Horsethief Mesa and John Dunn Bridge The Horsetheif Mesa singletrack by Taos is outstanding. We put together a loop there and added an out and back down to the Rio Grande John Dunn Bridge for a total of 24 miles with 1857’ of climbing. The area is at elevations of 6500 to 7200’ so while …
On paper this looked like a cinch. Ride 31 miles with 1750’ of climbing. In reality, it seemed really hard. We left from Sheep Canyon overlook where we saw otters playing in the Rio Grande waaaaaay below us. It’s doubletrack the whole way, almost nonexistent in some places. All around is sage and scrub brush…and …
The Rio Costillo valley is a remote part of Northern New Mexico. We rode a lollipop route that was 35 miles with 2300’ of climbing. The riding was on gravel roads and doubletrack through a ginormous valley. The valley is a 101,000 acre mountain basin in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. This pristine wilderness was …
Back in El Paso we saw the Rio Grande, then we paddled it in Big Bend State Park and Big Bend National Park, and now we saw it here in Northern New Mexico as well. Our Vistas de Questa ride was 27 miles with 2317′ of climbing. Questa is a small village down the highway …
In December 2014 the Wheeler Peak Wilderness boundary was redrawn and now this loop is legal to ride. Good thing, because it was amazing. Our loop was 14.4 miles with 2398’ climbing. It is tough rewarding riding that tops out at 11,553’. This is high alpine mountain biking with views of the Sangre de Cristo …
Wanting to get another big loop done while the weather forecast was good, we rode Greenie Peak Loop from camp. Greenie Peak Loop was a big gravel/dirt loop of 27.7 miles with 4408’ of climbing. We topped out at 11,141’ with views of surrounding peaks. We started by riding up to Sawmill Pass on a …
After four months in Colorado we finally left and are in Red River, NM. Our boondocking spot took some work to get level but we have a nice spot in the forest with trees and a meadow to look out on. We are up at 9000’ so it’s cool at night and warm in the …
UNREAL! Carlsbad Caverns National Park exceeded my expectations. At 16 years old, Jim White discovered Carlsbad Caverns. Well, actually over 1,000 years ago, American Indians ventured into the entrance but left no evidence of entering the cave. One day in the late 1800’s White thought he saw smoke coming from the area and when he …
Camping and Aztec Caves We made the short drive from our spot in Las Cruces, NM to Franklin Mountain State Park in El Paso, TX. We’re camped right at the mountains and it’s pretty sweet. The park closes at 5:00 so for the first night we were all alone in the park. SO QUIET! Franklin …
Dona Ana Trails The BLM’s Doña Ana Trails in Las Cruces are worth it if you’re in the area, which we are. Derek and I rode 17 miles with 1666′ of climbing. From the parking area the trail climbs ever so slightly but is generally very fast. We rode almost all the trails out there …