"What goes up, must come down…"
My son, Mike, is in Santa Fe working a movie. He dropped by the hotel to see us off. What a nice surprise.
Under threatening skies, we donned our raingear and headed out of Santa Fe, climbing out of the valley. After fifteen miles, we got onto the shoulder of I-25 North for five miles. At the end of this five mile stretch, we exited the freeway, marking the end of our freeway travel!!!! The picture above shows Willie, Chris, me, and Peter checking our route sheets. No more interstates!
The rest of the day, we were on old highway 66. The highest elevation of the trip was reached at Glorietta Pass (7,500 feet above sea level); the place where the Battle of Glorietta Pass took place in 1862, during the Civil War, for control of the Santa Fe Trail.
We then enjoyed a screaming descent into Pecos (as in, "there's no law west of the Pecos, hombre"). I didn't see Judge Roy Bean, but I'm sure his spirit is there somewhere. The SAG stop was at the El Alto Bar (picture above). From there we had rolling terrain, long drops followed by steep climbs' all the way into Las Vegas. We stopped at the Dairy Queen for shakes and sandwiches before riding the remaining mile to the hotel.
Today's ride competes with the ride through Oak Creek Canyon for the prettiest day so far.
Rider of the day:
Chris is from Virginia. At 44, he's one of the youngest riders and one of the strongest. His brother just got back from a tour of duty in Iraq. Chris is riding to support Injured Marines. Semper Fi!
Just had dinner with Deborah, left overs from the party. Yum! Always a good end to a party when we get to have left over dinner with the Lyle-Regan's.......half if better than none.
ReplyDeleteTake care.
In your honor I am eating 4000 calories a day. You might not recognise me when you get back!
ReplyDeleteBill (diver) and other things
It was good to see you off this morning, Jim. I have to admit that I went back to the hotel and got a few more hours sleep... Of course, I was up till 3am, the night before, so seeing you off at 7am was rough!
ReplyDeleteStill, it was good to meet all the colorful characters on your epic journey. I will certainly continue to follow your exploits online and keep you and your fellow riders in my thoughts.
Just keep pedaling!
Mike
Thanks for the update Jim. As a
ReplyDeletecrossroads alumnus, it is good to see someone else carrying the flag. We will keep track.
Martin
We agree with Bill - the two domestiques, the fourth rider, and I have made the decision to up our caloric intake in support of your ride. We will now be consuming a combined total of 16,000 calories a day. It was a difficult decision, but we feel that you deserve our support, and that it is the least we can do in honor of your cross-country trek.
ReplyDeleteHey Jim, great trip reports as always. I am having fund just reading them.
ReplyDeleteSlide show when you get back?
Lori T