But no change to May rides.

Note Villanueva ride in June will be 0930 for travel time.

I know that money SOBs hike and bike the GBP, but if you are planning to do so in the near future, you may want to save yourself a trip. Click the link below for more info.

Galisteo Basin Preserve Closure

I have five SOB neck gaiters left over from our order of several years ago. The first five new members to claim them get them. Email lynnpickard1 at yahoo.

None of the rides are doing the Bandelier loop.

B AND C RIDES START AT CITIES OF GOLD 5/19

A rides start at Eldorado Agora at 0900 rather than 0930

Due to air quality concerns in Bandelier and closures, the ride will start at the Agora Center in El Dorado at 9 am.  We will ride south including the loop down to the Lamy Train station and continue south on 285.  Total distance is 40 miles.  Bring plenty of water since it will be warm and windy.

May ad hoc rides start at 9:30. Most May Thursday rides do also.

The B group will ride to Galisteo or Madrid and back. The B- group will ride up the West Frontage Road to the Outlet Mall and then around Rancho Viejo. 10 am start at the 599 RR station parking lot off Veterans Highway.

It looks like NM 313 is still closed to non-tribal members, so a San Felipe start is not possible at this time. 
Therefore the A ride will start at the Sandia Rail Runner station, departing at 10:00.

The weather looks pretty good down south, 65° with 7 mph winds at pedal time. 
This is the new route:  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39098273

As a note, only 6 people have signed up for the A ride. If you plan to do any Thursday ride, you must sign up in advance or pay a substantial penalty to the ride leader.

Here are the tentative ride leader assignments for the last of April and all of May. Changes may be made without notice.

April 21: A- (Rich I); B (Monica S); B- (Ruben C); C (Shirley K)

April 28: A- (Christine VD); B (Paul M) B- (Michael H); C (Lynn P)

May 5: A- (Rick G); B (Michael H); B- (Rob B); C (Bill P)

May 12: A- (Guy B); B (Monica S and Paul M); C (Ruben C)

May 19: A- (Christine VD); B (Denise M and Ruben C); C (Shirley K)

May 26: A (Christine VD); A-/B+ (Lynn P); B (Gary K); C (Ian N)

In the winter of 2020, the Board of Directors decided to recognize Edwin Crosswhite’s huge contributions to our club. Unfortunately, the pandemic got in the way of our plans, but we were finally able to present this recognition. Here is a picture of Edwin with the Nambe Platter.  The other picture is the  virtual sample, so you can read what’s engraved on the platter.  Edwin was one of the earlier founders of our Club.  He is the one who helped build the solid foundation of our Club.  He trained our Ride Leaders, held classes for kids, encouraged new riders,  with a smile and always enjoyed an after ride beer with his SOB buddies.  We miss you Edwin.  Hope you will ride again!

Monday looks somewhat better than Tuesday for a ride from Devargas Center at 10:00am.  Distance will be about 35 miles

Leader Dave and Christine Van Dornick

We will start from the BLM parking lot (Rancho Viejo Road near Rte 14) at 10:00 AM and ride to Madrid and beyond.  The total distance will be close to 50 miles.  The pace will be moderate (A-) and we do plan to climb Stagecoach Pass.  If you want to ride but don’t want to climb to the top, that is fine. Leaders Christine and Dave Van Dornick

.

Hi all, don’t know if the group knows that there is a local group of bikepackers that have been doing overnight campouts every month all year long. They call the trips “Sub-24’s” because they are done in less than 24 hours, quick ride out, fun campout, quick ride back. There is one this Saturday leaving at 4 pm from the Railyard and going down to Diablo Canyon campground, about 14 mile mostly gravel ride. That is a pretty typical ride distance to the campsite. As always, everyone is welcome. All sorts or bikes and camping kits seem to show up,  From fatbikes to gravel bikes, from panniers to full bikepacking bags to a sleeping bag strapped to the handlebars and a backpack. Always seems to be a great group of guys and gals at the campouts. Anyway, Rich and I are planning on going, it’s supposed to be warm Saturday and Saturday night, you might want to give it a try. I have been to half a dozen or so of the campouts, give a shout if you have any questions,

Cheers,

Ed

Per Denise M: There is interest in cycling from the Galisteo to Stanley.  It’s an 18 miles gradual uphill climb and an easy fun roll down on the return.  Meet at the Galisteo church parking lot ready to ride at 10:30.  Not sure who will show up at DeVargas.

Per Denise M:  Saturday looks like a great day to take on a favorite ride the Espanola 28-mile loop. Meet at the Cities of Gold parking lot ready to ride at 10:30. Please notify the group you are riding.  However if you miss posting  your participation you are welcomed join the ride. Not sure who will show up at DeVargas.

Here are the tentative ride leader assignments for April. Changes may be made without notice. Or there may be notice, but don’t count on it.

April 7:  A (Mike D); A- (Guy B); B (Rob B); B- (Gary K); C (Judy C)

April 14:  A (Christine VD); A- (Bob B); B (Lynn P); C (Ruben C & Ian N)

April 21: A (Bob B); A- (Christine VD); B (Monica S); B- (Ruben C); C (Shirley K)

April 28: A (Rick G); A- (Christine VD); B (Paul M); B- (Michael H); C (Lynn P)

If you want to change any of your ride lead choices for April, email rideleaders@santafesobs.com and specify what changes you want to make.

We have had several people sign up to help the Century and themselves.  Don’t be left out.  We can use more volunteers.  Details are here.  Thanks.

(If you already signed up, no need to do it again).

Wirecutter, a product evaluation service for consumers, and carried in NY Times, has an article reporting on evaluations of several bike racks. One is designed for e-bikes to ease loading heavier bikes on vehicles. This rack is mounted to a trailer hitch on the car. The rack is not cheap–$850 at Amazon and REI. Illustration is not available in this report. Go to Thule website: www.thule.com   Thule lists price at $899

From NY Times

Wirecutter

Whether you need to transport heavier bikes, such as some electric models, or you just want a rack that’s easy to load and store, the Thule EasyFold XT 2 is hard to beat. It’s one of the most expensive models we’ve tested, but its premium price includes luxury features that also make it one of the best overall racks we’ve tested. The EasyFold XT can hold bikes up to 65 pounds each, and it comes with a foldable ramp that lets you roll bikes onto it instead of having to lift them up. It’s lighter than other heavy-duty racks, and when it’s off the vehicle, it folds up to the size of a large airline carry-on bag. The EasyFold is also quick to install and lock to the vehicle, and integrated cable locks let you secure bikes to the rack. The EasyFold holds bikes by the frame, rather than by the wheels, however, which some riders don’t prefer, and the clamps can be a little awkward to use. It fits 1¼-inch and 2-inch hitch receivers.

Submitted by Bill Pollock

Click for Meeting Information

Click for Ride Leaders Survey and ride proposal for 2022.  You did fill out the survey already didn’t you?

Gravel ride starting from the Agoro center in Eldorado at 1 PM.  We will head towards the Rail Trail and potentially do some single-track riding near the Rail Trail spurs.  Co-Leaders Christine Van Dornick and John Vellioux.

As most of you are aware, Afghan refugees are to be settled in Santa Fe.  Some people are coming with families, others as singles.  The number of people expected is around 100.  A huge hurtle in resettlement is housing.  The newcomers will probably not have cars, so there is a need for casitas and apartments with some access to public transportation.  Longer term housing is preferable, but short-term crisis housing is also needed.  The rent range is up to around $1200 for larger living spaces, and lower rents are of course preferable.  Lutheran Family Services is actively working to help the new arrivals find jobs so that they will quickly be self-sufficient.  Families are arriving with only 24 hour notice to LFS, so housing is being set up in anticipation.  If anyone has bicycles to donate, they will be greatly appreciated! And tax deductible.  Please contact me by email danydena@gmail.com  or text 505 310 1646, and I will pass your info on to LFS.  Thank you, Dena Ross

Tx hill country….Hell Week is back!!!! This event in Fredericksburg is a Great event. 8 days of riding (hence the event name) whatever distance you prefer. I highly suggest you check out them out. March 26-April 4. I’m not organizing any SF group to attend. You’re on your own.

Moab Skinny tire festival, another great event is March 12-15. Fabulous scenery and great rides.

So, FYI 😁 all events are covid determined

At Museum Hill on Thursdays during January and DeVargas on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

The Elephant Rock one day bike ride held in Castle Rock, CO is hosting its last event/festival in June of 2022. This 35 year old ride is coming to an end. I’ve ridden the 44 mile ride twice, attended the associated festival, camped there and it all was great. Good ride. So if you’ve thought about doing this ride (I know other SOBs have attended it) then 2022 is your last chance to do the event. Covid dependent. 
Also Roll Massif has been bought out by Outside Events Cycling Series. So the title of some rides may change. FYI

Conversations have started re: riding in the Tx hill country in mid March for a week. Yes it’s only December but it’s never too early to begin planning bike tours/trips. Obviously contingent on covid etc. Something to think about on these cold winter nights. Nothing concrete yet but talk is starting. I’ll post more as more info becomes available. Email me for questions juliejacobs2303@yahoo.com

From Los Angeles Times,12-7-2021

A battery assist for e-bikes in tax credit proposal
bloomberg
Over the last decade, the U.S. has spent about $10 billion subsidizing the purchase of electric vehicles through tax credits. Not one penny of that, however, has gone to the world’s top- selling and fastest-growing form of electric vehicle, a dynamic people-mover more efficient than any Tesla or Nissan Leaf.
That, of course, is the electric bicycle.
But under the “Build Back Better” spending bill, which passed the House last month and awaits action in the Senate, e-bikes could, for the first time, get a push from the federal government. Tucked among the bill’s more than 2,000 pages is a tax credit of up to $900 for e-bikes.
If the incentive survives intact, e-bike makers, which lobbied for its inclusion, will be taking a (battery-assisted) victory lap.
“Tables will have turned if this goes through,” said Mike Radenbaugh, chief executive of the startup Rad Power Bikes. “We think that e-bikes should ultimately see a much bigger set of support … but we’re really excited to see us at least heading in the right direction.”
It’s a major milestone for an industry that scarcely existed a decade ago.
“The fact that there’s an e-bike incentive in a federal climate-slash-catch-all bill is remarkable considering that a few years ago, a lot of folks didn’t know what e-bikes were,” said Christopher Cherry, a professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
As it stands, the bill provides a credit of 30% for up to $3,000 spent on a new e-bike, excluding bikes that cost more than $4,000. (The credits phase out according to household income beginning at $75,000 for a single taxpayer.) This is a reduction from the original proposal; in the bill that was introduced to the House, the credit covered 30% of spending up to $5,000 on bikes costing as much as $8,000.
“That was a blow for us,” said Steve Boyd, general manager of North America for Tern Bicycles, whose most expensive cargo e-bike costs more than $9,000. Under the original price cap, all but one of Tern’s models would have qualified for the credit; now all but a few are excluded.
The cuts to the credit were a natural part of the process of getting the bill through the House, according to Noa Banayan, director of federal affairs at PeopleForBikes, a trade association that lobbies on behalf of bike makers.
“Of course, we want the most amount of credit to be available to the most amount of people,” Banayan said, “but we are excited for anything that puts e-bikes on the federal map, because we see it as just a first step.”
For Rad Power, which sells its e-bikes online at prices ranging from $1,000 to $2,000, the lower cap is a perfect fit.
“Most e-bike companies will probably not see a huge benefit, but I think Rad’s an outlier in that way,” Radenbaugh said.
Data from NPD Group, which tracks sales at bike shops and outdoor stores, show that e-bike purchases tend to cluster at the top and bottom of the scale. Almost 60% of bikes sold in the 12-month period that ended in September cost either less than $500 or more than $3,500.
The fastest growth, however, is happening in the middle: Unit sales of bikes priced between $1,500 and $2,000 grew during that period at a rate of 176% over the previous 12 months.
There’s scant academic research, Cherry said, on how price affects consumer preferences in the e-bike market. He and his collaborator, John MacArthur of Portland State University, are working on a study that addresses these questions.
In the absence of data, Congress is left to guess at the level of incentive that will convince the most people to buy e-bikes, while spending as little as possible.
“We don’t know what that sweet spot is,” MacArthur said.
For now, Congress seems to be taking the approach that it’s better to prevent a well-to-do weekend warrior from using the credit to buy a joyride than it is to help a potential cargo-bike customer get over the sticker shock.
For some e-bike brands, that may mean adjusting prices to fit the tax code.
“If the limits stay the same,” said Boyd at Tern, “and we have a bike that is going to work out normally at $4,200, then maybe we end up at $3,999.”

Submitted by Bill Pollock

For those who don’t want to drive to Bernalillo, the regularly scheduled ride from the Eldorado Agora is still on. Start time is 11:00.

We will be doing the newly paved Old Santa Fe Trail, Seton Village, etc.

Last Wednesday I was on SB 285 going down Lamy Hill. I was approaching the RR crossing at a pretty good clip when I saw an abrupt lip between 2 of the concrete slabs. Nothing I could do but hope for the best. It turns out the best was a damaged tire and a walk uphill to get cell service and a ride home.

Anyway, be forewarned if you are planning to do that segment.

I did contact the NM DOT District 5 Maintenance Engineer and he said that it will be fixed once they figure out the jurisdictional issues. So not next week.

This is an energetic road ride that will be suitable for most A&B riders however the distance, 42 miles may be long for some. It will begin and end at the Bernalillo Visitors Center go south via various roads and paved trails to Bike in Coffee which is a great venue for cyclists. After a break there the route will venture up Mountain Rd through the “Belly of the Beast” to the North Diversion Channel paved trail and back to Bernalillo. Weather looks perfect with light winds and temps reaching 60. Ride start time is 10:30. Start location: Sandoval County Economic Development. I’ve made arrangements to have the restrooms unlocked and available from 10:00-10:30.
https://goo.gl/maps/11aXMQqjpqwKshJz7

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38102801

For more info contact Mike Davila at Fuel90rider@yahoo.com

All donations to World Bicycle Relief will be matched through Tuesday Midnight, doubling your impact.

Click on the SOB Team Page to donate.

Communities On The Move!

Thursday rides will start in ElDorado Agora for December.  All groups.  Bring your wind jacket.

Tuesday is still Nov so 10.30 start.  For December and the rest of the winter we will start at 1100.

Whether you are 7 or 70, there is nothing as exciting as getting a new bike.

We have reached 85% of our goal of giving 10 people a New Bike Day.

If you want to help, please visit the World Bicycle Relief SOB team page.

Thanks to all who have already given!

Hope you have an enjoyable Turkey Day.   And a relaxing weekend.  Stay Safe.

Saturday Energetic Ride.  Let’s start back at El Cam Academy.  I bet there’s no yute sports this weekend.  Same time.  10.30.

Just over a week into the fundraiser and we have reached 75% of our goal of providing 10 Bison Bicycles ( $165 each!) to help people conquer the challenge of distance, achieve independence and thrive.

This would be a great time to give as WBR has a gift matching program until midnight tonight (14 Nov 2021).

A reminder that a C ride will take place on the Bosque this Thursday at 10:30 starting at the Alameda Open Space in ABQ.

1. C riders. Nov 11 this Thursday let’s ride the Bosque along the Rio Grande in ABQ. 34 miles but it’s an out and back so you can make it as long or short as you want. It’s also flat. Start 10:30 am at Alameda Open Space. Trees should be in full color. 😁contact me for questions 

The Saturday ride for A riders is scheduled to start at Agora Center in Eldorada 10:30 AM The route will go south on 285, then 41, then 42, up to Route 14 and then return; about 40 miles.

This will be the second annual World Bicycle Relief fundraiser for the SOBs.
I have set a fundraising goal of $1650, enough to buy 10 Buffalo Bicycles.

Cliok here to give:  https://give.worldbicyclerelief.org/sfsob

Here is what your donations will do:

• For rural children, education is the great equalizer. But distance is a barrier. Bicycles help students overcome the many challenges they face on their way to school.
• With two wheels, health workers are saving lives. They’re working to combat COVID-19, eliminate malaria, teach health and nutrition, and visit more homebound patients.
• With a bicycle, farmers and entrepreneurs increase their carrying capacity, earn more income and improve the quality of life for their families.
• Investing in women and girls will change the world. With bicycles, they can access education, healthcare and livelihoods to break the cycle of poverty and thrive.

With cold weather and fall moving in I’m thinking a ride down south might be fun. Planning the ride for Thursday Nov 4th at 10:30 am. Weather looks cool, 40-ish to start but winds are light all day and it warms up nicely down there on days like that.
The ride will be rescheduled if weather isn’t cooperating.

The route I’m thinking about would start at the RR station in Belen then head south via nice quiet country roads toward Bernardo on the west side of the Rio Grande. Although mostly paved, the route would include about 5 miles of smooth gravel/dirt roads and a great 3 mile gravel loop around a new waterfowl refuge. I’ve seen thousands of geese and cranes there in the past.
https://www.socorronm.org/attractions/ladd-s-gordon-waterfowl-complex-bernardo-waterfowl-area/
Return would be via Hy304 along the east side of the Rio Grande, a nice smooth, quiet, wide shouldered, paved country road followed by a meal at Pete’s.

I’ve done this route many times on my road bike with 28c tires and no issues but I think it would also be perfect for gravel bikes. It’s about 44 miles.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37895018

Contact Mike D with any questions: fuel90rider@yahoo.com 

There will be a ride from DeVargas to Rio en Medio with a roll out time of 10. Sign up not necessary.

We will start at BLM parking lot. corner of Dinosaur  and Rancho Viejo Blvd.  Same time.  Rest of October and November.

“Winter is coming.”

Tuesday and Saturday as hoc ride start points  will stay the same:

Tuesday – All at DeVargas.  Saturday – Bs at DeVargas; As at Camino Real Academy.

Changes of times will be announced as needed.

Thursday rides will rotate start points as in past years:

November – 599 RR station

December  – ElDorado

January – Museum Hill

February – SFCC (Community College)

March – Outlet Mall.

Subject to change with notice.

The C Ride will start at the 599 Station at 9:30, just as posted.  But we will do the Prison Loop which is about 21 miles.  If you need the route email judy –  j.costlow@gmail.com

Ride start time 9:30am. This is a beautiful ride down the Turquoise Trail to Albuquerque and return via the Rail Runner train. It will be a long day, 8 hrs with 70 miles and 3,300 feet of climbing. To make the train riders should be comfortable with riding in a pace line at 17mph on the flats. Climbs (3,300ft) will be much slower than that and I’m hoping for 14-15mph average speed with brief stops every 15 miles or so. We will have 7 hours to make it to the train in Abq which leaves time for a meal (Slice Pizza) before catching the train if all goes well on the ride.  Abq train time is 4:41 with backup train at 5:49, arrival back in Santa Fe at 5:43/6:57. I will ask the group to stay together for the ride in pace line fashion, and no one will be left behind for any reason including mechanical problems or flats. It should be a beautiful day, nice and cool with light winds.
Route I have planned is slightly different than the one posted on the website if things go well, but I think you’ll like the changes.
Mike D
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30507279

Effective Saturday, October 16, and until further notice, ad hoc Saturday rides for B riders will start at DeVargas Mall, just like the Tuesday rides.

Depending on the number of riders showing up, there may be two B groups, a faster group and a slower group, so that as many riders as possible can be accommodated. The faster group may be perceived as riding as fast as the A riders, but they will almost always ride shorter distances. The slower group may ride at a B- pace.

Thursday ride starts over the winter (November to March) will be announced at a later date.

The C ride for Thursday, Oct. 14th has been changed.  Starting Point is Ft. Marcy  (Parking lot off Murales St behind the Tennis Courts) at 10:00.  Not enough sign-ups for the Taos Gorge Site.  Reschedule  later.