Day fifty, los alamos to taos

Day fifty dawned fine and clear and a small selection of our group opted for an 0600 jog along this lovely pathway overlooking the canyon at Los Alamos, funnily enough it was called the canyon overlook pathway. Off we go , I lasted almost 40 mins and I use the term jog loosely, there was a fair bit of walking, I was puffing and wheezing like an out of condition overweight grandfather. When I got back and I did some googling and realised we were at 6000’ asl and thus I had been altitude training. Not only that, it was pointed out to me by those close to me that in fact I was an out of condition overweight grandfather and that is why I was puffing and wheezing like one, as well as the issue of altitude. OK , so that was the start of the day.

We headed off in shorts and tee shirt at 0745 to go to the Bandelier National Monument, posted a few pics of that, real interesting place steeped in history, Pueblo Indian history dating from about 1130 AD to circa 1600.

Destination today was Taos, a wee town in Northern NM about the size of Stratford but sitting at 6900’ asl. Couple reasons to go to Taos, firstly the High road to Taos scenic byway is one of my favourite rides, done it before and love it. Wanted to get a couple bits and pieces from a weaving shop in Chimayo as well. There is a low road to Taos and the High road, the high road is and was a stunning ride as expected. Secondly, the bloke that wrote the best motorcycle rides in the Rockies, suggests at the end of his book that his fav ride in the Rockies is Taos to Chama, which we ride on the way to Durango, another ride we did in 2016 as well.

Room wasn,t ready when we got to Taos so we had a graze down in the village, overnight in Taos and off to Durango tomorrow. Awesome part of the world. Pics below are some of Bandelier and then some typical scenery shots of the high road to Taos scenic byway.