Los Alamos and Santa Fe Bikes: May 2020

Sunday, May 31, 2020

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

With the riots going on across the nation over the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis cop, we hear that the SpaceX mission went off fine. That reminded me of this song.

Saturday, May 2, 2020

National Bike Month in the Time of COVID-19

Newly gussied up south end of the Rail Trail
just N. of Spur Ranch Road in Eldorado.
Nicely socially isolated.

Right now its nice to be healthy and not completely shack-happy. Many are out of jobs or otherwise in rough shape. So its a tough time to celebrate anything, including National Bike Month which to many riders is an exercise in gleeful self-indulgence rather than a serious commitment to sustainability and fair transportation policy.

Here in Santa Fe, we have abandoned mass efforts in favor of individual celebrations. Here is one link to what is going on if you have not found it already. Santa Fe Bicyclists Forge Ahead with Bike Month Celebration

Be that as it may, as William DeVaughn would say, be thankful for what you've got. At least for the moment, most of us still have our health. In Santa Fe we have trails and quiet roads. Be safe and stay healthy out there. This is not the time for careless abandon of social distancing or taking "hold my beer" risks out on the roads and trails. As someone on the Los Alamos bike list said yesterday with regard to the virtual time trials being held up there and with folks recording results on Strava, put your maximal effort into the uphill sections rather than risking a high speed, fates to the wind, downhill crash. The last place you want to be visiting is an ER. The hospitals are busy enough without you or me showing up with a broken collarbone. I generally avoid the LaTierra trails labelled "Technical: use at your own risk" as some are pretty sketchy for an old klutz.

Weekdays are better days to explore the more popular trails as at least some users are apt to be working from home or still on the job. If you can break away from the home office during the week, do so. I did an abbreviated Rail Trail ride on Sunday but it was busy, so I aborted it. Monday was much quieter, so I took the full ride to the end of the improved trail at Spur Ranch Road in Eldorado (and a tip of the helmet to the city and county for the nice extension of the improved trail). Weekdays seem best for LaTierra Trails but on this most recent Sunday afternoon (this added later), they were pretty quiet.