Seg# 52 Albuquerque trails (Linear Park, Passeo Del Bosque, Chavez Loop) Last Leg (LL) 4_27_15

I made it to the Linear Park Trail by 2 p.m. so I was able to ride it plus two other trails 

(Paseo Del Bosque and Chavez Loop) arriving in South Valley before it got dark and ahead of schedule.

Start	Linear Pk Trl at MLKing Jr. H.S	N 35.23917, W 106.68435	N-S mi 16.4
End	Paseo Del Bosque Trl at 2nd St. & Barttles Blvd.	N 35.00285, W106. 6629	TrlLgth 21.5 Ride 29.6

Ride hr 3:20         AVS 8mph           MXS  20.8           DST  29.6          TMP  60-70       KCal 1557

The Last Leg (LL) of TAVRTO included four states and seventeen trails over two hundred miles of riding. Since it was beginning to feel like I had lost mega amounts of stamina the past two years, I made it a must to get on my bike and pedal the remaining latitudes from Canada to Mexico before my 71st birthday, and before I couldn't make it up steep slopes. In addition I scheduled the LL of TAVRTO before the weather got too hot and when sons Chris and Geoff could break from their jobs to ride with me to the Mexican-USA Border.

My journey to Albuquerque took me through El Malpais
National Monument, an interesting geographic phenomena
of 115,000 year old lava flows, colorful butes and the only
arches found in New Mexico as well as some of the oldest
Douglas fir trees on earth. Have you noticed every "slefie"
I have the same "cheezy" look?

The start point for the LL of TAvRTO was Rio Rancho, NM., south through Albuquerque along the Rio Grande River and associated canals, and ending in South Valley, NM. Getting to the Linear Park, Paseo Del Bosque and Chavez Loop trails was a long-long drive from Coralville, Iowa. But, by driving 780 miles the first day, a bit beyond Guymon, OK, I was able to get to Albuquerque by early afternoon on the second day and complete all twenty-one miles of trail latitude in riding south. Although I prefer to ride rail trails, the bike paths I rode for this segment ran along some fairly level surfaces with a net two hundred foot downhill effect, riding from Rio Rancho in the north to the South Valley endpoint. Anytime I can average eight miles per hour or better on my mountain bike, I figure I am making decent time. I would love to go faster but the turtle wins TAvRTO.

Linear Park Trail had elaborate playgrounds alone its route.

 Nice for the recreational trail users, but on a busy day, not 

so hot for a trail riders like me. Too many people not paying

attention pushing strollers, skate boarding, roller blading etc

I have never visited Arches National

Monument but this one arch is a pretty

site in the El Malpais Park. In fact, I liked

this park more than most because it is

not developed with annoying signs, busy

roads and lots of people. Actually I saw

only two people during my brief stay.

I called a taxi and then I thought I would go into the Shell Gas station for a morsel to chew on. While walking to the door I noticed an unsavory character on a well-worn bicycle. "Whoops I didn't bring my padlock with me!", I whispered to myself. "Its not a good idea to leave an unlocked bike unattended, especially when a grungy character harassed me for money to "get a beer", he moaned. I was going to do what my dad did when he would run into such folks---he'd buy them a sandwich and a soda. I barely got out those very words when he became belligerent, calling me a "A-hole". "The Hell with you fella", I said. Luckily someone else yelled his name and he was diverted from me. I hid out by the air supply unit where a fellow was inflating his tries, a safe spot until the taxi came. Wow was this cabbie a piece of work. I asked for a van or car wife a large trunk. He had a Monte Carlo, an old police car. When he slammed my bike in the trunk. I heard some screeching but fortunately I could find  there was no damage to my bike when I unloaded. The Willie Nelson look-alike cab driver drove like crazy and bent my ear with all kinds of war and anti-war stories. It was raining by the time I got back to the start point at Martin Luther King Junior High School. Thank goodness I only got partially wet and was able to find a place to stay before it really down-poured. While riding I was periodically threatened by enormous black storm systems but they stayed in the mountains and only threw spits of rain at me. 

I had to climb through a couple of these bike deterrents at a dam site that Google Maps and Google Earth trail mapping indicated were bike friendly trails. Someone said that the trails with the turquoise gates were  private property. That's not what Google said and there weren't any No Trespassing signs!! Note the storms building in the mountains in the background. and  my rain jacket tied to the bike---I got lucky and didn't get wet until I was loading my bike..