Ditch riding is a cross between road cycling and mountain biking. You ride a bit slower than on the road, but it's still offers a much smoother and consistent pace than riding mountain trails. There's also the advantage that the area's network of ditches offers miles and miles of traffic-free riding but you're always close to local roads in case you need a quicker way home.
On the first Sunday of October, three of us ventured out to Vinton via the Montoya, Canutillo and La Union East canals. We were lucky that this coincided with the last irrigation of the season, so the canals were running full. Riding along a canal brimming with water adds a special feel to the ride. We spotted ducks, egrets, a heron and roadrunner along the way.
We picked up a branch of the Montoya Canal at Country Club and the Rio Grande, and followed it to the Montoya Main at Montoya and Mulberry, then followed the main canal along Montoya until it met back up with the river levee. Between Artcraft and Borderland, the Montoya Canal goes underneath the river and joins the Canutillo Canal. We rode the levee road to Borderland, crossed the river and got on the Canutillo Canal just west of the river. From there, the canal runs north through farmland. North of FM 259 it enters the residential neighborhoods of Canutillo, passing by Canutillo Middle School and Gallegos Park.
The canal eventually merges with the La Union East canal, which travels through more farms and orchards. At South Vinton Road it was time to turn back, so we opted to take S. Vinton east to the river and ride the paved river trail back to Country Club.
This added up to a little over 20 miles, which takes nearly two hours. One of my goals is to do some segments along the canals going north, just to see if it's feasible to ride them all the way to Mesilla and beyond.
One word of caution about ditch riding: Make sure you are riding the most puncture-resistant tires you can get. At a couple of points we ran through weeds that covered our tires with goatheads. I had just changed the tubes on my bike to the thickest ones I could buy, and they held up well. One of my riding buddies ran out of luck with about a mile to go. It's a good idea to carry a patch kit, pump and extra tube in case of emergencies. Carry plenty of water, also -- it's a long way between places where you can refill a water bottle.
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I tried doing a little bit of riding along the canal paths in the Upper Valley yesterday - I was chased by no less than four dogs in one hour from the rural homes in the neighborhood. It was a nightmare! Take care riding in these parts, most owners seem to have little control over their dogs and riding in the dirt/gravel paths make your escape that much slower.
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