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Well Mugg, you made us all “Green” last week, so I felt compelled to make an attempt to return the favor. I also just so happen to have a few hours to kill as I sit here in the Boston Airport, so you all get to suffer through a little prose or you have to scroll a little more to get to the pictures.
Last Thursday, I caught wind of an epic ride about to take place. It was in a portion of New Mexico that I’ve been meaning to visit on my bike. After the ride I knew that I’d be kicking myself for quite a while for not having made it there sooner.
The ride was to take place near Jemez Springs and follow the rim of the Virgin Mesa. We had our own personal guide to lead us on an adventure. Tom Meyer has spent countless years mapping and “developing” trials in the National Recreational Area in the Jemez Mountains. I must use the term developing rather loosely because he’s managed to map out the cow and game trails that litter the forest and mesas. One look at his map and I new a guide was a must to explore the area. The density and diversity of trails was almost unbelievable.
Our plan for the day was a 25 mile loop that traversed the rim of the virgin mesa. The trails were extremely primitive. At times only a carefully placed stick marked the path. For the most part we just followed Tom’s tire tracks. Slight depressions in the decomposing pine needles indicated that in fact bikes have used this route in the past but the feel of simply riding on a whim through the woods permeated the ride.
We rode through a large variety of terrain, from boulder fields to conifer forest to high alpine meadows lined by aspen. Along the rim, the “trail” was always within a few feet of the cliff edge. In some places a small ledge would try to spit you out in the void. If you had the nerve, and enough skill, to make the 90 degree turn, you could test your fate.
What ride would be complete with out a little hike a bike. Well, we had two. I probably would not have even hiked through one of them, but we were on a bike ride and for some reason it felt natural to traverse a cliff face, passing our bikes in a fire brigade line as we scrabbled up the rock wall.
Keeping the sections of fire road interesting, we saw fresh Bear and Mountain Lion tracks; momma even had a little kitten with her as she had walked along the road earlier that morning.
On the return leg of the journey we passed through a portion of the Turkey Fire of 2002. What a devistating lunar landscape.
Last Thursday, I caught wind of an epic ride about to take place. It was in a portion of New Mexico that I’ve been meaning to visit on my bike. After the ride I knew that I’d be kicking myself for quite a while for not having made it there sooner.
The ride was to take place near Jemez Springs and follow the rim of the Virgin Mesa. We had our own personal guide to lead us on an adventure. Tom Meyer has spent countless years mapping and “developing” trials in the National Recreational Area in the Jemez Mountains. I must use the term developing rather loosely because he’s managed to map out the cow and game trails that litter the forest and mesas. One look at his map and I new a guide was a must to explore the area. The density and diversity of trails was almost unbelievable.
Our plan for the day was a 25 mile loop that traversed the rim of the virgin mesa. The trails were extremely primitive. At times only a carefully placed stick marked the path. For the most part we just followed Tom’s tire tracks. Slight depressions in the decomposing pine needles indicated that in fact bikes have used this route in the past but the feel of simply riding on a whim through the woods permeated the ride.
We rode through a large variety of terrain, from boulder fields to conifer forest to high alpine meadows lined by aspen. Along the rim, the “trail” was always within a few feet of the cliff edge. In some places a small ledge would try to spit you out in the void. If you had the nerve, and enough skill, to make the 90 degree turn, you could test your fate.
What ride would be complete with out a little hike a bike. Well, we had two. I probably would not have even hiked through one of them, but we were on a bike ride and for some reason it felt natural to traverse a cliff face, passing our bikes in a fire brigade line as we scrabbled up the rock wall.
Keeping the sections of fire road interesting, we saw fresh Bear and Mountain Lion tracks; momma even had a little kitten with her as she had walked along the road earlier that morning.
On the return leg of the journey we passed through a portion of the Turkey Fire of 2002. What a devistating lunar landscape.
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