Stevie47

Anyone doing this one next weekend??

jppe

How about it TaosWoman??

I was in Taos in July and rode the route in a car. I'd love to do that ride-although I think I'd prefer to do the route clockwise instead of counter clockwise. The climbs from Taos to Angel Fire and then up to Red River look to be pretty long. Regardless, I sure wish I could join you folks. That's another one I'll put on my cycling lists of things to do.....

Stevie47

I havent ridden it before, but it looks like the toughest climb is around mile 90. Yuck. Also, the temps have been down to 38F at night. And evidently the first 10 miles or so are mostly downhill. Dressing for this one will be tricky!

gruppo

Tricky? No. You'll be warmed up by Questa. After that it's rollies to the bridge over the Rio Grande, a stiff but fun climb out of Taos, a nice pedal to Bobcat Pass, and a bit of a stiff uphill before you coast back into Red River. After about 5 1/2 to 6 hours of great riding you're drinking beer and eating Bar-B-Q! This is a not-to-be-missed Century.

BikerJoeP

Could someone compare this ride to the Santa Fe century??

Stevie47

Ahhh!....the voice of someone who has ridden it. My only concern was freezing from Red River to Questa cause I think it's downhill pretty much the whole way? After that I know it'll be ok.

Terex

OK - I'm in for next year. Taos is one of my favorite places - and the food in the area is my favorite food. I'm starting to give up on the South Boundary mountain bike ride (but, this would give me an excuse to do some recon ). My riding has been off and on this summer, but hopefully it will be "on" all next year. Sounds something nice to look forward to. And maybe a little something in the Valle Grande (https://www.nmts.org/rides/veloValleGrande.htm).

Denda

My husband and I did this again! This was our second year. We cut 30 min. off of our total time. So I guess we are improving a little. We felt very lucky that it didn't rain on Saturday.

zagnut

The weather turned out to be pretty good, at least as far as sunshine. It had been very rainy in the area for a few weeks, so when the ride turned out to be under sunny skies, it was a big bonus. The wind was another matter. Headwind all the way to Questa (about 15 miles). What usually is a fast descent, was a little slow because you had to do a lot of pedaling. Although sunny, the temps were cool, but that was not a problem. I did the ride with an undershirt, a SS jersey and arm and leg warmers (wool), and it worked out perfectly. I had a jacket that I never used.

After the descent from Palo Flechedo and the one mile to the blinking light, it got ugly. There was a nasty crosswind all the way to the Black Lake turnaround, and it was even worse coming back. I wondered why I saw so many stressed faces on those in front of me. Most years, there is a tailwind for at least half the distance to Eagle Nest, but Saturday, it was either quartering or a crosswind. There was a headwind, crosswind or quartering wind all the way to the East Moreno Ranch and to the top of Bobcat. There was even a headwind descending into Red River. The wind took it's toll. I heard, but did not see, that the "winning" time (it's not a race) was in the neighborhood of 4:45. That's about 20 to 25 mins slower than normal. My time was right around 6 hours, which is about 30 to 35 mins slower than I would expect, but then I was having some stomach issues as well. The beer at the end tasted as good as ever.
I heard rumblings that the rest stops were a little sparse but since I only get water, I really don't know. I suspected that the move from Sunday to Saturday would result in a lot more traffic, but to my eye, it wasn't that big a deal. The drivers were a little more impatient, esp up Taos Canyon, but there didn't seem to be near as many cars as I would have expected. Perhaps some of the riders that came later had more problems and a different insight It's a great ride but mostly because of the terrain and the cooperating sun. If the organizers had a clue, it could be legendary.

Zagnut

Denda

I agree! We could have done without the wind! I should be use to it living in the Texas panhandle, but I still don't like it!

jppe

Thanks for the reports!! One of these days I'm hope to fly back out that way and do this ride!