White Knuckle Riding

At least it's (mostly) downhill

Christopher Johnson [ Tue Sep 19 2006 3:33 PM ]

I have lived in the East Mountains for more than four years now. I have never ridden my bicycle to work.

My vegetable garden had a hard freeze two nights ago, which other than the death of beautiful tomato plants, says one thing to me: Fall is here!

Today that changed. I biked over I-40 at the Zuzax exit and then took Old Route 66, it was prettier and safer and I am sure bicycles aren't allowed on the freeway anyway. But Old 66, unlike the freeway, is much more hilly than I had assumed. I left my house at 12:45 p.m.

I took Central as soon as I got into town, I did a time check at Juan Tabo and it was just shy of 2:00 p.m.

I had browsed from home the City of Albuquerque's website to look for bike paths once I got into town, but the circuitous nature of the trails and the heartache of trying to read the map online made me opt for a straight Central hell ride.

Central all looks downhill from Tramway. I could see the beacon that was the old First National Bank building. So, I just gutted it out, owned my lane on Central and pedaled like a fool.

In spite of a few dicey maneuvers by some inattentive automobile drivers, I made it to my downtown office at 2:15 on the nose. Felt pretty damn good.

What feels better though is that I left my car in the parking garage at work last week, so at least I don't have to take the uphill ride-of-shame back home. It must be like 1300 vertical feet between downtown Albuquerque and my house.

My pride is swollen and I suspect my butt bones will be too. But is was a nice fall day and all in all, since I am in one piece, totally worth it!

Public Comments (10)

- pencil
  - pencil's profile
  - send message to pencil
- Since 2006-07-27
- Posts: 285
I think you either slipped into a wormhole [ Wed Sep 20 2006 11:11 AM ]

or your watch is fucked. You can't even drive a car from Juan Tabo to downtown in 15 minutes.
- cnj
  - cnj's profile
  - send message to cnj
- Since 2006-09-20
- Posts: 14
Lo siento mucho pero es la verdad [ Wed Sep 20 2006 8:06 PM ]

1) Tramway intersection to downtown is ALL downhill when you look west down Central
2) If there are lots of traffic lights (Central, and lots of lights without through streets) a bike is faster than a car (run a red here and there; coast to red lights then peddle like hell to make the green)
3) BUSES: I passed my first bus near Wyoming—using for the first and only time the middle lane—and that bus never lapped me.
4) There is some construction and detours (State Fair shit at Louisiana), Nob Hill—which I treat, weaving among pylons, as my personal bike only lane
5) Once you hit campus there is a bus lane followed by a straight downhill luge tp downtown.
Disclaimer: my math skills suck, but I have an associate's degree in Watch Reading.
- pencil
  - pencil's profile
  - send message to pencil
- Since 2006-07-27
- Posts: 285
By my calculations, [ Wed Sep 20 2006 9:19 PM ]

you'd have to be going about 75.
Not really. I just liked the snotty sound of that.
- SmearPig
  - SmearPig's profile
  - send message to SmearPig
- Since 2005-12-22
- Posts: 28
Hey [ Wed Sep 20 2006 10:07 PM ]

At least you give enuf of a (watery) shit to comment, albeit a snotty one.
"Sarcasm is the refuge of the weak." -- Swift (?)
- upchuck
  - upchuck's profile
  - send message to upchuck
- Since 2006-09-20
- Posts: 166
I'm with pencil. [ Wed Sep 20 2006 11:58 PM ]

it had to be a wormhole.
- rolloshed
  - rolloshed's profile
  - send message to rolloshed
- Since 2005-08-06
- Posts: 256
Hey, maybe... [ Thu Sep 21 2006 10:26 AM ]

It was a Stargate! Stargate wouldn't be such a shitty show if it was just some dude riding his bike from Juan Tabo to the Frontier. He could eat some eggs and walk to a bookstore.
That would be way better than some show that ponders "what would happen if the US Military could spread throughout the inhabited universe?"
- Madmammajamma
  - Madmammajamma's profile
  - send message to Madmammajamma
- Since 2006-06-12
- O-
- Posts: 1321
I'll buy it... [ Thu Sep 21 2006 11:13 AM ]

It takes me about ten minutes from about washington to cruise down lead and make it to 4th and central, and I smoke. Figure an extra seven minutes or so for margin of error, and it seems prety reasonable.
- pencil
  - pencil's profile
  - send message to pencil
- Since 2006-07-27
- Posts: 285
Yeah, you're right... [ Thu Sep 21 2006 11:39 AM ]

Washington...Juan Tabo. Er, wait a minute. Is there some shortcut between those points that I don't know about?
- BrokenArrow
  - BrokenArrow's profile
  - send message to BrokenArrow
- Since 2007-09-08
- Posts: 227
The perfect bike... [ Sat Sep 22 2007 10:35 AM ]

... would have three or four wheels for better stability and load carrying. Some fenders, windows and a roof for better protection from puddles, dogs, rain, UV rays, etc. A small engine for help on the hills would be kewel too.
Oh. Never mind. ;)
The whitest, knuckliest ride I ever had was the ride back from Red Rock Canyon to Las Vegas (NV). I found a dead body in a car at a rest stop. He had been shotgunned and stuffed in the back seat. Since this was BC (before cells), by the time I got home it had already been discovered.
- jaybee
  - jaybee's profile
  - send message to jaybee
- Since 2006-08-02
- Posts: 159
ezup [ Tue Jun 9 2009 4:26 PM ]

Back in my old college days I was forced to bike it for a year due to the self-immolation of my vw van [westfalia, 1972].
Truth is , especially for down-hill rides, you can make damn good time thru the city.
Not only can you run most lights, but you can also run most t raffic lights and this was before the age of the camera.
But ennyway, bike riding gits ya a natural high and you can giddy-up-go pretty stoked!
I, personally, caused some sonic booms coming down Gibson SE on more that one occassion, but I purposely slowed down due to the bike tire's sub-sonic speed rating.
;=)