On a day off from riding we drove a short distance to visit the historic Lincoln, New Mexico. There are a lot of old buildings and things to see in town and we walked up one side of the street and down the other. Many places were closed inside due to the coronavirus but we …
Month: September 2020
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 …
Fort Stanton Fort Stanton was built in 1855 by soldiers of the 1st Dragoon and the 3rd and 8th Infantry Regiments to serve as a base of operations against the Mescalero Apache Indians. It was established to protect Hispano and White settlements along the Rio Bonito in the Apache Wars. Kit Carson, John “Black Jack” …
Another day another ride! Today we rode roughly 6.9 miles with 2444′ of climbing on the Cedar Creek Trails in Ruidoso, mostly different ones from the other day. This time we rode further into the system to add on a loop up Perk Canyon and down Perk Ridge. The split of Jerryatrics Trail onto Raven’s …
Most years racers flock to this area for the Wild West Fest. It was canceled in 2020 but is set to take place in 2021. We took a morning to ride the trails out at Grindstone Lake where part of the race takes place usually. Our ride was 19.4 miles with 2096′ of climbing. Starting …
Derek and I aren’t sure how we originally found out about Ruidoso, New Mexico but here we are. The village is in the Sierra Blanca mountain range and sits at 6920’. The town is named after Rio Ruidoso, a small stream nearby that means noisy river. Our boondocking spot is solitary and quiet, although today …
There are countless backcountry loops possible around the Jemez Mtns. One of our first rides in the Los Alamos area was at Valles Caldera National Preserve and you can read about that here. We returned for a ride in a different area of the preserve at it too was awesome. Our loop was 28.5 miles …
Our Calaveras Canyon gravel loop took us back into forests probably rarely seen by people. This ride had a little of everything from singletrack, to open choose your own adventure meadows, old abandoned rutted loose pipeline paths, muddy forested dirt roads, deep sand sections, and even good gravel. This was a definite adventure at 32 …
Our gravel ride out and back on forest road 376 to Gilman Tunnels was unexpectedly awesome! We rode an out and back that was 38 miles with 3233′ of climbing. The gravel is good the entire way and there is a small bit of pavement at the bottom through the tunnels. The route was part …
From our boondocking site we can see the top of Pajarito Ski Area. Derek created a mountain bike loop that took us up to the top, around the mountain and back down. It was 14.3 miles but had a heart stopping 3206′ of climbing. That’s a lot for such little mileage. The ride started up …