Day 16 - Sunday, May 27th - Santa Fe to Las Vegas, NM
Distance: 73.0 miles
Elevation Gain: 3806 ft. or 52.1 ft./mile
Net elevation change: -201 ft.
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With today’s ride we are at about 1,008 total miles
since leaving Manhattan Beach. Roughly 29% of the way. The big climbs of the day were in the first 20 miles as we made our way up to the Glorieta Pass and an elevation of 7,275 feet, the highest elevation we will reach on the tour. We hit the lowest elevation of the day at about mile 45 and
spent the final 28 miles on a series of series of short climbs which ended up giving us the ninth largest elevation day of the tour. Thankfully, today was the biggest climbing day on this nine day leg of the tour.
We started out of the hotel heading southwest for a mile or so
and turned east on Rodeo Road (NM 300 which becomes the Old Santa Fe Highway). At
mile 6, NM 300 turned south running parallel to I-25 and at about the 7 to 8 mile mark we passed this Historical Marker for Seton Village.
Just past the 14-mile mark the road turned northeast and at mile 16, NM 30 ended and we got on I-25 which took us across the Apache Canyon where we started the climb into Glorieta. At the 20.5 mile mark we reached the Glorieta Pass. We turned south once again and we got off I-25 and onto NM 50 where we pass the Glorieta Pass Historical Marker at mile 22.
Some pictures from this portion of the ride follow.
Glorieta has several meanings in Spanish, one of which is a square or plaza where several roads meet. Glorieta was a point that funneled roads through the Glorietta Pass. It is at a strategic location at the southern end of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and historically it provided the most direct route through those mountains to the Pecos River Valley to the east and the Rio Grande to the west. Today it is a small community of about 450 people and doesn’t seem that it was ever much larger. That said, it is actually is the site of two battles in the history of New Mexico, the Battle of Santa Fe and the Battle of Glorieta Pass. It was also a stop along the then record-breaking passenger train Scott Special, a one-time train run in 1905, that made the 2265 mile trip between Chicago and Los Angeles in just under 45 hours breaking the previous speed record by 13 hours.
Before getting back on the bike I happened to look back the way I had come. You can barely make out that there is a structure up there.
Using the zoom I can definitely confirm there is a structure up there. Looks a bit odd shaped to be a home. Possibly it is the El Gancho Fitness Swim and Racquet Club. Whatever it is I'm guessing that is some pricey real estate.
Just past the 14-mile mark the road turned northeast and at mile 16, NM 30 ended and we got on I-25 which took us across the Apache Canyon where we started the climb into Glorieta. At the 20.5 mile mark we reached the Glorieta Pass. We turned south once again and we got off I-25 and onto NM 50 where we pass the Glorieta Pass Historical Marker at mile 22.
Some pictures from this portion of the ride follow.
Glorieta has several meanings in Spanish, one of which is a square or plaza where several roads meet. Glorieta was a point that funneled roads through the Glorietta Pass. It is at a strategic location at the southern end of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and historically it provided the most direct route through those mountains to the Pecos River Valley to the east and the Rio Grande to the west. Today it is a small community of about 450 people and doesn’t seem that it was ever much larger. That said, it is actually is the site of two battles in the history of New Mexico, the Battle of Santa Fe and the Battle of Glorieta Pass. It was also a stop along the then record-breaking passenger train Scott Special, a one-time train run in 1905, that made the 2265 mile trip between Chicago and Los Angeles in just under 45 hours breaking the previous speed record by 13 hours.
The Battle of Santa Fe occurred in August of 1846 during the Mexican American War. It really wasn’t much of a battle since no shots were fired. The Mexican Governor of Santa Fe was looking to avoid a fight and after setting up a position in Apache Canyon, retreated to Mexico. The US Army entered Santa Fe with no resistance and claimed it for the US.
The Battle of Glorietta Pass on the other hand was a decisive battle of the New Mexico campaign of the Civil War. The Confederate forces were attempting to break the Union possession of the West along the base of the Rocky Mountains. The battle was fought over March 26-28, 1862 with the Confederates being forced to retreat back through Arizona and then Texas after their supply train was destroyed.
Leaving Glorieta we passed through Pigeon’s Ranch about a half a mile down the road which today contains some ruins of a 23 room inn of
sorts built in the 1850's for travelers along the Santa Fe Trail. It later
became a stagecoach stop. At this point we were descending and when my brain finally realized that I had passed the ruins, there was no way I was going back up the hill for a picture.
Another mile or so and the road turned east for the ride into Pecos at the 27-mile mark where
once again we turned south, and downhill, on Main St (NM 63).
After the Pecos National Historical Park we reached Rowe where NM 63 seemed to end as we went under I-25 and got on a frontage road running parallel to I-25 and passed south of the village of Soham a small village of about 200 people and our only SAG stop of the day at mile 46.
After the Pecos National Historical Park we reached Rowe where NM 63 seemed to end as we went under I-25 and got on a frontage road running parallel to I-25 and passed south of the village of Soham a small village of about 200 people and our only SAG stop of the day at mile 46.
Rowe is an unincorporated community and try as I might I
couldn’t find any estimates for the population. Suffice it to say, it's
small. The Santa Fe Trail linked Rowe with Pecos and Santa Fe and was an active
trade route. Rowe’s original general store supplied stage coaches at first and
later served as a railroad stop. Originally named Kingman, it was later renamed
Rowe after the railroad contractor that a work camp for the railroad.
The frontage road crosses to the north side of I-25 and at mile 56 we
reached a scattering of houses called Serafina to our north and Bernal, a village that is just north of Starvation Peak where according to legend 120 Spanish men, woman and children starved to death after being driven up the hill by Pueblo natives in 1680.
At mile 60 we reached Tecolote another village of about 300 people, crossed to the south side of I-25 at mile 65 and at mile 69 reach the outskirts of Las Vegas. Some pictures of the ride along the frontage road and on to the outskirts of Las Vegas. I wasn't able to pin any of these to the villages mentioned above, nor did I see any road signage.
At mile 60 we reached Tecolote another village of about 300 people, crossed to the south side of I-25 at mile 65 and at mile 69 reach the outskirts of Las Vegas. Some pictures of the ride along the frontage road and on to the outskirts of Las Vegas. I wasn't able to pin any of these to the villages mentioned above, nor did I see any road signage.
I took an optional route to go through the Plaza in the center of Las Vegas. These pictures are from that diversion through the center of town before getting to the hotel.
Got here right after Sunday Mass had wrapped up
The park in the center of the Plaza
I know that Carnegie built libraries all over the US to help change his robber-baron legacy. He ultimately gave away about 90% of his fortune. For some reason it just caught me by surprise to actually see one of these libraries.
Don't know its' original purpose but today it is the Las Vegas Municipal Court.
Sneak Peek at Tomorrow
Tomorrow will be the longest day of this leg with a 110 mile ride to Tucumcari, mostly to the southeast, where we will spend our last night in New Mexico. With high temps forecast to be in the mid to upper 90's this will be a day to break out the camelback especially since our route does not have any services (think convenience type stores) for 74 of those miles. I will likely leave with the early group to get an extra 30 minute jump on the heat.
Tucumcari has a population of about 5000 and is the county
seat of Quay County, NM. It was founded in 1901 when the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific
Railroad built a construction camp that became known first as Ragtown and later
as Six Shooter Siding. Its first official name was Douglas but that was changed
to Tucumcari in 1907 after Tucumcari Mountain which is nearby. The origins of
the mountain name is unclear but seems to have Apache origin. Tucumcari is on Route 66 and is situated just north of I-40. It is the largest city
between Amarillo, Texas and Albuquerque so it is a popular stop for those traveling cross country.
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