Reviewed by: Slickster , from Edgewood NM

Summary:
This aint no mountain bike trail, it's a 100 mile road bike tour. The "SANTA FE CENTURY" is usually held in mid to late May of each year. It is a beautiful ride through the rolling hills between Santa Fe and Albuquerque with a few fairly intence climbs. This ride is deffinately for the experienced cyclist because of some of the climbs. On this ride you are either going up, down, or are fighting the head and cross winds on the way back to the "Start/Finish" in Santa Fe. The actual tour is well managed with plenty of fully stocked rest stops along the route. There are also shorter routes offered, including a 50 mile mountain bike course (only 10 miles on dirt road though). This years ride had roughly 1500 riders. The only minor problem is that much of the route is on narrow 2 lane highways, where many of the drivers get a bit impatient trying to pass pack after pack of cyclists. This is the only reason why I gave it a rating of 4 Stars.

Recommended Route:
The very basic route is south from Santa Fe on N-14 through Madrid then take a rlet on 344 and over "heartbreak" hill. Continue south to Frost road and turn left to Stanley, then head north on HW-41 past Galisteo to HW-285. Turn left again follow 285 north to I-40, turn left on last time and head back into Santa Fe. This is a very rough route discription

Other recommended trails in the same area:
For beginners to 100 mile tours, try the TOUR OF THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY (TORGV). Usually held in April of each year. This is basicly a flat and easy ride with a few minor hills.