Gallup, NM to Grants NM-67 miles

I'm not sure why or how this came about. As we were leaving Gallup.

The road was rough.......this was a better part of the road

This was the Continental Divide. If you spit on the left it goes into the Pacific, on the right it flows into the Atlantic.

This was between the Continental Divide and Grants, NM

Zuni Mountains in the background

An old stagecoach coming on the way into town.


An unusual ad for a casino. This didn't entice me.

OK. Here we are in Grants, New Mexico. And no there isn’t a Grants tomb in Grants, NM. According to Jan, one of the more esteemed riders it seems to be a boring town. However, given the sign touting $44/night per room for a “Spring Break Special”. This town must be thriving and we just don’t see it. I somehow don’t see Grants as a spring break destination. I wonder who is in charge of their advertising.

Speaking of ads, leaving Gallup we saw a sign for a Chinese restaurant. This sign is self explanatory. I am just trying to figure out what Mr. Fu was thinking or is it Mr. King in which case he wouldn’t be Chinese. Also, I am posting a sign advertising casino slots. This one also seems a bit comical.

Grants was originally a railroad center and later was known as the carrot capital of the world. I think the carrots are all grown in Guatamala or somewhere else today. Uranium was popular until we stopped building nuclear power plants. Today Grants is just here because its here. It is in the heart of the Zuni mountains. Thank you Wikipedia.

Riding to Grants was actually very pretty. The Zuni Mountains are spectacular. We crossed over the continental divide at around mile 30. There was a stretch of 10 miles or so of construction. At this time we were on I-40, for about 12 miles. At least in NM they have construction. I Pittsburgh we only have deconstruction. We got tar all over our tires. After pushing our bikes for a mile or so, we were able to bike very carefully through the construction zone. I was the designated tar scraper and the marine in me came up with a broken pair of safety glasses which seemed to work fine for scraping the tar off of the wheels. Lots of effort, but you do what you have to do. After the continental divide we had to bike on 20 miles of loose gravel over freshly poured tar. Not a lot of fun, but it is, what it is.

Our hotel here is fine and at the moment this was written I am trying to thin my blood for tomorrow’s ride. Wine, beer or Irish whiskey all seem to do the trick.

Oh and thanks for some of our new viewers/followers including Nancy, Katie, and Jenny

Until tomorrow….

Caio Viejo….

Ty