Sunny skies greeted us as a few of us met at the Zia NM Rail Runner at approximately 7:20am on a cool Saturday morning on the day of June 10th. And what awaited us was a rendezvous through the hills of the Valles Caldera National Preserve, cruising by several of the Northern NM Pueblos of Zia and Jemez, with a final jaunt to the County of Bernalillo for the 2023 edition of the Bernalillo Brevet.

While successfully completing the ride last year with one of my riding partners, Jared, I wanted to get a few other folks in on the action of such an adventure. While there was originally 5 of us who agreed to do it this time, only 4 were able to make as one was not ready by our departure time of 7:30am.
After a spirited descent Northward to the outskirts of Pojoaque Pueblo to grab a quick refill of water before  Los Alamos, we were eager to tackle the first challenge of the day, the sun-baking white-rocked climb towards Los Alamos. Crisp and much cooler than last year due to the persistent rain we have been receiving here in NM made the climb bearable.

In the previous attempts at this ride we would stop at Smith in Los Alamos, but since they have opened a Natural Grocers in the area as well, this naturally has become our first destination a for resupply as it saves us a little time as it is closer to our next visitation, the Valles Caldera.

I definitely struggled getting up the switch-backed hills of NM4! The sensations in my legs leading up to the start were positive, but once I proceeded throughout that section, dizziness set in, perhaps due to my odd sleeping patterns these the last few days…

The Valles Caldera National Preserve did not disappoint this year as it was blighted by the effects of a lack of precipitation in 2022 and the fires that we had throughout the state. Much lusher and greener this year, we were greeted by running water flows and creeks doing much healthier.

Amanda’s Jemez Mountain Country Store is a key refueling stop and we wasted no time in grubbing on our burritos, sodas and other snacks from the long ride from the Natural Grocers earlier in the day. There were a bit of nerves passing the rock climbing enthusiasts at Las Conchas as drivers pulled out to the road from their excursions in the area. What a difference a year makes as we encountered no such crowds as the forests were still closed to the public as a result from the devastating fires of 2022.

 

Once full topped-up at Amanda’s, we careened our down the fast slopes towards Jemez Springs and flew past the beautiful red-rocked earth of Jemez Pueblo. Shortly afterwards we arrived at our last stop of the Dollar General Store outside of San Ysidro Village. With much of the cloud cover sheltering us for much of the day, as opposed to last years’ edition were it was just Jared and myself where the temp was past the 100deg. mark, the temperature today hovered in the mid 80’s.

Onward to the final stop of the Bosque Brewing Co. to consume our final meal of the day and that long awaited beverage that we anticipated at the beginning of the ride. But firs we had to get past the final stretch of the Bernalillo Audax, NM550, in southwardly direction with a cross-tailwind for much of the roads.

Once we sat down on our benches in as much as a needed rest, we quickly ordered our food and drinks, reflecting on our achievement of the day. Much appreciation goes out to Jared for covering our meal and it will not be forgotten.

Now that day sun was setting in the distance, we had to head to the Bernalillo Rail Runner Station to catch and board our train back to Santa Fe with one last crossing of the mighty Rio Grande. It is good to witness the river running at such heights considering the fact that the southwest is in still much of a drought condition for some time now.

Oh, and yes…!

The new Sirius Cycles CC Helix 2.0 Jersey from Primal Wear was flawless and exceeded my expectations of what a performance jersey can produce on such an epic day. Many thanks again to Jared, Maximino, Corn (Brandon) for coming along on such an adventure. And always continue to push yourself on seeking out such exploits as time moves along and the body clock keeps ticking…

-Clemente