NM: Little Tusas Ranch

 Why hello there, blog. I swear I haven't been neglecting you, just not much riding this summer. It seems that has changed recently and all of a sudden I'm playing catch-up!! Let's get to it.

Labor Day weekend provided an opportunity to not only escape the Valley of the Sun, which really lived up to its name this summer, and head for the cooler climes of northern New Mexico. A longtime friend, Lee, had recently purchased a ranch there and Scott had also been using it as a home base. I haven't done any riding in the area so it all seemed to line up for a great weekend in the outdoors.

Sandia Peak near Albuquerque.

I didn't want to arrive too late on Thursday, so I reached out to another buddy, Kevin, in Santa Fe at the last minute to see if I could crash at his place. He was happy to oblige and it shortened my drive by almost 2 hours. It was great to catch up, check out his now finished biking man cave and get some more trail recommendations. If you're looking for bikepacking rides in the Santa Fe region check out Adventure Bikepacking on FB.

Kevin has a cool place and a massive garden, makes for a delicious pizza.

Friday morning I made my way north to Lee's place. It's up in the mountains sitting around 8800'. I had given Scott a disclaimer about my ride fitness and limitations from not riding much these past few months. Add in the leap in elevation gain and I knew I was in for some challenging rides even if they were short, but I needed it.

Nice quiet setting off a rural dirt road.

Named after the creek that passes through the property.

Lee's been building his own private trail too: Big Tree Trail.

The man with a plan. For all the years we've known each other, this was our first time riding together.

It's not just big, it's massive!!

The trail gives the grand tour of the property.

Looking back at the Big Tree.

Scott and I were the first to ride this bridge Lee built.

The second bridge had a bit more sketch factor, so we walked it. Perfectly shaped log though.

Looking down valley from the ranch. There's a paved road out there...

Nice clear, cold spring next to the cabin too.

The dirt floor was cool, but Lee has been super busy turning this rustic cabin into a functional home/work space.

Time for a driveway modification.

Anchoring in the first of the three bridges on my final morning there. The bridge has since been planked across the top.

The trail currently ends near the third bridge. We did a bit of scouting for the next section, it'll be cool to see how it turns out.

This was a nice warm-up ride, short miles, a little bit of climbing and a very relaxed pace. I know it goes against what a lot of our friends think, but Scott and I can do short rides!!

The next morning we took it slow getting going, enjoying the cool morning air. Lee had gone to his place in Taos the previous night, so I was able to get a good rest on the bed in the cabin. Today's ride would be a bit longer, but it was all dirt roads doing a loop north of the ranch mostly on FS80, then back to the ranch of FS133 which happens to be the Tour Divide route.

Heading north on FS133.

After some steady climbing, the views opened up.

Nearing Broke Off Mtn. and Valle Grande.

A few yellow leaves...

Valle Grande!! Photo by Scott

Just us and the cows. Photo by Scott.

Check out the Dr. Seuss looking trees!! They can't decide which way they want to lean.

Climb approaching. Photo by Scott.

Cruising through the aspen groves.

Aspen Alley. Photo by Scott.

Extra thick here.

A small window appeared to the distant peaks to the north.

On the Divide route, southbound riders will be riding towards me.

I'm glad we did the loop in the CW direction as this would've been a long steep climb!!

Lee enjoying his new home turf.

The spring looked promising, but dry as a bone.

Don't expect to find water at Beehive Spring.

I thought it was funny how 3/4 of the loop was solely on FS80. Again, it was a nice ride and I could tell I was beginning to get acclimated to the 9k range.

Route: