Bike Ride to Farmington

Cuba to Farmington: 67.7 miles + 30 mile van ride

Total Mileage: 2523.3 miles

 

This morning the group would have to shuttle thirty miles to a road that would be rideable. Unfortunately the first thirty miles we would have to cover were over gravel and dirt roads and up some pretty big hills; something you could probably tackle on a mountain bike, but not with our road bikes.

I was a part of the second shuttle which mean when the first group left at 6:30 we would have some time to kill before we had to load up. In true Bike and Build style, we decided to take a nap. We all woke up around 9:30 and realized that the shuttle still had not come and were a bit concerned (there was absolutely no cell reception out on the reservation and were a little nervous that something had happened to Jack and the van). Turns out that part of the trailer had melted and the whole thing went to hell in a hand basket. Thankfully they were able to get it up and running.

 

The ride was gorgeous as it took us through a variety of landscape including some desolate flat lands and amazing canyons. There were also a bunch of wild horses roaming the country side. I learned befor eleaving Santa Fe the other day that these horses were stolen by the Native Americans. While some were used by local tribes, a large number were set free and the horses we saw today were a part of that contingency.

It was another day of amazing views as we hit the rolling hills of New Mexico. Because of our late start (11:30) and some flats, we ended up arriving to lunch at 3:30. We ended up scarfing down what could get our hands on before banging out the second half of our mileage. The bad news is that there was quite a headwind and we had to be into the host before seven because that is when the showers closed. Thankfully we got there with a little bit of time to spare and were able to swing through and grab a shower before the host provided dinner.

Dinner was provided by our host and the pot luck was great - tons of options was just the ticket after our long ride today. There were a bunch of people from the church joining us from dinner and we got to mix and mingle with a bunch of cool people. There was a couple who served in the Peace Corps together. I was also fortunate to talk with a really cool woman who grew up sailing and competing in events around Chicago. She loved what she was doing, especially when she could show up the bow. I was also able to talk to a man who had been a music teacher his entire career. One of the best things out of the conversation was when he mentioned that when he looks back on his profession he has no regrets, and was completely fulfilled with what he had done and how he had helped to shape his student's lives. This was so refreshing to hear and something I would like to be able to say years down the road when I am ready to retire.

Later that night the over 21 crowd went to a local bar, Three Rvers Brewery, to celebrate Stephanie's real 21st birthday (long story). The vibe was super chill and they had some great craft beers and popcorn.

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Bike Ride to Cuba

Abiquiu Lake to Cuba: 110.7 miles

Total Mileage: 2455 miles

 

Happy Fourth of July People!!!

 

What could be more patriotic than biking across America, flag sticking out of your hydration pack, dressed in a red, white and blue kit while taking in the mountain scenery? It is definitely a hard image to beat (except for my friends who watched the fireworks from the Capitol's rotunda).

 

We all woke up bright and early because not only did we need to get on the road for our century ride, we also needed to break down tents and shuttle ourselves down the massive gravel driveway. There was an amazing sunrise coming up over the mountain as we scarfed down toasted bagels and espresso.

 

Marcus has spent the night before, with some help from Kristina, rigging a flag pole to his bike which would hold his 5x8 foot flag. When we made it down to the road we saw what he had been up to, wished him good luck and then my group and I headed off.

 

We definitely got off to a rough start. First we did battle with some headwinds which is a rough way to start a morning. From there we started climbing and climbing, with a sporadic downhill. Unfortunately with the amount of climbing we also had to deal with less oxygen. This coupled with only eating a bagel for breakfast lead to a serious case of bonking i.e. when you have no energy left and are about to pass out.

 

The views through the canyons were spectacular. We did come across the Abiquiu Lake which was beautiful.

 

After what seemed like eons, and to new honest it was only about 35 miles, we came across first lunch. Our group was happy to hear that a lot of people were having as much trouble as we were and while we were at the back of the pack almost the entire team was still at lunch.

 

After lunch our group headed off this time with Marcus and we made our way over the hills. The one good part about going up is that you usually get a great view on the way down which definitely makes up for the climbs, at least most of the time. The next town we hit was about ten miles down the road and unfortunately Holly needed to be vanned so Marcus, his flag and I took off and Susan and Kristin stayed until the van arrived.

 

One of the reasons we took off early was because there was a huge storm coming in over the mountains. Normally we would be able to make up time on the road, but the combination of the century ride and the ginormous flag with winds would make it near impossible. We pushed hard and thankfully the storm was running along the mountains which was parallel to our route. While I was able to crush it down the hills, Marcus was able to crush it up them (less wind resistance) so between the two of us we were able to bike at our own pace, but still be efficient. One of the cool things about riding with the flag was the number of honks and fist pumps we got on the road. I think that we ended up with 103 honks for the day - a good motivator for sure.

 

Lunch stop number two was around mile eighty and we were one of the first groups to arrive. Unfortunately there were a bunch of people who were caught in the storm and the group was pretty split up. De to the impending storm, which apparently had hail, we decided to crank out the last twenty five miles. With about ten miles to go we stumbled upon a horse who had gotten lose. One of the things we have been trying to do is ride a horse so this was fairly close ... Marcus got to ride with a horse. How sick is that photo?

 

As we arrived at the top of the hill Marcus and I stumbled across a church mission group who offered to gives some water and then after talking with them offered us dinner as well. The group has been coming over the last three years to help rebuild churches on the reservation. We were even given a reinactment of the Decleration of Independence from memory which was pretty impressive. Unfortunately in the middle of the speech, the storm we had been out running all day long finally caught up to us. At that point we took our leave again. Due to the super strong gusts of wind we decided that Marcus needed to take down his flag so Nate, Marcus and I worked double time to fold it up so we could try to beat the storm; he had made it 102 miles which was super impressive. The only thing that stood in our way was a set of three massive rolling hills. Without a flag Marcus crushed them; Nate and I took a little bit longer and about a mile out the sky opened up and started pouring. We finally found the turn into the church and after fifty feet we were literally stuck in the mud. Nate and I carried our bikes a half mile up to what could be our smallest host yet.

With super windy conditions and no running water most of us decided to forgo the hose shower for a baby wipe one instead. Dinner did make up for it, spicy enchiladas, which we scarfed down. While we were eating someone had mentioned that we climbed over a vertical mile which is INSANE.

 

While there were no fireworks, this will definitely be a fourth that I will never forget!!!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Bike Ride to Abiquiu Lake

Santa Fe to Abiquiu Lake: 43.2 miles

Total Mileage: 2388.1

 

Today we had a short ride, but our host for the evening kept telling the leaders that it woul drake nearly five hours to go the 40 miles. Short mileage days and long hours can only mean one thing ... HILLS. We did check the elevation maps and didn't see anything too out of the ordinary, but there was still a looming doubt.

 

The first hill out of the gate was a six percent climb which was a little rough, but the rest was a combination of rolling hills and stupendous views. A bunch of us pulled over for a snack break and to get some pictures of the sites.

 

We were told not to arrive to our host before noon because he would not be able to pick us up so we decided to have a long leisurely lunch of hamburgers which took nearly two and a half hours. From there Nate crushed it to the our meet up location where we were told we would have to shuttle to the host's house; turns out he lived on a Mesa and the only way to get to the top was up a steep, gravel road. The host, Danny, was fantastic and met us at the bottom of the hill. He started to tell us a bit about himself and the history of the area. With the van nowhere in site we all decided that we would check out this road and see if we would be able to make it up; worst came to worse we would be able to walk up the two mile road and/or wait for the van to pick us up.

 

The road was definitely rough so I, along with many other riders did a combination of walking and riding up the hil. The view was amazing the entire way up and even better when we reached the top. Off in the distance we could see a storm coming in over the mountain which was amazing.

 

Napping in strange places does not seem so strange for us. Gravel? No problem.

 

This was also our first adventure into camping. With an incoming storm we moved double time to get the tents set up before the rain hit - a good idea because later that evening a large storm rolled through.

 

After dinner Danny had arranged for a local cowboy singer to come preform for us which was amazing!! Sadly I cannot get the video to upload, but here is a picture which helps paint a pretty good picture.

Between the singing, dinner, being around so many great people, watching the sun go down over the mountains and a thunder and lightening storm in the distance it was the perfect way to end the night.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Build Day #13

Sadly on our first day to sleep in I was up bright and early at 5 am. After laying in bed for about thirty minutes I decided to just bite the bullet and get up. As I was walking out the church I met a man who attended the church and he asked if I wanted to go on a walk with him. We powered walked over to the main square and he suggested that I go on a hike up Marter Hill. As you ascended the hill to the top there were twenty different plaques that went through the history of Santa Fe, the oldest Capitol in the US.

 

I arrived at the top of the hill just as the sun was coming up; the view was amazing and I could see all of downtown as well as out to the mountains. I was the first time in a while that I had seen the sunset and then the subsequent sunrise which was awsome.

 

From there I had some time to kill before I was going to meet some of the group at a local coffee shop, The Travel Bug. I was excited because for the first time in a long time I would be able to get some in house roasted coffee. It was soo good that I decided to splurge and get two (yes I know I live a rough life out here). The shop was also really cool and had tons of maps, travel books and some basic camping gear.

 

From there reveal of us had to run over to the bike shop to pick up some much needed stuff and/or get our bikes worked on. I for one needed new tires and a bunch of new tubes. After 2800 miles I needed to final bite the bullet and get new ones.

 

Our build site for the day started at noon and instead of working at a traditional build site, we were paired with the St. Elizabeth's Shelter and would be helping them with a river clean up. The whole project took about ninety minutes and we were then able to see thier main shelter and learn more about their organization.

 

Once we wrapped up, Alex, Jack and I headed off to the laundromat to do the team's laundry. While we hanging out, we got to see an awsome thunder and lightening storm roll in over the mountains.

 

Most of the team had headed out to grab some pizza for dinner, but the three of us felt like pizza twice in one day was a bit much and hit the town in search of a new place. After Jack got his history geek on and took a picture in front of the old front for the Manhatten Project we wandered down the street and found The Shed, a great Farm to Table Mexican inspired restaurant. As soon as we walked in the owner recognized out shirts and asked if we were the bikers traveling between Florida and California. It turns out that last year's group had stopped in. After an hour wait, we were seated and ready to eat. The guacamole was fantastic and dinner was even better. The boys each had a steak and I went for huevos rancheros. I will say theirs was amazing and one of the best steaks I have had in a while.

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Bike Ride to Santa Fe

Las Vegas to Santa Fe: 66.4

Total Mileage: 2344.9

 

This morning we got off to a bit of a late start because our host was providing breakfast burritos which definitely hit the spot. Due to the late start time we did get to sleep in until 5:45 which was a welcomed change from the early 4 am wake up calls; I got eight hours of sleep which I have not gotten since before the trip began.

Although the route would be shorter, we would be encountering some major hills as Santa Fe is at a much higher elevation than Las Vegas. Hannah, Justine, Nate and myself headed off into the cool morning and were on a mission to get as much ground covered as quickly as possible before first lunch (well our only lunch because the weather would be cooler and we would not be biking over 90 miles). As soon as we merged onto the highway we were shocked and dismayed at the condition of the shoulder. Our ride into Las Vegas had been a really smooth one, but here the roads were almost as bad as the gravel roads we encountered in Louisiana.

Thankfully after our first few hill climbs the shoulder became smoothly paved which helped make our jobs a bit easier getting up and over the hills.

While yesterday had a couple of great views, especially going down through the canyon, today had the same quality of views throughout the entire day. As Hannah and I were chatting we would frequently break mid conversation so we could take in the views. We decided that no matter how many photos we took we would never be able to do it justice. Instead we would have to try and take a mental picture and try to hold onto it for as long as possible.

After lunch we had about 26 miles to cover until we arrived at the host. As we were making one of our final descents on I-25, i hit a rather large log and was nervous i had done something to my already shaky wheel. I managed to get about another two miles before it gave out and i got my second flat of the day. Turns out i had quite a gash on the side of my tire, but thankfully another group biked in behind us and had a tire patch. While it would not last forever, it would hopefully get me to the host. During our route meeting we were told to check out an organic lunch place at mile 58, but sadly it had closed down. There were a couple of people who were starting up a new place and they did let us refill with water and ice which was great. A few miles later I was having a slow liking problem so I decided to do the pump and pray method instead of change my tube; the pump and pray method is when you fill up your tire and hope that there is enough pressure and the leak is small enough to get you to lunch or the host. The tire thankfully held until the final turn into the host parking lot which was amazing.

After a quick shower I decided to go out for a walk and get some solo time which I have yet to have since I arrived in Jacksonville. Santa Fe has a culture which is heavily steeped in religious history. As I am a sucker for old churches I decided to quickly pop into the chapel of our host before wandering into down town. The first chapel I came across was the Lorreto Chapel which was the first Gothic building west of the Mississippi and patterned off the Sainte Chappelle in Paris. It is best known for its choir loft staircase called Miraculous. turns, stands 20’ tall and has no center support. It rests solely on its base and against the choir loft. The risers of the 33 steps are all of the same height. Made of an apparently extinct wood species, it was constructed with only square wooden pegs without glue or nails.

 

From there I decided to back track and try to find the oldest church in the country, something we passed on our way into the city.

 

 

Conveniently the oldest house in the country was right behind the church.

 

After some more wandering I came across the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi. It had a great set of doors which were bronze panels depicting different stories of the bible. The inside was filled with brilliant colors as well as a small chapel dedicated to La Conquestadora, the patron saint of women and service men and women.

A couple of random photos from the rest of my afternoon's adventures.

 

 

With some time to kill after dinner I decided to go on a walk and found myself down by the rail yard. The city has converted part of it into a large outdoor park which was beautiful.

There was also no shortage of street artwork and statues/bronzes.

As I was walking over to the capitol building, one of the few circular Capitol buildings in the country, there was a fantastic rainbow over town.

Once I had gotten to the building, the sun was just starting to set over the mountains. This could have been one of the best sunsets I have ever seen. Towards the end of the sunset it looked like the mountains were glowing. Here are a couple of pictures, but not as good as the real thing.

 

Posted with Blogsy