Getting to the Tour

Things got off on the wrong foot on Friday when the airport bus that my daughter was dropping me off to catch to BWI didn’t show. She had to go to work so after about 20 minutes she ran me back home and I grabbed the car to drive up to the airport.  But Memorial Day weekend traffic on I-95 was horrible and the usual 25 minute trip turned into an hour and a quarter.  it looked like I wouldn’t make it.  I got to the gate just as they were boarding the flight to Albuquerque.  To paraphrase Maxwell Smart as Secret Agent 86 on the old TV show “Get Smart”, “….made it by that much!” (Sorry to those of you who are post-baby boom.  I’m sure that you don’t have any idea about that reference!)

The flight to Albuquerque was uneventful and this morning, to get to Santa Fe about 65 miles to the north, I took the New Mexico Rail Runner Express, a commuter train service that runs between the two cities and goes south from Albuquerque to Belen, about 20 miles to the south.  There are a number of suburban stops north of downtown and I was surprised at the numbers of people boarding—most looking like day trippers up to Santa Fe. The train ended up being pretty full. There were two cyclists with hybrids boarding at downtown Albuquerque.  I would imagine they might be going to Santa Fe and will then ride back.  I think it’s pretty safe to assume they’re not heading off on a two week tour!

My friend Guy, who lives in North Carolina, is a hot air balloon fan.  In fact, today he is volunteering at a hot air balloon festival somewhere in the Raleigh/Durham area.  He made sure to tell me which side of the train to sit on to see the balloons that Albuquerque is famous for.  The sky was dotted with them on the shuttle ride to the train station, and a few were close by off the right side of the train, just as Guy said. 

The train arrives in the heart of Santa Fe.  From there I took a 15 minute bus ride to the hotel, met a few of the people who were either riding the tour, or working as part of Crossroads Cycling.  The other person starting tomorrow in Santa Fe, Greg, met me at the hotel where he had arrived a few hours earlier, and we walked to lunch.  Later in the afternoon we got our briefing for how the tour works, and then I worked with the mechanic to make sure my bike is ready for tomorrow.  I took it out for a round trip into Santa Fe. What a delightful, artsy town.  Unfortunately I did not stick my camera in my jersey pocket, so you'll just have to take my word for it! 

Since I have not ridden in 11 days due first to the weather and then my cold, my 13 mile ride was somewhat challenging.  I began to cough a lot, and it was a bit of a struggle.  I think that might be as much due to the elevation (6500 feet) as to my cold.  But regardless, tomorrow morning I am off at 7:00 am for the 73 mile ride to Las Vegas (unfortunately not Nevada where the next day the Capitals open up the Stanley Cup Finals), but New Mexico.  We'll do about 3,800 feet of climbing during the day and when we go over Glorieta Pass at 7,400 feet, it will be the highest point that this coast-to-coast tour will reach.   How will it work out?  We'll see soon enough.  Come back tomorrow night to find out.

Bruce