New Mexico . . .

Eighteen (18) images from a relaxed mixed on and off pavement exploratory ride in rural Sandoval and Santa Fe Counties, New Mexico, on November 12, 2015.  This was part of scheduled Santa Fe Road Riders ride, our regular New Mexico riding group.

It was my wife's first serious ride off pavement on a gravel bike.  Along with us was our friend Bill who had planned the day's route.

This all started when we took delivery of our first gravel bikes from The Broken Spoke in Santa Fe: http://brokenspokesantafe.com  A couple 2016 Jamis Renegade Experts:

 

After a fitting, some bike prep and a couple shake down rides, off we went.

Fresh faces and legs at the 9:00 AM start.  Sunny and 38 degrees at almost 7000 feet in elevation.

 

A little I-25 shoulder riding down La Bajada grade to get to the gravel.

 

Three on Red Rock Road:

    
  
 

Paseo Sudeste:

 

Back on pavement descending on the Turquoise Trail/NM 14 toward the old mining towns of Madrid and Cerrillos:

 

Madrid:
   
   


Yes, we had to stop at Java Junction in Madrid for coffee and a breakfast burrito.

 

Approaching Devil's Throne west of Cerrillos:

 

Looking back toward Cerrillos from Devil's Throne at Waldo Canyon Road that we'd just climbed.  Could have been used filming No Country for Old Men.

 

Part of the Devil's Throne descent:

 

More Waldo Canyon Road:

 

Back on pavement heading back to the cars:

 

Wife letting me know who REALLY kicked @ss on the ride:

 

Strava display screen capture for map, elevation and basic ride metrics:

What a beautiful place to ride! Congratulations on the new bikes. Wear them out.

Thanks for the photos.   After having the bikes a little while,  can you provide a review of your Jamis?  Considering this bike. 

thanks,
Jay

Jay, hi, glad you enjoyed the pix.  Just checked Strava and so far have put 333.6 miles on my Jamis Renegade Expert including some decent climbs.  To put that in perspective, in 2015 so far I've ridden over 7800 miles with more than 680000 feet of climbing, mostly on pavement on my Trek Domane road bike.

I have nothing but great things to say about this bike whether riding on or off pavement.  My wife feels the same way about her Expert as well. I have a friend in Santa Fe that also bought an Expert and he loves his too.

I'm a big guy, 6'4" and 200 pounds and ride a 61 cm frame.  And off pavement I have ridden on/through just about anything you could throw at it in those 333 miles.  I like the feel of the bike on any surface.  I've been surprised at how well the Shimano 105 components have performed so far.  At my size, the disc brakes have delivered plenty of stopping power even on some screaming descents.

Right now I have WTB Nano 40c Race (tubular) tires on it and have really been enjoying them.  Below are a couple pix with those tires on them from 12/3 of an on-pavement 13.5 mile 4000 foot climb to the summit of Sandia Crest, New Mexico, at 10678 feet.

In the winter, the roads in New Mexico can get pretty messy so it is great to have this bike to road ride in less than great conditions with the larger tires than my road bike.

Hope this helps!  If you purchase an Expert, my guess is that you'll be happy.  I think that you get great value at that price point.

 

great report and wonderful photos!  

would like to ride/explore there some time when it's a bit (or even a lot) warmer

Thanks very much, levity.  After being primarily a paved road rider, I finally figured out that in a place like New Mexico, if you're not riding off pavement you miss so much beautiful and inspiring country.

A cool thing about riding here is that the geography is so varied.  In this part of New Mexico you are at the confluence of the Colorado Plateau, the Rocky Mountains, the Great Plains and the Chihuahuan Desert.  And the Rio Grande flows through one of the five great rift valleys of the world.  1000 year old ruins everywhere.  Truly an amazing place to ride.  Hope that many in this forum get a chance to ride here some time.  So many ranch, County, Forest Service, BLM and Pueblo roads.

For those looking for big rides, the New Mexico Endurance Series (NMES) is firing up again in 2016:

http://nm-es.weebly.com/


Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico.  http://www.acomaskycity.org/




Kin Bineola: http://www.nps.gov/chcu/planyourvisit/upload/KIN%20BINEOLA%20-%202005.pdf

 

Brian -  Thanks for the additional info.  I may have PM'd you before I saw your reply.    Love the photos of New Mexico.  My wife and I have been going there for over 25 years,  and I have been going there since the late 70's.     

jay