Day 09

Aside from our challenges of the day, our route was a beautiful one with scenic mountains all around us all day.  It doesn't matter which way you go out of Albuquerque, you have to go up.  We departed town on highway 14 a nice windy road through the Sandia Mountains and through some small, quaint little towns like Madrid, a town that was up for sale several years ago...yes, somebody bought it.  Now it's a tourist trap full of arts and crafts and some interesting sights...they filmed "Wild Hogs" here a couple years right after we rode through.  The best thing about the town is it sets at the bottom of a screaming descent...yahooooooo was heard all throughout the valley as the riders plummeted down the mountainside.  Payback from all the climbing was sweet for a moment.

With the all the secluded climbing, any town was a welcomed sight and several of the riders stopped by the MADrid HATTER, a small shop in this quaint little hamlet for a sticky bun and a warm beverage.  By the time I got there, they only had one sticky bun left.  There is a sign on the door that says, "Nothing Happened Here In 1897" but it's a happening place if you wanted to have a flash back from the 60s.  Across the street from the MADrid Hatter sat a group of hippy looking 60 year olds playing bongo drums and chanting things we didn't understand...a town from a different era to say the least.  And did I smell some funky smoke while driving through?

Karen finally let me ride a little in the afternoon.  I really appreciated getting out of the van for a little spin session with Jay.  I'm not getting much riding in lately, so any miles are welcomed.  I spent the morning after the first SAG running Robert to the ER to check out some breathing problems he was having.  Turned out to be mostly altitude, allergy, and a bit of fatigue.  The ER released him to our care with the recommendation to not ride for a day to rest and get out of the pollen of the area and the altitude.  He'll ride again to Dalhart and with all that rest, we may not keep up with him.

After we got close to Santa Fe, we entered I-25 for the remainder of the day...our last day on interstate.  The road before us rose gently for the first 9 miles as you would swear that the road was level, but your legs said otherwise and with the headwinds to boot, keeping speeds in the double digits was a real challenge even for the strongest among us.  After cresting just east of Santa Fe, the road began present us with big rollers and finally after the last SAG, our road turned out of the pesky headwind for the last 10 miles.  The winds don't look to promising for tomorrow either so keep your fingers crossed for us. 

Tomorrow we blast off on my favorite road...highway 104 to Tucumcari.  It's a ribbon of a road that doesn't seem to end.  With the headwinds it may be a reality.  Tune in and see how we do.