by Carol Borders

There is often a type of tour that is not written about – The organized let them take care of the details trip. In late September I was on such a ride with Bicycle Adventures. The trip took us from Santa Fe New Mexico to Taos. This was a fully supported inn to inn trip. No roughing it for me! These trips are like taking a lot of day rides in areas you may not have explored as yet. This trip was the nicest trip of the 16 I have taken to date.

We (15 riders 2 guides) met Sunday morning in Santa Fe and were taken to the town of Lamy to set our bicycles and ride back to Santa Fe. I rented a Marin hybrid bicycle for the week. It was by far the best rental bicycle I have had the pleasure of using. Our tour guides Nate and Dave did a great job of setting up our bicycles for comfort and needs of each participant.

On Monday we started the day with a hike thru the Bandelier National Monument Park. There are cliff dwellings in the park and you can get to them via 140 feet of ladder climbing. This is the way the Indians had to carry everything to their residence. After the hike we took a short ride to Chimayo.

On Tuesday morning we started with a demonstration of Indian blanket weaving at Ortega’s Weaving Shop. There they continue to dye their own wool and weave various items. Then we were on our way to Taos our home for the next three nights.

Wednesday was our rest day in Taos. We started the day with a raft trip down the Rio Grande River. Not being a seasoned rafter I was glad to hear the river was low and that it was probably rated only a class II. We had great guides on the river and some splashing of course from other rafters. We all made it safely to the finish of the trip. In the afternoon some of us took a bicycle ride, some took a hike on Diviserdero Trail and some relaxed. That evening we had a margarita party and played “Center, Left, Right”. If you have not played this game I can fill you in on the rules etc. It was great fun.

On Thursday we cycled part or all of the Enchanted Circle. The full ride was 85 miles. I did not do all of it! Once again the sag wagon was available for the pesky mountain passes.

On Friday we started the day with a visit to the Rio Grande Gorge then were sagged to the top of Taos ski area for an almost downhill ride to Millicent Rogers Museum for lunch. The one hill we rode was difficult at altitude to I walked up it. At the top of the hill I was suppose to make a left hand turn which I missed. Finally I realized I was off course. I stopped a fellow cyclist (not on our trip) to check my directions and was told he had seen my group in Arroyo Seco and if I stayed on this road I would see them. So off I went and sure enough I ended up in Arroyo Seco but no group of riders. I then made a right hand turn and found myself immediately out of town. I returned to Arroyo Seco to get correct directions from the locals. They told me the group was down in Arroyo Seco so I started off to find them. There was no one in Arroyo Seco so I set out for lunch where I found the rest of the group

After lunch we visited the Taos Pueblo. This pueblo is 1300 years old and the oldest, longest occupied personal dwelling in the country. Our Indian guide told us about the pueblo and Indian culture. Even though the pueblo is still occupied there is no electricity or indoor plumbing in the pueblo. Most of the residents also have homes outside of the pueblo.

After our visit our group split up as some of them were returning to Santa Fe and the rest to Albuquerque for our return home.

This was probably the best-organized trip I have ever had the pleasure of participating in. Our guides were so well tuned to what needed to be done they never lost a beat in keeping us on the road. The accommodations were the best. We ate at some great restaurants and lunches on the road were varied and plentiful.

Bicycle Adventures does trips on the west coast of the United States and Hawaii. I would highly recommend them.