Am Samstag, 19.4. fahr ich mit Ana Ferreira (Portugiesin, jetzt in Norwich, UK) nach Norden, bis Taos. Die Strasse geht entland des Rio Grande (ja der aus dem Western!) durch eine enge Schlucht. Taos ist ein Skigebiet. Ein großer Teil der Berge ist Indianerreservat. Die Indianer verwalten hier vor allem Casinos, alle paar Kilometer ist an der Autobahn ein Casino oder eine "Sportsbar" (Wetten).

.. Anfahrt nach Taos ... im Hintergrund die Berge mit dem Skigebiet ... Höhe bis 4000m!

Bericht von Tim zur ersten Runde :

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Greetings to All,

Yes, TNR-W is now World Wide. We opened our DC Chapter (Jim aka "The Professor") and Denver chapters (Michael aka "Bullet") earlier this season and now have authorized our first European Chapter which will be lead by Heiner. Heiner is visiting Los Alamos for six weeks to increase his red-blood cell count and to do a little science. After he completes his six weeks of secret training he will return to his homeland of Munich where he will make Merlot (crushing them like grapes) of the local competition and hold the reins of the TNR-W Germany Chapter. Wunderbar! (that's German for Most Excellent!!).

Ride Summary:

Imagine if you will, ....the gala and spectacle of the Kentucky Derby.....That's what we had last night. Women lined the streets of White Rock in their fancy hats and frilly dresses drinking margarita's disguised as Mint Juleps. Men (those too afraid to ride) were wearing pastel suits (kind of creepy, but you know the visual I am going for) and holding their children on their shoulders so the youth could see through the massive crowd (are your eyes tearing yet, because I can hardly see my computer screen). And Yes, the helicopters were overhead and the ESPN Film crews were rolling in HD (High Definition).

We rolled out 8 strong at very leisurely pace. You could feel the excitement in the peloton. The bright colors of the riders jerseys and streamers hanging from the handlebars was spectacular. Rolling onto NM-4 I felt I may have a chance staying with this group at this pleasant pace, and really enjoyed talking to our newest members Heiner and Rob....The sun was out, not a cloud in the sky, Life Is Good!

Things continued at this reasonable pace for a surprising 6 miles when suddenly, rolling out of the bottom of Ancho Canyon Big Dog (Alan) tears off his handlebar streamers, clicks a couple of gears, stands, and says those now famous words; "Who Wants To Play." Big Dog jumps in a flurry, The Enforcer (Mark) engages the challenge, as does Hammer (Ken). Others reacted as well, but mostly exercising their hand gestures rather than turning over the cranks at a higher rate. In the true spirit of TNR-W none of motor-heads stepped forward to claim victory of the sprint, so it was agreed the first sprint of the evening would be shared by Big Dog and The Enforcer....Nice Work!

The pace varied up Bandelier with the Testosterone Brothers (Big Dog and The Enforcer) creeping the pace every chance they could.

The climb to the Tree of Truth was one for the record books. Unfortunately, no one witnessed the Mano-o-Mano battle between the Testosterone Brothers. Looking at the HD replay; this was a vicious battle of grit and determination that ended in a Track-Stand as each rider was yielding in honor of his brethren. Each of these marvels feeling the other was deserving of the win (another tear to my eye, is this beautiful, or What). Once again the sprint was shared...Congratulations T-Brothers!

In true TNR-W form, and within the rules of the bylaws the peloton was fractured into two groups thereby allowing eligibility for a second group sprint.....(Sorry about the legal jargon, but we do have several new riders). The second sprint-group appeared to be just as competitive as the first up to the point where The Hammer, in an effort commensurate with his name sake, drops the hammer and pulls away from the competition for an easy win....Congratulations, you Stud Muffin!!!

The remaining trip around the loop was extremely fun and fast. With the group working like a well-oiled-locomotive-machine the peloton cruised across the top with apparent ease (it only looked easy , I was hanging on by a thread). The only down-side to this adventure was scraping the Nat's of the teeth of those smiling in delight. Aha, the advantages of riding as a group.

Rolling down the Truck Route post ride computers logged maximum speeds of 49 mph. I for one, chose to smooth my brake pads a little, but I sat in awe of the bravery of my fellow road-warriors.

Timing officials from both Omega and Rolex agree that the average speed for the evening ride was 17.8 mph....For those of you tracking, the average is creeping up. Get off the couch and join in the fun. One of the reasons the average speed went up this week was the increased number of participants.

See you next week.

Safe and enjoyable riding!
--
Tim H. Elmont

Group N-1
MS E-540
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos, NM 87544

Phone: (505) 667-2447
FAX: (505) 606-1997

Cell: 505-459-9740 (while on travel)

If Foreign: TSPA - Technology and Software Publicly Available