Santa Fe has a booming mountain bike community. Partly due to the abundance of trails, yet it takes skilled professionals to build and maintain those trails. For our National Forest, we rely on the kick-ass team that is the Fat Tire Society. They act as the liaison between the BLM/USFS and our public lands. Currently, the Fat Tire Society is working on a sprawling network of trails just south of Santa Fe in Arroyo Hondo. Yet, further south in the town of Glorieta, there’s a brand new trail that’s opening up on October 22nd that I have to tell you about…

Rocket Ramps

Henry and Ted make up the trail-building duo and dirt jump heroes at Rocket Ramps. While the company builds modular jumps for parks, they also build trails, utilizing several other talented humans to build and maintain new, modern, and sustainable trails.

Over the summer, they completed a few new trails in Pajarito, a ski basin close to Los Alamos, and an extensive network on Mount Bachelor in Oregon. They’re back at Glorieta Adventure Camps, where they just completed a new trail called “Chips and Salsa.”

New Mexico Flow

This term is a misnomer. We ain’t got no flow here. It’s all chunky rocks and roots, covered in kitty litter granulated granite, basalt, and quartz. The terrain is rough and tough, with steep, jutting mountains – the Southern Rockies – towering over town. Getting your descents in takes a lot of effort.

This was the impetus for Rocket Ramps to develop a new flow trail at Glorieta, a massive plot of private land about 20 miles south of town. It’s here that the Big Mountain Enduro has held races on Jagged Ax, Chili Dog, and Holy Molé. These three trails are some of the most technical in Northern New Mexico.

These trails are where we shot Locke on the Breadwinner Bad Otis and Kyle on his Myth Zodiak.

After completing “Cairn Me Up,” a climbing trail in 2020, Glorieta commissioned Henry and Ted to build a flow trail. One that’s challenging, yet ridable, for novice beginners but a ripper for those with skills. There are no gaps, only pyramids on the blue line, with doubles, lily pads, and step-downs on the black line.

Friday Night Lights

I showed up Friday afternoon with my camera pack and my Starling Murmur to shoot this new trail. Upon my arrival, I was stoked to see that Henry and Ted had pulled together a large group of all-women riders. After a warm-up lap, the ladies began sessioning various jumps and berms.

The sun began to dip over Rowe Mesa as the sends got deeper, the berms got bedded in, and the dust glowed a bright orange in the fading light.

We rode Chips and Salsa, got some amazing photos, and dined on the back of our friend Carrie’s Tundra after the ride.

Opening Day

Chips and Salsa opens officially on October 22nd, with an opening party hosted by the Broken Spoke at Glorieta. If you’re around or within driving distance of Glorieta, come on out and show the team some love!

Glorieta Adventure Camps
EventBrite Page for Free Tickets
11 NM-50, Glorieta, NM 87535
Here’s the location for the opening party.