They don't call New Mexico the Land of Enchantment for nothing. The palette of colors is amazing. Reds. Yellows. Oranges. Greens. Around every turn there is something worth photographing and remembering.
Which is why we just had to return to New Mexico for another tour! Join us this May for our first ZiAdventure fully-supported tour. Eight days and nights...roughly 750 miles...and enough scenery to take your breath away every mile. Every mile is at or above 5000 feet in elevation, so while folks in the lowlands are hot, we'll be cycling in a more temperate climate. We will even top out at near 10,000 feet on Day 6 (twice, in fact!), so you may very well find yourself reaching for a wind vest or arm warmers on the descents.
The tour includes many of Nick and Melissa's favorite miles in New Mexico, those being along historic Route 66. There are few Road Scholars who have explored and documented as much of NM66 as they. Along the way you will learn how this important road once carried the majority across the southwest. You'll ride through several Native American pueblos, experience Grants (once the uranium capital of the US), and Gallup, the intertribal headquarters for the southwest.
And then we go up...way up. Just like Bugs Bunny, we'll turn left at Albuquerque, following the earliest version of Rt 66 to Santa Fe. Then it's off to Taos, where we will spend two nights. On Day 6 we will ride the Enchanted Circle route, an 86-mile loop that is done each September as a bicycle rally, and return to Taos for our second night. We'll head back south via Santa Fe, and then down to ABQ following a different course, the Turquoise Trail. For those who stick around an extra day, Nick and Melissa will lead a Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul city tour, stopping at some of the most iconic sites used in filming these cult popular shows.
Oh, and there's one more thing: New Mexico has the best food in the nation. Green chilis go in everything. On everything. Around everything. There's TexMex. There's Mexican. And then there's New Mexican. You will love the difference.
Start/Finish is in ABQ, right by the international airport. We'll stay in nothing but outstanding hotels, like Holiday Inn Express and Hampton Inn. Your trail fee includes nine nights of lodging, breakfast at the hotel, lunch on the road, normally two snack stops during the day, baggage shuttle and support, and souvenir t-shirt and sweatshirt. If you are planning on double occupancy, you must designate your roommate, as we cannot guarantee making matches for you.
This is a moderately challenging tour. Expect some long climbs with a few steep sections, spring wind, and variable temperatures...from chilly mornings to toasty afternoons. Come prepared for everything (both personal gear and bicycle gearing), and be ready to accomplish an adventure you will brag about for years to come. Complete route info and course profiles will be available in early summer.
Taxis and shuttles are available from the airport; long-term parking is available within one block of our Start/Finish hotel. Double occupancy is $1599; single supplement is $599. There is no better place in the southwest to experience so much cultural diversity. New Mexico is home to two of the oldest cities in the US (ABQ and Santa Fe); the blending of cultures is as prevalent as the ever-shining sun.