La Tierra Trails

Short But Sweet Ride

 

Santa Fe Sunset

We arrived in Santa Fe, NM late late late on Tuesday night.  After a good night's sleep in a cozy hotel room, we rose to hit the trails before checking into the IMBA World Summit. 

 

Hotel Santa Fe

A visit to the local bike shop scored us a map and some suggestions for some easy trails to ride.  I was so exhausted from riding in the car that I didn't feel up to a big, rocky challenge.  We found La Tierra Trails just outside of town.  They appeared to still be in the process of being built (designed) but there was plenty there for us to ride.

 

For almost two miles, we tooled around in the freeride area (bike skills park) where there were dirt jumps and all sorts of cool stuff.  I mostly watched while Darius tried out some stuff.  It was a little (read:  a lot) too technical for me.

 

Finally, we hit the single track trails. I discovered that great altitude feeling that I had felt last summer.  Going up even the smallest hill was a grand effort.  Thankfully, this trail was designed for the novice rider with side trails running through it for the more advanced rider to sneak a few skills in.  I stayed on the easy trails this day. 

 

ALL the trails looked like this at La Tierra

Trails at this park are short and numbered instead of named.  Our loop entailed trails 29, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 13, 12, 11, 25, and 26.  It sounds like a lot but we really only rode a total of 4.5 miles that included our two miles in the skills area.  After our ride, I realized that this is the kind of park we need back home.  SHORT loops with longer loops for the beginner riders that are still getting their fitness on.  This would have been perfect for me a year-and-a-half a go when I was starting out.  These were trails I could have happily ridden by myself without the fear of injury or getting lost.

 

Take note MORCA, this is what we need in Monterey County!!!