Wahday [name?],
How ironic that I just decided to bail on the Coco 250 and was perusing the bikepacking forums, out of remorse, and found this thread. Sorry for not having noticed it earlier. Especially since I live in Albuquerque and have ridden [and will ride] NMES/AZT/CTR type events. I plan on campaigning AZT/CTR next year and this would fit right into my training next spring... and perhaps even this Fall/Winter.
Until I get a chance to peruse the entire thread, I'll comment that I have ridden from Albuquerque to Cabezon two times, during what I call the Washboard 100. a.k.a. the San Ysidro Dirty 100 NMES race. In the past this course used the pipeline road which essentially goes form ABQ to Bloomfield. And almost every foot of it is covered in E150 washboards. Distilled, you would never want to intentionally ride this pipeline road. However, would be really cool if your route could include White Mesa...
BTW, I have an eTrex 30 and full version of TopoFusion. Send me a PM for rides. As a matter of fact, doing South Boundary this upcoming Oct. 10th Saturday.
More later,
Barry Ritchey
Hey Yogi,
Sorry I did not notice this post earlier. That's good feedback on the Pipeline Road conditions. I am stumped as to how else to get up there from Albuquerque and still avoid pavement though. You can get to Bernalillo mostly within the bosque but it is still a haul from there to White Mesa though. Still might be better than Pipeline though from the sound of it. I agree adding WM to the route would be great.
Geekonabike has been helping out with the section between Pie Town and Magdalena. He made a first go of it and got hung up at some private land so we have been looking at work arounds. He is hoping to head out again soon - tenacious!
I live in ABQ and have corresponded with a few area bikepackers. PM if you want to talk further.
