The road leading down into the small artist's community of Madrid (pronounced MAdrid) New Mexico between Albuqurque and Sante Fe. Like many of the towns we saw in New Mexico and Colorado, Madrid is mostly devoted to tourism.
I don't care what the signs say, I'd pick her up anytime. Taken on the road between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
Wow. What's up with this? This statue is prominently displayed at the entrance to a large hotel in the heart of the old town section of Santa Fe. I'm not sure what the message is supposed to be but Laura and I both thought it was grotesque.
The road snaking uphill on the climb out of Chimayo. This was the first real climb of the tour.
At the ssummit of US Hill between Santa Fe and Taos. From left to right: Amy, Ron, Chris, Kevin WK, Laura and Sue. Laura is holding my bike with the yellow tires.
The approach to Mt. Wheeler north of Taos. You dive down into this valley and then begin the climb.
On the climb up Mt Wheeler north of Taos. To get an idea of magnitude, that's Laura standing on the other side of the road. This was a lovely climb: Beautiful day, relaxed gradient and a mountain stream gurgling along next to the road.
Laura and Kevin WK by the side of the road on the outskirts of Questa New Mexico.
Laura and I ride into Colorado on our bikes for the first time. The blue bike on the right is Kevin WK's Bike Friday.
View of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains north of Route 160 in Colorado. The bright green band is a strip of irrigated land. This was a tedious day of cycling with endless miles of flat straight road.
A view of the Sangra de Cristo Mountains east of Route 150 in Colorado as we neared the Great Sand Dunes National Park.
Heading west away from Great Sand Dunes National park. In early September Colorado is covered in carpets of these yellow flowers. Soon after this picture was taken we turned to the north and ran into rain and a headwind that kocked me down from 25 mph to 9 mph.
Mount Antero. A huge road grader was trundling along at about 23 to 25 mph which was the same speed we were going We ended up playing leapfrog with it so we stopped to let it get away and ended up taking lots of pictures of this beautiful mountain.
Looking back toward the west on the early stages of the climb to Trout Creek Pass. That's Laura on the right.
Rocks and a streambed on the side of the road on the climb to Trout Creek Pass.
After about a nine-mile climb to 9,000 feet you come upon this gorgeous open range about 500 feet below the summit of Trout Mountain Pass.
The view of the valley that opens up before you as you descend from Trout Creek Pass heading east.
The Hand Hotel where we stayed in Fairplay. Great old west ambiance. In our room we felt like we had stepped back in time to the world recreated in the film Heaven's Gate. You can see Laura and I taking the picture reflected in the window on the right.
Sundown looking west from behind the restaurant where we ate dinner at Fairplay Colorado. The others on the tour were inside at dinner when I stepped out to watch the sun go down.
Laura with our tour guides Randy and Amy on the climb up Hoosier Pass. In my wildest dreams I had not imagined a group of riders could be looked after with the level of care, thoughtfulness and good spirits shown to us day in and day out by Randy and Amy. They are extraordinary folks.
I stayed behind to take this picture of Laura climbing Hoosier Pass. After several days of riding at vacation pace I was antsy to ride hard so I let her disappear around the corner before I went after her. Big mistake. Coming from the south Hoosier Pass climbs to about 11,500 feet over 4 miles. At 7 to 9 mph it's a pleasant way to spend a half hour. At 10 to 14 mph chasing Laura when I hadn't fully acclimated to the elevation it felt like my lungs were going to rip out of my chest as they strained for oxygen.
This picture showing the end result of my chase after Laura on the climb up Hoosier Pass was taken by Kevin Wells-Knecht. Note the two approaches to riding shown here. Laura: Hi everyone; lovely day for a spin up the mountain. Kevin: God, this hurts; where did all the oxygen go?
