Corrales; Road biking any good? (Albuquerque, Ruidoso: safe, train, friendly)

[Rebscott]

I'm an avid road bicylist who would like to find a warmer place to ride in the winter than my current haunt of Gunnison, Colorado. Are there any road bikers out there who could say if there are any safe (i.e. paved, shoulders, acceptance of road bikers) back roads outside of Corrales that would be good for road biking? If not, what about Placitas or Albuquerque or another recommendation for road biking in central or northern Arizona. Thanks! Rebscott

[ziaAirmac]

The roads around Corrales are either multi lane thoroughfares or windy two laners with some dirt for a shoulder, if you're lucky. It's a beautiful area to ride in, but safety wise there's not much margin. Most of the distance riders in town seem to end up on Tramway (NE), 528 (West Side) or the Bosque Trail (River valley).

[Rebscott]

Zia;

Thank you for the road biking info. You answered my question definititively. I definitely won't be headed to Corrales to road bike. Rebscott

[rruff]

Originally Posted by Rebscott

or another recommendation for road biking in central or northern Arizona.

Even though the northern parts of AZ and NM will be warmer than Gunnison in the winter, you might as well head a little farther south in AZ and find some truly outstanding winter weather. I'm not sure if Tucson is super bike friendly, but a fare number of pros go there to train in winter.

I do a lot of road cycling in and around Ruidoso NM and I think it's pretty great... as in good variety and scenery and not too busy, mostly courteous drivers, etc... but it will be getting pretty cold here soon. Avg highs of 50 in Jan are certainly tolerable though.

[rybert]

Have you given this a once over:

Biking in Albuquerque - City of Albuquerque

[Steve97415]

Check out Chico, California. Great road cycling culture and really quite affordable. The landscape around Upper Bidwell Park and the area to the east between Chico and Paradise really reminds me a lot of New Mexico