Saturday's Ride 8/21 - West Mesa Loop

Last training ride of the official season!  We actually ran two rides this weekend, a loop out to the west mesa and an epic long ride up to Santa Fe.  Here is the run down from in town loop ride leader Calvin:

Three of us who couldn't spare the time for the Santa Fe ride, and who wanted a milder ride the weekend before the MS event, opted for an in-town ride on Saturday.  We settled on a West Side Loop that would take us around the Rio Grande and the Volcanos.  After a short drive down to the valley in the predawn darkness, noticing some drizzling rain and the city lights, we started our ride at the Alameda open space.  We headed south from there along the familiar Paseo del Bosque Bike Trail.  It was a cloudy day, and the air was still damp from some monsoon rains that came through the night.  From the Bosque Trail, we headed west across the river and towards the West Mesa on Rio Bravo, where we overcame lots of road debris, including some cathangers that almost ended our day early.  A 3.5 mile, 3% average (5% max) grade, category 3 climb brought us onto the West Mesa, where we turned north onto Paseo del Volcan.  Here we faced strong 15-20 mph headwinds and rough, pitted, potholed roads that made a relatively flat ride seem uphill the whole time.  We were at least glad we weren't scorched by the desert sun, which remained behind the clouds throughout the ride.  We took turns pulling until we reached the Volcanos at Petroglyphs National Monument, where we took a nice long break to enjoy the scenery.  After our fill of the desert plains, black volcanic rocks, and grazing cows, we headed off to finish our ride through the convoluted roads of Rio Rancho, which took us back to the Alameda Open Space.  Despite the rough roads and incessant west side traffic, it was a fairly scenic ride and a good change of pace from our usual Albuquerque rides.

Ride summary: 46.6 miles, 14.7 mph average, 33.1 mph max, 3:08'21",  for ride details check out the map here.

John & Greg taking a break on top of the West Mesa, with the Sandia Mountains in the background.

John & Greg in front of the Volcanos at Petroglyphs National Monument.