La Madera Bike Loop off of N-14

View as you turn off onto La Madera Rd.

 After Sunday’s ride (see yesterday's post), I decided to do something a little more relaxing today so I rode La Madera Road off of N-14, which is located approximately a mile northeast of the intersection of Sandia Crest Rd/N-14/Frost Rd. An old friend of mine used to ride his road bike down La Madera every day when it was just a dirt road, but now it is paved all the way up to the fire station, making it a perfect add-on loop to any East Mountain road ride. I feel like La Madera Road offers better

Starting the climb

 views of the New Mexico landscape than Sandia Crest Road, but ride it yourself and tell me what you think.

  

Just past Mile 5, intersection of La
Madera and Skyline

After turning off N-14 and north onto La Madera Road, you will pass the Vista Grande Community Center and baseball fields and East Mountain High School before entering a heavily-wooded section that winds its way over 3+ miles before you begin to see any homes. After about 5 miles, you emerge from this hilly area, and the views of the San Pedro Mountains, the Sangre de Cristo Range, and the backside of the Sandias Mountains are truly awesome! Soon you approach a stop sign where you turn right to stay on La Madera. If you go straight, you will continue on Skyline which is a dirt road. 

Near Mile 6

At approximately mile marker 6.5, you approach the intersection of La Madera and Faith Roads. You can go either way here—left is La Madera and straight (or right) is Faith. Both roads take you to the same place as you loop around, reaching the fire station at approximately 7.5 miles, and begin the return trip.

The entire loop is paved as long as you stay on the main road and don't venture off onto any side streets. I really enjoyed the return trip because the views were so different that it seemed like a whole new ride. This is when you really notice the backside of the Sandias and just how beautiful these mountains really are.

View south as you approach the
intersection of N-14 and La Madera

Note that the speed limit is generally 25 mph along La Madera Road, except into a couple of the steep turns that drop as low as 15 mph. It is easy to exceed these speed limits on a road bike so I encourage everyone to use caution.

This is a very beautiful loop that doesn't see as much bicycle traffic as other roads in the East Mountains, not to mention the fact that it has less automobile traffic, so you should check it out!

~Lori Dotson, CPT

President, DotsoFit, LLC

Copyright © 2011