Perhaps more so than is true for drivers, there are a great many types of cyclists. But you wouldn’t know that from looking at media/Internet. Everything from old print holdovers such as “Bicycling Magazine” (remember magazines) to the widely known but actually limitedly used Strava continue to paint pretty much only one picture of cycling and cyclists:

We are all still wear lycra, still try to go as fast as possible on the skinniest tires possible, except when we go to big tires and try to conquer mountains, and still argue about whether wearing a helmet is a sign of authoritarism.

You know, just like in 1992.

The continued disconnect between how cycling is portrayed via print/electrons and what is actually going on circa-2023 has many ramifications, including continued attempts by the ever-shrinking lycra crowd, almost never successful, to exert political influence on cycling infrastructure decisions and implementation. Anyone who has attended any public meetings on roadway projects has seen this small, tightly clothed set of cyclists often dominate any and all discussion when the subject, finally, gets around to “other” roadway users (pedestrians, cyclists, transit).

But let’s talk about another ramification, especially as poor attempts at exerting political influence is really boring and unfun, whereas cycling itself is fun and not boring. Or at least it should/can be. Instead, let’s talk about this:

Above, in blue, is a stretch of a bike ride I took this past weekend south of Belen through Jarales on NM 109. Many readers will discern that I’m taking this illustration from my Strava account, which I quite happily pay for despite the fact it invariably shows I am one of the slowest bike riders in all of Stravaland. In the case of this “segment” to use the parlance, Strava tells me I am now 37th out of 65 Strava member cyclist who have ridden this segment, this despite riding south with a pretty hefty tailwind. Another segment notes I am 70th out of 82 riders on that one.

I am so proud.

I’d never cycled Jarales, Las Nutrias, Casa Colarado, Veguita, or any of the other remarkably unpopulated hamlets south of Belen, and maybe you haven’t either. My sense from Strava, etc., is that almost all cyclists who have been down that way are making visits through such hamlets part of their going on 100-mile bike rides averaging 18 mph at an average heart rate of 150 bpm or more.

Well, I’m hear to tell you, and am putting it on the Internet to compete with the many, many sites catering to the 100/18/150 crowd, that riding through Jarales at 12 mph or so was a total blast. Tailwind or no tailwind.

I haven’t cycled everywhere in New Mexico, not even close, but in my experience the NM 109 stretch through and south of Jarales is hard to beat. I mention it here today for two reasons: 1. Maybe you’d consider giving it a go yourself, particularly at a slower pace; 2. In the sea of lycra, speed, skinny tire, high heart rate cycling posts, now there’s gonna be at least one out there for us slow, wanna have fun folks. Happy crawling, folks.