After leaving the campground, we set out to climb 2000 feet to the highest elevation on our tour, 10,500 feet a.s.l. It was a much harder climb than we expected. Heck, back home I do over 2000 feet of climbing every day on my commute to work. And we were starting fresh, first thing in the morning. The difference, of course, was the altitude. Even at sea level, my cycling speed is normally limited by my lungs, not my legs. At 10,000 feet, I found myself panting like a dog in a much lower gear than I would normally use on that kind of hill. We were both definitely ready for a rest day when we finally reached Taos.
The photos are of the Rio Grande River gorge, west of Taos.
