Sandia Crest, New Mexico

(Page 2 of 2)

January/February 2008
By Richard Backus 
Article Tools
Print
Comments
RSS
Bookmark and Share

Getting there from Albuquerque is easy. Just head east on Interstate 40 about 15 miles to the Cedar Crest/Route 14 exit. After you exit, duck under the highway and head north on Route 14 through Cedar Crest (keep an eye out for the Museum of Archaeology and Material Culture on your left, a great place to learn about the local culture), and then another five miles later look for Route 536 coming in on your left. From there, just head up 536 into the mountains, and enjoy the ride.

RELATED CONTENT

The Skinny
Where: Central New Mexico, just east of Albuquerque in the Cibola National Forest.
What: A spectacular ride through the Sandia Mountains, with plenty of scenery and side trips along the way.
Best kept secret: Keep an eye out for the sign for the Tinkertown Museum, located on your left about two miles after you start the climb to the crest from Route 14. With walls made from glass bottles, the 22-room museum features an eccentric assemblage of highly detailed miniature scenes carved from wood, most arranged in dioramas. It was created by Ross Ward, a self-taught local folk artist, famous for saying, "This is what I did while you were watching TV."
Scenic route: Whether you stay in the mountains or head down in the valley or surrounding canyons, it’s hard to find an area around Sandia Crest that’s not scenic. That said, if you have the time, check out Route 165 about half way up to the crest on 536. It takes off to the right at the Balsam Glade Picnic Area, running west back down to the valley. With few cars and lots of curves, it’s a great way to stretch out the ride to the crest.
Avoid: Riding in the early afternoon, when it’s most likely to rain: The road gets slick fast. Car traffic isn’t too bad, but keep an eye out for bicyclists, who seem to pop up around every corner.

Page: << Previous 1 | 2 |
Bookmark and Share
RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print

Comments

  • Paul Schmolke 1/29/2009 7:39:16 PM

    Some comments about Sandia and Albuquerque. The Tram is on the west face of the mountain and traverses the west face to the crest where there is a fabulous restaurant with most seats offering great views to the west. The article says it is on the east face when it is actually on the east side of town. There is good parking at the Tram base and a good restaurant there as well. Albuquerque is a motorcycle friendly town with bikes on the street almost every day unless it is snowing or icy. Most attended parking areas are helpful to us two wheel people and some even have motorcycle spaces set aside for for safer bike parking. The ride to the crest that is described is up the east side and is pretty much as described. The side road excursion that is mentioned is very pretty and downhill through a twisty water canyon to Placitas. This road is dirt and can be rough and sometimes rutted if the weather has been bad. It may not be a good ride for big road bikes but would be a blast on something like a KLR650. State Road 14, has many miles of great low traffic riding on decently maintained pavement. It ends in Santa Fe to the north and passes through the town of Madrid on the way - don't miss this one as Madrid is the featured community in the movie 'Wild Hogs'. It is a very biker friendly town with several good eating places and unusual shopping. State Road 14 to the south goes to the town of Mountainair and is about a two hour ride from Santa Fe. During weekdays, the roads are mostly empty and on weekends traffic doen't pick up until late morning. I ride these roads all the time as I live about 1 mile west of State Road 14 near Lone Butte. I usually have 14 to myself for many of my occasional rides to either Santa Fe or Albuquerque. I have been riding or driving these roads since the late 60's. These routes are all above 5,000 feet and will cause a significant loss in power. This is especially noticeable on smaller displacement touring bikes (750cc's

Add Your Comment

You can use this comment form to enter your personal experiences or additional information and resources that you'd like to share with Motorcycle Classics readers. Your helpful advice will be posted on this page.  E-mail addresses are never displayed on comments, but they are required to confirm your comments.

Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br> tags.

New to Motorcycle Classics?
Sign up to share comments.
Asterisks(*) indicate required fields.
Name*
Your name appears next to your comment.

E-mail Address*
This will be your login ID.

City State Zip Code

Password*


Confirm Password*

Comments
1500 character limit (Offensive materials and/or spam will be removed, no HTML allowed)
Please Note: Your sign-up must be verified via e-mail before your comment is published.
FEATURED ARTICLES
MOST POPULAR


Save $5 when you subscribe today!
First Name: *
 Last Name: *
Address: *
 City: *
State/Province: *
 Zip/Postal Code:*
Country:
 Email:*
(* indicates a required item)
Canadian subs: 1 year, (includes postage & GST). Foreign subs: 1 year, . U.S. funds.
Canadian Subscribers - Click Here
Non US and Canadian Subscribers - Click Here
 
The sound and the fury: celebrate the machines that changed the world! Subscribe to Motorcycle Classics today!

Motorcycle Classics is America's premier magazine for collectors and enthusiasts, dreamers and restorers, newcomers and life long motorheads who love the sound and the beauty of classic bikes. Every issue  delivers exciting and evocative articles and photographs of the most brilliant, unusual and popular motorcycles ever made!

Save Even More Money with our RALLY-RATE plan!

Pay now with a credit card and take advantage of our RALLY-RATE automatic renewal savings plan. You save an additional $4.95 and get 6 issues of Motorcycle Classics for only $24.95 (USA only).

Or, Bill Me Later and I'll pay just $29.95 for a one year subscription!