Me and the Grand Tour in New Mexico – June 2004
   by Mark Robin Smith  

Our first day of riding was to be Sunday June 20th, 2004. Friday evening I packed and readied myself for the 10 hour journey from Oklahoma City to Red River and went to bed at about 10 pm. I woke at 12:30 am without much hope of returning to slumber land. With a history of not needing much sleep and knowing the futility of fighting my own rhythms, I decided to enjoy what was on my plate and left Oklahoma City 2:30 am. What is nice about driving at this time of day (if you can call it that with a straight face) is the peacefulness of the road, the lack of traffic and the knowledge that most of the drivers there are professionals.

With the exception of being caught in a speed trap in the almost non-existent town of Cimarron, NM, my drive was pleasant. I arrived in Red River about 11:00 am and met Charlie, his wife Nancy, Cindy and Terry. Charlie had some problems with his tandem fork and Cindy suggested I tag along to Taos to offer Charlie some male companionship to counterbalance the estrogen level in the car. Nice to say, I was able to perform that function and also enjoy the presence of lovely women trying on lovely clothes in a lovely boutique in lovely Taos owing, of course to my capacity to be such lovely company. In addition, Charlie left Taos with a rideable tandem.

Returning from our successful trip to Taos, this same group sans Nancy did a short ride to acclimate ourselves to the 8750 ft altitude and see if we could find our legs out in thin air. On this ride I discovered a problem with my bike that I let taint my attitude for the rest of the tour. The effect was a distrust of my machine … a discouraging view anticipating steep descents.

Sunday, the first day of riding was a challenging ride. Not only because of negotiating two high mountain passes but also having to attend to the omnipresence of a fierce wind. About the day, sometimes a poem seems a more appropriate response to an experience. Therefore …

The Second Descent on the First Day

Wind
blowing blowing blowing
blowing blowing
sometimes my friend
but how you keep me honest
my victim mind
sees you only as my adversary
when really you're just the Wind
and sometimes
you jump out
and jostle me
like a playful kid
who just wants to wrestle
and test their strength

today you made missiles
of cottonwood down
shot like a child
blowing spit wads through a straw
it stung and I grinned
as you made me pedal downhill
a sign implores
of me
alone
"Bicycles Ride Single File"

i continue
with the Wind
mindlessly
following the rule
* * *

I rode with my brother most of this first windy day of riding to Taos. We have a complicated relationship and it was nice to meet him on the common ground of two wheels. Especially since we were roommates for the duration of the tour.

Monday was a day of riding I wasn’t looking forward to. From participating in the 1999 tour on the same route, I remembered this route as long and monotonous and to a destination, Espanola, that does not offer that extra enticement to make the difference. I have never experienced as much hostility from drivers anywhere as I have on this stretch of highway. What made the day fun though was Peter. Since Peter is such a strong rider and taller than me, I got to tuck in behind him for most of the flattest and boring part of the route. We probably averaged 20 mph over the last 60 miles due mostly to Peter’s enthusiasm and capacity.

Peter’s wheel

big personality
warm
always moving
larger than life
you fill up the room
the space around you
magnetic powerful privileged and handsome to boot

antithesis of Espanola

the route the longest day
fraught with testy drivers
i took your wheel
for the long straight rolling way
hidden in your draft
imitating force on two wheels

nowhere in Ojo Caliente
we stop for lunch
as the oxygen catches up with our blood
i watch you become their favorite son
the waitress
calls you by name
and i am Peter’s friend
* * *

Tuesday, the third day was the hardest day I have ever had on a bike. I didn’t get to eat right in Espanola and I was probably a bit spent staying on Peter’s wheel all day on Monday. In addition, this day was uphill all the long day long. The route passed by Bandolier monument with the destination of Los Alamos. At least Los Alamos was a pleasant destination and the route is very pretty. However, I was fatigued and cold the entire leg. After Bandolier, and in the mountains in general, I loose my point of reference. What looks like it should be a slight downhill still requires pedaling in order to maintain even a pace of 12 mph. If you don’t keep your mind about you this can be very disheartening. I didn’t keep my mind about me and I felt like a hypocrite. All the things I know about state-of-mind and staying in the moment, I didn’t do. I had such an opportunity to visit my suffering self and see my psychic state at its weakest. It was kind of a gift, thank you very #@*& much. Los Alamos is a modern and pretty town. It was such a nice change from Espanola and I forgot all my woes on the descent into town. How fickle the mind can be.

Wednesday was lovely. Such a change! The weather was nice and the route from Los Alamos to Santa Fe was most all down hill. Thursday was a rest day in Santa Fe and the downhill route from Los Alamos to Santa Fe was almost like an additional rest day. There was some challenge to this day though. There's a 6 mile final leg going up into Santa Fe via Bishop's Lodge Road, but it's pretty. Santa Fe has lost its sparkle but there were still some bright spots for me. The first night, my brother bought me a very nice steak dinner and I enjoyed his company. The second day, I got to have lunch with a couple I really like, Allen and Jo, and Allen helped me fix my bike problem which helped my riding attitude considerably for the remainder of the trip.

Friday was one of the most challenging riding days I can remember. I don't mean this in a bad way like the day to Los Alamos. It was a difficult day and a beautiful route. It was a 67 mile day with two major climbs from Santa Fe back to Taos via the high road. I hadn't done this day before. This was the day in 1999 I had all the flats. I have a story posted about this trip on OklahomaBicycleSociety.com under "Tour Tales", entitled "What I Did This Summer." (There's also another story of mine there called "On the Trail with Amy" you might enjoy.) Friday was exhausting but really nice. Toward the second half of the day, I caught up with Allen and Jo and we had lunch together at a convenience store in a town I don’t remember the name of and were close enough on the road to ride together over the last climb and descent into Taos. Taos was the last night before Red River and our Survivors’ dinner.

The last day is another up hill day, climbing another 1100 feet from Taos to Red River. But the reward was to get back to my car and come home and see my dog. I was the first to leave. Except for riding with Peter the second day, I rode most of the tour by myself with short brief meetings along the way. I left Taos about 7:30 AM. This is also a pretty route, though not as challenging as the previous day or as painful as the day past Bandolier to Los Alamos. Peter with Karl on his wheel passed me about half of the way to RR. Other than that, I did the last day alone. By the time I had my car loaded, I got to say bye to some riders who were beginning to arrive. All in all, I was glad to be headed home from a good but challenging, both physically and psychologically, tour for me.
 

Tour Photos Courtesy Glenn Chamberlin  |  Back to Tales

Oklahoma Bicycle Society: Grand Tour 2004 
created by John Wente
last modified: February 17, 2007
URL: http://www.OklahomaBicycleSociety.com