The "City Circle" Loop Tour is a pleasant ride through Albuquerque. This tour is a good winter ride or early morning brunch ride. The tour is not overly long or complex and visits the the four quadrants of Albuquerque. The tour goes through downtown Albuquerque which is pretty deserted on weekend mornings. The ride uses city streets and the bikepaths.
Distance: 46 miles with no real steep sections except maybe MLK.
Getting there: Begin and end at the UNM Observatory north of Lomas on Yale.
Notes: Be prepared for flats from "goat-heads" on the bikepaths.
Thanks to Mark Pasnewski for developing this ride.
City Circle CueSheet // 46 Mile Options, pretty flat
Waypoint Description UNM Observatory Ride west on Tucker then jogs north to Constitution. Constitution Follow Constitution east all the way to Pennsylvania where it jogs north over the interstate on the bike/ped bridge then turns right (east) on Constitution again. Continue following Constitution east to Tramway. Tramway Turn left (north) on Tramway paralleling the Sandias with a great view of the mountains and the Rio Grande valley. Continue on Tramway north then west as it descends under I-25 and intersects 4th Street. Be alert during the descent in front of the Sandia Casino. Guadalupe & 4th St. Along 4th Street turn right on the one-way Guadalupe to Alameda. Alameda Then head right (west) on the Alameda bike lanes a little way to the Bosque Bikepath. You can get to the bikepath from the north, then crossing under Alameda, or by turning left into the Alameda Open Space parking lot. Alameda Open Space Lot Ride south on the bikepath under Paseo del Norte, Montano, I-40, and Central to the first barrier. 1st Trail "chicane" Turn left (east), cross Tingley, and ride east to 8th St. 8th St. Take 8th St. left (north) to Silver, right (east) on Silver to 12th St. 12th St. North on 12th. to Tijeras. Tijeras Turn right (east) on Tijeras to Martin Luther King. MLK Climb MLK or the "hill of death" east up to University. University Cross University and take the first left north to Los Lomas. Los Lomas Turn right on Los Lomas to Yale. Yale Finally, turn left (north) on Yale, cross Lomas and climb the hill up to the UNM Observatory.