angel fire |

I’d been wanting to ride this trail since I heard about it. Many have said it’s the best trail in New Mexico, so I was pretty excited to try it! I booked a shuttle with Turquoise Tours so that I could ride the entire 21 miles.

The ride starts with a pretty steep climb, and the elevation was absolutely killing me! I felt like I needed a break every 100 yards just to catch my breath! Living at about 500 feet in Dallas certainly doesn’t help when you’re only on your second day at elevation, and over 10,000 feet on this trail! After reaching Osha Pass, the trail turns downhill in a section known as Heaven on Earth.

This was probably the best section of the whole trail. Steep enough to build up speed, but not too steep to the point you have to ride the brakes. There was some flow, but it was mostly straight & fast, with hero dirt from all the recent afternoon storms!

Unfortunately after that section ends, it’s time to climb again! This time it’s not as steep, but it is very long! It seemed like this climb would never end! I kept getting teased by short downhill segments when the reality was there was still more to climb!

Once that gradual climb was finally over, the trail flattened out. It was great to be done with the climbing, but pedaling was still required through this section. Once you reach about the 5 mile marker (meaning 5 miles left) the steep descent begins.

By this time I was so out of breath, and it seemed like no matter how long of a break I took, I could not fully catch my breath. I’d get going and be out of breath again almost immediately, even going downhill. Although pedaling isn’t required, it’s still a workout to move the bike around and through the chunk.

And this section was chunky! Some of those rock gardens I’d pull up and look at it and think, “yeah, I could probably do this.” But being out there by myself, I didn’t want to risk getting hurt and not having anyone there to help me. There’s no shame in that! It’s far better to be able to ride the next day than to try to be a hero and hurt yourself, and then not be able to ride for weeks or months. I went through that earlier this year, and I don’t want to go through it again!

At this point I really just wanted to be at the finish! I was struggling to breathe, I was tired, I was hungry! That’s not to say this last section wasn’t fun, because it sure was! I just would’ve enjoyed it more had I been in better physical shape! Don’t underestimate the effects of altitude, especially if you spend your life near sea level!

Check out the video! #LiveTheAdventure

I was going to go last summer, but then I got laid off from my job. I was going to go earlier this summer in June, but then I broke my wrist in April, and was not fully recovered by June. So FINALLY it all worked out for me to visit Angel Fire, NM a couple weeks ago!

I had heard a lot of great things about Angel Fire Bike Park. It’s one of the best bike parks around, even compared to some parks in Colorado. There’s a good variety of trails, and the trails are really fun. It’s also the closest major bike park to Dallas.

Getting there proved to be an adventure in itself! Due to the recent wildfire in Ute Park, Hwy 64 is prone to flooding, and it’s that time of year where afternoon storms are a daily occurrence. I had made it all the way to Cimarron, NM, just about 50 minutes away, when I came up on a road block. Due to the flooding, they shut down the road on a daily basis. I talked to some folks who had already been there waiting for over 2 hours! I waited for about 45 minutes before I decided to take the only logical alternate route I could find, which would add an hour and a half to the drive!

It wasn’t until I was at the point of no return, so to speak, that I found out this route included 9 miles of unpaved road through the mountains! In fact, I didn’t find that out until I was at the point where it turns from paved to unpaved! Mind you, I drive a Honda Accord Sport, which has low-profile tires. It isn’t made for roads like this!

The first half of this road was very rough, with a lot of rocks, but luckily nothing so big that a passenger car can’t handle it. However, because it was so rough, it meant that I had to creep along at 10 mph! Thankfully about halfway into this 9 mile stretch the road became smoother, and I could speed up some. I’ve never been so happy to be back on paved road as I was at the end of this! I didn’t take any pictures or video there, because I just didn’t want to stop!

When I made it through, and just started to enter Angel Fire, I was surprised by two bull elk just off the road to my right! What a treat as I arrived in town!

So when I finally made it to the campground, I had a change of heart. The tent camping area was less than desirable. Nobody else was camping in a tent there; only RV’s. It was cold, windy, and more rain was on the way. I decided I really didn’t want to camp! I got on my phone and found that Angel Fire Resort had a couple rooms left, and Expedia had them at a 15% discount (though it was still significantly more expensive than camping)!

Sometimes you can’t put a price on comfort. In the end, it was worth it.

Alright, so lets get to the bike park! Since I was at the resort, the park was right there. I got there early to get my pass and sign the waiver. As a result, I was 3rd in line to get on the lift when it opened at 9!

First run I figured I should take Easy Street (green) to warm up, get a good feel for the mountain, the speed, and how my Jeffsy handles it. After that it was time for some more rowdy trails! Ziggy (blue) is right there when you get off the lift, and it’s an absolute blast! Constant left & right flow with some technical chunk thrown in for good measure! I ended up riding it again later on (at a higher speed). Further down, I hit Boulder Dash (blue), which is a jump trail filled with table tops and big berms. I actually wish I would’ve taken this trail again just to work on jumps! The very first jump I thought I overshot, but looking back at the video, I think it was actually perfect! However, because I thought I overshot it, I was checking my speed on a lot of the other jumps, causing me to case them. Coming from the flat lands, it takes some getting used to! Slowly but surely I’ll continue to improve my jumping skills!

On my third run I took Angel’s Plunge (blue), and boy was that a riot! Steep with loose gravel at the top, this trail was FAST, flowing, and fun! I’d say it’s a must ride with any trip to the park!

Other trails I hit included Diesel (blue), Duke (blue), Sierra (green), and Chutes & Ladders (blue). Chutes & Ladders had a lot of wood features. These bridges climbed way up above the surface, and had some super steep drops! I actually skipped a couple of them, since I was riding alone, and they went straight into a sharp turn, and I wasn’t comfortable carrying so much speed into those turns. In hindsight, I probably could’ve done it and been fine. Maybe next time.

After five runs, the lift was closed due to storms in the area, but I was pretty well finished, anyway. Downhill mountain biking exhausts you in a different way than XC riding will. Your legs are fine, because you aren’t pedaling. But the rest of your body seems to take a beating! It actually takes a lot of energy, and a lot of muscle to maneuver the bike around at high speeds, through incredibly bumpy and steep terrain. So if you’ve never done it, don’t expect to be able to just ride all day! You will get tired!

Luckily this time I didn’t develop any blisters, thanks to my wonderful ESI Extra Chunky grips! Seriously love these grips! That “Extra Chunky” part is crucial!

Check out the video! #LiveTheAdventure

Tag Archives: angel fire

South Boundary Trail

Angel Fire Bike Park