Cycling Destination: Albuquerque, New Mexico

New Mexico Is Ideal for Cycling - New Mexico offers some of the best cycling in the United States. The terrain includes mountains, plains, and desert. The road bike-accessible elevation ranges from 2,000 feet to mountain peaks over 10,000 feet (with the ability to go way past that on mountain bikes). The weather tends to be quite dry, and there are many roads which are ideal for cycling. The beautiful landscape coupled with a fairly low population makes cycling in New Mexico an ideal mode of transport for travel, sightseeing, or training (or perhaps a combination of the three). A cyclist notices features of a landscape or of a community that a motorist would never have the opportunity to experience; cyclists are much more a part of their environment.

Typically the ideal cycling venues are smaller cities or towns, or more remote locations. New Mexico offers a wide variety of small, rural, funky towns that are perfect for exploring by bike. However, Albuquerque, by far the biggest city in New Mexico, needs to be added to he list of must-sees as well.

Exploring Albuquerque

The best way for cyclists to begin to familiarize themselves with the region is to download the free bike maps provided by the New Mexico Dept of Transportation. They offer a New Mexico state map, as well as maps for Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Las Cruces. The Albuquerque map is also available for free at many local bike shops. For specific routes, the New Mexico Touring Society provides a variety of options for cyclists of every level . These routes feature maps, cue sheets, and ride descriptions-and are a wonderful way to discover the treasures available to the bicycling tourist in Albuquerque and New Mexico.

Albuquerque is a bit of a mix between the cycling-mecca towns of Boulder and Tucson. The traffic is significantly less than both of these cities, and the housing and hotels dramatically cheaper than in Boulder. The climate is somewhere in the middle: fairly mild winters and dry summers. Winters are milder than in Boulder; and summers more moderate than in Tucson. Albuquerque will typically get well over 300 days a year of sunshine, so even when the temperature does drop, the dry air and sunny days will make it feel warmer than the thermometer indicates. Snow is typically minimal, predominantly falls in the surrounding mountains, and when it does fall in town will typically be gone by midmorning the next day. It's very rare that one can't ride in Albuquerque because of winter weather. In the summer months, Tucson weather is miserably hot any time after about 9AM. Summer life in Tucson consists of running between air conditioned houses, air conditioned cars, and air conditioned offices. While Albuquerque may get a week or two of temperatures over 100 degrees over the course of a summer, it never gets so hot to prevent riding. Also, the surrounding mountain-rides are a welcome respite from the heat; often as much as 20 degrees cooler.

The cycling-scene is not as developed as it is in Tucson or Boulder, two of the premier spots for Elite cyclists. But Albuquerque also doesn't have the elitist attitude of these places. There's a very lively and growing cycling-scene in Albuquerque with outlets for everyone from casual riders to serious competitors. The New Mexico Touring Society features rides which are free and open to the public to suit cyclists of every type. There are also several other clubs that offer a variety of different group rides which are open to the public. Check the NMCycling webpage for more information on these. The racing scene in Albuquerque and throughout New Mexico has undergone dramatic growth, and some of the bigger US Pro cycling teams are in the process of moving to Albuquerque. A new Veloport project featuring state-of-the-art training facilities, a new velodrome, and a BMX track will continue to draw some of the best cyclists from around the world to Albuquerque.

Perhaps the best feature of cycling in Albuquerque is the variety of terrain. A cyclist can easily put together an all-day ride consisting of very flat roads, or could go to the other extreme and spend the entire day climbing in the Rockies. The city itself sits at 5,000 feet elevation. In the winter, most cyclists will tend to remain at lower elevations both for the warmth and for the more sustained, longer, mellower miles that most people are looking for at this time of year. A flat and very good bike path system will lead riders north and south along the Rio Grande, with one spur running east to the University of New Mexico and another running along one of the Interstates. Corrales, a historic farming community about 20 miles north of downtown Albuquerque, is a very popular destination. A climb up to the top of the mesa west of Albuquerque will lead to the long-extinct volcanoes and Petroglyph National Monument. The terrain on top of the mesa and by the volcanoes is a bit other-worldly with the small remnants of volcano cones, large flowing meadows to the west, and the city of Albuquerque and the Sangre de Cristo mountain range (the southern Rockies) to the East. There is a series of very short and incredibly steep climbs into the foothills east of town called "The Fingers". Riders will typically ride along Tramway, the road at the base of the mountains, and ascend these steep climbs, come back down, cruise along the ridgeline, and tear back up the next one in succession. These are terrific for training intervals, or just for those who love steep climbs.

In the warmer months, the truly epic rides around Albuquerque begin to open up. The Sandia Crest road, which begins south east of Albuquerque, is one of the best climbs in the US. A rider can leave downtown Albuquerque (at 5,000 feet), gradually climb and warm up on the way to Cedar Crest (about 6,000 feet), and then begin the steady 14 mile climb to the Crest (10,640 feet!). For the more adventurous, there is a ride called "Around the Mountain" which climbs the Crest from the other side of the mountain. This is a truly epic ride, as the majority of this climb is unpaved double track. The grade and the road conditions do accommodate road bikes, but I recommend checking in with a local shop before attempting this one. If there's any moisture on the dirt road at all (let alone accumulated snow), look elsewhere to ride. From Albuquerque, head north on 313 through Bernalillo, and east on 550 through Placitas. This road eventually turns to dirt and will join the paved Crest road just past the ski area. Riders can then finish up the paved climb, or begin their descent on the pavement and loop back into town. It makes for an 80 mile loop (without going to the peak; it's over 90 if you finish the climb) one will never forget. Other options to the southeast involve a steady, 9 mile "power climb" up to Oak Flats; a great out and back ride on NM14 to the funky art town of Madrid; any of several loops which include the aptly named "Heartbreak Hill"; or venturing out to ride the famous series of rollers on NM 217. NM 14 is also a great back-route to get to Santa Fe, and is about 80 miles each way. Free maps and detailed cue sheets for all of these routes are provided by the New Mexico Touring Society.