We had breakfast at the Spic & Span. The brutal art murals were along the parking lot walk across the street.
Do you know the city of Santa Fe has banned plastic bags at all the stores. Not even Walmart can carry them.
Today I’m riding in honor of Cliff and Ann Hale.
If you would like me to ride in tribute of your loved one, please email a photo to [email protected] or [email protected], include the person’s name and a brief note if you like, and send your contribution.
The entire $100 donation, is tax deductible and will go toward Alzheimer’s programs at Cedar Community.
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| Ladies of Las Vegas working their phones looking for innertubes. |
I came upon this Big Jesus Sale. Just had to stop and check it out.
Found quite a few Big Jesus wooden carvings, nothing I could carry on my bike so I decided to push along.
A sales person met me at the door and clarified. “The owner’s name is Jesus – HAY-SOOS – the Mexican pronunciation. He was having a big sale.”
Correction noted.
Sometimes I don’t see any traffic for 20 minutes.
This was my first solid day of biking following my clunky fall. I can pedal fine but there’s some soreness that makes me walk with a bit of a hitch in my giddy-up.
The Turquoise Trail is a more scenic route from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. It passes through small, eccentric and artsy towns and comes highly recommended by the fellas at the bike shops.
While I am not pedaling over the Sandia Mountains or the San Pedro Mountains I am in between and that still means some significant hills.
By the time I reach 21 measly miles I’m tanking. I’m in the very, very small town of Golden. Al is the friendly face behind the counter at Henderson Store. Its been family owned and operated since 1918 and has a high-quality collection of Native American arts and crafts.
What really trips my trigger is he has a porch with shade. I find a quiet corner, under a swallows nest tucked into the corner of a wood beam, and I totally fall asleep. I’m out of the intense sun and no newts or lizards are running across my face so I think I’ll be okay.
I’m sure it was a combination of things – the early start to the day, the heat and the hills and the altitude…. something which I completely forgot to factor in when planning the tour.
Following my brief siesta I come across the home of ‘the mayor’ of Golden. #sarcasm. He’s the local eccentric that has a glass bottle display in his front yard with a confusing series of signage. ‘Welcome,’ ‘No trespassing’ and ‘Free information about Golden.’
Eleven more miles and I’m into Madrid; an old coal mining town established in the 1890’s that was left abandoned in the 1950s and later revived by hippies in the 1970s and turned into a hot spot for movies and artists.
Some interesting tidbits about Madrid:
– In 1913 there was the first mine accident and in order to boost moral the owner of the mine built the “first lighted baseball field and score board west of the Mississippi. Because Route 66 ran through Madrid the Red Sox and White Sox stopped to play against the Madrid Miners.
– A tradition started In the 1930s to illuminate the town for the Christmas season. Free electricity was offered for the villagers if they would put up Christmas lights. The people embrace the tradition and it kicked off a lighted Parade, which in its heyday there were 150 floats and the parade stretched a half-mile. Major airlines rerouted their flights to include the Christmas town of New Mexico. On one of those flights Walt Disney heard the story and later came to see the site. He returned to California and the ideas for Disneyland’s Toyland light parade and street lights was born.
– A couple other Hollywood names also came to Madrid. In 1976 David Bowie’s “The Man Who Fell to Earth” man was filmed on the coal tailing piles south of town and in 1979 Perry Como hosted a TV Christmas special in Madrid.
Photo gallery of some of the art in Madrid:
This is the 90th anniversary of Route 66 and the fascinating exhibit detailed a true pathway for adventurers, migrant workers, and tourists.
On a history note Route 66 had its beginnings in the Good Roads Movement, a country-wide effort to improve roads for bicyclists and, later, automobile enthusiasts.
The movement gained national prominence when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916.
In Albuquerque the largest employers were the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railways. A Bing Crosby version of the song played in the background while walking through that portion of the exhibit.
– John Steinbeck wrote the Grapes of Wrath in 90 days. The hardscrabble story about the Joad families migration to California won the Nobel prize in 1962.
– There was a Negro Travelers’ Green Book published 1936-64. It provided African American tourists with information they needed to travel comfortably.
Black travelers had to carry buckets or portable toilets in the trunk of their cars because they were usually barred from bathrooms and rest areas.
– In the 1950s Albuquerque had a new nickname The Neon City.
– There were quite a few stories about clever scams the locals concocted to take advantage of gullible tourists.
John Yellowstone told a story about how he lived close to the highway and his mom would at set up a shop on the edge of the road and weave little rugs. People would stop and his mother would ask if they’d like her kids to sing a song in Navajo for a Blessing on the road. The kids would sing a song with no meaning whatsoever and people would give nickels and mom would save and buy clothes.
Sharing some of the artwork on the International Hostel of Santa Fe Pension, where I stayed last night. The art feels very “Napoleon Dynamite” – like the eagle’s talons are aiming for a liger. “Do the chickens have large talons?” –Napoleon Dynamite (see photo below)
Just beat the storms (photo above). Lots of lightning and thunder on the horizon. The winds picked up and skies grew dark about 7 miles outside of Santa Fe. I stopped at a gas station and asked a lady if the storms generally moved north.
“I’m not sure, but throw your bike in my car and I’ll take you the rest of the way.”
That is how I met Jenny, a speech therapist who got me safely into town.
I had a solid 58 miles in on the day with plenty of long hills and just a smidge too much heat.
I believe the elevation is also hindering my Supergirl powers.
I started Thursday at 4:30 a.m. just to beat the heat and it took me until 5 p.m. to get to my destination.
Stay tuned for a photo gallery of yesterday’s sights!
Headed to “the office” early today. Trying to log about 70 miles from Albuquerque to Santa Fe via Highway 14. Leaving early; hoping to beat the midday heat.
Stopped at Two Wheel Bike Shop in Albuquerque. It’s a locally owned bike shop that has a great collection of vintage bikes, including a boy’s Stingray. It had classic high-rise handlebars and a banana seat with a shifter on the crossbar.
Charlie Ervin was the friendly face behind the counter. He went out of his way to help me with some mapping options and then he gave me the “goathead” talk.
TheBiKeWriTer is a travel-by-the-seat-of-your-pants website. Few plans, lots of spontaneous adventure, great people, with a little bit of history and humor thrown in. Follow along.
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