A state grant will pay for much-needed improvements to trails in the Sandia Mountains for New Mexico mountain bikers.
Hannah Russert and Jeremy Peterson of the Albuquerque Mountain Bike Association (AMBA) applied for the grant through the state’s Economic Development Department’s Outdoor Recreation Division. Their proposal was good enough to receive the max amount possible, $99,000.
“We got a huge spread of trails, all sorts of varieties and technical abilities,” Peterson, an Albuquerque Mountain Bike Association board member, told KRQE.
Mountain biking enjoyed increased popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic when people were looking for ways to get out of the house.
“More people are getting outside, I mean, you can go out to the Foothills any day of the week and see quite a few individuals out on bikes,” Russert, also a board member, told KRQE.
Many of the advanced riders in the metro area have to travel up to three hours to places like Angel Fire or Farmington to find suitable trails. The grant will help develop trails in Albuquerque that will be appealing and challenging.
“Around Albuquerque, a lot of the trails are beginner to intermediate with some advanced trails sprinkled here and there,” Russert said. “There are a lot of riders here that do have that more advanced skillset. One of the big things is looking into the mountains and expanding that to have more what we would consider black diamonds or more advanced rider trails.”
AMBA is working with the U.S. Forest Service to use the money to improve existing, but not officially marked trails on the east side of the Sandia Crest.
“We can build them in a sustainable and safe manner, so nobody’s getting hurt out there, and we know where they are if somebody does get hurt,” Peterson said.
Giving skilled riders challenging trails so they stay closer to home was a key factor in applying for the grant.
“Younger kids don’t have that opportunity to make that trip up there, whereas having something close to the metro their friends or parents can give them a ride,” Russert said.
AMBA said it hopes to have construction on the new trails completed by next spring.