Two days of mountain biking in the mountains of northern New Mexico.
Fat Tires in the Land of Enchantment
July 2019 saw me teaming up with fat tire power duo Syd and Macky for the second time. Our first collaboration had taken place in the Wasatch near my home, this time we met up on Macky’s home turf, Taos, New Mexico.
Ingredients for this project:
Four products
Two days
Two locations in mountains/forest
Miles and miles of single-track trails
A plethora of scenic views
Decent weather
Two psyched and capable riders
And one person with a camera who hopefully can keep up
Place all items in brown bag then shake until completely saturated. Enjoy!
Osprey Packs had asked for new imagery of the Siskin/Salida and Savu/Seral packs in action. We considered a few locations before agreeing on the Sangre de Cristo Range of northern New Mexico. Then in the weeks leading up to the dates wild fires broke out and rapidly spread. In response the Forest Service closed most public trailheads. Luckily Syd and Macky have friends in high places and they called in a favor to two. One to the land owner of Northside at Taos Ski Valley, Roger Patterson, and another to Kailah Tucker at Angel Fire Resort.
On day one we shot the Salida/Siskin packs at Northside at Taos Ski Valley. Having only visited Taos in the winter I was excited to soak it up during the warmer season. Single track climbing above 12,000 feet, moody skies, constant laughter, and views for days without another soul in sight. This was a treat. We raced the weather shooting for several hours before making it back to the van just as the skies opened up. Soaking wet we met up with Roger at Tim’s Stray Dog Cantina. Brisket tacos, yum!
Day two arrived with cloudy skies hanging over Angel Fire Resort. We switched the focus to the Savuand Seralhip/lumbar packs rode the lift. The rumors are true. There’s a reason Angel Fire has been voted best in the southwest for five years in a row. 2000 vertical feet, 60-plus miles of well engineered trails. Flow, super chunk, and jump lines led to fast and fun times ending with a little sprint session on the town trails, but not before mowing down a huge taco salad at El Jefe.
The two fun filled days flew by were the conversation wandered easily from wedding plans, training, travel, making ends meet, and a whole lot of bike talk. Thanks Syd and Macky for the solid good times.
Have any summer plans? Drop me a line.
Cheers,
Louis