Sacramento Mountain Sacrifice
May
31, 2008 Start Time - 5:00 AM
This route consists of two loops starting in Ruidoso,NM. We chose this route because of its beautiful mountainous
terrain, the challenging route, and to broaden the horizons for most New Mexican riders. The route traverses the Sacramento
Mountains in the Lincoln National Forest and the Mescalero Apache Tribal Lands.
This brevet starts at 6500' and immediately climbs up to 8000' into the forested and mountain
meadows on the Mescalero Apache Lands then gradually climbing up to Cloudcroft at 8600'. The route continues south
along rolling mountainous terrain to the supported turnaround at Sunspot Solar Observatory. Drop bags will be available
here as well as food and water. Randonneurs double back to the Cloudcroft area then drop 2000' to Mayhill and close
out the loop to the Cloudcroft area again, before turning north, retracing the route to Ruidoso. This southern portion
is remote, with no services, except in Cloudcroft which is nearby the course on three separate occasions, and a small store
in Mayhill which will serve as a checkpoint.
Riders may choose to freshen up in Ruidoso, rest, or proceed on the fast
downhill on US 70 to Hondo and then turning up Rio Bonito Canyon on US 380 and pass by the historic Lincoln Co. Courthouse
of Billy the Kid fame. After turning toward Fort Stanton brevet riders head back up to Alto before heading north to
Capitan and looping over to Nogal and heading back up to Alto and then down to Ruidoso. Here again, this is back country
riding with few services and those are dependent on arrival times, in general the smaller the town, the earlier the closing
times of the convenience stores. Therefore, food, water and a second drop bag service will be provided as Checkpoint
5/6.
This will be a fairly slow 400k due
to the 17,000+ feet of climbing. The highest elevation is about 9500' and the lowest is 5300'. The first
loop is higher, longer, with more climbing, but is during the daylight hours. The second loop is lower, with less
climbing, but there are significant climbs near the end up to Alto. Traffic is minimal except for the areas around Ruidoso.
