Day 13 4.12
I drove Sherry back to yesterday’s end point & she was ready to go. Today, was another first for her on this trip…making her way though a city.
Brenna told Sherry about the Bike In Coffee & Farm, which was just a short distance off todays bike route. It was FANTASTIC! I showed up right when they opened which gave me a chance to discover what this place was all about. I met Libby, a beautiful young woman & part of a huge Albuquerque family that has owned this working farm & ranch for years & years.
She had just moved back here last fall, missing her family, after living in Humboldt for years—the same place Luke & Pete live! Wow, what a coincidence (as it turns out they didn’t know each other). She had been one of two female tugboat captains out there. She was generous with her time & I loved hearing her story. They called her Captain Zippo when she was out there. And then there was the story of her family…generations growing up here. It was truly trip magic to visit with her. If you are open to meeting others when you travel, it can be a wonderful experience. There are so many out there with interesting lives & the twists & turns their lives took …it’s absolutely one of my favorite things about traveling.
There were awesome outdoor spaces to sit all around the farm.
I will always try to find time to come back here on my next trip to Albuquerque. I had a bite of Sherry’s breakfast…a green chile bagel made into an egg & bacon sandwich…OMG good.
Libby & her cute ‘guard’ dog.
Ready to take off again!
I had a little time between meeting Sherry as she rode through Albuquerque, so I walked around Tingly Beach area. A cute man-made spot for locals to fish, bring the kids to play & enjoy sometime outside right in the city.
Then it was time to go find Sherry’s end point for today. I had lots of traffic, but one of the biggest hurdles is that her tracker didn’t show the name of the road she was on….just Route 66. The road I was on, showed a different name, but I knew it was a direct route to the highway I’d meet her, but never saw her as I traveled to our end spot. It was a cluster&%$#. Then, when I was frustrated because I wasn’t sure exactly where she was, I passed a huge wreck. Four cars, ambulances, police…all on the right side of the road with one car upside down & partially on the sidewalk. I hoped with every cell in my body, I wouldn’t see the high-vis jacket or the bike I’ve been following now for hundreds of miles. And I didn’t. But it all shook me & I wasn’t a happy SAG Queen today.
She made it to the end point about 5 minutes before I did…but I was a bit crazy when I got there. Deep breath….it’s alll good.
We loaded the bike & drove all the way back through the city to our hotel, which has a few places to eat right in the courtyard. Sherry is always starving after her ride & it’s usually the first time I eat for the day. We’d both heard about the amazing Costa Rican place in our courtyard called Buen Provecho. We ordered a plate to share & was a sooooooo good. I got us a piece of rum cake to share which was also amazing.
I’d probably talked up this margarita too much….Not sure Sherry liked as much as I did & it was different than the first time I had when I’ve visited the High Noon Saloon in Old town before. But I still think its a really good one. The rim is agave with piñon nuts crushed with salt…it’s thick & sweet & crunchy…awesome.
I really wanted to try this appetizer, so we shared it while drinking our yummy margaritas. It’s a couple of empanadas stuffed with Brie & some kind of delicious relish & lots of roasted garlic on the side…so good.
This is where we were meeting up with Kathy & Kyle again tonight. I was here last year, but they’ve added alot of food & drink places in the meantime. There are so many good food choices here & great outdoor & indoor space to sit & enjoy.
I passed on dinner….I was full from the appetizer we shared at the High Noon, but I didn’t pass on the opportunity to try a cocktail from this bar.
My honey cocktail from the Botanic Bar. Such a great place to meet up with friends & enjoy the outdoors.
Another good ending to time spent in ABQ & one more day closer to Sherry meeting her goal…the Capital city of New Mexico…Santa Fe.
Day 14 4.13
We checked out & loaded up the car…saying good bye to our cute little hotel & for now, to the wonderful town of Albuquerque. She was riding along the Turquoise Scenic highway. I’ve been on this a couple of times before, so I knew it would be amazing scenery.
Long winding roads…she had some climbing, but she also had some big downhills.
We stopped in the quirky town of Madrid. I made her a quick PB&J, & she took off, I had about an hour to walk around. Alot of the places were closed, but I wasn’t really looking to shop, I’d rather just look at all the stuff outside in this artsy little town.
Cluster boxes…the prettiest ones I’ve seen so far. And, I’ve seen at least a hundred so far on this route.
I left Madrid & soon found Sherry. I was grateful there was just one road today…I was sure I wouldn’t lose her & it was so very very scenic.
The mountains all around us now….distant ones still have quite a bit of snow on them.
While at a pullout waiting for Sherry to ride by, I looked through the books at this Little Free Library. I have a huge love of these varied boxes, & as always is my habit, I straighten it all up before I left it. (PS: If you love these, they have a wonderful Instagram account you can follow…boxes of every size, shape & decoration & all over the world. Reading takes you to places you might never see & teaches you so many things.)
By the time Sherry hit the edge of Santa Fe, it was our Plan B stopping point for the day, She had gone quite a few more miles than originally planned because the forecast for tomorrow was high winds & red flag warnings…a cyclist dreaded forecast.
I’d picked out our lunch spot…three minutes away. It was delicious! Santa Fe brewing has a new tap house since I was here last & the Fusion Taco food truck outside was perfect accompaniment for my Barleywine. The bartender guy was pretty cool too.
An old friend of Sherrys who still follows her on IG (they’ve never actually met in person before) invited us to stay overnight at her amazing place right outside of Santa Fe. Her dog Mama Sita took awhile to warm up to us, but eventually did.
Roxanne is an artist & writer & was very welcoming. She, like everyone else Sherry knows, has an interesting life. She cooked us dinner & told us her story. She currently lives on six acres & its peaceful, quiet (except when the coyotes howl at night) & lovely. She also had an ultra red sauna that Sherry sat in & eased all her sore parts. I stayed away from the heat….I was not going to give my body the opportunity to pass out a second time on this trip. So, I walked around outside & took photos.
Sherry taught me another new thing this trip….to top off your ice cream with balsamic vinegar. I love love love balsamic vinegar but had never heard of this before…it was delicious!
Lots of big beautiful sky out here!
Day 15 4.14
Day 11 of biking & her last one to reach her goal. It was super exciting & because she’d biked so much further yesterday, she didn’t have far to go...12 miles. Which meant we’d have alot of time to play in Santa Fe….yippee!
The same pose but this time her last one for this trip. She’d biked over 450 miles, thousands of feet of elevation gain & loss, through so many ‘firsts’ for her & she’d done it. Her third Capital in the books!
On a personal sidetone, I did make a video with me—appropriately crowned, but did not take a photo…just an oversite. But not one I really regret. Eventhough this trip has the word “crown" in it’s title, it was more about supporting Sherry & her project. And besides, it’s a Burger King crown (don’t like the King part) & looks pretty dorky on me. I like the title better than the crown!
Sherry tours all the Capitals she bikes to. This is new to me…I’m usually out on the trails. But I have to admit, this one was incredible. I can skip all the political rooms (I hate politics…cynical but believe they are all just a bunch of ill mannered, overpaid, babies looking out for themselves & not really caring about the people that put them in that position. Sounds bad…but they keep proving me right. So, there it is.) But this building is filled…filled with the most beautiful art, all created by the people of New Mexico. Paintings, weavings, carved furniture…all free to walk around & look at. One hallway had three generations of female artists…a Grandmother, a daughter & granddaughter.
Jamie gave us a private tour just minutes after Sherry finished & loaded & locked up the bike.
The Zia is the state’s symbol…I love it’s meaning: The four seasons, the four stages of life, the four times of day & the four directions.
The ceiling also has a defined meaning…I wish I could remember what it was (& as I sit here working on my website, I have no service to look it up).
This was my favorite piece of all of them. A New Mexican woman biked over 4,000 miles & through every county in the state, picking up bits of roadside stuff as she went. Then she formed it all into this magnificent buffalo!
The details are incredible!
The mouth of the buffalo was her own bike tire.
She’s so happy to be done!
This was one of the pieces the Governor picked out for the space outside of her office. It’s made from X-ray films…the creativeness of some people is amazing!
Jamie was a fantastic guide & had a great sense of humor too but a huge knowledge of all the amazing art this Capital building has inside.
Eating a celebratory lunch at the Thunderbird…looking down over the Plaza.
Sherry had never been to the Plaza before, but had a bit of work to do back at the hotel, so I walked around trying to photograph places I never had before. I have so many photos from previous trips….its an easy place to find things to capture through the lens.
The tourism department gifted us (well Sherry does have to do some work for them) tickets to Meow Wolf…I was both grateful & excited.
Theres never a good way to describe these kind of places…but here’s a bit of visual instead.
And, then we were done & time to move on! I never quite get these places (I’ve been to the much bigger one in Denver)…which is how I feel about some music videos I watch too…but it doesn’t stop me from loving & enjoying them….so much random quirkiness, creativity & imagination goes into them.
She hunted down another DQ & enjoyed another S’more Blizzard. I passed…I may be a temporary Logistics Queen, but I’m not as much a "Dairy Queen" as she is.
I’d packed my favorite beer for a celebration when Sherry completed this bike route to the New Mexico Capital! Bourbon County Stout is the perfect celebration beer!
The temps have suddenly plummeted….time to get out the puffy coats & stocking caps!
Patty recommended the Plaza Cafe for it’s Posole & it was fantastic! This was a huge bowl & got half of it go…I’d eat it on my next trip. Sherry had the margarita & I’ll definitely be coming back for both next time I’m here. Really cool vibe there too.
We ended the night at Tonic, a cocktail bar tucked in an alley near the Plaza. This was the most expensive drink I’ve ever ordered & paid for & while it was good, it wasn’t the best I’ve had. It had some special whiskey, which was good, but not anything like the Old Fashioned it said it was. I didn’t even get any garnish & that’s a first …even all the ‘cheaper’ Old Fashioneds I’ve had, come with a garnish. But it was a cute place & hopping busy on this night.
Day 16 4.15
No biking today…or for the rest of this trip!
Sherry had heard they had a wonderful Farmers Market here & it was fantastic!
The first thing we saw as we walked in were blue corn Papusa’s. We shared one because we knew we were headed to eat an early lunch on the Plaza…but it was soooo good!
The chile pepper…it’s everywhere in this state. They are proud of it & I love all that they create, cook, & design with it!
This is one of the best Farmers Markets I’ve been too. Food & art…theres so much here & in the surrounding area too.
I’d heard about The Shed’s awesome food & quirky space, but theres always a long wait, so I’d never tried it before. Kyle & Kathy drove up this morning & graciously waited at the front of the line 35 minutes before it opened, so we could get in quickly & enjoy our food & their company before we left to go back to Denver.
Sherry & I split the blue corn chicken enchiladas….The Shed was a wonderful place to eat & I’m so glad I finally got here.
So happy to have met Kathy & Kyle…they made this trip even better! I’ll definitely be back in touch on my next trip to this wonderful state! PS: I said it after last years trip here & it’s a definite for sure…I could soooo live here!
We hit the road, heading straight north to Denver. We listened to a depressing book about the Grocery Store industry…I’m glad I heard it after I’d eaten everything in site for the past two weeks…it sort of makes you want to give up food entirely or at least I might consider going back to being a vegetarian (could I really give up burgers?) So we listened for the most part for the 5.5 hour drive back to Colorado.
I’d been anxious about leaving my 4Runner, so I was super relieved to see her sitting there in her entirety, just waiting to be back on the road.
We unpacked quickly & took off to have a beer & pizza with another interesting friend of Sherrys. Then it was lights out back at her apartment. We were both tired. I would be packing up early in the morning & heading west on a solo adventure.
Thoughts on running logistics & SAG:
I had no idea what to expect, so I went with no expectations. Sherry had mentioned there would be opportunities to hike, but there were few & they were late in the day, sometimes putting me back in the car to get to a trailhead, then time only for a short hike. But the bigger deal was I felt more comfortable staying within 5 or 6 miles of her while biking, when I could. And she agreed, she felt more comfortable with me close by. The sometimes needs of cold water or a sandwich; watching out for crazy ass dogs chasing her, & fortunately for us, we had no bad thunderstorms, but those are all real things to consider when running SAG for someone.
I never imagined eating & drinking so much good food & drinks, but I did it…all the time. It was fantastic!
I didn’t expect to come away from this trip with new friends…that’s a super great thing!
The times in the car were long, but I listened to audio books, music, read a little (which is how I think she passed me at least once when I had my head down) ate Dot’s Pretzels & Twizzlers & made myself tea in the middle of nowhere beautiful places.
I went through towns & to places I never would have if her route hadn’t taken us there….wonderful!
And, I got to know Sherry better. She’s an amazing person, has so much commitment no matter what, is fun & funny, has one of the best laughs & is like a walking travel book…I love to hear her talk about all the places she’s been around the world.
Would I do it again? You bet. I’ve already offered.
No crown required.