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.

• Lobo Cancer Challenge! 9/28.  Join us in fundraising for a deserving local charity ride raising funds for the The University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center. A super fun ride leaving from Lobo Stadium heading down to the Bosque for a fun 25 mile ride, or out into the East Mountains for a longer 50 mile ride.

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

6/1	Gillman Tunnel Ride	15,30
6/8	TBD
6/15	Short city loop + Bike in Coffee	20
6/22	Inner City Loop CW	36.1
6/29	Modified City loop CCW	36.7
7/6	Benalillo Out and Back	43
7/13	City Loop CW	53
7/20	TBD Ride ~60 miles
7/27	Ride to San Felipe Pueblo	69
8/3	South 14 + Gutirrez Canyon	63
8/10	Enchanted Circle	88,100	Destination ride
8/17	Crest Assault from Triangle	26
8/24	Ride to Placitas	66
8/31	TDB
9/7	TDB
9/14	Santa Fe	63	Proposed, but flexible
9/21	TBD
9/28	Lobo Cancer Challenge	25,50	Our fundraising event

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.

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

6/17	Short city loop + Bike in Coffee	20
6/24	Inner City Loop CW	36.1
7/1	Modified City loop CCW	36.7
7/8	Bi Week - Mountain/Road Bike in Angel Fire
7/15	Benalillo Out and Back	43
7/22	City Loop CW	53
7/29	Ride to San Felipe Pueblo	69	Roads open this year? Hopefully?
8/5	South 14 + Gutirrez Canyon	63	Pending status of North 14
8/12	Crest Assault from Triangle	26
8/19	Ride to Placitas	66
8/26	Santa Fe	63
9/2	TBD
9/9	TDB
9/16	TBD
9/23	Lobo Cancer Challenge	25,50	Hope to see you out there!

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

6/11	Short city loop + Bike in Coffee	20
6/18	Inner City Loop CW	36.1
6/25	Modified City loop CCW	36.7
7/2	Benalillo Out and Back	43
7/9	City Loop CW	53
7/16	Ride to San Felipe Pueblo	69	As of 5/21, roads north of Algodones still closed
7/23	South 14 + Gutirrez Canyon	63
7/30	Crest Assault from Triangle	26	As of 5/21, crest roads closed
8/6	Ride to Placitas	66
8/13	Santa Fe	63
8/20	Recovery weekend	~55	City Ride of some flavor
8/27	The Ride	0-150	In ABQ

Training Season 2021 - Return of In Person!

It is just about the start of the 12th season of the Penultimates!  It has been a rough year for everyone this year, and I for one am super excited to get back out there and train with people again.  We had a quiet 2020 season, where we broke up into small rides of 4-5 people scattered around town all sort of doing our own thing.  We had social challenges, and kept up with each other via Zoom call and random sightings around town.  We did one big in person ride at our first (and hopefully only) in person, socially distanced, self supported century ride around ABQ, in lieu of a normal in person ride, which had been canceled.

A weird ride, in a weird year, but great being with everyone!

But we are in a different place this year!  The pandemic is receding, the miracle of science vaccine is ready to go, and New Mexico is on its way to 70% vaccination rate.  We are not out of the wood yet, but for those of us that have had the vaccine, life is on its way to returning to normal.  If you are vaccinated, you can be mask free in the outdoors and ride with other people!  (Also free to be with other vaccinated people indoors and out - so seriously get your vaccine if you haven't already).

The BikeMS this year is also in person this year, but this year it will be different.  No two day adventure up in Espanola.  Instead, there will be a one day event in Albuquerque this year (details here) with an option of 22, 44, and 77 miles.

Below is the schedule for the Saturday rides.  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!  

6/12	Short city loop + Bike in Coffee	20
6/19	Inner City Loop CW	36.1
6/26	Modified City loop CCW	36.7
7/3	City Loop CW	53
7/10	Ride to San Felipe Pueblo	69	If roads open
7/17	South 14 + Gutirrez Canyon	63
7/24	Crest Assault from Triangle	26	?? Only if people want!
7/31	Ride to Placitas	66
8/7	Santa Fe	63	If Railrunner resumes
8/14	Recovery weekend (City Ride of some flavor)	55
8/21	The Ride?	0-77	(maybe 100?)