Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Training Season 2025

We keep riding! While our organizing principle in years past has always been the BikeMS, we have moved past that and are charting our own course.  Our mission remains the same though - riding with good friends in our beautiful state of New Mexico

The Penultimates and Friends on the way to Santa Fe in 2024

Our key events this year (like this year) will be:

  • Enchanted Circle Ride 8/9.  For those that are interested we will be doing the Enchanted Circle Ride in Red River.  Look like a tough, but beautiful ride.  We will rent a house (or two) and make a fun weekend of it!  
  • High Road to Santa Fe 9/13, where we ride from ABQ up to Santa Fe, have a nice lunch at El Parasol, then head to Santa Fe Brewing for some beverages and camaraderie, before taking the Railrunner back to ABQ.  Open to pushing it out, depending on interest.
  • Santa Fe Gourmet Classic: 10/4. A 62 mile ride with gourmet food at each rest stop catered by professional chefs.  Sure it may be difficult to climb for 15 miles post an amazing meal, but so worth it!

Below is the schedule for the Saturday rides.  Our general schedule in years past has been to be build up with progressive rides with the peak training toward the end of August.  This year we are going to mix it up, however, and spread out the rides a bit, so the schedule below may shift around as we finalize our ride schedule.  Also, a few TBD rides in there!  Please suggest some rides, and we may juggle the some things around.

There will might be an ride on Sundays too, but it is a bit more flexible, and is focused on shorter distances working up to about 50 miles by the end of the summer. Our normal departure time is 6 am from the (former) O'Neill's parking lot on Central! 

SATURDAY RIDE SCHEDULE

6/21Short city loop + Bike in Coffee20
6/28Inner City Loop CW36.1
7/5Modified City Loop CCW36.7
7/12Bernalillo Out and Back43
7/19City Loop CW53
7/26Crest Assault from Triangle26
8/2South 14 + Gutirrez Canyon63
8/9Enchanted Circle88,100
8/16Ride to San Felipe Pueblo69
8/23Ride to Placitas66
8/30TDB
9/6TDB
9/13Santa Fe63
9/20Lobo Cancer Challenge25,50
9/27
10/4Santa Fe Gourmet Classic62

Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Training Season 2024

Fifteen years! While our organizing principle in years past has always been the BikeMS, we have moved past that and are charting our own course.  Our mission remains the same though - riding with good friends in our beautiful state of New Mexico

The Penultimates and Friends on the way to Santa Fe

Our key events this year will be:

  • Enchanted Circle Ride 8/10.  For those that are interested we will be doing the Enchanted Circle Ride in Red River.  Look like a tough, but beautiful ride.  We will rent a house (or two) and make a fun weekend of it!  
  • High Road to Santa Fe TBD, where we ride from ABQ up to Santa Fe, have a nice lunch at El Parasol, then head to Santa Fe Brewing for some beverages and camaraderie, before taking the Railrunner back to ABQ.  That date is more flexible, and the later we push it in the season the cooler our weather will be.

Below is the schedule for the Saturday rides.  Our general schedule in years past has been to be build up with progressive rides with the peak training toward the end of August.  This year we are going to mix it up, however, and spread out the rides a bit, so the schedule below may shift around as we finalize our ride schedule.  Also, a few TBD rides in there!  Please suggest some rides, and we may juggle the some things around.

There will also be an ride on Sundays too, but it is a bit more flexible, and is focused on shorter distances working up to about 50 miles by the end of the summer. Our normal departure time is 6 am from the O'Neill's parking lot on Central! 

SATURDAY RIDE SCHEDULE

6/1Gillman Tunnel Ride15,30
6/8TBD
6/15Short city loop + Bike in Coffee20
6/22Inner City Loop CW36.1
6/29Modified City loop CCW36.7
7/6Benalillo Out and Back43
7/13City Loop CW53
7/20TBD Ride ~60 miles
7/27Ride to San Felipe Pueblo69
8/3South 14 + Gutirrez Canyon63
8/10Enchanted Circle88,100Destination ride
8/17Crest Assault from Triangle26
8/24Ride to Placitas66
8/31TDB
9/7TDB
9/14Santa Fe63Proposed, but flexible
9/21TBD
9/28Lobo Cancer Challenge25,50Our fundraising event

Friday, June 2, 2023

Training Season 2023

Fourteen years!  That is a long time for anything in this fast changing world.  Our team has weathered all manner of challenges - babies, families, injuries, a global pandemic.  At our core has always been our commitment to the weird fellowship of road biker - early morning, long distances, and the friendships built in the spaces between.  I never guessed that the crazy team of 5 back in 2010 - who completed the a two day ride of 150 miles on the heaviest bikes made by man and a total lack of knowledge about training - would grow into a perennial team of 25-30 of the nicest people and friends!

This is the year we grow past your yearly commitment to the BikeMS.  The National MS Society head office killed of a few smaller rides around the country last year, and our beloved ride was one. It was a shock and a blow, and it still generates not particularly nice feelings (betrayal, anger, indifference).  We had a good run - raising over $325,000 for the MS Society - but our efforts where not enough, and the fellowship of the amazing people in NM were deemed not worth our local and national chapters efforts anymore.

Who knew this would be our last BikeMS?

So this we start with a clean slate and a new mission.  Our goal this year is to build and sustain our local rider community, as we work through what the next phase of our efforts should be.  Those of us passionate about having our own local event are organizing something new under the Pedal los Pueblos banner!  We will be co-sponsoring rides this year with other local groups and building toward a new future of our own local events - organized for the benefit of NM by NM!

Below is the schedule for the Saturday rides.  They are designed to be progressive - so will slowly build in length and intensity through the summer.  There will be an ride on Sunday too, but it is a bit more flexible, and is focused on shorter distances working up to about 50 miles by the end of the summer. Our normal departure time is 6 am from the O'Neill's parking lot on Central! 

SATURDAY RIDE SCHEDULE

6/17Short city loop + Bike in Coffee20
6/24Inner City Loop CW36.1
7/1Modified City loop CCW36.7
7/8
Bi Week - Mountain/Road Bike in Angel Fire
7/15Benalillo Out and Back43
7/22City Loop CW53
7/29Ride to San Felipe Pueblo69Roads open this year? Hopefully?
8/5South 14 + Gutirrez Canyon63Pending status of North 14
8/12Crest Assault from Triangle26
8/19Ride to Placitas66
8/26Santa Fe63
9/2TBD
9/9TDB
9/16TBD
9/23Lobo Cancer Challenge25,50Hope to see you out there!

Saturday, May 21, 2022

Training Season 2022!

It is the start of the 13th season of the Penultimates!  It has been a strange two year for everyone, but after the false hope of last summer, we are hopefully moving toward more normalcy.  This year the Bike MS will be in ABQ again, but we will be back to a two day ride.  The routes have been significantly reworked to emphasize safety and bike friendliness.

At the 2021 ride!!
Below is the schedule for the Saturday rides.  They are designed to be progressive - so will slowly build in length and intensity through the summer.  There will be an ride on Sunday too, but it is a bit more flexible, and is focused on shorter distances working up to about 50 miles by the end of the summer. Our normal departure time is 6 am from the O'Neill's parking lot on Central!  

SATURDAY RIDE SCHEDULE
6/11Short city loop + Bike in Coffee20
6/18Inner City Loop CW36.1
6/25Modified City loop CCW36.7
7/2Benalillo Out and Back43
7/9City Loop CW53
7/16Ride to San Felipe Pueblo69As of 5/21, roads north of Algodones still closed
7/23South 14 + Gutirrez Canyon63
7/30Crest Assault from Triangle26As of 5/21, crest roads closed
8/6Ride to Placitas66
8/13Santa Fe63
8/20Recovery weekend~55City Ride of some flavor
8/27The Ride0-150In ABQ