This bridge over the Albuquerque Riverside Drain is just off the Paseo del Bosque bike trail south of Interstate 40.
There was a little water running on Thursday’s 66km ride down to the bosque and back, so I could feel the Tour’s pain when Friday’s stage got its icy wings clipped and today’s was likewise heavily edited, basically dialed down to a 33km, mass-start uphill time trial.
“See, Frenchy, if you keep your water in ditches it won’t make a mess of your bike races.”
Here in ’Merica, happily, we restrict our water to ditches so that it does not interfere with our bikey rideys. Because freedom.
Also, moreover, furthermore, and too, we have air conditioning to take the edge off those 110° days.
The “monsoons” are in session here at the moment, and so far the precip’ has been arriving around dinnertime, which is nearly as good as keeping it in ditches. Open the doors and windows and let the fresh air in.
Meanwhile, somebody else threw the doors open and then bolted right on through. Congress just beat feet for a six-week recess. And “recess” seems just the word for this cluster of kindergartners, though the exodus leaves the biggest toddler of them without any supervision, however childish.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a “For Sale” sign pop up outside the White House.
Whoops. Too late.
Tags: Paseo del Bosque, Tour de France
Mad Blog Media 
July 27, 2019 at 9:31 am |
More likely, the White House will be painted gold and relabelled as Trump Tower Downtown DC.
July 27, 2019 at 11:10 am |
Patrick, there is a cartoon in Khal’s suggestion. With the right marketing, it might even make you guys some beer money.
July 27, 2019 at 11:15 am |
I spent a couple of hours this morning chasing Bob and Michele’s tandem wheel. Good times. Going to play guitar with my buddy Alan this afternoon. Life is good, retirement is better. Khal, what do you think of life as a parasite?
July 27, 2019 at 2:49 pm |
I’ve gone fifty percent at the Bomb Factory. Usually that turns into more like 60% as I was warned. But having four day weekends is glorious.
July 27, 2019 at 3:48 pm |
Herself and I got out for a 24-miler this morning. Last night’s rain left a lot of debris on the North Diversion Channel Trail just north of Osuna, and there was still plenty water running in the channel.
She gets three-day weekends and thinks it’s pretty a’ight.
July 28, 2019 at 8:11 pm |
A five miler for the FOCO/NOCO gang. With a whopping 75 feet of climbing. If le Tour comes up with an Under 9 young rider classification, we’re the smart money.
July 27, 2019 at 5:51 pm |
Damn that Soma is a beauty. Packing up the fam-damily tomorrow for a Lake Michigan bike tour. Kids will do 20 miles and I’ll do 45 with one or two others. Then, breweries beware! There is only a zillion of them in West Michigan.
July 27, 2019 at 7:47 pm |
I like that bike meself, Herb old scout. I was riding it again today.
We’ve had a Michigander out here for a couple weeks, visiting the neighbors (and his grandkids). He hasn’t missed your weather (which is also his, come to think of it) one little bitty bit. We’re headed into another stretch of sunny and 90s.
Hope you have pleasant conditions for the bike tour. Sounds like fun.
July 28, 2019 at 2:03 am |
Is the photo of the bike distorted in some way? The nose of the saddle looks to be pointing into a region I like to keep well clear of penetrating objects.
Le Air went out of LeTour big time the day after we were there and the “Can’t beat ’em? Buy ’em!” squad’s latest purchase ends up winning – I’m happy for Colombia…but….hate the idea of the team now backed by Brexiteer and fracking promoter instead of media scumbag winning yet again 😦
July 28, 2019 at 7:54 am |
As Tyrone says in the Guy Ritchie flick “Snatch,” “It was a funny angle.” That’s a narrow bridge and it was tough to get the entire bike in the shot without hanging off one side.
Here’s another look. Also, since the bridge shot, I swapped the Soma seat post — which had a little too much setback — for a Thomson.
Click here for a larger version.
July 28, 2019 at 10:43 am
OK, thanks. Since Le Beeg Shew’s finale doesn’t get started until this evening, we had the entire day to ride once I dropped off some clients at the airport.
A nice ride up (and I mean UP!) to this place https://www.ristorantedicrea.it/ took a couple of hours, then an hour or so (mostly downhill compared to the ride out there) back after a very relaxing lunch with a bottle of vino from the vineyards just down the hill.
Now we can settle in to watch (or snooze through) the final stage of LeTour 2019. Vai Viviani!
July 28, 2019 at 12:06 pm
is that a 46-30 set of chainrings on the crank?
July 28, 2019 at 12:26 pm
O, indeed. It’s this bad boy here. Just the thing for us old fellers herding 30-pound bikes up the steep bits.
This looks like a good option too.
July 28, 2019 at 5:52 am |
Morning Patrick. I noticed two tubes, they look like cable housings, sticking out over the front fender. What are those things?
Sometimes I regret selling my Saga. It was one of the most comfortable bikes I have ever owned. But, I was doing zero touring, even overnights right now, or commuting, so I just didn’t need it. Simplifying my life and garage meant it had to go.
July 28, 2019 at 8:03 am |
Ayuh, Paddy me lad, that’s cable housing for the Silver friction shifters. They’re about 100mm longer than their cousins on the canti-brake Saga and the Sam Hillborne. One of these days I’ll get around to trimming them back.
July 28, 2019 at 10:50 am
Last time I ran bar-cons I ran the cables under the bar tape – at a 6 o’clock position on the bar as they exited the shifters then running along with the brake cables from there.
I was happy with the way they performed and with the lack of clutter that resulted.
July 28, 2019 at 6:54 pm
I seem to recall Shimano advising against that Back in the Day® for reasons that elude me. I’ve noticed that newer bikes with bar-cons often don’t do the loop-de-loop with their cabling, though. I imagine you might get a little more friction due to the extra bends, but it can’t be much.
But the clutter doesn’t really bother me. When I started racing ’cross back in the Eighties pretty much all the bikes looked like that, or worse. Some dudes would even drill their stems to route that front-brake cable.