General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Moving to New Mexico Rss Feed  
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2015-01-02 4:25 PM

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Albuquerque, New Mexico
Subject: Moving to New Mexico
Hi. We are relocating from Chicago to Albuquerque around the 1st of July. This season is probably not going to be much but I'm curious about the tri scene in New Mexico. When are most races held? Do you race locally or do a lot of traveling to get good races? I'm pretty excited to get out there and train. We had to take some time off for life, but I think we will be ready to start back up when we get out there. Thanks.


2015-01-02 4:34 PM
in reply to: quincyf

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Rio Rancho, NM
Subject: RE: Moving to New Mexico
Hi there and welcome (in advance) to Albuquerque.We actually have races from april/may until September. For a few years we had one in november/december.We have some fun races here. My favorite local Sprint is probably Soccorro.I also like to travel to Colorado and Arizona to race. The OWS here is pretty limited.
2015-01-02 11:50 PM
in reply to: rrrunner

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Albuquerque, New Mexico
Subject: RE: Moving to New Mexico
I figured we might be doing some traveling for races. We did that too in the midwest...after the first year or so of doing local races.
2015-01-22 6:13 PM
in reply to: quincyf

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North edge of nowhere
Subject: RE: Moving to New Mexico
As has already been stated, the racing scene is somewhat limited. There are a few sprints around the state: Chile Harvest in Socorro, Milkman in Dexter, and a non-USAT outside of Roswell called Bottomless Tri (for being at the Bottomless Lakes State Park), and the Toughman near Santa Fe. I think that's about it.

OWS is also pretty limited, but there are some opportunities if you're willing to drive a bit. Cochiti lake is less than an hour from Albuquerque towards Santa Fe. I think that might be your best bet.

Welcome to New Mexico. It his it's ups and its downs. You're in one of the better areas (I keep ending up in the middle of nowhere), so enjoy all that's available.
2015-04-26 5:08 PM
in reply to: RBesecke

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Albuquerque, New Mexico
Subject: RE: Moving to New Mexico
Thanks for all of your replies. We have a lease on a house in NE Heights lined up beginning in July. I'll be shipping our bike fleet with our household goods move and will probably just have a bike shop put them back together and tune them up and everything..

Any recommendations for good bike shops out there?

Any mountain bike buying advice? I can't wait to get out on the trails out there...we don't have anything like that in Chicago (or anywhere to store extra bikes either, lol). I don't want to spend a ton but I don't know much about mountain bikes either. Any other advice for riding out there? My brother used to live there and I seem to remember something about some heavy duty tubes he ran to avoid all the sticker flats, but beyond that, any advice?

Very excited. I will be doing a women's tri in July with my landlord (she's a tri person too). Probably not much more than that this year but maybe we'll try to volunteer at the HIM. I'm fascinated by the story of Cochiti so I kind of want to get out there for a visit anyway.

Best,
Quincy

2015-04-27 9:47 AM
in reply to: 0

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Albuquerque, NM
Subject: RE: Moving to New Mexico
Quincy,

NE Heights... good choice!

I recommend High Desert Bicycles for a bike shop (www.highdesertbicycles.com). They have always treated me well there.

For an MTB, I like my full suspension bike... but, to save some cash, you could easily get by with a hard tail. There are a lot of options with pros and cons for each.. I'd just ride a few and see what you like. The LBSes here occasionally have demo days and I'd bet HDB (High Desert Bicycles) would let you take a few out to test them. I don't know your size... but, you'd be more than welcome to take my wife's bike (Medium Specialized Full Suspension) out for a spin in the foothills. I'd even be willing to meet you and your S.O. and show you some trails. I just got my MTB back in riding shape this past weekend and I've been itching to hit the trails!

For tubes, you don't need the mega-thick ones.... I run liners, Stans sealant, and standard tubes on my road and MTB bikes.
It's probably over kill for the road bike - but, I HATE flats.

Edited by RockTractor 2015-04-27 9:49 AM


2015-04-27 10:01 AM
in reply to: quincyf

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Rio Rancho, NM
Subject: RE: Moving to New Mexico
I agree with Jay that High Desert is great. I have a hard tail MTB but I don't do hard core stuff. We like the Armadillo tires for thorn proof. High Desert carries them. I have them on my Tri bike too. There are just too many thorns here and I hate fixing flats.
2015-04-27 10:57 AM
in reply to: quincyf

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Subject: RE: Moving to New Mexico
I haven't done any MTBing so I'm of no use for advise there. I will say that I have been running Maxxis Re-Fuse tires with Stan's and regular tubes on my road and tri bike and have had very few goat head issues. I tried Gatorskins for a couple of years but continued getting flats. I would highly recommend the Maxxis tires because they not only offer great protection but they roll way better than any other thorn resistant tire I've tried. Good luck on the move and don't hesitate to let us know if you need any help.
2015-04-27 11:22 AM
in reply to: RockTractor

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Albuquerque, New Mexico
Subject: RE: Moving to New Mexico
Wow, thanks for all of the advice you guys. I am excited about learning how to mountain bike but I am learning I probably don't need a crazy tricked out bike because I won't be going crazy on it. I fell off my bike a few years ago and damaged my shoulder so I learned I don't like surgery. How do you feel about the difference between 26er and 29ers? It seems no matter how you ride, all the new bikes are tending towards 29?

Can't wait to check out High Desert! Jay, I will gladly take you up on a trail tour. We are excited to explore. I am 5'6" so unless your wife is extremely tall or short I could probably fit on her bike for an hour or so. Thanks for the offer.

No chance anyone here has kids at Georgia O'Keefe or Eisenhower? Or has an autistic kid (mainstreamed in public school kind of guy).

Where do ABQ folks swim? MY FIL lives in RR across the road from the aquatic center, but that is too far away for me. I've looked at the public pools but their lap swims seem scanty. I'm not worried about OWS, more looking for a pool where I can train and also get lessons for my kids (10 and 6).

Just thought I'd ask...it's a little harder to find information about schools and kid activities than I am used to.

Anyway though, thanks again for the advice...

Q
2015-04-27 3:15 PM
in reply to: quincyf

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Albuquerque, NM
Subject: RE: Moving to New Mexico
Originally posted by quincyf
How do you feel about the difference between 26er and 29ers? It seems no matter how you ride, all the new bikes are tending towards 29?


That's a loaded question.. (sort of like Shimano vs SRAM).
26ers are supposed to corner better. 29ers are supposed to roll smoother.... and 650Bs (27.5") are right in the middle.

Originally posted by quincyf
Jay, I will gladly take you up on a trail tour. We are excited to explore. I am 5'6" so unless your wife is extremely tall or short I could probably fit on her bike for an hour or so. Thanks for the offer.


My wife is 5'6" too. The bike runs a tiny bit big for her - but, she gets by just fine. Let me know when you want to ride!

Originally posted by quincyf
No chance anyone here has kids at Georgia O'Keefe or Eisenhower? Or has an autistic kid (mainstreamed in public school kind of guy).


Sorry - I can't help you much here... I have a friend (also a BT member) who's wife is a teacher and has a good friend with an autistic kid. I'll point him to this thread - hopefully he can help here.

Originally posted by quincyf
Where do ABQ folks swim? MY FIL lives in RR across the road from the aquatic center, but that is too far away for me. I've looked at the public pools but their lap swims seem scanty. I'm not worried about OWS, more looking for a pool where I can train and also get lessons for my kids (10 and 6).


I swim at Del Norte Sports and Wellness. It's way more $$ than I'd like to pay for a pool to swim in - but, as you already found, cheaper solutions are way less convenient (hours) and way more crowded.
2015-04-30 8:32 AM
in reply to: RockTractor

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Subject: RE: Moving to New Mexico
I haven't found an ideal solution to the pool question. I also belonged to Sports and Wellness for years, the pools were nice, but ultimately just too expensive for me. This year I bought an annual pass for the city pools and I've found I just have to plan my swimming more carefully around their more limited hours. Another decent option might be the YMCA, especially with kids, the memberships are very affordable and I think they have an outdoor pool on your side of town open during the summer.


2015-04-30 8:34 AM
in reply to: quincyf

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Rio Rancho, NM
Subject: RE: Moving to New Mexico
I'm not going to be much help either. We live in Rio Rancho and my kids were grown when we moved here.
2016-01-02 10:10 PM
in reply to: rrrunner

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Albuquerque, New Mexico
Subject: RE: Moving to New Mexico
Hi guys, I guess I've been a bit busy, but I wanted to refresh this thread. We made it, moved in, got the kids in school, got to work. We are planning our 2016 season which is super exciting because 2015 was a total bust and 2014 was a half a bust. We have signed up for Toughman NM, but we don't know what else to do! We (my husband is my training partner) *really* struggled working out here until just recently. That being said, we are starting to turn a corner and are feeling like signing up for things. We are looking at the Albuquerque Half Marathon in April. Any other ideas? We can travel and we are interested in trying more off road stuff.

Anyway, super excited to finally be here and in the position to to train again.

Q
2016-01-04 1:54 PM
in reply to: quincyf

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Rio Rancho, NM
Subject: RE: Moving to New Mexico

Glad you got yourselves settled. Welcome to a very weird winter in NM! 

I saw that Toughman had a new bike course and run course for this year but didn't pay much attention. There is an offroad sprint in Glorietta (near Santa Fe) called Tri the Torture.  Haven't done it but it's one I'd like to do.

The Albuquerque Half is a good one. Run Fit does a nice job and I like what they stand for.  The Santa Fe Tri is a fun one as well, but for it (and Glorietta) you're looking at another 2,000 ft of elevation.  

2016-01-04 9:50 PM
in reply to: rrrunner

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Albuquerque, New Mexico
Subject: RE: Moving to New Mexico
Originally posted by rrrunner

Glad you got yourselves settled. Welcome to a very weird winter in NM! 

I saw that Toughman had a new bike course and run course for this year but didn't pay much attention. There is an offroad sprint in Glorietta (near Santa Fe) called Tri the Torture.  Haven't done it but it's one I'd like to do.

The Albuquerque Half is a good one. Run Fit does a nice job and I like what they stand for.  The Santa Fe Tri is a fun one as well, but for it (and Glorietta) you're looking at another 2,000 ft of elevation.  




TJ, thanks so much for the advice. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing. Why are all the races named like SM fantasies? Toughman, Tri the torture? Oy! What is weird about the winter? We are from Chicago so we have no clue. So much snow? We've been joking with our inlaws that they were lying about living in the desert (they live in Rio Rancho too). It rained all summer now it's snowing all winter...
2016-01-07 12:20 PM
in reply to: quincyf

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Rio Rancho, NM
Subject: RE: Moving to New Mexico

Originally posted by quincyf
Originally posted by rrrunner

Glad you got yourselves settled. Welcome to a very weird winter in NM! 

I saw that Toughman had a new bike course and run course for this year but didn't pay much attention. There is an offroad sprint in Glorietta (near Santa Fe) called Tri the Torture.  Haven't done it but it's one I'd like to do.

The Albuquerque Half is a good one. Run Fit does a nice job and I like what they stand for.  The Santa Fe Tri is a fun one as well, but for it (and Glorietta) you're looking at another 2,000 ft of elevation.  

TJ, thanks so much for the advice. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing. Why are all the races named like SM fantasies? Toughman, Tri the torture? Oy! What is weird about the winter? We are from Chicago so we have no clue. So much snow? We've been joking with our inlaws that they were lying about living in the desert (they live in Rio Rancho too). It rained all summer now it's snowing all winter...

I agree about the names. How much torture can a sprint really be?!

As for the winter, this is only my 6th one here but this amount of snow is a lot for here. I grew up in Colorado so the snow doesn't freak me out. What scares me is the NM drivers when it snows (or rains, quite frankly).



2016-01-07 11:41 PM
in reply to: rrrunner

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Albuquerque, New Mexico
Subject: RE: Moving to New Mexico
Originally posted by rrrunner

Originally posted by quincyf
Originally posted by rrrunner

Glad you got yourselves settled. Welcome to a very weird winter in NM! 

I saw that Toughman had a new bike course and run course for this year but didn't pay much attention. There is an offroad sprint in Glorietta (near Santa Fe) called Tri the Torture.  Haven't done it but it's one I'd like to do.

The Albuquerque Half is a good one. Run Fit does a nice job and I like what they stand for.  The Santa Fe Tri is a fun one as well, but for it (and Glorietta) you're looking at another 2,000 ft of elevation.  

TJ, thanks so much for the advice. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing. Why are all the races named like SM fantasies? Toughman, Tri the torture? Oy! What is weird about the winter? We are from Chicago so we have no clue. So much snow? We've been joking with our inlaws that they were lying about living in the desert (they live in Rio Rancho too). It rained all summer now it's snowing all winter...

I agree about the names. How much torture can a sprint really be?!

As for the winter, this is only my 6th one here but this amount of snow is a lot for here. I grew up in Colorado so the snow doesn't freak me out. What scares me is the NM drivers when it snows (or rains, quite frankly).


OMG That's real. I've already been hit once, in a parking lot. And you know, I just spent 15 years in Chicago, not exactly an easy place to drive.
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