Living & Riding on the Southern Tier Route

I met a fellow Southern Tier traveler today just before he entered the pecan grove pictured above. I was riding north on NM 28 with my ROYALS friends on our monthly ride when I spotted him riding south with his loaded bike. I couldn't resist making a U-turn and introducing myself and asking about his tour. His name is Hassan Sachedina he's an African environmental and political economist currently cycling the RhinoRide across America to raise awarness for rhino conservation. If you are intersted in his cause and ride he's sending tweets. I Googled him and he's quite an accomplished individual, check out http://www.kilimanyika.com/ppl_hs.htm. Living in southern NM on the Southern Tier Route has it perks, the weather, the people, and the interesting travelers you can meet on a routine Saturday ride.

Check Hassan Sachedina tweets at http://twitter.com/hsachedina

Successful First Ever NM LCI Conference!

I just finished planning, hosting and presenting at the first ever Bicycle Coalition of New Mexico (BCNM) League Cycling Instructor (LCI) Conference held in Las Cruces, NM this weekend, Nov. 13 & 14. We started and ended with fun activities. We started with a reception on Friday night and ending with a 20 mile bike ride up the Mesilla Valley on Saturday afternoon. We heard four presentation including two by the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) National Education Director, Preston Tyree. His first was about why NM ranks 46 out of 50 on Bike Friendly States and his second was on Smart Cycling, which is LABs Bike Education Program. Craig Degenhardt, President of BikeABQ updated us on the Albuquerque Bike Ralley scheduled for June 2010. And I gave a presentation on BCNM's "Train the Trainer" Program which is a support program for LCIs in teaching their Smart Cycling Courses and Bike Events. Next year New Mexico is bound to go up in the State rankings for Bike Friendly States!

Tours for Beginner Bike Tourists

Explore NM asked what tours would be good for someone new to bicycle touring. Adventure Cycling Association offers two multi-day "relaxed" tours, the Idaho Relaxed Tour and the Colorado Relaxed Tour. Both offer low mileage per day on mult-use paths as well as on low traffic roads. Both tours feature spectacular scenery and numerous off-bike activities like fishing, rafting, hiking, shopping, swimming as well as just resting at camp. I've had the pleasure of leading the CO Relaxed Tour ('09) and have lead a Family Tour on the same route as the ID Relaxed. If you are a beginner traveler by bicycle, or if you're trying to introduce a family member or friend to bike touring, these are good tours to start with. To learn more about them visit www.adventurecycling.org.

Tell me about your favorite bike tour!

I just finished a bike tour of New Mexico with a great group of people. I'll be adding details soon, but I want to hear about your trips! Tell me about them!

Check out my friend Larry Brock's video on USA Toay about the C&O Canal. A great place to bicycle tour!
Cyclists hit the rail trail for a recession-resistant getaway - USATODAY.com