This is so not a 20-minute ride from my house. No, sir. Nuh uh. Never happen. Horrible place for cycling, Albuquerque. Don’t ever come here.
Ridge lyin’
This is so not a 20-minute ride from my house. No, sir. Nuh uh. Never happen. Horrible place for cycling, Albuquerque. Don’t ever come here.
Mad Blog Media 
I see what you did there …
Meanwhile … this is what passes as a ride in my neck of the woods:
https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#A35GH8MqMiQw
Well, somebody is having fun! And that’s a good thing.
How are the goatheads? Was wondering about throwing a bike in the back of the Tacoma for next weekend.
Of course, it ain’t so bad up this way.
http://labikes.blogspot.com/2013/10/another-nice-fall-day-in-mountains.html
Ah, yes, the Bandelier Loop. I remember it fondly. The Tour de Los Alamos was a two-stage race back in the day, when we lived in Santa Fe, and I won the time trial in 1991, but always missed the podium in the road race on the Loop. I was only a middling’ sort of climber, and couldn’t descend worth a shit then or now.
I’ve seen the dread puncture vine hereabouts, but I refuse to queer my good fortune by saying I have yet to flat. Oops.
When I first moved here, it expanded, for one year, to a 3 stage race. We had a downtown criterium, the Bandy loop, and a third mountain stage that started in La Cueva, rode down to Jemez Springs, back up and across theValles and turned around, and finished back in La Cueva. Cats 1/2 folks finished at the top of the 126 climb. I did the citizen’s race that year, the Bandelier Loop, and otherwise was busy as a race volunteer. Best part was setting up the signage up in the Jemez at 0400, which I did by racing the old Porsche 951 back and forth across the mountains at speeds we won’t talk about here.
Hmmm. I’m being told what to think and what not to do. You sure you don’t help author the GOP platform?
War Is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery, Ignorance Is Strength. Big Brother 2016!
Let me guess. You took a CX bike on a mountain bike ride. Then you double flatted, ran out of tubes and patches, and had to carry the sumbitch home. I have the answer, heavy as a brick and not the supple ride you and Larry demand, but for goat head country they are the real deal. Schwalbe Plus tires, mountain and road. Careful though, they are a bitch to mount on Mavic rims.
Actually, for that one, I took the Voodoo Nakisi MonsterCrosser™. I put the Bruce Gordon Rock ‘n Roads back on and they seem well suited to the Foothills Trail. I’ll have a look at those Schwalbes, as I’m running that brand on a few other bikes with good results.
That’s so nice. And it does look very similar to SE AZ trails. I assume mostly mesquite, juniper, maybe some small oaks, catclaw, creosote, and looks like a few of those especially nasty cholla. Just what us high altitude desert rats like. Next time we come to visit the aquarium and zoo, I need to ride that on the Niner MCR.
Remember, all y’all, Rancho Pendejo has three spare bedrooms, so if anyone happens to be passing through, give us a holler.
Well, one of those spare rooms is a part-time feline containment facility. But the inmates welcome new fish, especially if they’re actually fish.
That is a tempting, and nice, offer, especially to an old Irishman. But I suppose you would lock up the booze before retiring. But, Sandy is OK around cats for a few hours after prepping with benadryl. After that, pass the kleenex, quickly. We will probably take one of the many aribnb places in town on our next visit, probably in the spring. We will be sure to get in touch when making our plans.
I’m on my way.
Looks like McDowell Mountain Park to me!
Or parts of the AZ trail.
The riding reminds me a lot of McDowell. The trails are a little narrower, but the surface is nearly identical (rocky and sandy) and the foliage is very similar (spiky and unforgiving).
Lots of it is well suited to a cyclo-cross bike, but I hit a stretch past the Elena Gallegos Picnic Area a while back that was twisty and rocky enough that I was wishing for the Jones with its huge tires and H-bars.
Hope you didn’t see a parked Winnebago anywhere.
Or a baldheaded, Van Dyked old white guy in his undies. Whoops, wait a minute, that was me. Never mind.
Looks like a fu__ing desert to me. No worries about yours truly showing up there….unless perhaps it was a choice of that or Iowa in the dead-of-winter.
That’s what Patrick said. It’s a terrible place for cycling.
PS: He said he has the route all set. When do I pick you up at the airport?
Funny, I checked the average winter high and low temps and it ain’t nearly warm enough to get me there, even from frozen Iowa! Places like SoCal or Sicily are more than desert-y enough for me.
I like the Great American Desert. Must be all the Abbey I’ve read, or all the time I’ve spent living there.
One of the locals advises that a low of 20 degrees is common in January, but so are highs in the 50s. And even the 30s and 40s ain’t half bad if the sky is blue and the sun is shining, which is usually the case.
On days like that I usually break out a ‘cross bike and do a bit of riding and running, while on snowy days I deploy a mountain bike for the flat bars, wide tires and low pressures. The lower average speed and greater effort helps keep the old core temperature toasty. As an old Ioway hand this will not be news to you.
I’ve started running again, too. Well, I call it running. A runner might not. We’ll see how long that lasts, but for the moment (knock wood) the knees are holding up OK.
Running? And not from the cops? Jeez. In the WTF department I’ve started joining in on football (soccer to you guys) practice here on Saturday afternoons. Not too many jocks here so the wife drafted me in. Can’t say I’m much more than a warm body on the pitch. Tomorrow we’re taking a group of Fellows out on the old Appian Way on rental MTB’s. I hope to have some photos for a future blog page on the ensuing fiasco.
After 40 years of distance running, my knees are blown. Serious bummer, I enjoy cycling but running defined me.,
How is the canine component of the household doing? And by that I do not mean the long-in-the-tooth old dog that you are, Patrick.
I agree Jon. Enough of this banter. How are Herself and the Boo Man recovering under your loving care?
Jeesh folks: Have you ever heard of tubeless? Technology should make them good even for ‘Cross and Road in the next few years. I rode MTBs for a while on tubes….the goat heads ate us alive. Switched to tubeless and no flats since in the last 2 years. oops….fingers crossed as I write/type/keyboard.
Best to the OG Clan!