Watched the 100 mile and 50 mile riders take off. Our group (the 25 mile group) was a fairly diverse mix. We had roadies in spandex and high-end bikes, average joes in sweats on box store cruisers, families pulling the kids and trailers, some tandems, and plenty of mountain bikers trading the path for the pavement.

I did this course on the family plan, with my wife settting the pace, which I found comfortable. Leaving Sky City Casino, we headed west on old route 66 with a gradual uphill climb, and eventually turned south onto some of the backroads of the Acoma Pueblo.

In true New Mexico style, we had headwinds no matter which direction we turned, however they were mild, compared to some of the spring ones I've ridden in. It had rained the previous evening and on the drive over, but had stopped prior to the event. The sky was still overcast and the temperature about right.

Somewhere toward the end a group of us missed the turn, took a detour and found ourselves on a section of the 50 mile ride. There was some question on whether we were going the right way, but the general direction was about right, as was the distance so we kept going. We arrived at an aid station at a crossroads for the 50 & 100 mile courses, the person at the table looked a little surprised to see us and asked if we were doing the 50 or 100, I advised the 25. She sent us down the 50 course which connected back with the 25 course. As a result we rode an extra 2.25 miles. The course had been well marked for the most part (even on our diversion) so we were a little confused on how we missed our turn. I didn't remember any signage and a couple of the other riders insisted that there wasn't, so who knows. When leaving, I saw other riders from our group coming back on the same route, so I didn't feel so bad.

I also remember seeing a sign for portable toilets and a water station...but didn't see either of them.

The Mrs. and I finished side by side, and when we were loading our equipment up we saw a couple of the riders who had passed us, finish. I suspect some people got lost worse than we did.

Enjoyed the ride, but it would have sucked racing.

Bring the map.

Walked around for a little bit, had breakfast at "The Kiva" in Milan.


Wind..navigation...