Albuquerque, New Mexico to Santa Fe, New Mexico

What a great ride today! This was a hard ride, with lots of climbing involved. For the beauty seen however, the work was more than worth it.

We rode for 66 miles today. Albuquerque is at 5,300 ft elevation and Santa Fe at 7,000. For our net gain of 1,700 ft however, we did well over 5,000 feet of climbing. The weather was, once again, better than we could have asked for. Road surfaces, traffic, and weather were all excellent.

New Mexico bills itself as the "Land of Enchantment." Based upon the views I saw today, that is a well deserved appellation. Holy guacamole, this was a beautiful ride! Even though I wanted to make good time, and thereby get out of the sun soon, I still had to stop frequently for photos. Not a lot of photos taken yesterday, between Grants and Albuquerque, but lots taken today. I wish Marsha had been with me, as she would have probably recognized a lot of the desert plants and flowers.

We left Albuquerque on "Central Avenue", heading east. I believe that Central Avenue is the same thing as the old historic US route 66, in that area. There is a huge mountain, called Sandia, located just to the east of the city. This road took us by that mountain on its southern side. Once out of town and beyond the mountain, we turned north, on route 14 (I think). That was when the climbing really began. We could see Sandia to our left, as we rode northeast to Santa Fe. The riding became then very difficult, with all the climbing, but that is when the beauty of the area unfolded.

I remember being in Albuquerque roughly a hundred years ago, it seems. OK, it was probably only 30 years ago. Anyway, that was a time when I was visiting with John. He was finishing his residency then at Lovelace, and I was on an interview/vacation trip, as I was looking at cardiology fellowships. It was in the month of February, as I recall, and I remember cross-country skiing then up on the Sandia crest. It was fun today to look at that mountain from the other side today, and remember when I had spent time here with John, so many years ago now.

Today I felt really strong. I wasn't so sure how I felt when I had arisen this morning, and I was a bit slow out of the starting gates. Probably 5 miles into the ride this morning however, I really seemed to get some energy and strength from somewhere. I ended up way near the front of the group, which has not previously been my usual place. Even on the steeper climbs today, I felt great. It was a real confidence builder today. I was signing in at our destination, in Santa Fe, at 1:00 PM. (It was nice to get out of the sun then, even though I am always covered with SPF 70 anyway.)

I am now in Santa Fe and relaxing. I have showered. More importantly, I have meticulously washed and cleaned my bike. The chain is sparkling, dry, and lightly oiled.

Tomorrow is our second full rest day. If I have the energy tomorrow, I may do some laundry. Michel said that he might also. I don't know however. That really seems a bit ambitious. Maybe we can find a way to encourage and support each other, as we then contemplate that important but difficult work.

When we pull out of here on Sunday morning, we will have nine full straight days of riding, until the next rest day. That seems intimidating, as I consider it now. Should be interesting...,