Vacation
And my 2005 week of vacation will be taken where? None other than the great old city of...Albuquerque, NM
Not quite as awe inspiring as other places, huh? I've been told it doesn't offer much, but it does offer me the ability to ride both road & MTB, rock climb, camp, hike and otherwise just escape from Dallas for an entire week. It also offers me a free place to stay and some cheap meals, which is something I cannot argue with either.
The only catch is the 10 hour drive, but that ain't too bad compared to my previous treks from Dallas to Orlando, Dallas to Seattle, Hartford to Seattle and Dallas (or Lubbock) to Charlotte from years past. Ten hours is actually less time than I'd normally spend on the road each day in my other multy day treks, so I can't complain. A little Red Bull, a prayer for cheap gas and a few Clif bars should see me through the journey.
What I'm considering is driving from Dallas to Lubbock on Friday evening after work. If I manage that, day 2 will be cake. The only problem is where to stay in Lubbock for free. At five years out of school I don't know a soul in Lubbock anymore and I'm not willing to pay for a hotel. Instead, I figured I'd try to bum a place when I get there, a dorm lobby or the architecture building should work nicely. Both are air conditioned, both offer some comfy couches and with any luck very little harrassment because I used to do it all the time as a student. I'll just need a good place to park the car, which will likely be under a large, bright street lamp in a populated area of campus.
I'm also in the process of contacting people in New Mexico about where I should go ride and climb. I've found some things on the altar-like Internet, but I prefer personal recommendations because it might also lead to having someone along for the journey. Bouldering, especially, is more fun with two+ people so you can see how things are done. I was also hoping to find someone who might say, "Hey, I want to climb and you are welcome to join me and use my rope and shit for a day!" but that hasn't happened yet. In fact, I put a post on RockClimbing.com and have had zero response aside from one PM from a guy who won't even be in town when I am wanting to climb. Shit.
MTB riding is fine alone since I hate being stuck behind, or left by, other riders. I do know that Travis rides MTB, so he'll be a good guide for starters, but other NM clubs might provide some resources as well. The chair lifts are no longer in operation for MTB, so if I want to do some downhill I'll need to make the whole murderous climb from base to peak before I can glide back down. Might be a great challenge, if completely exhausting! I'm a little worried about the elevation change, too.
I have already found and contacted a roadie club, but I'm still worried about:
1) Riding with a new group
2) Riding a route I don't know
3) Getting dropped in a city I don't know
4) Getting stuck on a major climb everyone thinks is easy
Such is life, I'll survive.
Oh, and by the way: hello fara.
posted by GreSam @ 10:06
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