In Velarde NM there is a road right across thehighway from the elementary school. You on a bike? - Take it. It's the 4WD road to Tuchas and Ojo Sarco. Summertime? better get yer ass out early before the heat and the rattler's get ya. Wintertime? - yer lovin' it but you may be riding through a little snow towards the top. The road starts out smooth and, up until recently, you would pass through some typical New Mexico scenery, dicarded washing machines,
piles of tires, ATV scarred hillsides etc. Most have this has been cleaned up recently - but it WAS pretty messed up. The ATV jack asses are still there though.
About 1.5 miles from the highway the road drops into an arroyo and unless it's rained recently you'll need to tractor through in your easiest gear - the road goes though several of these all the way up, until you make it into the ponderosas. In the spring there can be LOTS of water. Most of the road is 4WD only and gets rougher and rougher the higher you get. At about 4 miles the road forks, left to Ojo Sarco, right to Truchas - this time I'm going right. Trout town. Climb, climb, climb until you get to a series of three cattle guards then the road mellows a bit and you will be in the pines - and much cooler temps. Another 30 minutes or so the road heads south and kicks up steep through a series of baby-head covered arroyos and then onto a gently sloping mesa for the last stretch into Truchas. I don't really like to ride all the way to town because there is a shit-load mad dogs that are trained to attack white skin. Basically I just turn around and head back the same way. Looooong downhill back to the highway. Round trip, it's about 34 miles. Not the most exciting ride - but it's the best one we have from the house....and you are almost guaranteed not to see another humanoid for at least three hours.....and it's always great to take a dip in the Rio on the way back.
