California. The California missions were built along the old road during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. There, we called it The King's Highway.

Just before this photo, it got cloudy and I put my sunglasses away into my packet on my top tube. I hit a bump, they popped out, and before I could turn around to get them, they got run over! Oh well. I went back to get them and they're not TOO scratched. Maybe I'll pry the four clips and try to still use them until I can buy new ones.

In the outskirts of Albuquerque at the southern end, we crossed the Rio Grande and on the other side was this "bike monument". I had never seen something like that before, but Paul had and told me it's called a Ghost Bike. It honors someone who died riding his or her bike. Sad, but a nice tribute.

Just past this photo, we got off the roads and onto a bike trail that was essentially the Rio Grande levee. It took us through and past Albuquerque so that we did not have to navigate and ride through a large city to get to our destination to the northwest of downtown.

That's the Rio Grande River off to the left, although you can't see the water. Very pleasant way to ride through this area. Much of it was developed into park land with lakes and even a choo choo train for fun rides. When we finally got off the trail, the headwinds began and the final 10 miles were tough. I was really glad when we finished, as you can see in this next photo:

This Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort is pretty incredible. There are acres and acres of beautiful grounds, and spas, and hot tubs, and this and that. At dinner, we heard some stories of wonderful things others had done on the grounds of the hotel, but I was so thrilled to be connected to the Internet and had so much to catch up on, I have not seen much. The dinner was in an outside patio with a live piano player, and the scenery/food/drink were superb.

Okay, I'm caught up, but it's late and tomorrow we have our first real climbing day - 6500 feet, and another century (100 miles).  We will go through Los Alamos on our way to Española. I might have time to visit something historic in Los Alamos.

The route link: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/7806845

The Road Ahead

Tuesday, June 9    Day 3   Truth or Consequences to Sorocca, NM   82.6 mi

For many of our miles today, we rode next to Interstate 25, as in this photo, or for several miles, on it! This picture shows Paul, Bob, and Neil. I took this photo by just sticking my camera out to the side and snapping, without knowing if the cyclists were even in the viewfinder. It came out perfectly!

When we departed our lodge in Truth or Consequences, we immediately had to climb a steep hill. Lots of comments about cruelty and inhuman punishment. Haha  But the temperatures were cool and we all had a great ride on frontage roads along Interstate 25. Then it was time to actually get on the interstate:

And there we are rolling down the onramp. It might sound scary, but riding on an Interstate is not so bad - the shoulder is wide and in our case, smooth. And, you gets boosts of tailwinds every time an 18-wheeler flies past you. We call it "the lorry effect" (the British term for a semi is a lorry).

Once we were on, here was our view ahead. Pretty neat looking. That's Bob. Funny that there didn't seem to be any vehicles on the highway when I took this picture. And check out the mountains in the background!!

Long lonely roads in many places! That's Sue waving, and Corey behind her. We were just at one of our rest stops to get snacks and water, sunscreen if we needed it, and encouragement.

Look at the straight road ahead! As far as the eye can see - straight. That's the interstate next to us. We did have more riding scenery than just what I've captured in my photos, but these sorts of scenes impress me. We continue to cross or ride next to the Rio Grande River, which is the ONLY river we've seen with any water. We have crossed over many a dry creek.

We were pretty pooped when we arrived in Sorocco. I could never get on the Internet, so I'm writing yesterday's blog entry tonight in Albuquerque. Our restaurant was a small, intimate family-owned Mexican place. Lots and lots of family photos on their walls.

It rained hard again during the late evening. Glad that so far, all our big rain has happened once we're in our hotel rooms.

We got our heat today - 119?

Monday, June 8   Day 2   Las Cruces to Truth or Consequences, NM   80 miles

The later part of the ride did indeed get pretty hot, but it didn't seem like 119 F to me. Everyone else uses a Garmin, which among many other things records the temperature extremes during a ride. The various Garmins ranged from 109 to 119. I would not have even guessed 109, but perhaps it was.

The photo of me above is earlier in the day at a bend in the Rio Grande River. During that part, the scenery was interesting with "table" mountains popped up all over. We had some green, and even a few more pecan orchards. Here's another photo from early in the day, when the temperature was quite pleasant.

Our first rest stop was at a Border Control Checkpoint after 28 miles. I think it was the only place on the road wide enough for the van to stop and provide some space for us. The roads today were mostly straight through with no cities -- other than:

Yes, Hatch, the self-proclaimed "chile pepper capital of the world." It had a special interest for me and my siblings since my mom's family is Hatch. The next sign in the left of the photo explained that the town was named for Edward Hatch, a Civil War general who was New Mexico's military commander in 1875 when the town was founded. My sister did some research today and said he is our 5th cousin four times removed. Well, that's interesting, but it sounded like he was no closer to me than Adam and Eve.

The downtown had a some unique features - mainly these statues everywhere conveying the chile pepper theme.

Paul and I stopped for a while taking photos, and then had to catch up to the others. But first, his Garmin took us about a mile out of our way, so by the time we got to the correct highway, we had to burn burn burn to catch up. For about 10 miles, we took turns at the front and cruised at about 22-23 mph and finally came to the others.

After 23 more miles (62 total), we reached our lunch stop just below the dam for Lake Caballo - which backs up (guess which river?).  As always, our hosts put on a fabulous dining experience and we did not want to get out of chairs to continue. It was getting pretty darned hot by then.

Our lunch picnic site was only about 40 feet from the edge of the Rio Grande River. It was cool to see the water gushing out from the base of the dam. Paul even came over here and dipped his head in to cool off. The Rio Grande is so wide and full farther north like this, but in El Paso where it is the U.S.-Mexico border, it is puny. Too much of it is taken for drinking and irrigation on its way south.

Here's Paul climbing away from Lake Caballo, and by now it was hot. It also got hillier, which made us feel 

even hotter.

Look at that long hill Bob and Corey are climbing. And we still had about 10 miles to our destination, Truth or Consequences. It got its name because the town changed it from Hot Springs. In 1950, Ralph Edwards, the host of the radio quiz show Truth or Consequences, announced that he would air the program from the first town that renamed itself after the show; Hot Springs won the honor. Edwards visited the town during the first weekend of May for the next 50 years.

 We are staying at a famous hot springs lodge, and each night's room charge includes 30 minutes in their hot tub.

From the outside, it doesn't seem too fancy and special, but it is! Ted Turner bought it a few years ago and spiffed it up. When we arrived, first things first: Bob bought us some beer to help refresh us after the tales of 119-degree temps we had just ridden through. Some of the riders had run out of water by the end (I was okay.) After an hour or so, most of us went to the spa. They fill one of their many tubs each time guests want to use one (they are not kept filled). I joined Paul, Bob, Corey, and Rob, but only Rob was left when the others got out and grabbed my camera for this photo:

The hot water and jets felt great, especially on my neck and back. 30 minutes was just right.

Dinner was in the lodge, which turned out to be good for another reason - it started raining hard, and as I type this at 9:45 pm, it's still pouring out there with lightning and thunder. The menu had some unique items, like bison, rattlesnake, octopus, liquid-nitrogen ice cream, chile lemonade, and I forget what else. Hatch chile peppers were used in all sorts of dishes.

Tomorrow will be much like today - 80 miles, straight north with few road turns, to Socorro, NM. We will see the big lake just north of town, Elephant Butte Lake. That name made for some jokes. I think it should be cooler after tonight's rains. I'm going to try something - putting here our link to the map of tomorrow's ride. Some followers of this blog might want to glance at where we are and where we're going.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/7598620

Starting off perfectly...

...with good weather, favorable winds, and cloud cover to keep the temperatures below 90!

Sunday, June 7   Day 1   El Paso, TX to Las Cruces, NM  50.5 miles

Here we are about to climb on our bikes. L to R: Craig Needham, Sue Rowland, Bob Long, Neil Rowland, Corey Loyd, Paul Wood, and myself. (Three of us wore California jerseys.)

Our first mile was in the wrong direction - south - but we wanted to touch the border with Mexico since the other six in this photo will be ending in Canada.

And here we are as far south as we can go, other than farther across this road, called Border Road. That bridge crosses the Rio Grande, and is for vehicles returning to the U.S. from Juarez, MX. An identical bridge behind the photographer is for cars entering Juarez. Swarms of pedestrians use both bridges to go in either direction.

We then rode along the border to the northwest, and in just five miles we crossed the Rio Grande River into New Mexico. Another photo op:

At this location, New Mexico was not as enchanting as it became later in the day when we reached the Rio Grande River Valley. Here it was dry sand, tumble weeds, and many "needy" homes.

The terrain was completely flat all day, and we mostly had tailwinds to push us along. 

Just look at the flat road ahead. But we eventually came to numerous pecan orchards and many wineries too.

Our three master chefs and caretakers, Jack, Ella, and dad Rod Cartier. They laid out an incredible spread for us, with Calif cherries, other fresh fruits, sandwiches (Jack is making one - hummus and pickles), hard-boiled eggs, homemade nutrition bars, and peanut M&Ms! Behind them is a pecan orchard. Craig and Bob are sampling the goodies.

Once we moved on with full tummies, our scenery changed quite significantly from when we were closer to El Paso.

We soon crossed the Rio Grande once again, as we will many times during our first week. This river flows southward from Colorado, just as we ride north along its course. That mountain range in the background is the Organ Mtns, which provides an incredible backdrop in Las Cruces.

I was riding into Las Cruces when I thought this view of the Organ Mtns was spectacular. Las Cruces is the 2nd largest town in NM, and has New Mexico State University. Not too far away is where the first atomic bomb was tested in 1945 - the White Sands Missile Range.

Our dinner was at this historic La Posta de Mesilla, which began in 1939 with four tables and no running water. However, the building itself has been standing for 150 yrs, as described in the sign on the wall.

 If you can't read it, it says that Billy the Kid, Pancho Villa, and Kit Carson all stayed there when it was the Corn Exchange Hotel, a stop on the Butterfield Stagecoach Line. Apparently, this town of Mesilla, just a couple miles from Las Cruces, was a roaring Wild West town during the late 19th Century, and was the largest town in the Southwest between San Diego, CA and San Antonio, TX. Aren't those chile pepper hangings cool-looking? They were draped every 10 feet or so around the entire building.

Inside, the restaurant was colorful and seemed like a museum. As always, we enjoyed a fabulous meal. This photo shows two more of the hanging chili pepper decorations.

Tomorrow we will ride 78 miles to Truth or Consequences. I will tell you the story of why it is named that in tomorrow's blog. Today was totally flat, and tomorrow is supposed to be almost the same. I realize I named this blog "mountainous", but in a few days, it will be.

Bike arrived damaged, but all is well

Saturday, June 6   El Paso, TX  Day 0

This is my rear derailleur hanger, broken into two pieces! When I pulled my bike out of its shipping box, the derailleur was bent over so far it was in the spokes. I notified Paul, who hurried down to the room at the hotel holding all the bikes and maintenance stuff. He tried bending it back into place, but it cracked!

I then said something that actually kind of shocked Paul: "I brought a spare. Shall I go get it?" He couldn't believe I had a spare. Long story short - he was able to replace the hanger and put it all back in perfect working order! He also helped with putting other parts of the bike back together and adjusting my rear brakes. Thank you Paul!

Never in my bicycling life have I needed a new derailleur hanger or have I ever even had a spare until I got my new bike in February. There was an extra one, and I just set it aside. As I was packing for this trip, I suddenly thought about it and decided to take it because it's small and I remembered a year ago on my Natchez Trace tour that Bob Timmerman's bike arrived with a damaged hanger. It was a major project to go find a new one. (Bob will be arriving for this tour on my final day.)

So, a potential major incident avoided. And then today, Bob Long's airplane departing in Burbank was backed away from the gate into another airplane! So, they had to scrap both flights and for a while, we didn't know if Bob would get here today in time. But we've heard that he's booked on a flight and will arrive at 5:30. He will still have to put his bike back together, but at least he is supposed to make it here today.

This is our hotel in the historic downtown plaza, where the city took root. Our hotel in the photo was built in 1912. Last evening, those who arrived yesterday (five in all) walked to a "happy hour" bar for a beer, and then to a lively restaurant for dinner. It was fun meeting and getting to know the other three riders. Reminder: This complete bike tour is five weeks long, but lots of others are coming and going along the way. I'm doing half the ride, but the other five here in El Paso, plus Paul, are the only ones riding the entire tour to Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada.

The group I'll be with over the next 18 days are:
1) Bob Long, whom I know from last year's tour, and who is the organizer of this private tour. He's from Pasadena, and was the one who invited me to ride with them.
2)  Corey Loyd from Anchorage
3 and 4) Neil and Sue Rowland from Gainesville, FL
5) Craig Needham from the S.F. Bay area and who arrived this afternoon
6) Paul Wood of Charlotte, owner/operator of Black Bear Adventure Cycling. He's led three tours I've taken, in 08, 09, and 14. He will ride the entire route each day with us, unless something arises that requires his attention.
7) Rod Cartier, who is the guide, driver and chef, and whom I met on last year's tour. His two children, Ella (age 15) and Jack (age 13) will be with us until Winter Park, CO.


Today, after completing our bike preparation, Paul, Corey and I rode 16 miles to scope out the path for tomorrow leading us out of El Paso.We rode right along the Mexican border for about a mile or two, and then along the border of New Mexico. After only five miles, our route took us into NM. We turned around and rode on back, witnessing numerous Border Patrol trucks cruising slowly along the Rio Grande River.

 Here's a photo of the Plaza Theater across from our hotel. I note it because growing up in Hawthorne, CA, we had our own Plaza Theater, which I thought was much more stately than this one.

I'm now writing this later, after dinner. Bob DID arrive, and we all had a wonderful dinner together about 40 yards to the right of this Plaza Theater. Now we will focus on our first day tomorrow, which will be "only" 50 miles with no hills - a "warm-up" ride, if you will, north to Las Cruces, NM.

I didn't mention how hot it is here, the mid 90s. Yet when we get to Leadville, CO, our morning will be in the mid 30s. What a range of temps to pack for! Okay, LET'S GET STARTED!

(Another monument and marker in our plaza across from our hotel.)