New Mexico: Land of Enchantment

DAY 1: We meet in Santa Fe at 3:00pm for a rental bike fitting. Then we’ll have an orientation at 5:00pm followed by our first dinner together. Feel free to arrive early and explore this small city nestled in the beautiful Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Our starting hotel is less than a mile from the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum too. 0 miles.

DAY 2: After a hearty breakfast, we’ll begin our first bike ride to Chimayo. We’ll visit the legendary shrine El Santuario de Chimayo built of adobe and known for its healing powers for centuries. Thousands of pilgrims make their trek to this sacred site every Easter. Some people have been known to walk there from Albuquerque 90 miles away. Lunch is on your today, but you can stop at the local café for a vegetarian tamale or a frito pie for a taste of southwestern fare. 32 miles, +1607'/-2240'

DAY 3: We’ll bike the High Road to Taos Scenic Byway today. Our ride takes us past artist studios and an adobe church dating back to the 1700s. We’ll bike through the pine and aspen forests of Santa Fe National Forest and watch as the terrain changes to open plain and scrub desert. We’ll end the day in the artist colony of Taos, staying overnight in the heart of town for the next two nights. 40 or 49 miles, 49-mile ride elevation: +2922'/-3984'

DAY 4: Today we’ll cycle a loop through the quiet villages of Arroyo Hondo and Arroyo Seco, taking in beautiful views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains along the way.

Then you can choose to spend the afternoon visiting Taos Pueblo, the only living Native American community designated both a UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Historic Landmark. Explore the multi-storied adobe buildings that have been inhabited for over 1000 years. If you'd rather shop, there are many art galleries and stores featuring beautiful paintings, handmade jewelry and delicious green chile burgers. Dinner is on your own tonight. 26 miles, +1212'/-1213'

DAY 5: We leave town behind this morning and cycle to the edge of the Carson National Forest and to the tiny town of Carson, where we will enjoy a picnic lunch. It’s a gradual downhill ride that will rejuvenate you. After a picnic lunch we shuttle back to Taos where you can spend the afternoon exploring museums, stores, spas and more. 24 miles, +967/-1123’.

DAY 6: After a shuttle to the town of El Rito, one of the first Spanish settlements in New Mexico, we will cycle to Ghost Ranch, where Georgia O’Keeffe was inspired. Its mysterious landscapes were the subjects of many of her paintings. After a picnic lunch, you can hike the trails and visit the museums of this esteemed education and retreat center. Ghost Ranch is also known for its amazing concentration of fossils. 30 miles, +1399’/-1794’.

DAY 7: After a delicious breakfast, we’ll shuttle to Bandelier National Monument. Situated in Frijoles Canyon, Bandelier is one of the most famous archeological sites in the country. It’s a car-free park, and we will hike to the striking cliff dwellings left by the Ancestral Pueblo people during the 1100s. You can explore the Alcove House by climbing a series of wooden ladders to the large cave high above the canyon floor. Then you can look at petroglyphs and learn about the fascinating stone kivas used for religious ceremonies. It is a beautiful and sacred place.

After lunch, we’ll shuttle back to Santa Fe to say our good-byes. We’ll arrive at the Santa Fe airport and our starting hotel by 3:30pm. 0 miles.