It was as if someone drew a line at Tres Piedres and said that below there only sage brush could grow. We left the lush green scenery behind as we approached Taos. I wondered why the owner of this old delivery van felt the need to camouflage it?
We were surrounded by layers of mountain ranges in the distance, but sage brush up close as we approached Taos. The lower we descended, the warmer we got. I was very warm as we cycled through town and out the other side. Warm enough to stop in a convenience store and resort to my last line of defense when hot. I take off my shirt and wet it down completely in the restroom. I find riding in a wet shirt cools me off nicely.
We were too early for a tour of an Earthship house. There were any number of homes with very interesting exteriors. A local told us that the homes had had a number of issues with local officials as they were not remotely built to code.
Jim commented that he could only imagine the bad words pioneers said after miles and miles of flat desert when they came upon the deep Rio Grande Gorge.
I did not take a single photo on Hwy 522 between Taos and Sipapu. when I quit waving (friendly waves) to passing motorists and quit taking photos - that means I am not having a good day. The heat had gotten to me, despite my wet shirt approach.
I don't really think that the ~2,xxx foot climb after Taos was that difficult. But there was no cloud cover for most of the afternoon and we were near our lowest elevation for the trip in Taos, at just under 7,000 feet. We immediately noticed the increase in temperature as we dropped down to the lower elevations.
It was a long, long climb. Jacinto would have typically bid me farewell at the base of the granny gear climb. I must not have looked good then, as he kept waiting for me just a few miles down the road. "Just taking a break." I knew better than that - Jacinto is a 'no break' kind of climber. It was a welcome diversion to see him though. Finally the clouds came up and I was able to climb better. Whew. This was my worst day of the trip. I blame the heat, not the climb.
Further research shows this climb to be called the US Hill Summit which tops out at 8,542 feet. I feel somewhat better about the difficulty of the day now that I can give the climb a name.
Our best lodging deal of the trip was a four bed/two bath trailer at the Sipapu Ski Area. $177. We also had my favorite meal of the trip here. I had veggie tacos as an appetizer and then roasted chicken with veggies for dinner. The good food was a welcome surprise out in the middle of nowhere. Speaking of the middle of nowhere - the ride from Sipapu to Angel Fire is TOP NOTCH. Why aren't more crazyguys out here touring in New Mexico? Empty roads and great scenery - what more could a touring cyclist want? Oh, you'd rather not have so much broken glass on the road? Me, too. Except we collectively had only one flat tire the entire trip - I guess the glass wasn't as bad as we thought.
