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Kicked Some New Mexico Trail Ass today!


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Let's just start this discussion with the fact that the bike I brought with me was not my favorite choice. I brought a heavy steel fully rigid bike that I was not worried about being stolen. With that as a backdrop I have been riding a lot of gravel in order to get acclimated to the height.

Today I got up and had my wife drop me at the bottom of Winsor and I did the ride up, which is ~3,800' in total climbing. You start at 7,000 feet and you end up at ~10,300 when you hit the peak. There are lots of ups and downs to get you the additional ~500' of climbing. I could have had my wife drop me at the top or taken the public shuttle up ($20) but I wanted to go full @Barry for this ride.

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Basically it is up 3,800 ft in 10 miles, then back down:

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Fully rigid was *generally* great for climbing, but the descent was punishing. Imagine Rocky Hill Ranch - loose rocks, sand, pine needles, with an elevation like Lakeway. All of the way up I keep thinking "this is gonna be so much fun to bomb down" but then when I started the descent, from the top, I REALLY wished I had my FS carbon bike.

They have the right idea here, but this was at the top of the trail, not at the bottom....:
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Total beatdown. When I got to the bottom I had no cell signal. Had to go out to the road and climb another few hundred feet on the road to let my wife know I was alive. At that point is was a 25mph downhill on the road back into town. When I got the the Santa Fe Brewing location near my hotel, it was closed. At 1:30 on a Sunday!!!

Pedaled back to the hotel and proceeded to have a Chicago beer to ease my back. Eventually had a New Mexico beer. All in, a great day.

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"Fully rigid was *generally* great for climbing, but the descent was punishing. Imagine Rocky Hill Ranch - loose rocks, sand, pine needles, with an elevation like Lakeway. All of the way up I keep thinking "this is gonna be so much fun to bomb down" but then when I started the descent, from the top, I REALLY wished I had my FS carbon bike."

I talk about being able to "harvest" the effort put into a climb with a fun downhill run payoff. I dislike having to work going up and then work going down too. That's why I sing Phil's World's praises. EVERY climb had a great payoff. After I realized this during my ride, I started looking forwards to a climb, knowing that a big smile would soon be plastered to my face.

Also I feel your pain with having to choose a travel bike. I have been taking my third string bike on our trips to not worry as much if it gets stolen. I did take the first string bike to Moab where we were riding every day on "real" trail. That was worth the risk for the return. I took a tarp to cover it to keep it out of sight as another layer of protection.

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This is how our bikes are stored:

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It is under stairs, in the interior of the hotel which is actually an old apartment complex. It is not visible from the parking lot and definitely not from the street. The bike cover keeps people from seeing what is under and in ~2 weeks we have not had a single incident. Right now there is a thick cable and lock on both bikes.

When we come back next year we will be staying for 30 days and I am comfortable enough that I will bring a better bike (a Vassago hardtail) and that will have a pike on the front. I can swap out the King wheel set for a cheaper one to make it less of a target.

Ultimately is someone stole the Vassago I would not be as pissed as if I had brought my FS carbon bike, but then again if they stole my fully rigid Kona I'd probably think about it as a time to buy a new bike and not sweat it as much. 

Feels *pretty* safe here, mostly because it is out of sight. Bike thieves probably aren't combing the grounds of a Residence Inn on a regular basis looking for targets.

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