Santa Fe, then Downwards.

Here's my first post about why I'm riding, and here's where to donate to Water Life Hope.  And here's a roundup of the last couple of days.
Ellsworth Gallery, Santa Fe

Sunday April 7: Yet another rest day.


Yes, we're slacking.  But you have to take the altitude into account.  We were wiped.  Steve and I went to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, and came back to the bus and napped.  Carol was a better tourist, and took decent pictures.  All the pictures here are hers. 

The highlight of Santa Fe for us was (as usual) our Warm Showers hosts.  Lindsey and her housemates have a lovely, sunny, happy group house.  Lindsey and her boyfriend guided us to a terrific vegetarian place on Saturday night, and we dined in with roommate Becca and friend on Sunday.  It was like a vastly improved version of group houses Steve and I had been part of decades ago.  By Monday morning we were refreshed and ready to go.


Monday April 8: Santa Fe to Romeroville, 65 miles.   We climbed 3630 feet to lose 700 feet of altitude.  Go figure.

Plaza in Santa Fe
Steve and Carol split the riding buddy chores again, Steve going about 21 miles and Carol cleaning up the rest while I rode the whole way.  Steve got stuck with the big climbs, into the wind, some of it on the freeway. 

The big change today was what came next -- we started to descend.  We're now at roughly 6500 feet, rather than about 7200 feet in Santa Fe.   It's warmer, and I can breathe better.  It's great.

What's in Romeroville?  Nothing.  The real town around here is Las Vegas, New Mexico.  But it's more than six miles off the route, so we're staying here in the bus.  Will make tomorrow morning less complicated.

No big events on the ride, so here's a set of random observations from the day.
This is the stuff we're riding past.
None too damp.
  • We passed a Civil War battlefield in Glorietta, New Mexico.  None of us knew much about the war in the west, and this was a real surprise.
  • I actively miss the wild women in my life -- only one came along for the ride.  You know who you are.
  • Also miss the encouraging men in my life -- only the most important one came along for the ride.  You too know who you are.
  • We have ridden for weeks now and haven't yet hit a water-rich environment.  In Albuquerque they are not expecting the lovely big cottonwoods to survive much longer, nor can they be replaced because the water table has fallen so much.  They will be replaced by grasslands.  So how will people do out here?  The changes are far faster than anyone imagined.


  • When I got in, my news feed featured vegan protests in Australia.  They negotiated for the release of three sheep.  What will the vegans do with them?  I was once a professional shepherd, and predict that whoever is responsible for the sheep will not love them long.   I ended up thinking of the sheep as more or less on the same level with chickens.  Not too smart, with a variety of unattractive habits.  Sorry if you're a sheep or chicken lover.

    • .

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We Biked Across LA and Lived to Tell About it.

Image
Here is my first post about why I'm riding and why donating to Water Life Hope will make Godot arrive promptly. Steve in the old neighborhood March 13: 25 miles We started a bit late on Wednesday, I'll allow.  Steve and I went down to Venice and hunted down a couple of places I used to live.  They were there, but the Marathon Meatless Mess Hall has vanished along with it's famous signs painted by my buddy Arnie, once the only fruitarian in the Texas penal system.   The whole place is more prosperous, or more precisely now demands prosperity.  The Arnies of the world have been banished. The bikes were all prepared the night before.   Cameras went on courtesy of friends  Paula  (donated a front light) and Charles (made a custom mount for the rear light).    We stocked food, and got more spare tubes Near the start of the ride .  So Carol and I headed to the Santa Monica Pier with some confidence....
Read more

Ride FAQ -- Probably a Work in Progress

Image
Carol & Sara on their first ride Here are some questions that people usually ask about the ride, with the best answers I have at the moment.  If your question isn't here, ask away.  Don't be shy.  Some of these answers need a longer explanation, and you can expect these to get their own blog entries. And don't forget to donate to Water Life Hope. The Fundraiser Does the money we give fund the trip? No.  0%.  Definitely not.  We don't touch the money.  You give it directly to Water Life Hope, and 100% goes to water projects.  No part of it goes to administration or fund raising. How did the fundraiser happen? I was at an Outreach meeting at Holy Trinity Parish  (HTP), telling folks I was going to be gone for a while.  We started talking about using the trip as a fundraiser.  The parish has given to Water Life Hope over the years and its founder, Ed Buckley , goes to HTP and lives just a few blocks away from...
Read more

We're Home

Image
This is my first post  about why I'm riding, and here's where to  donate to Water Life Hope .  The ride is complete, but it's still possible (and wonderful) to donate.  I'll do a couple of more entries, one with equipment reviews for those who might be contemplating something similar and another about  Warm Showers .  Then I'll close the blog.  Might open another one if we do something else interesting, but this one will be done.  Thanks so very much for reading this one.  It was really fun to have you with me on the ride. Most of the group.  Let to right: Matt Yurman, Paula Grad, me, Steve, Jude Lomas, Al Greenberg, Mike Martinez. Missing Gardner Neely,  Henry Slack, John Cargile, Andy Blakemore, Charles Shapiro May 17: Dallas to Decatur, 44 miles. Steve and I woke up in Carol's guest room.  It was time to get home.  I prepared to ride one last time: make peanut butter sandwiches, put hydration tabs in one...
Read more