Routefinding by plane seems a little excessive. But if you are up in the air, you might as well do some routefinding. My Alaskan eyes know well enough that roads and routes aren’t always paved and graded. Like a frozen river, a dry arroyo may be rideable on the right bike. Flying out of Los Lunas, this terrain is all within a day or two of Albuquerque on two wheels. There are roads that look like rivers and rivers that look like roads. There is a green circle in the desert, and lots of routes that have never been ridden on a bike. This is three thousand feet above New Mexico.
Dry riverbed and fractal tributaries:
Roads and irrigation canals.
Road, looks like a river. It probably is a river for a few days of the year.
Green circle– aliens, most likely.
Road and riverbed, and a modern cliffside dwelling.
The diminutive Rio Grande, an adjacent canal, and levee road.
Pinon and juniper.
Straight as an arrow.
Serpentine.
Thanks to Lanny for taking me up. I look forward to finding these places on the ground.
Less than a day away.
What a great way to scope out potential routes. A lot of the area is on Res land so I’d suggest checking land ownership too. Some of the photos seem to be in the Rio Puerco area? That ridge line road looks inviting!
Gary, Most of my interest was on the west side of !-25, and most of our flight path was south of Los Lunas which avoids most of the tribal lands in the area. In particular, I was interested in the large drainage that meets the Rio Grande about 15mi north of Socorro just south of La Joya. It passes south of Ladron Peak, and then north of the Bear Mountains. Eventually, it follows almost all the way to Pie Town. I imagine that it could be some soft riding this time of year, but after some spring flows, it may be well compacted and cemented. I’ll have to do some research. It looks like the jumping off point is only about 20-25 miles south of Belen, so a train ride could shorten the approach.
Some of this is in the Rio Puerco area as well.
To clarify, it looks like the Rio Puerco drains into the Rio Grande just north of La Joya (La Joya is a small settlement on Google Maps, don’t know anything about it). The arroyo I am talking about meets the Rio Grande just south of La Joya, and come directly from the west.
I think you’re describing the Rio Salado. Were there sand dunes and a rest area where it crossed I-25? Cass and I crossed it on the SW side of Ladron when we did our little NM tour last year. The area is now a game reserve, I think, and is closed to the public between I-25 and Ladron. Photos here-
https://picasaweb.google.com/111911279427601394343/NMTourWCass?authkey=Gv1sRgCNTB54fa8dbzkgE
Yes, it is the Rio Salado. It looks like some of the area within the Sevilleta NWR is closed to the public. Will have to do some research.
Yes! Gleaming The Cube all the way!!
The official “Gypsy By Trade” airplane, hmmm? I need to get the Urban Adventure League dirigible ready posthaste!
Ha! The Sky King Bicycle Club! Those rascally Wright Brothers knew what they were up to all along. Better ways of finding bike trails. I will certainly be grateful when we finally get our Surly pedal-planes.