Well after about a month off the bike we finally got back on. A 42 miler that seemed like 80 with the strong headwind ha ha! Jose did the ride with us from start to finish. Ran into Jordan at the coast for a few laughs and managed to snap a pic of Terrible Tim on the trail.. Other than that I can't say there was much happening other than a lot of people at the beach for the holiday weekend. I suspect there will be even more tomorrow.
Road Trip pics, Laughlin, Bedrock, Grand Cyn, Santa Fe and Albuquerque.
Pretty cool trip! Gina's family is originally from New Mexico. She has not been there since she was 6 years old but always talked about going back to visit. She has seen a couple of uncles since then but none of her cousins and several other aunts and uncles. The 26 years we've been together she has mentioned going back but never really made a point of it. Last year when her father passed away , a few relatives came down for the funeral so she had a chance to meet them. That is when she really decided she wanted to go back to visit.
We made a road trip out of it that lasted nearly 1 1/2 weeks. Drove a little over 2300 miles. First to Laughlin, the next day to The Grand Canyon because she has always wanted to see it. Along the way we ran into a little park that hosted a recreation of Bedrock of the Flinstones. About 15 structures, pretty cool copies of Fred's house, police station and such.
Then off to Albuquerque to see her family. Met up with her aunt for a good long visit but then it was off to Santa Fe to meet others. Had a chance to dine, BBQ, shop, and hang out with lots of her family members. It was great, her family treated her like that had grown up together over the last 44 years of her absence. Great bunch of people.
On our trip to Santa Fe, we had a chance to visit Canyon Road. There we visited an art gallery and clothing shop that used to be Gina's great grandmother and grandmother's home. Here they used to make tamales and sell them out of a small restaurant they owned and operated. What were small adobe structures back then are now million dollar structures in the middle of the art section of the town. It was an awesome experience to see Gina visit the shops and imagine what it had been like back then. The pics of the pink adobe building is the place I speak of and the inside pics as well.
On our last day there, we met Gina's cousin who happens to be a big wig in the hotel business. He set us up in a sweet hotel for our last night. Heck, if we had known, we could have stayed there sooner and saved a bundle ha ha!
It was a great time but we had to head back. Very sad to see the tears in Gina's eyes as she once again left her family But it did put a place in her heart that would drive her back for more visits in the future.
Gina's New Mexico family pics slide show
Grand Canyon video footage
Video footage in New Mexico
Slide show of Nativo Lodge, the hotel where we stayed the last night in Albuquerque
Hotel footage of Nativo Lodge tour with Gina's cousin
Well Gina had plans again so I had a chance to ride with Aimee today. Not as breezy today but still a good headwind. At one point I moved over to let Aimee take the front figuring I could take a break. She ended up doing a huge monster pull through the windy section of the trail. Cool, I just sat back there and tried to hold on cause Aimee is a powerhouse! Worked pretty well together so it was a good ride to the coast. At the coast we ran into The Legend Greg then Tony who rode up a couple minutes later. We all started back together but about 1/2 mile from the coast, some dude goes flying by on a recumbent. The guy was moving maybe 25 and I know Tony likes to go fast so he gave chase after the guy had a good 50 yards. Yeah, Tony is fast and he did blow by the recumbent not long after giving chase. I'd seen this bent guy before on the trail so I told Greg I'm pretty sure we'll pass the guy down the road somewhere as we were doing a good pace as well. Not he 25 he was holding as he blew by, but we were good. Sure enough we rode by the guy at the soccer fields the the took our wheels for a while. Sure enough, after he recovered he went around and raced off again. By this time our ride was pretty much over though. I will say though, I know why the call Greg The Legend now. We rode pretty much side by side and he was cruising at a good clip while I was working trying to keep up ha ha!
I did see Octico on the side of the road talking with one of is team mates. Looking good buddy! I did only snap one picture today, actually a day of more riding than recording ha ha!
I have some footage, hopefully I can piece together a weekend ride video later.
A 42 miler with Gina and Aimee. Very breezy and Gina had a really good day today. Off the bike for a few weeks I expected her to fade today but she did very well. Ran into an old ride partner Mike. We rode together way back in 97 'ish. I guess he must have retired for a bit but he resurfaced a few months ago...on SART anyway. Who knows, maybe he rides around home and we just don't see him. Ran across Alex2 on his usual long ride, probably another 100. MTBLrkr showed up, that was a surprise. Haven't seen the guy in ages. Been so long that he had time to grow another two inches taller ha ha!
Well it was not a good day for Gina. I think she spent all her energy singing Wild Thing the night before the ride ha ha! We did start the ride with Aimee and Jose but they proved to be too much for Gina today.
As we were headed to Imperial we rolled by a couple of guys stopped on the side of the road taking a break or something. Later down the road the rolled by us. I know how competitive Aimee is so we unleashed her knowing she'd run the guys down ha ha! That's the reason I used "Evil Woman" on this video. Evil is meant in a good way since there is nothing Evil about Aimee (that we know of) other than her sense of competition ha ha!
So as I figured, she rolled off well after the guys rolled by, pretty much out of sight at this point. Jose looking for a workout rolled out on Aimee's wheel. Sure enough, she catches the guys, goes around, takes the front and drops one of the guys. The other was happy to hold her wheel. As she pulls off at our turnaround point, the guy is cool enough to thank Aimee for the awesome pull! Now that is what I mean by Evil, Aimee's Evil Power ha ha!
We regroup then head off to the coast. Only a few seconds and Aimee is pulling away for us into the wind. Jose on her wheel so I figure she has good help if she needs a breather. Again we regroup 12 miles down the road at Edna Park. Aimee's looking like she's had a good workout. That's good cause Gina's pace would have put her to sleep today ha ha! I figured Aimee would do all the work to this point and she did. SO we leave and soon they are once again far ahead. This time the wind is strong enough that she lets Jose help out. Can;t blame her, the windsocks were straight out when Gina and I reached the coastal area.
Short break then headed back. Gina did OK for a while but faded as we hit the short climb near the 405 so Aimee went around to do her thing with Jose on her wheel. Not to mention some other lady in white that joined us somewhere along the return. Hey, she was cool. She hung with us and when we dropped at the 405, she went around and said thanks for the pull. I was in shock, I hardly ever hear thanks from strangers that hop on ha ha!
Nice ride with Gina and Aimee. After a month off the bike I was expecting Gina to really suffer but she did very well. I figured half way through the ride she'd slow to a crawl but nope!. Heck it was breezy and she still did well. The last mile of the 42 she slowed down but she held a decent average though out the ride. Half way to the coast Greg caught us from behind so he hung back for a bit then pulled up to my side. I bet Gina loved the draft! Ran into Bad Bob at the coast. He had a good chat with Greg then the left together right as Julie rolled up. Wow, the beginning of April and she already has over 4000 miles. It was a nice tailwind back to the Leaky fountain so I was happy!
Didn't have much for a video so blah!
Greg caught up with us so he hung with us to the coast
