New Mexico Challenge

The Land of Enchantment

Our new New Mexico Challenge tour will feature the most spellbinding cycling the Land of Enchantment can dish out.  Starting in Albuquerque, our 7-day extravaganza will include the Turquoise Trail through the historic mining towns beneath the Sandia Mountains, the High Road to Taos beside the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and the legendary Enchanted Circle, with its 85 miles of stunning scenery.  Two layover days will allow time to go whitewater rafting on the Rio Grande, visit the northern Rio Grande Valley and Georgia O’Keeffe’s Ghost Ranch, hike among the ancient Anasazi cliff dwellings in Bandelier National Monument, sightsee and shop in beautiful Santa Fe and Taos, and get in some fantastic optional riding.

This trip is one of three Challenge tours we will be offering in 2008 (the other two are in California and Washington).  We’ll feast royally on Southwestern cuisine, and bed down in luxury in places like Santa Fe’s Inn of the Governors and Taos’ Casa Benavides Inn.

Spectacular Views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains

We’ll pick you up in Albuquerque on a Sunday morning and van north to a winery where we start cycling.  We climb on lightly traveled roads through the narrow canyons of the Santa Fe National Forest, over a pass with sweeping views, past volcanic thermal areas and Bandelier National Monument, before we descend to the high desert and the town of Espanola, where we spend the night. Our route offers spectacular views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, in an area that sees the sun more than 300 days each year.

Visit Georgia O’Keeffe’s Ghost Ranch

Monday you can cycle or van 40 miles to Georgia O’Keeffe’s Ghost Ranch past the tiny town of Abiquiu.  You’ll be surrounded by the red cliffs, mesas, peaks, and plateaus that inspired the artist.  O’Keeffe spent her summers in solace at the ranch; today it is a retreat and education center run by the Presbyterian Church.  Many tales of ghosts and a history of hangings give the ranch its eerie name. 

From Ghost Ranch we cycle toward Taos through the rocky high desert on lightly traveled roads.  We spend the next three nights at Casa Benavides Inn in Taos, a beautiful adobe inn ranked by Sunset magazine as one of the best in the Southwest.

Layover Day Offers Rafting, Exploring Taos Pueblo, or More Cycling

Tuesday is our first layover day, and we have lots of options to choose from.  Guests who want to stay on the bike will have an optional ride in the area.  For those who want a break from the saddle, we offer a morning raft trip down the nearby Rio Grande (fee included).  Our local rafting outfitter will guide us through Class II and III rapids carved through the desert rock.  The afternoon is yours to visit Taos Pueblo, explore the shops and artists’ galleries in Taos, or just relax at our inn.  Taos Pueblo is the largest multi-storied Pueblo structure in the United States.  It has been home to Taos Native Americans for more than 1,000 years.  Taos itself is well known as a winter ski resort, and has also drawn many filmmakers and artists.  It has been said that there were more great artists in Taos during the 1920’s than anywhere in the world.

Enchanted Circle Challenges and Rewards

Wednesday we ride the Enchanted Circle, an 85-mile loop north of Taos circling the ski area of Wheeler Peak.  The diversity of the landscape dispels any notion that New Mexico is strictly a desert state.  It’s truly an epic ride, climbing to 9,820 feet at Bobcat Pass.  The eastern half of the Enchanted Circle features long, gradual downhills through peaceful valleys of pastureland and forests as it returns us to Taos.

The High Road from Taos to Santa Fe

On Thursday we cycle the High Road from Taos to Santa Fe through panoramas of endless pine forests, the snow-capped Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and remote cottonwood valleys.  We spend the next two nights in Santa Fe.  Santa Fe is the third largest market in the United States for fine art.  Galleries and museums abound, as well as local artists peddling their jewelry and crafts in the city’s plaza.  Our lodging at the Inn of the Governors is next to gallery-filled Canyon Road.

Explore Ancient Cliff Dwellings in Bandelier National Monument

Friday is a layover day in Santa Fe.  In the morning we van to a hike at Bandelier National Monument.  Here we’ll explore ancient cliff dwellings carved high on the canyon walls, where the Anasazi made their home nearly 1,000 years ago.  The afternoon is free to explore Santa Fe, enjoy a massage, or go for an optional ride.

Turquoise Trail Returns us to Albuquerque

On Saturday we cycle south from Santa Fe toward Albuquerque on the famed Turquoise Trail, so named because of the rich mining history of the small towns we’ll ride through.  You’ll have the option of climbing up to the ski area of Sandia Peak before we van you the last 20 miles into Old Town Albuquerque.

Our October 5 departure finishes while the internationally famous Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta is in full swing.  On Sunday we’ll transport anyone who can stay over to the show and pay the entry fee, too.  It’s quite a spectacle and was a lot of fun last year.

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