Day 14: Rest Day in Santa Fe, NM

My wonderful wife flew out to visit me for nights in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, NM.  She had a great time attending a Barre class and trail running with a local running club during my ride from Albuquerque to Santa Fe.  We were able to spend the entire day together for the first time in 2 weeks during my rest day in Santa Fe.  Although she once lived in Santa Fe for 6 months during her college years, she only recognized small parts of it, Old Town Santa Fe Plaza being the least changed since her time here.

During my rest day in Santa Fe, we went to a bike shop first so I could buy a white jersey for upcoming rides in the potentially brutally hot sun in New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma.  I threw my previous one away after it was permanently stained orange and yellow from Gatorade after long desert rides in California and Arizona.  Well, that and the fact the arm and leg coolers made by the same company blistered the skin of my underarms and upper legs where the silicone-based grippers were located.  Whether combination of heat and material, or a contact hypersensitivity reaction, I just didn't want to wear any of their product anymore.

Anyway, we found a great bike shop called The Broken Spoke.  It had a very cool, laid-back vibe about it and the shop was dominated by a large mechanics area in the center of the store.  I bought their very sharp, white shop-branded jersey and will proudly wear it on future desert days.  They told me Lance Armstrong was in the shop not too long ago to make a short You Tube video.  All the guys at The Broken Spoke enjoyed working with Lance saying he was very friendly and down-to-earth with a great sense of humor.  Check out The Broken Spoke in Santa Fe, NM for the video and behind-the-scenes action.

After we left The Broken Spoke, we drove down to Old Town Santa Fe for a massage gift that she had purchased for me.  But before that, a light lunch was in order at a bakery/cafe called Chez Mamou about equidistant from the massage therapist and Santa Fe Plaza.  We ordered the Mimosa Brunch and we had the cozy little side courtyard all to ourselves.

Following a relaxing stress-busting massage, we walked around Santa Fe plaza for a little light site-seeing and shopping.  My tour has fueled my evolving desire to learn more about American history --much more than the grade school and mandatory college level coursework that really didn't capture my interest at the time   I selected a book called The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King.  I hope it helps me understand the apparent poverty of Native American reservation life that I've seen while crossing Arizona and New Mexico. 

Dinner later that evening was at El Meson, a Spanish restaurant with excellent tapas.  We were not disappointed.

Finally, we talked about returning to the southwest for a real vacation and spending more time in Madrid and Santa Fe, NM to name just a couple of places.  We also thought traveling by train might be a fun way to do it.   Another dream, another time.