Cycling in Albuquerque

Triathlon Forum
1

I am going to be doing summer research at UNM and want to get some riding in while I’m down here. Where are the good places to ride? I am living just north of I-40 near the Coronado Mall and Winrock Shopping Center. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

2

There is a lot of good riding in ABQ. Bike path through center of that is actually a state park. This is a good “connector” when traveling from N/S. Has a lot of casual riders, so not the best place to hammer. Some of the best riding is in the East Mountains. From where you are going to be it would be a good 60+ mile roundtrip ride. You can also drive to the east side of town and start from there. Lots of good climbing out there and slightly cooler during the summer.

3

That’ll be a pretty good area. Find a way to get over to Tramway. There’s a bike path the goes along I40 for a while that should spit you out right at Tramway/Central. From there, you have a few options.

  1. Go north on Tramway. It’ll be rolling hills for 8 miles or so with lights every 1/2 mile. Then you have a 4-5 mile descent that’ll take you under I25. Go another mile or two, and make a right onto NM highway 313. It’s pancake flat and is great for TT work. You can take it about 17 miles from there. There some car traffic for a bit, but you’ll have a wide open shoulder. On the way back, the climb is 3-5%.

  2. From Tramway/Central head east on Route 66. It’s a 2% grade out for 7 or 8 miles. You can go as far as you want on Route 66. Or, to vary it, take 14 North or 14 South. If you take 14 North, you can climb the backside of Sandia. It’s 13.5 miles and will take you to 10,678 feet at a grade of 5-8%. It’s a pretty nice climb. South 14 is a wide open road that has some decent climbs as well.

Make sure you bring VERY thornproof tires. Goatheads out here are crazy. If you need any bike equipment, check out The Kickstand at Menaul/Juan Tabo.

For running, make sure you hit the foothills. Damn good trails.

For swimming, there are loads of city pools around. $2.25 to get it. UNM also has a pool that is supposedly pretty nice.

4

http://www.nmts.org/

Click on the Routes & Maps link on the left side of the page.

Also here:
http://www.nmcycling.org/rides.html