If you are looking for a radical change from dewy, lush mountainscape the Land of Enchantment should be high on your list. New Mexico is home to beautiful desert scenery and unique geological features that you can only find in the southwest.

Mountain bikers rejoice, there are numerous trails to choose from with minimal traffic and endless horizon.

Check out the psychedelic color fields of White Mesa trails, just outside of Albuquerque in San Ysidro, skirting along the Ojito Wilderness.

The region is part of the Zia Pueblo, where the Bureau of Land Management has had the opportunity to design a fun, flowy mountain-bike specific trail loop. The stunning landscape stretches untouched in all directions drenched with trippy mineral stains and rugged sandstone formations.

Millions of years ago the area was under a deep sea of water, as the climate changed and the water evaporated, gypsum formed. This spectacular white mineral covers much of the mesa and creates an amazing polarity with the other colorful minerals throughout the area. The surrounding narrow mesa ridges have been home to rare dinosaur remains and other fossil findings of fauna from the Jurassic period, including petrified trees that are 150 million years old!

Throughout White Mesa are many classic examples of plunging anticline; a sequence of rock layers produced by geologic forces, this is displayed by folds in the rock layer that are progressively older toward the center of the fold. The massive sinkholes and bubbling sulfur you will ride through mid-loop are special features of this pristine desert land. San Ysidro lies near the intersection of four significant geological features including the Colorado plateau to the west and the 15 million year old Jamez Volcanic field to the northeast.

If you would like to experience a free for all of more technical riding, cross over highway 550 where you can ride Red Mesa, a series of washes, big rock slabs and challenging steps and ledges. No matter what you fancy, this area is sure to impress, just make sure you stay hydrated and wear sunscreen, the vast blue sky and reflective gypsum ground is not forgiving to foreigners!