A Short Ride

   My plan was to go for a ride after work. As the 5 o'clock hour arrived the weather was looking bad. It had been raining for a couple hours down South of town here where i work. Wanting to have a spin i decided to drive up to Wilderness Gate anyway and see what it was like weather wise in town. It seems like the weather can go from one extreme to another in minutes. I arrived at the Wilderness Gate parking lot and called up Jay who lives in Tesuque which is north of where i was and looked clear over there. He was his usual positive self and gave the go ahead and said it should blow thru. He was right it turned out to be a nice ride. I started on the trail that begins at the parking lot. and took that up to 39. Then I cruised around the south side and came back on Dorthy Stewert.
The trail meanders amongst some high dollar houses before it climbs above them




I think that is the trail sign for trail 39









SwitchBack City on the Dale Ball South trails

Man I am in Mountain Biking Heaven. The sky's had cleared




Good to ride SSolo sometimes.
Steve always has great posts. I enjoyed this one for Bertrand Russell's Birthday. I liked his Examination of the God-Idea and Christianity in Why I Am Not a Christian.
Ella was feeling very Mardi Gras the other night.

   What is in your audio player? I have Broken Social Scene: You Forgot It In People, in mine. Good indie band. This album is from a while ago and still feels fresh.
   WOW! the Landis trial is over i guess.Quite a spectacle it was. Was he using performance enhancing drugs? I think most definitely he was.
I will leave you with a quote from Bertrand Russell.
"The main things which seem to me important on their own account, and not merely as means to other things, are knowledge, art, instinctive happiness, and relations of friendship or affection."
                  CIAO!

One to the Dome

   A few weeks ago I met some guys from work at Dixon Apple orchard. The plan of attack was to climb up the Dome Road and ride some of the crosstown trail then descend Carl Shipman trail to cochiti canyon and then take Alamosa trail over to Medio Dia trail and descend that back to the apple orchard. It turned out to be about 35 miles on the day. It was the first time this year that I rode my cheater bike. When we got up to the Carl Shipman Crosstown trail juncture we kept going up the Dome rd and thought we would be able to hook up some of the crosstown trail back to Carl Shipman. We couldn't find it so we just bombed back down to Carl Shipman. Let me tell you, Carl Shipman was a KILLER downhill. I was glad to have a full suspension on it. After Carl Shipman trail we took Alamosa trail which i believe is a trail made by throttle twisters. It is a brutal climb up out of a canyon with lots of tuff switchbacks. While you climb there are really cool tent rocks to look at to keep your mind off the climb. It was another great ride in the Cochiti area. There are just sooo many trails here. I can only hope to ride them all. I took a few pictures from the ride.
Dome road








There are some really cool rocks on Dome rd


Looking back from were we came. You can just see Cochiti Lake on the left and the road coming into the Dixon Apple Orchard on the right


A better view of Cochiti Lake behind Scott and Mark climbing.








After going through the burn area we stopped for a snack before the fun downhill run down Carl Shipman. Scott brought along some nice snacks. (not pictured are the lovely beef nuggets he had)



Here is my Specialized FSR Stumpjumper. It was good to get out on it. Poor thing is neglected.



Mark and Scott coming down a fun section



Then we came across these killer tent rocks




Then we began the long climb up the switchbacks



Mark pushing it

The water from the spring on Medio Dia tasted like the best water I have ever had.

Scott coming and going



    There ya have it. Another spectacular ride in Northern New Mexico. When we got back to the car Scott had graciously iced up some beers for us to consume post ride. They were Leinenkugels Summer Wheat. I am not much of a wheat fan but I enjoyed it.

   What is in your audio player? I have a bootleg of a Fugazi show in Austria in 1990.Great sound it must be off the board. Man they are On it for this show, Though I can't remember any bad shows i saw of Fugazi.
   May is National Bike month.So get out there and ride a Unicycle or a high bike or a Penny-Farthing.
               CIAO