The Radavist

On Saturday morning, bright and early, I dropped Bailey and Erik off at Cumbres Pass, on the Colorado/New Mexico border. These two are riding the length of New Mexico on the Continental Divide Trail, bypassing Wilderness areas along the way. Not many people have ridden the length of this segment of the CDT, as it traverses the most remote stretches of the New Mexico back country. I’m not sure how much these two will be updating their Instagram accounts along the way, but give them a follow if you’re into this kind of thing. Oh, and they’re riding it singlespeed (32x22t). Hopefully, we’ll have a story from them when they’re done.

Tailwinds and cold water, you two!

Check out their bikes in our Reportage Archives below…

We posted this video within today’s Reportage but here it is in a stand-alone post. Thanks to Kyle Klain for whipping this up on such short notice.

Music by Afsky…

New Mexico has been a hot spot for cycling for a while now, with Outside Magazine Magazine ranking some of our local trails in its Best Bike Rides in the World article, and various companies, including BTI calling it home. But what about smaller companies? What is driving them to move to the chile state? Head on over to the Alburquerque Journal to read all about the reasons for this migration of makers. Check out our coverage for these makers in the Related footer…

A welcome letter to the bike businesses putting down roots in the Land of Enchantment

Maybe you’re a frame builder fed up with congested lines of traffic to the area’s best singletrack. Maybe you own a cut-and-sew bike bag operation and are looking for access to phenomenal long-distance gravel routes through some of the country’s most vivid landscapes.

Whatever work and aspirations brought you to New Mexico, we’re glad you’re here. Welcome!

Here in New Mexico, you’re joining a growing cohort of companies that make up the backbone of the state’s fast-growing outdoor recreation economy. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham – through the incredible public-health, social justice, and climate change policy she has advanced since she took office in 2019 – has prioritized outdoor recreation efforts. The Governor views the outdoor industry sector as a key way for the state to diversify its economy away from reliance on fossil fuel extraction.

That’s why the Governor is investing in outdoor recreation businesses. The New Mexico Economic Development Department, led by Secretary Alicia J. Keyes, has many, many tools to support new and growing businesses, from infrastructure and job training grants to low-interest loans and help to navigate federal stimulus programs.

There are so many programs, in fact, that I won’t delve deep into all the acronyms or specifics here, other than to stress that there is financing (again, grants, loans, and more) available for a business like yours. I will also point you in the direction of two helpful resources to get you started: The Economic Development Department and the New Mexico Outdoor Recreation Division’s websites.

Finally, I’ll leave it at this: If you own an outdoor recreation business and you want to move it to New Mexico, please reach out. We have financing and other resources to support you and your vision.

Most importantly, please reach out. You can contact me with any questions at Alexandra.navas@state.nm.us. We’re here to help welcome you to the Land of Enchantment.

Axie Navas is the director of New Mexico’s first Outdoor Recreation Division, which is committed to sustainably growing the outdoor recreation economy in the state.

Our friend Collette is an artist living in Las Cruces, New Mexico. She designed this logo called “Food Chain’s a Bitch” for Matt from the Monumental Loop. Matt used it in his custom Rogue Panda framebag and after much demand, Rogue Panda has offered this as a custom design option for their framebags! See more at Rogue Panda under “more” options for the fabric choices.

We’ve got a project we’re really excited to launch with Collette, so say tuned for future updates as events warrant…

Since first announcing the brand last year here at the Radavist, Buckhorn Bags has been cranking away at custom and production orders and just yesterday Sam launched their new website with slots for custom bags and other production gear loaded up. The Conejo Hip Pack will be stocked May 14th, yet is open for pre-order, but the Rattler Stem Bag is in stock and shipping now. Custom full and half frame bags have a 6-8 week lead time and we’ll be reviewing this ordering process next week.

There is no shortage of custom bag makers but if you’re a local, check out your newest New Mexico bag maker at Buckhorn Bags.

I’ve been riding DOOM Bars since the brand first launched last year on my Retrotec singlespeed. Bailey has been sending them on his basket bike and late last year, I added them to my Sklar tourer as well. Today we featured Kyle’s Sklar touring bike, which features the new “Bikepacker’s Delight”, a bar with 19-degree backsweep, a 5” wide stem clamp area (for bags and such), 38mm rise (1.5”), and come shipped at 875mm wide (34.4”), which can be cut to 780mm with a 185mm grip area.

While the black powdercoated Bikepacker’s Delight are sold out, DOOM still has nickel-plated bars in stock (pictured above). These bars are perfect for singlespeeds, trail bikes, tourers, klunkers, and the like. We’re stoked to continue to support New Mexico-based makers and are more than excited to continue to support DOOM in their endeavores.

Check out DOOM Bars‘ new website and browse their current bar options!

In a few short years Trinidad, Colorado has gone from a relatively unknown adventure travel destination on the I-25 border with New Mexico to one of most talked about by Front Range gravel cycling enthusiasts.  When the Colorado Tourism Office supported Explore Las Animas gravel cycling tourism campaign was launched in 2019 by Backshop Bicycle Travel Supply, an experiential agency, the goal was to make southeastern Colorado a worthy bike destination in tandem with the growing gravel trend. Now, as the Santa Fe Trail celebrates its 200th anniversary, a host of multimedia cycling tourism related content and ride events in 2021 are poised to carry that objective further down the path as Trinidad reclaims its old west mountain trail town heritage by welcoming gravel cyclists to a distinct travel experience on the Colorado-New Mexico border.

Boosting expected summer cycling visitation this year is the new Trinidad-Las Animas County Gravel Adventure Field Guide developed by the City of Trinidad to assist visitors wanting to sample the over 1,600 miles of county roads accessible from downtown. The guidebook is produced in partnership with Backshop Bikes, Beneski Design, and People For Bikes. Its 64 pages highlight the region’s distinct culture and history, and includes 11 curated Ride Spot routes that are downloadable. The guide intentionally fosters an online and offline user experience. This handy jersey pocket sized book not only helps navigate the remote southeastern Colorado terrain, but also helps make a more enjoyable trip by directing visitors to local restaurants, shops, galleries, and museums. Accompanying the guidebook’s release is a Beneski short film shot by Justin Balog detailing its contents in a fun and quirky way.

The Valles Caldera is nestled in the Jemez Mountains and is a veritable riding paradise with a vast network of dirt roads, plenty of water, abundant fishing, and even hot springs. Part of what makes the Valles Caldera so great for cycling is the extremely limited vehicular access and it would be nice to have designated camping. These points and more can be made on the NPS website as they’re currently seeking public comment. Head on over and let them know what you’d like to see!

Photo by Nathan Burnside

Update! See our coverage here:
–Wind, Chile, Chonk, and the Monumental Loop: the 2021 Dangerbird in Las Cruces
–Scenes from the 2021 New Mexico Bikepacking Summit and the Dangerbird Grand Depart Rider and Bike Portaits

If you don’t follow Monumental Loop on Instagram, then you might have missed the details for this fall’s Dangerbird race/ride. We’ll be there in attendance to ride/tour the Full Bird. Check out all the details from Matt below and don’t miss the Bikes or Death Podcast interview with him too!