day 15 - albuquerque

Moths, what is it about these moths?  i think i first ran into them in colorado.  i remember waking up and having to chase a couple out of my tent.  at lathrop state park in colorado, when i woke up they were in everything:  my tent, paniers, handle bar bag, they were even in my riding gloves.  and now here in albuquerque they're not renting the ground floor rooms because they've had a moth infestation.

well, anyway, today was my final ride.  70 miles, including one healthy climb.  i stopped just before the crest to rest and enjoy the view.  while i was reclined on a guardrail, a convertible sports car came by, going uphill.  an older man driving.  and in the passenger seat was his bicycle laid out. he looked at me, i just smiled and waved.

it was a day for convertibles.  and for motorcycles. sunny, not too hot, memorial day weekend.  cautious of gathering, why not just go for a ride in the mountains? 

there are a couple of little funky communities tucked back in the hills.  have no idea why someone  would live here, what they could possibly do to support themselves.  you'll be riding along in this barren, rocky terrain and come across a little cluster of residences and one will have a bunch of sculptures scattered around.

 

and the buildings start to be more interesting, more unique.  sometimes showing an interest in adapting to the habitat, sometimes to the apparent eccentricity of the owner.

outside albuquerque, i picked up old route 66 and followed it in to town. the hills here seem like just piles of rock, no soil holding things together.  it was all downhill for the last 15 miles.  

suzi is concerned about my eating enough.  it is a problem, amplified, again, by the covid.  i figure i'm using 3,000+ calories a day.  that's a lot to eat.  i enjoy sitting down, resting, and eating one good meal a day in a diner of some sort, but that's out.  the closest i've come is a subway sandwich sitting in the shade on the side of the road.  that means i don't eat as much as i should and i don't rest as much.  short 15-30 min rests, then back up and riding.  that night, in a hotel in albuquerque, i ate a whole large pizza.  plus a coke, something i haven''t done in years, but just felt any fluid with sugar or salt i could get would be a help.

the next morning, as i walked to the airport to pick up a rental car for the trip home, i looked west out over the desert.  Originally, i had planned to keep going west.  5 days of dry sage brush and dust till flagstaff and another 1-2 to the grand canyon.  then another handful to get to las vegas and death valley.  whew, 

add the wind to that and i was glad i wasn't going any further.

i got the car, took a tour of albuquerque's old town, and slipped on to I-40.  1,500 miles and 24 hours later, 4 of them sleeping, i was pulling into knoxville. 

1,000 miles cycling in 15 days, including 2 rest days.  i lost 6 pounds even after all the eating i did in santa fe and that pizza in albuquerque.  guess suzi was right.  well, it shouldn't take too long to put it back on.