We Went Where For Lunch?… Albuquerque???

SOB Riders made a special dash to Albuquerque on Tuesday for lunch! Bob put together an “ABQ Flat Ride” that had 2 short stints on I-25, but for the most part put us on familiar roads used on the SOB Club Cochiti and San Felipe rides. The weather was perfect all day! We started our ride at the 599 Station, rode the frontage road to the cell tower regrouping at the Waldo Canyon underpass. We then jumped on I-25 for a short ride to the Cochiti exit for a 2nd regroup. The 1-25 shoulder was OK except for a 15 yard section half way down the La Bajada.

The ride from Cochiti, through Pena Blanco, to the Santo Domingo gas station was full of sunshine with only a little wind. We regrouped at the Gas Station, bought tickets for a church raffle, talked to locals about an alternative connection between San Felipe and Santa Domingo Pueblos; and added ice and water to our water bottles. It is a great place to regroup and refill; and take a nature break. Then it was back on !-25 for a quick 5 mile mostly downhill to the San Felipe exit. The I-25 shoulders were wide and clean; truckers gave us plenty of room owing to our Fluorescent Yellow jerseys and flashing red tail lights.

After regrouping at the San Felipe Exit, the peloton headed to Bernalillo and on to the Paseo del Bosque Trail off Alameda. Here is the pace line passing through Algodones (The name is a Spanish word that means “cotton”; and may be due to the fact that cotton was grown in this area). Native American farmers reached this area around 1200 AD. They originally lived in Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde but moved here escaping climate change and warfare. Route 66 (1926 to 1937 alignment) and Camino Real passed through Algodones.

ABQ was HOT!! We grabbed some shade on the regroup (kind of like cattle getting out of the sun) at Paseo del Bosque Trail before heading to ABQ.

Reaching our final destination in central ABQ at the train station, we grabbed a casual lunch at the Sister Bar. It was $2 Tacos Tuesday and every imaginable beer on draft. We caught the 4:30 PM Rail Runner back to Santa Fe. Arriving at the 599 Station around 5:30PM. Overall, our 10 rider peloton spent about 4:15 hours in the saddle; cover 73+ miles, and averaged a reasonable 17+ MPH ride average. It was a mechanical free day; no adverse weather; no incidents!! YAHOO!

ANOTHER GREAT SOB RIDE ADVENTURE IN THE BOOKS!   Bob: Thanks for planning the ride!!