Jacque and I towed the Tandem Terratrike to Albuquerque and enjoyed a fabulous ride up and down the famed Albuquerque Bosque Trail today. My normal ham radio / GPS tracking device failed to report any positions at all today. Of course I had no idea until after our half-day ride was over. I checked out the system when we got home and discovered the bike-flagpole antenna had vibrated loose at the feedpoint of the antenna. So maybe NEXT time it will work well, after a repair job accomplished.
We left home about 10 AM and didn't get back until after 6, but Boy, what a fun day on the trike!
The weather was lovely, almost no wind, and the temperatures were just cool enough to be pleasant.
We found we were still woefully out of shape, but also found once we rode through the first levels of tiredness, we could successfully keep going without undue discomfort.
As we drove into the Rio Grande area of Albuquerque to unload the trike for riding, we heard one of our ham radio friends Mark (W5MHG) on the radio. He was riding HIS recumbent trike - also on the Bosque Trail. We agreed to meet up for a face-to-face visit when we got saddled up and riding.
We chatted again with him once we got rolling with the bike radio, but we were a few miles apart and never did meet up. His radio battery died on him and thus we lost contact and never did meet him on the trail. We've met before, but he's one of the good guys and fun to visit with.
We marveled at the beauty of the weather and really enjoyed the ride. The only negative note was Lilly's incessant whining and crying. We've spoiled her so much she whines when we're not continually petting and cuddling her. She is not a fun traveling companion when she's feeling neglected, which is too much of the time. After almost a solid couple of hours of complaining she finally wore out and provided at least partial peace and quiet. We'd leave her home but that REALLY upsets her. Tinkerbell is a great traveler, with no complaints or bad behavior, but her example does not seem to rub off on Lilly.
We rode north on the Trail until we got to Paseo del Norte, where we stopped for a dog-walk and stretch break for ourselves. By this time we were getting famished. It was after 3 PM and we had yet to eat any lunch. With renewed motivation and vigor we rode back south to the Mountain Road/Bicycle Boulevard turnoff and detoured to our favorite spot in the area: Old Town. There are a few restaurants there that allow our dogs to sit at outdoor tables with us, and we shared a Taco Plate with each other and chowed down with enthusiasm. Very pleasant area, great food, and nice people wandering in and out who were tolerant of our puppy-dogs.
After the nice late lunch, it was only 3+ miles back to our parked car and trailer. After the usual needful stops at Sams Club on the way home, we arrived back about a half hour before dark. Great day.
We just need to do it more often....
Ride Started: 11:43 AM Ride Ended: 5:34 PM
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 18.64
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
5.4 MPH 6.9 MPH 26.7 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
3 hours 28 mins 2 hours 41 mins 47 minutes
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