We rode one of my absolute favorite stretches of Albuquerque-area road this morning.

It’s in the Manzano Mountains, the road leading east from Oak Flat Picnic Area, a twisting gentle descent through the woods that lets a slowpoke like me feel really fast without being so steep that you end up going scary fast. The forest is beautiful and cool, the road is nicely banked, there’s very little traffic.

Of course you’ve got to climb up into the mountains to get there. Anything else would be a cheat. But the ride up South 14 (actually now numbered 337, but everyone still calls it “South 14”) isn’t all that steep, and the whole thing makes for a pleasant day in the saddle.

The New Mexico Touring Society’s Oak Flat page shows a number of routes in the, area, though you’ve got to head east at Oak Flat – it’s on their map, but not highlighted – for the fun twisty bits.

(Props to the NMTS people for an amazing web resource of Albuquerque-area rides. It’s another one of those fabulous Internet treasures – people who know something useful generously using the Interweb to share it.)