Riding to Pecos

Here is an example of why I wanted to start sharing this blog with everyone. I got a call one Sunday morning in late September. My friend Bjorn wanted to go for a ride, but wanted to do something different. We were getting a little bored with the Jemez and Madrid runs, so I suggested the Pecos. Bjorn’s response was “Pecos? Never heard of it”. The Pecos is a neat area tucked away East of Santa Fe. I had camped there numerous times while in the Boy Scouts in my youth. The Pecos has a beautiful stream running through, great camp grounds, and a small lake not many know about. The lake is fed by a stream that also flows through numerous caves.  The Pecos is a beautiful area and has attracted several former Hollywood stars to live there like Val Kilmer.

The Pecos ride is a relatively quick if taken through I-25. Round trip this Sunday took about 3.5 hrs. You can extend this ride if you choose by first riding East I-40 to Moriarty, then riding north on 41 through Galisteo, connecting on 285 at Lamy and then catching I-25 onto 50 and finally into Pecos.  Because we started later in the day we decided to do the quick route. We departed from Bernalillo and rode North on I-25 until we reached Glorieta.  If you’re in to American history make a quick stop in Glorieta and check out the western most battlefield of the Civil War. At Glorieta we departed I-25 and jumped on 50 and on into Pecos. At the main intersection at Pecos we made a left turn onto 63. 63 follows the mountain valley north next to the Pecos river and into Tererro. The road is windy, but nothing to extreme. As you ride North there are several camp/picnic sites to stop at and cool off in the beautiful Pecos river.

As we continued North on 63 the road became very narrow; barely wide enough for a car. As we passed Tererro the narrow road becomes even windier, as we approached a hairpin turn an SUV came barreling through the corner with a trailer full of ATV’s and nearly hit me. We pulled off and decided the road was just too narrow to continue with trucks and trailers traveling the same path. We turned around and as we passed a very small general store in Tererro I noticed an old gas pump from the early forties. I stopped to take a picture, this pump was in immaculate condition, and I’m sure the American Picker guys would have been all over this piece.

To sum up the Pecos ride, the area is absolutely beautiful. The Pecos river is extremely nice and the many pull offs would make a great place for an afternoon picnic on the bikes. My two biggest complaints are 63 and the jerks in their pick-ups. 63 is in need of some serious TLC. The road has countless patches that are uneven. Lots of gravel and crazy truck drivers who aren’t interested in sharing the road.  This trek is great for Cruisers and dual purpose bikes. Sports bikes would not enjoy the poor road conditions and extremely narrow paved paths past Tererro. Dual purpose bikes could ride even further North on 63 if they chose as the paved path is quite bumpy with lots of rock debris.