Getting to Abiquiu - 67km in 9 hours

We started riding just after 7, and immediately had a 1,000 foot rough and rocky climb. It was tough going right from the start.

At the top, the road went up and down, though it felt like we were doing more climbing than descending. The only animals we saw were cows and squirrels, though we did see fresh bear poo on the road!

 It was tough going, on a very rough and rocky road. We passed 10,000 feet, and I was breathless a few times due to the elevation, though Pete felt it a lot more. I had to wait several times for the others to catch up -- my mountain bike was ideal for the conditions.

We only made 16 km in the first two and a half hours.

We finally reached the highest point, 10,400 feet, and descended down an insanely rocky track. Shortly after we got caught in a rain shower, which fortunately stopped after about ten minutes.

At one point the road changed from rocks to momentum-sucking sand, which meant lots of sliding around on the bike. So much for the downhill being easy!

We had lunch at 32 km (20 miles), sitting on the edge of a canyon. There were a few drops of rain still, cooling the 27 degree day.

We were all just hoping the road would get better.

The road kept alternating between rough rocky stretches and patches of soft sand. Then, just for variety, we began Riding over slabs of lava.

 I was surprised at how challenging and technical the riding was -- many of the stretches we rode wouldn't have been out of place on a cross-country mountain bike race.

It was impossible just to relax and ride -- you had to concentrate all the time.

 We reached a farm at 40 km, followed immediately by another hill. We had only covered 40km in 7 hours. Yikes!

The climb wasn't too rough at first, though it seemed to go on forever. At the top, it quickly turned into a rough rocky descent.

We finally dropped into a  huge basin where cows grazed alongside the road. This marked the end of the Santa Fe National Forest.   

At the other side of the basin, we joined another road that dropped down all the way to Abiquiu.

There were cactuses growing beside the road, and we descended through a steep canyon before passing a collection of run-down houses and descending to the highway

Almost across the road was a convenience store -- our first sign of civilization in two days. I bought and drank two bottles of chocolate milk.

 We arranged to stay at the Abiquiu Inn, which was close by, but expensive.

It was a really tough day -- 67 km of riding in nine hours. I'm tired, but Pete and Gay had it much worse because they were riding fully-rigid bikes. I waited a lot for them to catch up -- my bike was perfect for the conditions, but I'm tired too. I can't imagine how tired they must be.

 Gay had predicted that today would be relatively easy because we were dropping more than climbing. How wrong he was! Today was easily the hardest day of the tour so far.

 

In the evening I was doing my Tai Chi practice outside, and a huge frog hopped past. It was easily 20 cm long!