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US 24-Hrs Mtn Biking Championships Promo Video (above)

Bragging Rights:

USA Cycling to bring Mountain Bike 24-Hour National Championships to Gallup

Colorado Springs, Colo. (March 29, 2012) —
USA Cycling has awarded the 2013 and 2014 Mountain Bike 24-Hour National Championships to Gallup, N.M.

The event will be held on the third Sunday in June in each year in the Zuni Mountains in conjunction with 24 Hours in the Enchanted Forest.  The 16-mile course is nearly entirely singletrack and starts at 7,850 feet of elevation and reaches as high as 8,350 feet of elevation, featuring 1,344 feet of climbing.

“There are a lot of great endurance races and experienced race directors out there," Director of Zia Rides Lindsay Mapes said. "I've been thinking about Nationals for a few years. We thought we had a shot — New Mexico has never hosted this event, Gallup is poised as a mountain bike destination, our team of organizers is seasoned, and we have a solid course. We're honored to have been selected and stoked about hosting in 2013-14!"

The two-year agreement between USA Cycling, the sport’s national governing body, and Zia Rides is expected to bring approximately 300 of the country's best endurance mountain bike riders to New Mexico.

"We're looking forward to bringing the 2013 and 2014 USA Cycling Mountain Bike 24-Hour National Championships to Gallup," National Events Director Kelli Lusk said. "The course in the Zuni Mountains featuring so much singletrack and climbing will certainly challenge the best endurance riders in the country."

USA Cycling has identified other locations for its 2013 and 2014 national championships, including the Mountain Bike Gravity National Championships.
High Desert Trail System: 
"Best in Country"

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Director of the National Park Service Jonathan B. Jarvis today announced the designation of 54 trails as national recreation trails, adding almost 1,400miles of trails to the National Trails System. Spanning 23 states, the land and water trails provide opportunities for communities to connect to the great outdoors.

“From Alabama to Alaska, these national recreation trails provide a gateway to outdoor recreation in both urban and rural areas,” said Secretary Salazar. "I am proud to partner with communities across the nation to expand this extraordinary network of trails, allowing more Americans to enjoy the great outdoors.” 

Today’s announcement comes in advance of National Trails Day on Saturday, June 2, when hundreds of organized activities – including hikes, educational programs, bike rides, trail rehabilitation projects, festivals, paddle trips, and trail dedications – will take place around the country. A listing of activities is available at http://www.americanhiking.org/national-trails-day/.

“Today’s trails join a network of more than 1,150 previously-designated trails that span more than 13,650 miles,.” said Director Jarvis. “As we celebrate National Trails Day on Saturday, I encourage everyone to explore a trail – new or old – and enjoy the natural world.”

The national trail system has become so extensive that if all the trails were laid end to end they would cross the entire country more than four times, offering millions of Americans opportunities to bike, hike, paddle and spend time with their family and friends outdoors, Jarvis noted.

National recreation trail designation recognizes existing trails and trail systems that link communities to recreational opportunities on public lands and in local parks across the nation. Each of the new national recreation trails will receive a certificate of designation, a letter of congratulations from Secretary Salazar, and a set of trail markers.

The national recreation trail program is jointly administered by the National Park Service and the USDA Forest Service in conjunction with a number of other federal and nonprofit partners, notably American Trails, which hosts the national recreation trails website at http://www.americantrails.org/nationalrecreationtrails.

The following 54 trails have been designated as national recreation trails.

NEW MEXICO
  • High Desert Trail System
ZMTP Proposed Trails Action

Be the first on your block to see the map that will change your life...

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A Guide to NM's Adventure Capital...
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Read the start of our story...

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Economic Impact

"Gallup: Adventure Capital of New Mexico"

Gallup is a special place, ‘where citizens still voice concerns and choose their future’.
In 1999, a group of 150 community members attended a forum to define an asset-based community development focus lead to a homegrown initiative around harnessing and promoting adventure tourism as an economic driver for the area.  Adventure tourism locally defined as both spectator and participatory outdoor activities where people are enjoying the natural beauty of the area – whether its horseback riding, fishing, ballooning, and birdwatching. 

Just to name a few adventures.
For decades, Gallup was the gateway to Indian country and thrived on cultural tourism.  It was the source for authentic Native American jewelry, art, and crafts – showcased most fully by the oldest continuous New Mexico event, the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial.  It become obvious that linking Gallup’s strong hospitality base and its cultural tourism niche with the outdoor opportunities of the high desert was a unique formula for success.
 
Gallup is a special place,
‘where a person can ride singletrack 'til their wheels bleed, and then attend nightly Native American dances in the downtown square.’
The AGB Board continues to harness the passion of community and its willingness to share its wondrous and diverse backyard.  This website not only goes out as an invitation to visit us again for the first time, but represents our sincerest gratitude to those in the trenches, who have made:  "Gallup , the Adventure Capital of New Mexico".

We welcome you to travel to 6,500 feet of
red rock-marked high desert and the ponderosa pine lined forest.

Adventure, respectfully. 
Leave no trace.

EXPLORE FOUR CORNERS.
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