Starting in early September and possibly lasting until the middle of November, high temperatures hover around the mid 70s. Trips to higher elevations find you wishing that you had decided to bring that windbreaker. Hot, sweaty, grinds up loose, rocky trails turn into easy little jaunts with lower temperature and legs strengthened by summer rides. Rides stretch closer to sunset as the sun races us to the horizon a little bit earlier every night.
When you’re spoiled by DNYRR (Damn Near Year Round Riding), it’s easy to forget that most people only get to ride for a relatively brief part of the year. New Mexico fall, however, is the golden, magical, euphoric time of the year. It’s the season to rule them all. You can ride anywhere at anytime of day. From my driveway, there’s over 200 miles of singletrack to choose from with zero percent chance of hurricanes. It’s not too hot, not too dry, not too cold, not too sunny. Lil’ red says it’s juuuuuust right.
This year, our monsoons have been rolling through every week. It’s unusual for September, but it’s keeping the trails tacky and the dust down. My personal recommendation for this weekends riding would be a loop through Cedro, home to some of those “hot, sweaty, grinds up loose, rocky trails.” It’s great dirt, and did I mention that the weather is perfect?
Keep in mind that the lower Sandia trails are still closed for bears, and it looks like it will stay that way for the near future.
Jay
