December 18, 2010 Quarter Century with 5K

We did it again.
We rode the bike trail by the bosque,
started at Tingley Beach,
went south to Rio Bravo,
then north to Paseo.
and back to Tingley Beach.
A 25 miles loop.
I hated to say this,
but that trail needs to be paved.
There are too many cracks.
After the ride,
Denise and I did a 5K walk/run.
Total time: 3 hours!

A Short Loop

I was on call this weekend.
Dion was on call too.
I ended up doing the ride myself.
It was a real struggle.
My body did not want to do it.
I won!
I rode.

So,
from Spain and Juan Tabo to Morris,
south to Comanche,
west to Pennsylvania.
The section from Morris to Pennsylvania on Comanche was lousy!
Avoid it by any means until they paved it.
I thought I was going to break the bike!

North on Pennsylvania to Osuna,
east on Osuna to Eubank.
I took my first break at Osuna and Wyoming.

I got a new shoulder bag from REI,
I brought it along.

I am planning to bring this bag for my bike trip in Taiwan this coming April.

I took the bike trail when I got to Eubank.
The last section was very steep!
Next time, I will walk that section.
I took another rest.

Lastly, north on Morris to Spain,
then east on Spain.

I am glad I did it.
It was a short 7 mile ride,
but it was so tiring!

North Diversion Channel 12-5-10

We met at the Balloon Fiesta Park.
Dion, John, Denise and I made the trip.
We started at the bike trail near the museum.
From there, we headed south.
Except for a few cross streets, the trail was pretty straight forward and well paved.
We got to the end of the trail by UNM without any problem.

It was fun to sit, rest and chat a bit,
something that seldom happen at work.
I was very happy to see that John has been doing these bike rides with us for a few times already.

On our way back,
Dion and I traded bikes.
He loved the location of my brake handles.
I loved the lightness and the saddle of his bike.
I guess from time to time,
it is not a bad idea to trade bikes!

Total mileage: 17 miles.
Great day, great weather!

"Sandia Casino Hill" Challenge 12-4-10

I have been wanting to climb that hill.
I know it is hard.
I know that I may not be ready for it.
But,
the lure to do it was always there.
So, I just couldn't pass the chance when the weather was great,
and may not last long...

This is where I started. It is located north of Paseo and Barstow.
From there I headed north till I reached Elena.
I went west, hoping to catch San Pedro.

But Elena ended at Louisiana,
so I headed south from there.
I made a right on Eagle Rock and got to San Pedro.
Below is the end of the pavement on San Pedro.

I walked the bike across the dirt.
I got to the exit road from I-25 and headed to Tramway.

The stop before the climb.
To climb or not to climb???
I did!

Along that short 4.5 miles, 860 ft elevation change, I stopped 6 times.
Others did better.

It was worth it. I saw two bisons!

After the climb, it was all downhill.
I stopped by the church at Paseo and Tennyson.
I discovered that Tennyson actually goes under Paseo!

From there, I took Holly.
I decided to go out to Paseo and take the bike path.
There were to many speed bumps on Holly.
Last 2 photos are from Paseo and Browning.

It was a hard 14 miles ride.
Will I do it again?
Definitely!
I shall return in 6 months!

A Loop to UNM

Today we tried some new streets and bike path.
We were also joined by a 10 year old boy named Chris.
He said he did the Day of the Tread. He completed a 26 miles ride.

We met at the parking of our office.
From there we headed north on Pennsylvania.
When we got to Sandia High School, we made a left and got into the bike path.
It was an easy glide all the pass Carlisle and into the trail next to the North Diversion Channel.

Everything was according to plan until we got to I-40.
There was a split on the trail.
Right or left?
I took the right one, but just did not feel correct.
I yelled at a passing biker.
"Which way to UNM?"
He pointed the other way.

When we got to the end of the trail,
it was break time, and also picture time.

From there, we headed east and got to Stanford.
From Stanford, we made a left and then a right into Constitution.
This was a new ride for me, and for the group.
I thought it was all downhill to Pennsylvania.
I was wrong!
There were some small hills!

Anyway, we safely crossed the bridge over I-40 and got into Winrock's parking lot.
The last challenge came when we were trying to make a left from Pennsylvania into Constitution.
We had to hit our brakes really hard!

Overall, a great 12.6 miles ride on a very windy Sunday morning!
Good job Chris! You can join us for our 50 miles ride next year.
Yes, I will remember to plan a downhill ride to the finish line!

Happy Hour

It was a great short ride today.
It was busy too.
There were six of us!
John, Dion, Dave, Alex, Denise and me.
We took a "safe" route.
We took the bike path between Indian School and Constitution at Wyoming.
We headed east!

This is Alex and Denise at the park by Indian School and Moon.

Alex just started riding bike again.
So Denise stayed with her and the rest of us headed further east.

This is Dave climbing the hill after Juan Tabo.

A quick rest and a group picture!

From there we got to Tramway,
rested at the gazibo again.
Then we headed back,
John, Dion and Dave tried the arroyo,
I decided to stay at the bike path.

Total mileage 7 miles.
A good Saturday afternoon "office outing"!!!

Tramway Challenge

Well, this is not the ultimate Tramway Challenge.
For me, the ultimate is climbing that hill that leads to Sandia Casino!

Today is a special day.
John, Denise, David and I did the ride.
It was a big surprise for me to see John.
We met at the Smith's parking lot by Tramway and Central.
From there, we headed north.

We stayed on the bike path most of the time.
The traffic was heavy.

That's near Montgomery, half way to our final destination: Countyline Restaurant.

Well, I said most of the time.
Denise did ride on the shoulder!

and we made it!

Going back was a piece of cake.
It was all downhill!

Total mileage: 17 miles
A great Saturday afternoon!!!

Double Special

This weekend, I was on call.
But, I was able to ride both days.

Day 1
November 6, 2010
Saturday
Rode with Dion.
We started at the office parking lot.
We took the bike trail north of Constitution.
We took it all the way to Tramway.
There was a nice gazeba to sit and rest.
Yes, it was still all uphill from Juan Tabo,
but much better than taking Constitution!
We took the same trail back.
It was a good ride.
We had a good work out!

Day 2
November 7, 2010
Sunday
I brought the bike to Alameda and Rio Grande.
I decided to stay on the bike trail because I am using the cleats for the second day.
The goal was to get to Montano bridge and capture all those golden yellow view.
If I want to, I can continue to I-40 and try the new bridge.

From the bridge, I decided to go back to Alameda.
Along the way,
I collected some beautiful pictures.

It was a good ride.
The advantage of riding alone is that I can stop to take pictures whenever I want to!
Next week,
"Tramway Challenge"
from Central to the Tram entrance road!

The Quarter Century Ride

Today is a big day!
We planned to ride 25 miles!
Dave and I met at Tingley Beach.
While waiting for him, I can't resist but get myself warmed up with my camera.

From there, we headed north on the bike path.
Our first stop was the nature center on Candelaria.
The cottonwood was on its screaming yellow outfit!

We headed north.

But wait, we need proof that we were there.
So,

The next stop was Paseo del Norte.
I heard that the cottonwoods are really turning colors there.

At the start of the ride, we had 2 options.

Option one is to do Tingley-Paseo-Tingley which is 16 miles.

Option two is to do Tingley-Paseo-Rio Bravo-Tingley, that will make it 25 miles!

On our way back to Tingley, Dave said that he was doing good.

So, we went to Rio Bravo!

Yes, thumbs up! This is Dave second long ride!

Just before we get to Tingley Beach again,
I found a wonderful spot for what turned out to be the picture of the day!

Finally, we got back to Tingley Beach, our finish line!!!!

total mileage: 25 miles
total time: 2 hours and 30 minutes
It was an awesome day!