The local ski mountain here in Ruidoso, NM is Ski Apache. Since 1963, the resort has been owned and operated by the Mescalero Apache Tribe. The base sits at 9600′ and we rode up to it and back one day. Our ride was 25.7 miles with 3292′ of climbing topping out at 10,341′. I have to say, this is a ,spectacular road ride. I used to ride to Mt. Bachelor all the time when I lived in Bend. That too is a great ride, but not twisty and as interesting as this one.
The traffic isn’t very heavy since the mountain is closed now because of the coronavirus and even then, I’m not sure how busy it is though there is a gondola that goes to the top. Anyhow, the road doesn’t have much of a shoulder but I didn’t feel like it needed one. The road up is extremely twisty with lots of switchbacks and corners. There are some breathtaking views as you’ll see from the pictures.
Before continuing back down, we rode out a little way towards Buck Mtn to check out the view. On the way down we caught up to a car who let us pass thankfully. Cyclists can go WAY faster than cars on this curvy road. About halfway down a pack of wild horses wandered into the road and didn’t seem the least bit worried about me as I rode through the middle and continued on. Derek hit 52.3 miles an hour on the way down and I pulled away from him so I was going even faster!
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