I arrived in Albuquerque Saturday afternoon, and was in a mad rush to hop on my bike as soon as I barreled through the doorway since I had to ride 3 hours, and I had exactly 3 hours of daylight left. The mountains are on the east side here, so I get an extra 45 minutes of sun compared to Boulder.

My rear brake was still not functional after bleeding it once, so I cautiously stuck to mostly flats minus Tramway (a very gradual climb from the valley to the mountains).

Spinning on the Bosque bike path

Sunday was another 3 hour day in the saddle. After downing many ounces of Turkish coffee and fueled by homemade Baklava, I hopped on the bike and headed to the east side of the Sandias and out on South Hwy 14. I rebled my rear brake that morning, and it worked in a wonderful fashion.

I ran into a few of my friends out riding – Damian and Rich, and then Nina later on. There is a bit of snow on the back side of the mountains, and much holiday cheer.

I happily watched multiple cars go by with a wreath on their front grill, or fuzzy, stuffed antler horns on top.

There were also a lot of little trees decorated.

This week is the start of a new training block and my last month of base miles. I’ll spend many hours in the saddle, but greats gains will be made!

I met some of my very best friends later that day that I only get to see around Xmas. To top off a fantastic day, there was a breathtaking sunset.
I had to snap this in the parking lot really fast.

Followed by a fun xmas party with my parents with some delightful red wine. Time to go ride!