donheff

My wife has a conference in Sante Fe next month and I am tagging along. We will have plenty of time and hope to get some riding in. We are staying at a hotel in the historic district. Neither of us are mountain bikers although if people familiar with the area think there are some easy, must try, trails we could consider it. How about road bike rides in the 20-30 mile range? Anything good? Cruising around the downtown area to get a feel for the place -- good by bike? Recommendation on rental places? We are staying at The Inn at Loretto, 211 Old Santa Fe Trail, for those familiar with the area.

BengeBoy 

I've been to Santa Fe many times, but not for several years; it's one of my favorite places.

A couple of reactions:
- You won't need a bike to cruise around downtown to get a feel for the place; it's compact enough you'll want to do it on foot right from the Inn at Loretto.
- I did some really nice mountain biking there once; I just went on one of the organized tours where you rent a bike and they take you out into the hills and lead you around. Highly recommended. I'd advise you either contact a mountain bike rental shop for bikes/routes or hook up with one of the organized groups.

3 favorite things in the area:
1. Eat. No end of great choices; everyone has their favorites so I won't bore you w/mine.
2. Drive the "high road" to Taos, by way of Chimayo (any local gift shop will have a map or booklet that has a guide to what to see on the High Road to Taos.)
3. Take an outdoor hot tub at 10,000 Waves bath house.

I guess my next favorite thing would be Bandelier National Monument, outside of town.

By the way, if you're flying into Albuquerque, suggest you drive the "back road" from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, by way of Madrid.

Velo Dog

+1 on eating. I've spent three or four days there three or four times and never had a bad meal (but I love southwest/tex-mex food). Paschalls is excellent, and there's a place with "Cowgirl" in the name that we really liked.
Re cycling, I've never been there with a bike, but I'd love to do the ride from Santa Fe to Taos. It's a serious climb, at least for me, but I saw two local clubs doing it. It's about 70 miles, I think, but you could do part of it as an out-and-back. Very pretty in fall.
Maybe I'd rather start in Taos and ride DOWN...

DnvrFox

You might consider a portion of the route of the Santa Fe Century. However, their web site is deactivated unti 2012. Local bike shops will know.

https://www.santafecentury.com

Shifty

You can ride south from town toward Madrid or Golden, it's an out and back.

If I were you I'd skip the cycling and take in Santa Fe with a nice walking tour. The museums are fantastic, I especially like the Georgia O'Keefe Museum. You can walk and see the lovely neighborhoods, browse galleries, and check out the old churches and the architecture. I also recommend eating in Santa Fe, I love the Blue Corn Cafe and the Pink Adobe Cafe, also follow your nose and discover some treasures. Last time I was at Cowgirls Cafe I was with a group of Bike Forum riders and it was a fun place for beer and barbecue. A nice drive back to Albuquerque is to go north out of SF to Los Alamos, then to Jemez Springs, there is a cool old bar and cafe there, full of western character. There is also a neat natural hot springs on the north side of town if you want to soak. Just before the turn off to Los Alamos is the San Idlefonso Pueblo, you need to park at the visitor center and walk the pueblo, don't miss the beautiful and unique black glazed pottery that they make there.

DnvrFox

Here are some pictures from an old Santa Fe Century I did

https://ourwebs.info/santafec.htm

tabriz

Hi, Here's a Senior bike club in Santa Fe with a bunch of ride routes that they do. https://www.santafesobs.com/Ride_Calendar.html You could maybe hook up with them, or ride the routes by yourselves. The ride that goes thru Madrid to Albuquerque, and then taking the train back to Santa Fe is popular. There is talk right now of ending weekend service, though, so you should check into that.

https://www.nmts.org/ More ideas

Tabriz

gtragitt

You can get a great dinner at D42 (Dinner for 2)

If you are there for a weekend. Drive north to Chama and take the Cumbres and Toltec train from Chama to Osier and return.

donheff

Thanks for the great suggestions. More than we can do in the time available. One of the reasons I am tagging along is to scope out the town for a possible return. My wife and I are interested in spending several weeks or a month in cities like Portland, San Diego, Santa Fe, etc.

RonH

My wife and I were out that way in May 2010 as part of our cross country trip (by car) we spent 4 days in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. We rode up the Turquoise Trail on Sunday and saw lots of cyclists practicing for the Santa Fe Century that was the following Sunday. Too bad I didn't have my bike.
Here are some pics of the road.
https://s373.photobucket.com/albums/o...cpZZ1QQtppZZ20

Have fun.

BengeBoy 

...Seattle, Vancouver....

Steve B.

I spent 10 years of summers in Santa Fe while my wife worked at the Opera and that BTW is a must see, even if you hate opera, if only for the setting.

I would wake up and ponder "Road Ride or Mt Bike ?" and had endless choices of both. 2 cautious comments though, 1), It's hilly. Not many flat sections, so be prepared to be doing 1/2 hr climbs and 2) It's at 7,000 ft and the first few days on a bike can be tough, so go slow and expect to go slow.

Road rides:
- Up to the ski area, state Rt 475, if you like to climb, from Ft Marcy sport complex, it's 14 miles and +3500ft.
- From Ft. Marcy, north on Bishops Lodge Rd, thru Tesuque to Rt 592, then up to Rio en Medio and back. 24RT
- Out to Camino La Tierra, via Buckman Rd., with extensions on Las Campanas to Rt599 for however far you want to go.
- Old Santa Fe Trail to Canada de los Alamos (18 RT)
- Out I25 to the Rt 84/285 South exit then down to Lamy and back (yes you can ride the Interstate and it's safer then Old Pecos Hwy.). 32 RT
- Out Richards Ave. then thru Rancho Viejo and down to Rt14, then south as far as you want on Rt14.

Mt. Bike:
- Lamy Rail Trail, it's actually a dirt mt. bike trail. From the parking lot at the BLM building on Rodeo ride south alongside the RR tracks all the way to Rt285/84 near Lamy. 14 RT, intermediate.
- Tesuque Peak fire road/Aspen Vista Road. From the ski area road, the dirt road to Tesuque Peak (12,000ft) is a moderate grade climbing 2,000ft over 6 miles to a stupendous view.
- Dale Ball trail system off the ski basin road, just east of town.

Note that I'd be checking in at a local shop for add'l trail info and status, Rob and Charlies is my favorite shop.

Food:

- Blue Corn Cafe is OK
- Maria's and Tommasita's are both local favorites.
- Tesuque market for breakfast (Breakfast Burrito with green chile).
- Tecalote Cafe on Cerrillos is superb as well.

Things to do:
- Walk around the plaza area at dusk.
- Drive up the ski area road a bit, pull off and watch a sunset, especially if it's rained that day and partly cloudy. Finest sunsets on the planet.
- Bandalier National Monument in White Rock, up the hill near Los Alamos, then have lunch at the Hilltop Diner in LA, great green chile stew.
- Sanctuario de Chimayo, healing church on the "High Road" to Taos.
- Taos Pueblo, in Taos. One of the oldest inhabited Pueblo's and they do tours.
- Hot tub at 10,000 Waves, Japanese outdoor facility about 3-1/2 miles up the ski basin road. Do a massage at the same time.
SB

lhbernhardt

I've been to Santa Fe once with the bike, primarily for the opera festival in the summer. A fabulous opera house set on a hill with a roof and no walls, and if they leave out the backdrop, the background behind the stage is the Sangre de Cristo mountains.

We rode the Enchanted Circle from Taos, but that's about an 80-km loop as I recall. I'll definitely be going there again, and noting the additional suggestions listed here.

L.

DnvrFox

A few years back a bunch of BFN members went to the SF Century to ride together. We ate at Maria's for our formal "dinner." come to think of it. I organized that event.