Milestones
- Part of my 1st Annual “Bike-A-Palooza” (SEE the Whole Trip)
I didn’t want to drive more than 500 miles in a day. I’m too old to “sit in the saddle” more than 7-8 hrs. Leaving Albuquerque, this put me somewhere in Texas. Very close to Amarillo is “Palo Duro Canyon”. This is the second-largest canyon in the United States (roughly 120 mi long).
Overlooking the Palo Duro Canyon rim…
- OMG !!!… I thought the bike trail would take me around the rim… nope… it went downhill 3/4 mile on a 10% grade to the bottom of the canyon. I got scared I wouldn’t be able to bike my way back up.
- Honestly… I was a bit scared of what I got myself into. God’s always got to keep an eye on me… I get in trouble pretty quickly. If you read many of my trip reports, this is a recurring theme.
- Just after I took this picture (looking back up the canyon wall I just came down), a park ranger asked me if I needed help… he watched me go down the canyon switchbacks. I was pretty relieved he offered to assist me. I asked him to look for me in an hour.
- I rode around the bottom of the canyon for a few miles, nothing serious. I was nervous about getting back to my car. I took a few pictures, and headed back.
- The camping spots in the canyon looked pretty nice. I want to go back to this place (driving my car down to the bottom) and taking a lot more time to explore the bike trails.
- There were a dozen or more cars along the road in/out of the canyon. I did my best to stay out of people way, using the turnouts as often as possible. I finally reached the top, and started to load my bike into the car.
- Oh, and that park ranger?… he eventually found me back at the top… next to my car.
- Insightful comment after I told my friend the story of my ride down/up the canyon: “You’re like a big kid… That escaped from solitary confinement.”
- The bike ride was pretty stressful, but I learned that my bike could handle a big grade. This pushed my limits out quite a bit, and it opens up a lot of new possibilities.