NOT ROAD CYCLING and not mountain biking, gravel riding is something in between, often mixing paved roads, dirt roads, and nontechnical trails. “It’s about open-ended possibilities, going out your door on your bike and exploring,” says Juan DelaRoca, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Gravel Adventure Field Guide, a series of booklets highlighting gravel bike routes in New Mexico, Colorado, and beyond.

The growing form of bicycling—best done on rugged bikes with a wide wheelbase and knobby tires between 35 and 55 millimeters wide—is well suited to New Mexico’s abundant rural and backcountry areas with miles and miles of county and forest roads. Three gravel guides highlight routes across the state—with a fourth edition on Colfax County due out in May—featuring illustrated maps, QR codes for easy GPS file downloads, and information on local traditions, culture, and land. While the guidebook editors haven’t pedaled every mile of every route, they rely on the expertise of the biking community. “We work with people who’ve already been there and created routes,” DelaRoca says. Here, DelaRoca and local route designers share their top rides in every corner of New Mexico.

Turquoise GravelTURQUOISE GRAVEL

📍 LOS CERRILLOS
MILES: 25
ELEVATION: 1,578 feet

The 25-mile loop starts and ends in the former mining town of Los Cerrillos, where Black Bird Saloon provides tasty rewards for the miles spent in the two-wheel saddle. The ride also passes by Bonanza Creek Ranch, the iconic filming location for Westerns such as Lonesome Dove, 3:10 to Yuma, and Young Guns. Past the ghost town of Waldo, the dirt route winds for nine miles through the rugged Waldo Canyon and finishes by following the gallery-studded Turquoise Trail National Scenic Byway. Pedro Murga, who co-owns F1 Cyclery in Santa Fe, says the route’s one steep climb pays off with a scenic vista overlooking nearby turquoise and silver mines. “You’ll want to stay at the top a while,” he says. “It’s so beautiful.”

Ortega's WeaveORTEGA’S WEAVE

📍 CHIMAYÓ
MILES: 18 or 27
ELEVATION: 2,390 or 3,223 feet

While most make their pilgrimage to Santuario de Chimayó, this route leads away from the village with the sacred chapel. Climbing through history, the paired loops (do one or both for the full experience) take riders over technical tracks and back to where the Ortega family continues their centuries-old weaving tradition. “This area is now national forest, but for centuries was utilized by sheepherders, who would move their flocks from the valley below to the higher elevations,” says DelaRoca, who adds that bikepackers can turn this into an overnight trip with a stop at Borrego Mesa Campground.

Stop at the UFO crash site on the X-Files Gravel route in Aztec. Photograph courtesy of Gravel Adventure Field Guide.

X-FILES GRAVELX-Files Gravel

📍 AZTEC
MILES: 39
ELEVATION: 3,014 feet

Wade Anderson, owner of Barefoot Bikes in Aztec, calls the gravel route possibilities in San Juan County limitless. “We’ve got thousands of miles of oil-field roads here,” he says. Manageable for a broad range of cyclists, the X-Files Gravel route passes otherworldly rock arches, and an offshoot of rough, technical gravel leads to the commemorative plaque marking where a UFO reportedly crashed in March 1948. Anderson recommends wider tires for sandy segments like the ones along this route through the Rock Garden Recreation Area. “Leaving from Aztec and traveling through the high desert, you get up around 6,800 feet or so and have beautiful views of cliff faces and canyons, looking all the way to the mountains in Colorado,” Anderson says.

EL CHICO BANDITOEl Chico Bandito

📍 LAS CRUCES
MILES: 57
ELEVATION: 1,691 feet

Named after outlaw William Bonney, the route retraces Billy the Kid’s steps starting from his escape from Mesilla’s former courthouse into the Chihuahuan Desert, where he legendarily sought shelter and watched the pursuing posse from Black Hill Hideout near Fort Selden. “It feels pretty far out there when you’re on the west side of Robledo Mountain,” says Matt Mason, who developed the route and most of the others in the Las Cruces Gravel Adventure Field Guide. He notes it’s best done after a rain, when the sand is firm. “You can’t see any sign of civilization,” he adds.

RED-SLEEVED LOOPRED-SLEEVED LOOP

📍 SILVER CITY
MILES: 29
ELEVATION: 2,679 feet

Eric Payne, co-owner of Gila Hike & Bike in Silver City, prefers routes with the least amount of pavement possible. Having recently redesigned the Adventure Cycling Association’s Great Divide route south of Silver City to include more dirt, Payne also developed the Red-Sleeved Loop through the southern portion of the Gila National Forest. Mostly gravel, the route circumnavigates Tyrone Copper Mine and ascends from Mangus Valley into the Burro Mountains. “That 1,500-foot climb from the valley floor is no joke,” he says. “Bringing calories is highly recommended.” He suggests detouring for a drink or snack at the 210-acre Burro Mountain Homestead RV park and recreation area. “That heroic dirt descent after Homestead Road is generally pretty smooth,” he adds.

Get the Santa Fe County Gravel Adventure Field Guide. Photograph Courtesy of Gravel Adventure Field Guide.

 

BIKING WITH BUDDIES

Races and events provide structure for those who want to ride with others or make new friends on two wheels. “For every person who might want to race, there are seven people who just want to ride bicycles and have fun with their friends,” says Juan DelaRoca, editor-in-chief of Gravel Adventure Field Guide.

Las Cruces–based route designer Matt Mason hosts several free, noncompetitive events throughout the year. “It’s not a race, ever,” he says. “We’re just here to connect with each other and the landscape.”

Over the weekend of May 17, the WeedSac event tackles Mason’s 154-mile Rollin and Tumblin route near Cloudcroft. With a “more deserty” vibe, DangerBird follows the 250-mile Monumental Loop and is timed up with the New Mexico Bikepacking Summit (date tentatively set for November 5).

The Vermejo Charcoal Burner takes place May 17 on the closed private roads of Ted Turner’s 558,000-acre Vermejo reserve, near Ratón. “This is one of the few times that those roads are open to the public to enjoy,” says race director Geoff Hall. Cyclists can choose from 21-, 66-, or 99-mile courses that start and finish at the only remaining historic charcoal kilns in New Mexico. “A lot of times when you’re mountain biking, you’re focused on your line,” Hall says. “With gravel, you get to see the surrounding area and the beauty we’re in.”