Partial GPS/APRS Track Today, Tracker Broke
I had a luncheon date with another ham radio friend in Albuquerque today, so I planned to ride all the 26 miles each way on my trusty 2-wheel recumbent. This would have made the day my first 50+ miler but I ran out of steam (and daylight) on the way home.
As can be seen on the above tracking-link, my tracker quit just west of Tijeras on the way into town. I was whizzing along right nicely, thank you, and riding in the smoother road surface instead of the shoulder of Olde Route 66 since there was no traffic behind me...... and just before I entered the mild hill-climb of "Dead Man's Curve" which goes under I-40 just a couple miles east of Albuquerque, I thumped into a vicious pothole in the MIDDLE of the main roadway. The bike survived, no head-over-handlebars (almost impossible on a recumbent), no bent wheels..... but WHAM and my radio/GPS mounting bracket separated, leaving the electronics dangling by the antenna and power wires. I pulled over - hoping the electronics still worked.... the GPS was still alive but the radio, which transmits the GPS positions to the internet, was dead. It seemed to not receive any power from the wiring harness, though it worked on its internal battery. Since the handlebar bracket was in pieces, it could no longer ride there, but I strapped it on the rear pannier with a small bungee and left the GPS running so I could get the speed and distance data recorded.
I had never ridden to this area before so I googled the "best" bike path via maps.google.com. Surprisingly enough, the directions proved effective and safe, with less than a mile or so on north San Pedro and Osuna and Seagull, which led me directly to the Buffet King parking lot without any interaction with Academy, which was wonderful what with all that heavy traffic there.
I met Randy, K5RHD, at the relatively new Chinese place called Buffet King.
We had a great visit and a tasty meal.
I must have miscalculated my insulin dosage since my blood sugar was sky-high after the meal in spite of having just ridden 26 miles with only one oatmeal bar good for 29 carbs. So I cranked the pump up to warp speed and resumed my ride in reverse, headed for home. I calculated I'd be home by about 4:00 PM or so, but what with all the stops and long pulls up the canyon in "Grandma Gear" it was just after 6 PM and I was still about 4 miles of hills away from home. Along about this time Jacque called, insisting on bringing my car with the bike rack on the back, so she could take me the rest of the way home without my riding in the dark, which really worries her. I am not at all afraid of riding in the dark; I carry lights on my helmet front and back and have a bright flasher on the back of the bike. I've ridden many uneventful miles in the dark, and the last few miles of tonight's journey had bike paths separate from the roadway all the way to our goat-path turnoff. But I was BUSHED by this time, and though I'd hoped to ride all the way home for a first-time daily total of 50 or more miles, I was done and happy for Jacque To The Rescue.
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 46.11
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
6.4 MPH 8.6 MPH 32.6 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
7 hours 10 mins 5 hours 20 mins 1 hour 50 minutes
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