Sandia Crest Ride

I decided to ride road this morning from the house to Sandia Crest and then back home again. My ending destination is “visible” from our house, but the ride is very indirect. I headed south on Tramway toward Cedar Crest. Look how close the start and end points are, then you get the picture.

 

So, the ride started out beautifully. As I approached the Tree Springs parking lot, I saw some people standing on the opposite side of the road. Turns out there was a bear down there finding lots of greenery for brunch.

This was a pretty cool thing to see so close. The bear looked right up at us, then continued to do his own thing. Guess we looked harmless enough and would have been way too much work to chase since we were up a steep hill.

 

I continued the ride to the top and got some shots before getting some water, hitting the portapotty and then heading back home.

 

 

You can see our home from this pic. Here are the pesky cell phone towers we can see from the house. Nice…

Saw Nate as I was riding back down the Crest. Was going too fast to stop, plus I was freezing! Good grief, I had a jersey, vest, arm warmers and my rain jacket on. Still cold! It was wild to feel the temps change. They got much warmer once I hit the ski area, and by the time I was in Cedar Crest, I was roasting!

Oh, another note if you plan on riding the Crest anytime soon…the “noseeums” are out in full force. Upon leaving from the top, make sure you keep your mouth closed and your eyes barely open. You can handle the bugs pelting you in the face, but catching a mouthful is not so great.

It was a great ride. Got in 70.84 miles, 6254 ft elevation climbing, 5 hrs 47 min, 152 avg HR, 2603 calories burned away.

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