Ojo Caliente

[jrosen]

Hi-

I would like to know if anyone has any information regarding the roads in and around the Ojo Caliente resort in New mexico.  There was a brief piece in the July issue of Bicycling Magazine suggesting it is a good area to ride.  Apparently there are 60 plus mile loops that are in this area.  I have not had much success in getting info from the N.M. dot about the general bike friendliness of the area.

Thanks  in advance for any help/info

Jerry

[jfitch]

In July, we rode from Taos to Abiquiu as part of a 10 day loop through northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. We passed by Ojo Caliente just to the north, on Highways 285, 111, and 554. All of these were good roads, with light (285) to very light (111 and 554) traffic but with little in the way of services. You can read two journals about this trip at http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=1r4vFZo&doc_id=9253&v=Bv, and http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=1r4vFZo&doc_id=8339&v=8a.

[jamawani]

Sister lives in Northern New Mexico.
Have ridden quite a number of routes.
Traffic, shoulders, and conditions can vary greatly.

I wasn't overly impressed with Ojo Caliente --
Pricey, gravel camping area geared to RVs. YMMV.

US 285 has fast moving traffic -
direct route from Albuquerque/Santa Fe to Colorado Mtns.
US 84 also quite busy south of T.A.
US 64 has moderate to light traffic over the
NM 554 very nice thru El Rito.NM 567 also nice - -
But you have to negotiate a rock slide to use the old road into Taos.
A nice out & back is NM 378 from Questa out to the Rio Grande confluence.
NM 68 is very busy.

All of these roads have lots of ups and downs - mesas and canyons.
There are a lot of possible loops that would include some dirt roads.
If you have a hybrid or mtn bike, your options are better.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1r4vFZo&page_id=26395&v=P0