Rio Puerco Loop

Taylor Ranch - Double Eagle - Rio Puerco Loop

The classic Taylor Ranch - Rio Puerco - Double Eagle Loop begins and ends at the Taylor Ranch library. This is a good winter ride. The ride takes you high on the west side where there are great views of the Sandias, Manzanos, and Mt. Taylor to the west. The Rio Puerco leg is often used for time trials. There is an option that begins and ends at Paradise Hills that eliminates Unser and the Taylor Ranch areas. The I-40 frontage road has some notable rolling hills. It is often windy out there. There is a Stuckey's and another convenience store on the north and south sides of I-40 at the Rio Puerco where you can get snacks or food for the return trip. Some stop at the Double Eagle airport snack bar for lunch.

Double Eagle Airport / Rio Puerco Route

Universe Rd. is a new road from the end of Unser north of Montaño at the top of the hill to the stop sign at Paradise Hills Rd. at the east end of the La Ventana addition. This road is 2-lanes (no shoulders naturally) but with a speed limit of 35 (ha ha). But this road eliminates a lot of the thrashing around through Taylor Ranch for Double Eagle II loop rides. Also, there are some new bike lanes on Paradise Hills Rd. further east.

Getting There: Begin and end at 5700 Bogart St. NW, at the Taylor Ranch Library, west of Unser at Montano NW.

Distance: Universe Rd. can be used to shorten the loops.

50 Miles for the complete loop.
44 Miles for the out and back from Paradise Hills.
38 Miles, 1,960' of elevation gain for the Taylor Ranch Out and Back.

Roads: All the roads out of town have light traffic. Golf Course is no fun, though. The Paseo del Volcan and I-40 frontage road both have shoulders and very light traffic. The road from Double Eagle and Paseo del Norte have no shoulders but very little traffic.

Options:

Paradise Hills below is an alternate starting location that eliminates the traffic in Taylor Ranch.
You can continue to the south at the on Paseo del Volcan at Central Ave. which goes south to Rio Bravo.
Parking north of the Paseo del Volcan/Central intersection gives you a 20-mile out and back.
Universe connects the La Ventanna subdivision to the north end of Unser so you don't have to fight the traffic in Paradise Hills. They may not be any street signs.
The Taylor Ranch Out-and-Back route is Taylor Ranch Library via Unser to Central to the I-40 north frontage road at Paseo del Volcan to the Rio Puerco and back. This avoids the high open Double Eagle Airport area when windy.
See the Double Eagle Dash for another popular option.

Notes:

There is a snack bar at the Double Eagle airport.
There are two convenience stores at the Rio Puerco I-40 exit turnaround.
There is a convenience store at the I-40 / Central Paseo del Volcan exit.

Taylor Ranch - Double Eagle - Rio Puerco Loop

Taylor Ranch - Double Eagle Loop CueSheet // 50 Miles

Mileage Waypoint Description

0
Taylor Ranch Library Begin South on Unser past the volcanic cliffs, over I-40 to the red light at Central.

5.8
Central & Unser Right (W) on Central, labor up 9-mile hill.

9.6
Nine-mile hill Curve right(N) over I-40 on the overpass, this is the Double Eagle Airport road. Turn left (W) on the north frontage road(.2 miles).

9.8
Frontage Rd. Continue on the frontage road west climbing several moderate rollers, while enjoying the expansive vistas, past the radar towers, to the Rio Puerco, cross the old bridge, cross over (left) I-40 to the Stuckey's to enjoy some shade and recovery.

19.7
Rio Puerco When refreshed return (E) over I-40 to the north frontage road, over the old bridge, back over the rollers, to the stop sign at the Double Eagle Road. Remember being here before?

29.5
Double Eagle Rd. & Frontage Rd. Turn left (N) onto the Double Eagle Road and continue past the facilities and the volcanos to the intersection at the Double Eagle Airport.

36.6
Double Eagle Airport Take a hard right on the new road that curves north quickly downhill then curves east after a few miles of even faster downhills into Paradise Hills to the stoplight at Golf Course Road.

45.1
Golf Course & Paradise Hills Right onto Golf Course Road, follow this downhill as it curves slightly left, through the red light at Paseo del Norte past the Smith's to the intersection at Calle Nortena. Now it gets complicated. Be of good cheer, Unser is not too far away (as the bird flies).

46.2
Golf Course & Calle Nortena Turn right on Calle Nortena, climb furiously uphill to Taylor Ranch Rd.

46.8
Taylor Ranch Rd. & Calle Nortena Left (S) on Taylor Ranch to Homestead. There are several valid ways back from here. The following attempts to stay off Montano which has a lot of traffic in the afternoon.

47.2
Homestead & Taylor Ranch Right on Homestead to Tesuque.

47.7
Homestead & Tesuque Turn right on Tesuque and climb.

48.7
Tesuque & Mojave Turn right (W) onto Mojave, if paved, continue to Unser, otherwise jog one block south to Domingo, then right to Unser.

48.9
Unser & Mojave Turn left (S) on Unser to the red-light at Montano

49.5
Montano & Unser Turn right (W) on Montano, the library is in sight! Take the first left, Bogart, to the library parking lot.(49.6)

Taylor Ranch Option1: While on Homestead if you miss Tesuque follow the Bike Path signs right on Mojave, then south to Montano. There is usually a lot of traffic on Montano but a right turn crosses Unser and onto the library.

Taylor Ranch Option2: While on Tesuque if you miss Mojave, continue on and intersect Montano, turn right, cross Unser and to the library.

Parasite Hills - Double Eagle - Rio Puerco In-And-Out Option, 44 miles

This option of the Rio Puerco ride eliminates all the traffic in the Taylor Ranch and Central Avenue areas but keeps the scenic portion.

Park in the public park on Paradise Blvd. west of Golf Course, see "Park" on the Overview Map.
Ride west on Paradise Hills Blvd. that turns into Paseo del Norte to Double Eagle Airport.
Follow Paseo del Vulcan south to the Rio Puerco turnoff on the north I-40 frontage road at the truck dealership.
Ride out to Stuckey's on the Rio Puerco and stop for a snack.
Return by the same route.

Taylor Ranch Detail

Taylor Ranch Library: 5700 Bogart St. NW

Taylor Ranch to Rio Puerco Out-and-Back Elevation Profile

Excludes Double Eagle leg.