The bike ride Sunday will pass through Jemez Springs, where cottonwoods showcase their brilliantly yellow leaves. Photo by ©Phillip Noll/ravenmountain.com
PEEC/LAM News:
Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) and the Los Alamos Mountaineers (LAM) are partnering to offer a road ride Sunday, Oct. 29 from Jemez Springs to the Gilman Tunnels and back.
Join Ross Lemons on a paved ride to enjoy fall colors, great company and colorful geology.
This trip is a bicycle ride on paved roads from Jemez Springs to the Gilman Tunnels and back. The Gilman tunnels are in the most scenic section of the Guadalupe River Box and were originally blasted out of the rock in the 1920’s for a logging railroad. The cottonwoods along the route should be near the peak of their fall colors, making it a most beautiful ride.
The total distance is about 29 miles with around 700 feet of elevation gain on way out and about 600 feet on the way back. The rock is a Precambrian crystalline matrix that is pinkish in color making it a popular area for technical climbing.
This is an out-and-back ride along N.M. 4 to Highway 485 and Highway 376 to the tunnels, with an option for those who prefer a shorter ride. The group should be back in Jemez Springs by about 12:30 p.m. where those who would like can have lunch at a local restaurant.
Riders will meet at 8:30 a.m. at the nature center to carpool. There is an option to meet at the start of the ride. Visit peecnature.org or call the nature center 505.662.0460 for details.
Lemons is a laid-back biker. That is–he mostly rides recumbent bikes. He grew up in Los Alamos and then returned in 1982. After 24 years as a manager at LANL, he retired in 2006. His main activities are designing and building travel bicycles, visiting grandkids, bicycle touring, skiing in the winter and traveling. He also is a Los Alamos Mountaineer (LAM), so all LAM members can attend this ride for free.
This guided ride is costs $5 for non-members and it is free for PEEC and LAM members. Space is limited, and advance registration is required. To register and for more information about this and other PEEC programs, visit www.peecnature.org, email programs@peecnature.org, or call 505.662.0460.
PEEC was founded in 2000 to serve the community of Los Alamos. It offers people of all ages a way to enrich their lives by strengthening their connections to our canyons, mesas, mountains, and skies. PEEC operates the Los Alamos Nature Center at 2600 Canyon Road, holds regular programs and events, and hosts a number of interest groups from birding to hiking to butterfly watching. PEEC activities are open to everyone; however, members receive exclusive benefits such as discounts on programs and merchandise. Annual memberships start at $35. To learn more, visit www.peecnature.org.