Today's Typical Tijeras Tracking
I was really hoping to get going on the bike really early this morning but what with scooping cat poop, taking out the trash, etc, it was after 9:20 when I got rolling. I had no tasks to accomplish with today's ride, just wanted to do a 20 miler or so. I decided to ride, again, east on Frost Road to Vallecitos, around to Sedillo Hill Road, to the overpass at I-40 and Route 66, west to Tijeras on 66 and then north on North-14 back to Frost and then east towards home.
Due to my incomparable powers of mental acuity, I managed to leave both my bike-cam and my cell phone at home. I was 10 miles from home wondering why no one had called recently - before I discovered that I had left the phone behind. DUH
So, no pictures or video today. sigh
I found myself struggling on about the second hill-climb, more than usual, and at the top of Vallecitos and Sedillo Hill road I stopped and checked my blood sugar, and of course it was low. I was debating whether to take Sedillo Hill road south to 5-hills and Rt. 66 for a shortcut but after snarfing a choc-chip oatmeal bar and chugging some water I found my motivation renewed so I continued on my way NORTH on Sedillo to the top of the hill and the full 20+ mile ride.
There exists a small Mom-and-Pop "convenience station" on Rt. 66 just west of the Sedillo Hill intersection, and I normally stop there for a short break, soda, ice cream sandwich and other health aids, etc. They have a sign in the window advertising "Fresh Villalobos Burritos" which sounds great to me but they are almost always sold out of them. Today they had a grand total of 3, none of which sounded attractive, so I again passed. I did buy the ice cream sandwich as well as a $1.58 liter bottle of water. A couple days ago I made the mistake of refilling my empty water bottle with the water available at the soda fountain, only to discover it was quite bitter and alkaline tasting. it was worth it to buy some relatively expensive but tasty bottled water today instead. The downhill ride to Tijeras was and always is relatively pleasant except for the occasional patches of crumbled wobbly pavement. When I got close to Tijeras I decided I should drop in on One Stop Office just in case they had any packages for me to pick up, and sure enough they had two for me.
I ate my peanut butter 'n honey sandwich, in lieu of the burrito I'd been looking forward to, and headed home. Paul N5DBB passed me, honked, and waved, and pulled over a few hundred yards ahead of me so we had a good visit and set a date for lunch next week. Another quarter mile up the road and after going under I-40, Jacque honked and we stopped and visited. She'd of course been trying to call me, not realizing my cell phone was still safely at home on the night-stand charger.
Just before I topped the hill at N-14 and Frost Road, I was a bit shocked to notice a small blue SUV with Veteran License plate including the numbers 3681 had slowed,. pulled within about a foot of me, and slowly cruised by me while looking at me sideways. I'm not sure if he was trying to intimidate me or had merely mistaken me for someone he knew, but his behavior was unwise and dangerous in any case. OH Well. The lady who cycled alongside me yesterday made a comment that comes to mind: "When I'm riding with cars going by I do a lot of praying. I pray that they'll see me and miss me safely, and that if someone does hit me that it will be quick and painless." I find I agree with that philosophy. To avoid danger altogether we'd have to hide under our beds all the time, never going outside and enjoying the world. To the guy who showed such odd behavior today: May you try riding a bike yourself and may it become as addictive as it has for me.
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 -- Ending Voltage: 12.8
Lowest Temp: 79 F Highest Temp: 92 degrees F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 23.52
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
5.8 MPH 8.7 MPH 32.7 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
4 hours 5 mins 2 hours 42 mins 1 hour 22 minutes
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