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11-01-08, 09:10 AM
One week ago today I returned from two weeks of cycling in the area south of Santa Fe. We stayed in Galisteo about 18 miles S on Highway 41. I put in a measly 250 miles but had fun doing so.
Overall impression - drivers were courteous despite frequently narrow road and no shoulder. Weather was very good 10 out of 13 days with little to no wind in the mornings but a bit chilly. Road surfaces were in mixed condtion - see below. Here is the "road report."
Highway 41 From junction with US 285 south to Stanley (where I did most of my riding). This 23 mile stretch of road is narrow and has no shoulder for all but about 8 miles at the southern end. Road surface north of Galisteo is pretty smooth. South of Galisteo it is pretty smooth except where it had been patched. Seems like the heavy equipment driver said, "Let me drive over this patch one more time to permanently embed my tread indentations into it so it will be very bumpy for any cyclist who comes along." There are also several (probably 8-10) places where the upper layer of asphalt has separated from the lower and left nice wide 3" deep cracks parallel to the direction of traffic. If you are inattentive and you wheel catches one - good luck. The 8 or so miles north of Stanley does have wide shoulders but there is a lot of debris on them. I had read where the traffic is light on 41. Maybe by NM standards but not by Wyoming standards (where I live). Not bad though and as stated above all of the drivers were courteous. Riding from Galisteo 10 miles to the south, returning to Galisteo and riding five miles to the north and back is 30 miles and about 1100 ft of climbing. One short hill at the southern end of this loop has a bit of road with an 8% grade (maybe 50 yards). Average for that .5 mile hill is about 5-6%.
Southern 2/3 of the Santa Fe Century. The west side of the century ride (from the Penitentiary south) is a really wonderful ride. I had my wife drive me over there from Galisteo as I did not want to mess with the Santa Fe traffic. The road surface from there to the top of Heartbreak Hill is very good with intermittent shoulders. I did it on a Thursday moning and the traffic was fairly light. This portion of the ride had quite a bit of climbing but has great scenery. Take time to enjoy it. The climb south out of Madrid is long and I think averages a bit more that the 4% I had read over the 5 miles of the climb. The southern and western legs of my ride we not as atractive, pretty darned flat. The road between Cedar Grove and Stanley (mostly county highway 472) has some small rollers and the surface (while not pot holed is bumpy). No shoulder. One 10 mile stretch is dead straight. Stanley to Galisteo is as described above. After Madrid, the only place to get refreshments is a the bottom of Heartbreak Hill (store in Golden - restrooms not open to public). There are stores in Stanley and Galisteo with signs but both are closed. The western half of this ride ranks up there with one of my all time favorites. My ride was 70 miles with 3622 ft of climbing on my Garmin 305 (I tacked on an extra 2 miles south of Galisteo to make it an even 70). I managed 17.1 mph.
Heartbreak Hill - west side is exactly as described on the NM Touring Society's web page. Last 1/2 mile does average right at 12%. Despite being from a mountainous state - that is the longest stretch of 12% that I have ever done. I rode it in a 34/23 on my Merlin and at one point was racing along at 4.2 miles per hour near the top. A leg buster for sure (especially coming after the Madrid climb). Road surface is very good but there were some sizeable rocks on the shoulder the day I did it. View from the top is really nice. Going down the east side was very pleasant. From Golden up over Heartbreak Hill to Cedar Grove I saw only two vehicles. Especially pleasant downhill recovery.
Highway 285 North from junction with 41 to Eldorado. Nice road - good shoulder and a nice climb. Light traffic at midday. Gas station at Eldorado has especially nice attendants. If you go down the hill, watch for the RR tracks at the bottom. Well marked and in pretty good condition - but you never know on RR tracks.
Santa Fe - did not ride in town , but unless you are a local and know what roads to use, it would not seem to be a road cyclist's dream.
With the exception of Sunday - I encountered only a few riders and only saw one on the 70 mile ride. Interestingly - on the Sundays there were several people riding two a breast on HIghway 41 who paid no attention at all to traffic. I encountered them in the late morning/early afternoon in my car and they made no attempt whatsoever to move to the side of the road. THAT can't but help make those otherwise courteous drives not so much so.
p.s. The restaurant at the Galisteo Inn - called La Mancha - is really terrific!
Overall impression - drivers were courteous despite frequently narrow road and no shoulder. Weather was very good 10 out of 13 days with little to no wind in the mornings but a bit chilly. Road surfaces were in mixed condtion - see below. Here is the "road report."
Highway 41 From junction with US 285 south to Stanley (where I did most of my riding). This 23 mile stretch of road is narrow and has no shoulder for all but about 8 miles at the southern end. Road surface north of Galisteo is pretty smooth. South of Galisteo it is pretty smooth except where it had been patched. Seems like the heavy equipment driver said, "Let me drive over this patch one more time to permanently embed my tread indentations into it so it will be very bumpy for any cyclist who comes along." There are also several (probably 8-10) places where the upper layer of asphalt has separated from the lower and left nice wide 3" deep cracks parallel to the direction of traffic. If you are inattentive and you wheel catches one - good luck. The 8 or so miles north of Stanley does have wide shoulders but there is a lot of debris on them. I had read where the traffic is light on 41. Maybe by NM standards but not by Wyoming standards (where I live). Not bad though and as stated above all of the drivers were courteous. Riding from Galisteo 10 miles to the south, returning to Galisteo and riding five miles to the north and back is 30 miles and about 1100 ft of climbing. One short hill at the southern end of this loop has a bit of road with an 8% grade (maybe 50 yards). Average for that .5 mile hill is about 5-6%.
Southern 2/3 of the Santa Fe Century. The west side of the century ride (from the Penitentiary south) is a really wonderful ride. I had my wife drive me over there from Galisteo as I did not want to mess with the Santa Fe traffic. The road surface from there to the top of Heartbreak Hill is very good with intermittent shoulders. I did it on a Thursday moning and the traffic was fairly light. This portion of the ride had quite a bit of climbing but has great scenery. Take time to enjoy it. The climb south out of Madrid is long and I think averages a bit more that the 4% I had read over the 5 miles of the climb. The southern and western legs of my ride we not as atractive, pretty darned flat. The road between Cedar Grove and Stanley (mostly county highway 472) has some small rollers and the surface (while not pot holed is bumpy). No shoulder. One 10 mile stretch is dead straight. Stanley to Galisteo is as described above. After Madrid, the only place to get refreshments is a the bottom of Heartbreak Hill (store in Golden - restrooms not open to public). There are stores in Stanley and Galisteo with signs but both are closed. The western half of this ride ranks up there with one of my all time favorites. My ride was 70 miles with 3622 ft of climbing on my Garmin 305 (I tacked on an extra 2 miles south of Galisteo to make it an even 70). I managed 17.1 mph.
Heartbreak Hill - west side is exactly as described on the NM Touring Society's web page. Last 1/2 mile does average right at 12%. Despite being from a mountainous state - that is the longest stretch of 12% that I have ever done. I rode it in a 34/23 on my Merlin and at one point was racing along at 4.2 miles per hour near the top. A leg buster for sure (especially coming after the Madrid climb). Road surface is very good but there were some sizeable rocks on the shoulder the day I did it. View from the top is really nice. Going down the east side was very pleasant. From Golden up over Heartbreak Hill to Cedar Grove I saw only two vehicles. Especially pleasant downhill recovery.
Highway 285 North from junction with 41 to Eldorado. Nice road - good shoulder and a nice climb. Light traffic at midday. Gas station at Eldorado has especially nice attendants. If you go down the hill, watch for the RR tracks at the bottom. Well marked and in pretty good condition - but you never know on RR tracks.
Santa Fe - did not ride in town , but unless you are a local and know what roads to use, it would not seem to be a road cyclist's dream.
With the exception of Sunday - I encountered only a few riders and only saw one on the 70 mile ride. Interestingly - on the Sundays there were several people riding two a breast on HIghway 41 who paid no attention at all to traffic. I encountered them in the late morning/early afternoon in my car and they made no attempt whatsoever to move to the side of the road. THAT can't but help make those otherwise courteous drives not so much so.
p.s. The restaurant at the Galisteo Inn - called La Mancha - is really terrific!