La Mesa Loop

Sometimes I just want to ride flat and look at the scenery. I have a strong preference for loop rides, so that I have more to look at instead of just returning via the same way I went out. This La Mesa Loop is a great flat 1/2 century ride for just that purpose.

This ride encompasses the Wednesday night route (see earlier post), but adds another 13 miles. After heading up Upper Valley Road to Borderland to Bosque to Vinton to Westside, the ride goes east on Washington, then north on Dairy Farm, connecting to O'Hara Road and then north again on Three Saints past Berino. On this ride, I tried out Six Mile Road to link up with NM 478 to Vado, then headed west on NM 189 to get to NM 28 and then the turnaround at Eagle Grocery in La Mesa.

Eagle Grocery, by the way, is a popular rest stop for all the cyclists going between El Paso and Mesilla. It's a mom-and-pop market with all the usual convenience store stuff plus good empanadas and burritos if you're hungry.

For the the return trip, I stuck to NM 28 then back home via the usual Weds. night route (FM 259 to Gato to Morrill to Cocula to Upper Valley).

It adds up to about 47 miles on the map -- just over 50 for my ride since I rode from my home. I did this on a hot summer day between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., so this was plenty.