Finally got in a ride today, the first since we arrived home from our recent RV trip to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. Always seems a hassle finding time for a ride but one factor seems fairly consistent:
If I don't get started in the morning it's almost impossible to sneak one in later in the day.
I got a birthday check from my dear Mom-in-Law a couple days ago and decided I would use that for an excuse to ride the bike: Ride down to the ATM about 4 miles away and ride the rest of the loop down to Tijeras and east on Route 66 to Sedillo Hill and north & west back home.
Howsomever, when I got down to Frost Road and out of the trees, the wind was gusting so much to the east I decided to ride this route in the other direction, hoping that when I circled around and past North-14 and the Post Office the wind would be behind me. Which is a much more pleasant thing than having the wind in my face on the last tired leg of a ride.
Of course, after the first half mile or so, the wind seemed to turn and hit me in the face. I didn't worry too much since the normal direction for winds is west to east, and often turns that way in the afternoon no matter what was happening in the earlier part of the day. Sure enough, by the time I got down to Old Route 66 and headed east towards Tijeras, the wind had seemingly swung around to its normal course and - of course - acted as a headwind THIS direction too.
Which only serves to confirm the old adage about "when on a bicycle, the wind is ALWAYS in your face no matter which way you ride."
Jacque left home early today to work the early voting booths for the upcoming June Primary election, and that edifice is in "downtown Tijeras", right off Old 66, so I decided I would stop by there as I passed and use a short visit with her as a rest break. The wind was still gusting, so much so that when I pulled up in front of Tijeras City Hall, I saw the "Vote Here!" billboard had blown over in the parking lot. Being the good citizen, I dutifully erected the sign and unfolded it, orienting it carefully so the wind would blow through the A-frame of the sign and not directly at the solid face of it. After only a few minutes of resting and flirting with Jacque (there were no voters present), I returned to the parking lot and was horrified to find not only the "Vote Here!" sign had blown down again, but so had my fully loaded bike! The crash had broken my handlebar radio/GPS mounts, bent the rear view mirror catty-wampus, and dumped my helmet onto the pavement where it was gently rocking and rolling across the parking lot with the wind. I ride prepared, so I righted the bike and dug out my pannier tool-bags for some zip-ties and electrical tape to lash my stuff back together. Unfortunately I could find neither tape nor zip-ties. I obviously "borrowed" them for some other project and forgot to re-stock the pannier with these handy items. A cyclist needs a spare tube, tools, etc, and having zip ties and electrical tape can cover a lot of emergency repairs. I also like to carry a few stainless steel hose clamps for odd repairs and quickie attachings.
I had only ONE too-small zip tie in my bag, but I had a small length of Velcro tape that I was able to cobble together sufficiently to get the electronics package back on the mount so I could view the GPS and what-not.
After that small mishap, I rode onward to the junction of Old 66 and North-14 at Tijeras and then north - upward and onward - the several miles to Frost Road. Realizing that I was about to pass the company where my daughter Sarah just started employ, I decided to take ANOTHER short break to drop in and say HI to her.
I'm always mildly surprised how gradual the climb is from Tijeras to the Sandi Crest turnoff where I turn right, instead, to get home. I avoided it for years, thinking it was too steep, yet rode the OTHER direction many times. Turns out the northbound route is much easier than the southbound route, even though it LOOKS difficult.
When I got to the Post Office, I again was irritated at the signs they have posted on both sides of the parking lot:
Trip Started: 11:02 AM Trip Ended: 2:21 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.8 Ending Voltage: 13.1
Lowest Temp 60 F Highest Temp: 82 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 18.8
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
6.0 MPH 8.7 MPH 37.6 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
3 hours 6 mins 2 hours 9 mins 57 mins 38 secs
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