Tres Ritas, New Mexico

timvv51 · May 10, 2003

I want to get my new bike into some altitude (8000 Ft. or better) to check it for jetting for the summer riding in the mountains. The closest to my garage is Tres Ritas, La Junta Canyon or there abouts. Does anyone know if the snow is cleared very far up the canyon or maybe over the pass to Angel Fire? Thanks for any info. Tim

timvv51 · May 12, 2003

How about some of you guys in Taos, any info on La Junta Canyon?

Danman · May 12, 2003

When are you planing on going? I've heard is realy dry up that way and there is a fire burning.

timvv51 · May 12, 2003

Hey Danman, hows it goin. No Kiddin, thats the first Ive heard of a fire. I know there has been lots of snow up high, but how high I am not sure. We were over to Santa Fe a couple of weeks ago for the enduro and you could see up on the peaks and they had lots of snow on them. Anyway, I am going up Saturday morning to just fool around with the jetting on the new WR. I'm hoping to be able to get as much altitude as possible to be able to get some decent input on the jetting although I dont expect it to be too critical. I bet I have it close before I leave. I've got a full load in my truck but your welcome to tag along. Ever been up there? Quite a variety of trails when the snow is gone. Tim

Moteaux · May 13, 2003

Tres Ritas..... one of my favorite places to ride.  Wish I lived closer these days. :(

timvv51 · May 14, 2003

Called down the road at Sipapu and they said no snow since mid April and there were lots of open trails but Rick Ramseys site says snow??? Maybe its just like a ski area. Tell you anything to get you up there.

Danman · May 15, 2003

I would love to go, but I'm waiting on parts (bad sticky throttle and stretched clutch cable). I rode at the lease last weekend and had a hard time keeping the bike going with the dragging clutch (lost of stalling and kicking till I bumped up the idle) and the throttle cable sticky thing was not fun. I had thought that I had it fixed, but a new cable should do the trick.

The fire I heard about was in Mayhill farther south than up by Santa Fe. Maybe I can catch you next time. I have never been riding up that way and would love to try. I was thinking of doing the Mile high Enduro this year, but wanted to get a feel for they terrain first.

timvv51 · May 15, 2003

The Mile High is a hoot. It ranges from 8 - 10 thousand feet so you probably need to check your jetting. How far is Cloudcroft from Lubbock? Trailrider 42 knows that area well. Went up there with him in Nov.2001 and sure enough some of the trails we rode were in last years Mile High. Tres Ritos is a lot like Cloudcroft but Tres Ritos is a 4 hour day trip from Amarillo. Some say Tres Ritas is too rocky but from what little I have seen there are rocks and easy stuff and everything in between. It tops out at about 10000 feet and doesnt have some of the spectacular views of some Colorado areas but it is not bad.

Enduro_Nut · May 15, 2003

Sounds like fun - when are you heading up there - need a riding buddy ;) ? I've ridden Cloudcroft several times, as you mentioned, NICE but not Colorado.

timvv51 · May 15, 2003

Whats up Enduro Nut> My son and I are heading up Early Saturday morning and hope to be able to ride La Junta Canyon if the snow is gone. It is a nice forest road that goes all the way to the Moreno Valley (Eagle Nest NM.) Its an easy 40 mile run But there are some great singletracks that run off of it. Your welcome to tag along any time. Some of us are going up to the Creed Southfork area on June 21 thru June 24 to get a look at the area where the Boot Hill enduro will be held in July. You might want to think about that one. Whats your favorite area in Colorado.

Danman · May 15, 2003

I'm pretty sure Cloudcroft is about 5 or 6 hours from Lubbock. I guess I will be resigned to either work or pit for friends at the Lubbock Grand Prix this weekend. They are running it in Mckinezy park in downtown Lubbock this weekend. Last year was cool but dusty. They added some street to it as well. It should be fun.

That deal in june sounds fun is it open?

I take it your doing a suicide run there on Sat? 4 hour drive plus 40 miles or so and then back? Whew! That is a pretty long haul. Imagine it would be about a 6 each way for me. Is there a map of the trails available of the Tres-Ritas area?

timvv51 · May 15, 2003

Hi Danman. If I hadnt allready made plans that Lubbock Grand Prix would be a hoot. I would just spectate. Yep thats exactly what Saturday will be, a suicide run. I mainly wanted to get up in to some altitude to check my jetting on the new WR. I plan to put quite a few miles on the bike at altitude this summer.
As far as the ride in June you bet it is open and would be glad to have you along. I think trailrider 42 is going to make it. I dont know if we will camp or motel yet. Southfork has lots of good cheap places to stay. Tim

Enduro_Nut · May 16, 2003

It's really hard to say - the biggie for me is getting above the tree line :yeehaw: ! RMEC use to hold an enduro from Steamboat Springs that sent you into Wyoming - very tough but beautiful.

June might be a possibility, I'm anxious to ride up there. I moved to Dallas from Colorado Springs via Denver - it's been a long time.

timvv51 · May 16, 2003

Yeah when you get above the tree line it feels different. I dont have tons of experience in Colorado even though I was born there. I know a lot about the Salida area and a little up around Woodland Park and we took a trip to Telluride last year that was spectacular. Another DRN member I ride with is really knowledgeable about a lot of places up there and keeps from getting lost but I dont think he knows much about Creed so we will be winging it in June. Most of the guys that might ride this one are 40 to 50 year old C enduro riders or there abouts and a fast pace is not what this ride will be about. Huh Danman. Will probly be quite a few picture stops. If this sounds like something you would be interested in stay in touch. My E mail is tvalkenburg50@hotmail.com Tim

Moteaux · May 16, 2003

Originally posted by timvv51
Some say Tres Ritas is too rocky but from what little I have seen there are rocks and easy stuff and everything in between

Exactly... Tres Ritas has something most everyone can ride.  There  some reasonably easy trails and then some that will leave you making up new cuss words while you are picking your bike up off the rocks, and that is after you have dropped it while you are trying to walk it up the hill. ;)

mp4798 · May 17, 2003

I just moved to El Paso and am interested in meeting up with some riders in New Mexico for some weekend rides. Anybody have rides planned over the next couple of weekends? I've been riding desert stuff around here for a couple of months now but am ready for some trees and elevation. Let me know if anybody's interested.

MP

Enduro_Nut · May 17, 2003

Sounds good - should be unemployed by then with extra time on my hands. I will ride with A,B,C riders - I'm not picky, I'm in the 40ish group myself. Providing we can hit the tree line I'm one happy camper!

Are the dates firm(21st-24th)? The thought of heading back to the mountains makes me feel like a kid in a candy store. I rode Cloudcroft enduro last year on a loaner bike that was "prepped" and ended up DNF due to the "prepping" that occured on the bike.

I geuss it's time for mountain redemption!

timvv51 · May 18, 2003

OK Enduronut. Your on. Yes those four days are written in stone. Its a long drive up there and it may be just two days of riding for those of us that just have those four days off. I am going to check my schedule and see if I can stretch it a day or two. I am pretty sure I can so if you do become unemployed and can stretch it a day or so let me know. Got up to Tres Ritas NM. yesterday and got my jetting worked out satisfactorily. We didnt get stopped by snow till we hit 11300 by the GPS. I dont think I can post pics here but send me your Email and I'll get you a couple. Tim

MTRIDER · May 25, 2003

How about some more info on different places in Northern NM ? we'll be in Taos area (Angelfire?)

OnAnySunday · May 26, 2003

NorthEast or NorthWest??
There's a couple of good spots on the western side around Farmington.
"Glade run" a BLM spot has some singletrack / sandwashes / oilfield roads / slickrock (for you trials nuts out there).
The Goodyear rockcrawling nats are held there.
(bring your 4 by and have some fun too!) :thumb:
It's just north of Farmington on Pinion hills blvd..

There's a nice motoX track in Aztec.
(about 15 miles N.E. of Farmington)
Good wide track -w- lots of tables and a killer step-up jump.
Sposed to be a 10 mile and a 25 mile offroad loop there too, but i havent tried it.

Just south of Farmington theres another BLM spot called "The Dunes".
I think the name says it all.
Sand and hills. :confused: (duh)
on rt371 S of Farmington.

Another couple of miles S on 371 is a BLM offroad practic track (also BLM)
This things is ROUGH.
No big jumps for the big air guys, but it will beat the &$@# out of ya.
Good for getting in shape.
I dont go there often.............. :uh:

This is all pretty far west though. Amost to the "four corners" monument.

MTRIDER · May 27, 2003

Thanks for the info, I think the first days we will be in the Taos/Anglefire area.

nuuge · Jun 6, 2003

Can anyone give specifics on where they ride in the Tres Ritos area. I'm vaguley cafiliar with the area, I know where Sipapu is and I have camped along the river a few times.

timvv51 · Jun 9, 2003

Start with forest road 76 just south of Tres Ritas. It is a good forest road that goes way up the pass and has several great trails off of it. The first good one you come to is Duran Canyon that goes to the right of of 76. But my favotite is Trail No. 8 that goes off to the left. from 76. Stop at the Store at Tres Ritos (Tres Ritos is a very small place and you cant miss the store) and get a free map. Beware the trails are not well marked in most areas and there are many unmarked and unmapped roads and trails. It is a great place to wander and explore and instead of trying to make loops just ride trails up and then back the same way till you learn your bearings and topography a little and you cant get too lost. GPS Helps. And BEWARE THE GREEN BITCH. Aint that right Danman. Tim

nuuge · Jun 10, 2003

Thanks, yea I know where the store is so I can make it from there. I'll have to get Danny to fill me in on the green bitch next time I see him.

Danman · Jun 10, 2003

The dreaded green trail winch! Definetly trail 8 to 492 and back down. It was awsome. It drops you out on the highway between some houses realy close to the store (you have to ride to road for just a bit to get to the truck or back track if you want). You should have plenty up there to keep you busy. There were some realy nice senic ATV size roads and trails farther up the main road that would be prefect the whole family.

I won't be able to make the next meeting, but if you want to see some pics and the map from the store I can show it to you (e-mail or call me this week sometime). I have one you can have as I grabbed more than one. Its decent, but beware there were some changes that are not on the map. There was some stuff that we rode the second day that would have been realy cool if not for the big metal signs that said no vehicle. The trails were designated as motorized, but had signs up saying other wise about 4 miles or so up trail. It was still fun riding though. One was several miles of stream crossings and nice rock gardens followed up buy a good climb full of roots. There was only one trouble spot. Tim made it look easy though :)

Tres Ritas, New Mexico

timvv51

timvv51

Danman

timvv51

Moteaux

Professional Mud Tester

timvv51

Danman

timvv51

Enduro_Nut

timvv51

Danman

timvv51

Enduro_Nut

timvv51

Moteaux

Professional Mud Tester

mp4798

Enduro_Nut

timvv51

MTRIDER

OnAnySunday

Big Pig

MTRIDER

nuuge

timvv51

nuuge

Danman

Similar Topics

Tres Ritas, New Mexico

Professional Mud Tester

Professional Mud Tester

Big Pig

Similar Topics

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency