Viva Las Vegas...New Mexico
Sunday May 26, 2019. Sante Fe, NM to Las Vegas, NM. 74 miles
Ascent 4,533 feet Descent 4,014. Temp=. 45-78 degrees
Cumulative = 1,023 miles
First of all, if you are interested in some nice pictures of our tour and a sort of aerial/Google Earth kind of view of our daily routes, you should check out: bigdreambiketours.com
Today it was another chilly start at 45 degrees, again with almost immediate climbing. It was sunny, however, and the forecast was for the temp to rise quickly through the morning so I was comfortable with just arm warmers in addition to the basic bike shorts and shirt and I took off the arm warmers after an hour or two. Other than the day leaving Flagstaff, we have had amazing blue skies with very few clouds for two past weeks, not something that is common in western New York State. About 35 miles out of Santa Fe the snow capped mountains of the Sante Fe area disappeared behind us.
We reached the high point of the bike trip this morning, 7,431 feet at Glorieta Pass, There was a Civil War battle fought in March 1862 and frequently referred to as the Gettysburg of the West (didn't know that). We also followed along the Sante Fe Trail for much of the day. The Sante Fe passed from St. Louis, MO to Sante Fe, NM mainly for fur traders originally I believe when there was virtually the land in between was uninhabited by non-Native Americans, and nearly uninhabited by Native Americans as well. Historic Route 66 also follows much of it on its way to Sain Louis.
Our route today was notable for lots of ascent and descent, much of it related to rollers,, or poppers, or what is referred to locally as hogback ridges which allow for a rapid downhill, but without enough speed or momentum to allow you to reach the next ridge top without some significant effort.
Again there were significant winds so that we had crosswinds, headwinds, but primarily tailwinds, and with a slightly shorter mileage, we had a relatively early arrival to our hotel for the night, the Historic Plaza Hotel on the Plaza (Town Square) in Las Vegas. No bright lights, casinos or floor shows, but a lot of authentic southwest atmosphere, and on the topic of atmosphere, we had several hour of tornado watch despite the beautiful blue skies this AM. The tornado watch has now been lifted.
There about 15 or 20 rooms with photos and bios of the celebrities who have stayed here, such as Michellle Obama, Tommy Lee Jones, and James Spader.
In addition to reaching the high point of the tour, the other milestone of the day was that we completed the first 1,000 miles.
Well, we should be having some days with more descent than climbing in our near future, but I know that tomorrow is a 100+ mile day, so I'm off to bed. Good night.
Ascent 4,533 feet Descent 4,014. Temp=. 45-78 degrees
Cumulative = 1,023 miles
First of all, if you are interested in some nice pictures of our tour and a sort of aerial/Google Earth kind of view of our daily routes, you should check out: bigdreambiketours.com
Today it was another chilly start at 45 degrees, again with almost immediate climbing. It was sunny, however, and the forecast was for the temp to rise quickly through the morning so I was comfortable with just arm warmers in addition to the basic bike shorts and shirt and I took off the arm warmers after an hour or two. Other than the day leaving Flagstaff, we have had amazing blue skies with very few clouds for two past weeks, not something that is common in western New York State. About 35 miles out of Santa Fe the snow capped mountains of the Sante Fe area disappeared behind us.
We reached the high point of the bike trip this morning, 7,431 feet at Glorieta Pass, There was a Civil War battle fought in March 1862 and frequently referred to as the Gettysburg of the West (didn't know that). We also followed along the Sante Fe Trail for much of the day. The Sante Fe passed from St. Louis, MO to Sante Fe, NM mainly for fur traders originally I believe when there was virtually the land in between was uninhabited by non-Native Americans, and nearly uninhabited by Native Americans as well. Historic Route 66 also follows much of it on its way to Sain Louis.
Our route today was notable for lots of ascent and descent, much of it related to rollers,, or poppers, or what is referred to locally as hogback ridges which allow for a rapid downhill, but without enough speed or momentum to allow you to reach the next ridge top without some significant effort.
Again there were significant winds so that we had crosswinds, headwinds, but primarily tailwinds, and with a slightly shorter mileage, we had a relatively early arrival to our hotel for the night, the Historic Plaza Hotel on the Plaza (Town Square) in Las Vegas. No bright lights, casinos or floor shows, but a lot of authentic southwest atmosphere, and on the topic of atmosphere, we had several hour of tornado watch despite the beautiful blue skies this AM. The tornado watch has now been lifted.
There about 15 or 20 rooms with photos and bios of the celebrities who have stayed here, such as Michellle Obama, Tommy Lee Jones, and James Spader.
In addition to reaching the high point of the tour, the other milestone of the day was that we completed the first 1,000 miles.
Well, we should be having some days with more descent than climbing in our near future, but I know that tomorrow is a 100+ mile day, so I'm off to bed. Good night.
Congratulations on the 1,000 mile milestone!
ReplyDeleteSteve S