Thursday, Another Shortened Ride

Thursday track
Yesterday it snowed  ntermittently and the wind blew horrifically in Albuquerque but the wind and temperature seemed mild here in the East Mountains.  I had a parcel waiting for me to pick it up down in Tijeras so I decided I'd ride the bike down there and back for a combination bike ride and errand run.  My best motivation to ride anywhere is to have a task or chore or some other excuse waiting for me.
As I rode up the stiff hill towards the NM-14 and Frost Road junction the snow was sifting slowly down and the wind was a bit gusty but the overall comfort level wasn't bad.  Jacque had driven to Albuquerque for her daily water aerobics and popped up on the ham radio, reporting high winds and snow down in Tijeras Canyon.  When I got to the top of the hill and the aforesaid intersection, the winds started picking up.  Jacque called in again on the radio describing very nasty conditions at Tijeras, my original destination.  I wimped out and asked Jacque to drop by the "One Stop" in Tijeras and pick up the parcel for me and I'd turn around and go home before the weather got too much worse.  There was a bit of stiff headwind and I had to zip up all my layers and it was COLD, but the entire 6-something mile ride was still fun.
The dirt-moving I've been doing with my new 1962 Ford tractor has improved the road noticeably for 4-wheeled machines but, as any cyclist knows, loose dirt and rocks are NOT provident riding surfaces.  So I have to push the bike more of the last mile up our hill.  It took even longer than normal since my tractor blade has been rooting large chunks of stone and scattering them all over the road.  I would push the bike a few feet, stop, and kick and throw rocks off to the sides of the road, go a little farther up the road, and do it again and again.  Then I cranked up the tractor and plowed even more dirt and rocks.  I try to angle the grading blade sharp to cut the bar-ditches on each side of the road, guiding the released rock, gravel, and dirt toward the center of the road.  Then I re-adjust the blade and make subsequent trips back and forth, always scraping the loose material toward the center of the road.  Where there are deep washout cuts in the road and exposed rocks that are too low and impacted to scrape smooth, I use the front bucket to borrow dirt and gravel from various areas adjacent to the road, especially areas where rain drainage has washed precious road gravel off down away from the roadway.  Creates a lot of dust and dirt in the air.  I need to start wearing some sort of breathing apparatus, even if it's just a bandana around my face.  I may have to change my self description from dirt-mover to dirt-EATER.
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.6                         Ending Voltage: 12.5

Ride's Lowest Temperature: 33 degrees F -- Highest Temperature: 41 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:      06.38
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
05.0 Mph                               06.1 mph                   21.7 mph
Total Trip time                       Moving Time              Stopped Time
1 hours 17 mins                      1 hour 02 mins           14 mins 49 secs