New Mexico Ride Descriptions & Maps

Last modified: Wed Nov 19 16:08:13 Mountain Standard Time 2008

For a calendar of regularly scheduled group rides, go to Group Rides
The NM Touring Society site has a great selection of ride descriptions.
An excellent printed map showing Albuquerque area bike paths and bike lanes is available from the City of Albuquerque site.

RideLength*ClimbingStartDescription
Fruit Loop 22 mi 400 ft Albuquerque (UNM) A loop ride entirely within the Albuquerque city limits. This vast majority of this ride is on didicated bike paths - oops I mean mixed use trails: the North Diversion Channel path, the path just S of and parallel to Paseo del Norte and the Bosque path. It's a nice lunch time ride, and is also often used to tack extra miles onto the Slick 50.
Moriarty (aka Record Challenge) 40k TT Course 40 km 281 ft Moriarty, NM The fastst 40k course in the country.
Rio Bravo - Central Loop 30 mi 1500 ft Albuquerque (UNM) A loop ride on the West side of Albuquerque with a nice little climb up the West Mesa. A decent short ride in its own right, it's also sometimes used to add extra miles onto the Slick 50 (or whatever).
Tramway Loop 30 mi 1700 ft Albuquerque (UNM) A very popular loop ride, taking in the well-known gentle climb up Tramway. Tramway is probably the most cycled road in New Mexico. The views of the Sandias are great. A nice ride in its own right, especially if fingers are added in. This is also often used to tack extra miles onto the Slick 50 (or whatever).
South Fingers 10 mi 2000 ft Albuquerque This ride fragment shows my favorite way to do fingers in the South foothills of the Sandias. It leaves Tramway at Indian School and rejoins it at Manitoba. In the slightly less than 10 miles in between, it ~2000ft of climbing, some of it very steep.
Slick 50 50 mi 900 ft Albuquerque (UNM) A loop ride in the Rio Grande valley South of Albuquerque. This is the default Lobo Ride, especially in the winter.
South 14 - Anaya Loop 55 mi 3600 ft Albuquerque (UNM) A popular East Mountain ride up South 14, and then making a short loop on Anaya Rd. that includes a few short steep climbs.
Jemez Dam 62 mi 1650 ft Albuquerque (Fairgrounds) A very popular ride out to the overlook above Jemez Dam on the Santa Ana Pueblo.
'Round The Mountain 65 mi 4300 ft Albuquerque (Fairgrounds) This is pretty much the coolest ride around (pun intended), although not everyone agrees on this. This goes through Placitas and up to Sandia Ski Area the back way - on dirt, then down the crest road and back through Tijeras Canyon.
South 14 - 217 - Heartbreak Loop 70 mi 4500 ft Albuquerque (UNM) Another East Mountain loop that goes up South 14, takes in the famous 217 rollers, and then the infamous Heartbreak Hill, albeit backwards which is much easier than the other way.
San Felipe 70 mi 1200 ft Albuquerque (Fairgrounds) A nice out-and-back ride in the Rio Grande valley North of Albuquerque that passes through the Sandia, Santa Ana and San Felipe Reservations.
Paako Fingers 75 mi 5800 ft Albuquerque (UNM) A nice East Mountain ride that takes in many of the short steep climbs ("fingers") in the new developments on the East slope of the Sandias.
Highway 6 ~100 mi 2800 ft Albuquerque (Fairgrounds) One of the best rides around. This naturally breaks up into three sections: South down the Rio Grande valley to Los Lunas; Highway 6 NW over the mesa and then through the Rio Puerco and Rio San Jose vallies; I-40 E back across the Puerco, up and over the West Mesa, and back down into town.
Highway 6
(counter clockwise)
~100 mi 2800 ft Albuquerque (Fairgrounds) The other way around... Another great long ride, this is easier than going the other way, but the views are not quite as nice.
Red River Century 100 mi 6500 ft Red River, NM The ever popular - and difficult - Red River Century route, including the justly famous the Enchanted Cirle loop.
El Tour de Tucson 109 mi 3000 ft Tucson A token Tucson ride...
Mountainair Loop 150 mi 5400 ft Albuquerque The circumnavigation of the Manzano Mountains. A really nice long ride.
Cuba-Chama-Agua Caliente-Cuba 303 mi 17500 ft Cuba This is a really cool loop through typically amazing and remote Northern New Mexico country.
*Distances quoted are for starting and finishing from either the student ghetto S of UNM campus, or just N of the fairgrounds.

NM Cycling web site by SLM
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