Random 10

OK - I'm stealing this idea from Loomis' Blog www.alterdestiny.blogspot.com - What comes spinning up on somebody's ipod tells a lot about a person - ok, well not A LOT but maybe a little. I have a few really gay albums on mine, so thankfully none of them came up today. If you have a random 10 send it to me so I can post it and we all can make fun of your lame-ass taste in music.

1. Minutemen - The Big Blast for Youth - Post Mersh Vol. 3
2. Sara Dougherty - Hold the Bar - Album unknown (pirated)
3. MilesDavis - Mask - Live at the Fillmore
4. U.N.K.L.E - Rabbit in your Headlights - Psyence Fiction
5. Yo La Tengo - Outsmartener - Today is the Day EP
6. Mike West - Corps of Engineers - Home
7. Jad Fair and Yo La Tengo - Texas Man Abducted by Aliens for Outerspace Joyride - Strange but True
8. Jack o' Fire - Ain't Superstitious - Beware the Souless Cool
9. Radiohead - Life in a Glass House - Amesiac
10.Velvet Underground - Waiting for the Man - The Best of VU

Raton Dirt - More Bears and Beers in the Nuevo Mexico

Sugarite Canyon State Park in the Norte de Nuevo MayHeeCoe is the place. Only about 10 minutes east of I-25 at Raton - worth a stop to ride this sweetness. Check in at the entrance to get a map since you could ride for hours and could actually get really lost if you head out onto some of the backcountry trails - which are all (well almost all) open to bikes. There are a couple of close-in loops that will keep you busy for a couple of hours while still keeping you close to your beer cooler. It's a good mix of roots, rock (not much reggae) and there's even an awesome lake to take a swim in (a rare thing in this state). While I was there a few weeks ago, I ran into two riders from Raton and they were actually surprised to see somebody on "their" trails - they told me that they rarely see another mountain bike out there. That
right there makes it worth checking out. Another trail encounter was a big black bear - even though I would have rather run into a big black BEER, it was cool except he watched me for a good 5 minutes through the bushes only about 20 feet away. The picture below that looks like a bunch of bushes is actually a bear peering through the branches - zoom in on it and you can see fuzzy wuzzy right in the middle of the pic.

The Dirty Dirt on Taos Dirt - Ojito and South Boundary

Those who have ridden in many parts in New Mexico will usually agree that the mountain biking in the Taos area is probably the best the state has to offer. There are high alpine meadows and scorching desert rides and everything in between - and Eske's Brewpub for some post-ride recovery fluids . The South Boundary Trail - usually rated as one the top 10 rides in the country runs from Black Lake (near Angel Fire) and ends 25 miles later in Taos. Of all the trails I've ridden over the past 15 years or so, the SB ranks 1st on my list for an "overall" bad-ass ride. Monarch Crest in Salida CO is a better "ride" but the amount of people on that trail ruins it. Porcupine Rim in Moab is another great ride that I would rank a tad higher than the SB, but again, the amount of people out there just kills it.

You will be very lucky to see 10 people on the SB - and most of those will be at the end of the trail near Taos. The typical way to do this ride is to shuttle over to Black Lake, ride the Forest Service road to Osha Pass and cruise to 20 or so (mostly downhill) miles back to Taos. Since I usually do this
ride on my own I will ride it as an out-and-back (usually not all the way out). Since the last few miles of the SB (just outside of Taos) are pretty loose and steep, I usually take a side trail (Ojito) up to a point where it hooks in with the SB. Although there are a few technical sections on the SB - it's really known for it's fast, smooth and swoopy singletrack. Fall is a great
time to do this ride when all the aspens are changing.