2010 New Mexico Trip Part 1

Thursday 26 August 2010

I seem unable to get the airplane onto the ground. Finally, after it does touch down, I'm told by tower to make a right turn at the end to exit. "Speed permitting" I quip, then curse as I am too fast to turn and roll off the end of the pavement. In the ensuing chaos I seem to have lost my uniform and am in shorts and t-shirt and Captain's hat directing the emergency vehicles. Then I wake up with a headache and wonder what's up with that.

It's 0600 and 45 degrees or so. My sleeping bag is doing just fine this trip. On previous excursions it has fallen short somewhere around 0200 and 40 degrees, and I've wound up wearing nearly as much as when riding. A t-shirt, shorts, tube socks, and (of course) my fleece hat seem to do the trick until the nocturnal temperature nadir, when simply stuffing a fleece jacket down into the voids of the bag seems to work. I did take precautions and set up my stove/food at a distance from the tent, so to make coffee I had to get dressed and then drag it all back over. No problem. Again, not having to match speeds with someone else made it a low stress event. While I pack school buses begin to kick up dust along the NF road. Back in the saddle I'm heading for Coyote NM eastbound on NM96, and about to cross the point of no return. Here in the DFW MetroMess you never really have an excuse to run out of gas - virtually every exit has several choices. Along NM roadways, however, with a motorcycle's range, you can reach a point where there'd better be gas available in the next town - or your adventure level will increase as you begin looking for a good Samaritan. When I arrive at THE store there are two pumps (good) and one pickup already waiting (not good). There are also several high school aged boys milling about, and one old rancher of indeterminate age and heritage. Native American? Mexican? We do a little awkward dance, and then sit in mostly silent prayer lifting up the safety, health, and work ethic of the store owner. To no avail. Should be open by 0730, so by 0845 the old rancher acknowledges with a slight grin - 'I guess no store today', and we all look for alternate gas. My next option is Abiquiu further east, and it is a delight. Though there is a modern gas plaza display of pumps out front, there are also fresh produce stands and a homemade ice cream (bags of rock salt will testify) store. Inside Bode's Store are selections of hardware, gifts, sporting goods (fishing), grocery items, video, and a deli/grill maned (oops, let's say 'run' by women next time, shall we?) by a couple of ladies who look like they found their niche after nearly a lifetime of looking. Breakfast burritos are being wrapped and displayed (no questions about whether or which chili you'd like - it'll be red because it's good, it's good for you, and that's the only way we make 'em here). The cork board advertisements are like an Indian Totem - part history, part news, part want-ads, and the banter is quick and friendly - "You know, Jess, I can't complain about the service here - THERE AIN'T ANY! HAR!
From Abiquiu I head north on NM84 to Chama. This road has some of the most arresting rock formations and colors in the state, including a huge natural amphitheatre. As always, the process of 'did you get a picture?' is more complex traveling solo on a bike at 65 (ahem) mph. Looking along the road something catches your eye. 1/4mile later you realize it was photo worthy, 1/4mile more and you decide you probably should take a photo, then you have to clear for a U-turn and go back and find the item/view you saw AND a safe place to pull off and take the snap. Then it's imperative to clear again for another U-turn back onto the highway. I haven't taken a photo yet worth getting hit by a car for - but I'm not a very good photographer.

I've been to Chama before, and know there's a good RV campsite on the north end of town, which allows me to enjoy the adverts and teasers along the way for what they are. I offer up 16$ and leave tent and baggage (except for tank bags which have survival stuff (jumper cables, tire products, water and food)) then head west on NM64 to Dulce and the Jicarilla Nation. Again, there's a wiggly line on the map that bears further exploration. On the west side of town is the Narrow Gauge Scenic Roadway, which once paralleled the NG Scenic Railroad. It's not a bad dirt road, but it is made up of that uber fine powder that, when wet, turns into the slickest lubricant known to man (Andy Granatelli actually stole the whole 'screwdriver in a can of STP' thing after watching a biker try to ride knobbies thru an 8' long puddle of the stuff), and there are numerous places where the road has been over run by small streams or run-off from yesterday afternoon's rains. Luckily about the time I'm beginning to consider the merits of going forward or turning about, the road goes to gravel and I can focus on the other question: where am I?

Maps/GPS sometimes do not reflect actual road location or condition.
I think I'll have that on my tombstone.

Eventually I hook up onto CR500 which takes me into Colorado and Pagosa Springs where I rejoin 84 south to Chama for a reward of Alien Ale and Pizza. While out collecting my prizes I take time to enojoy the Cumberland and Toltec Scenic Railroad station in town. In the evening light the old machines speak of years of service and hint of the ghosts of men who built, maintained and ran them.

It's been a long day,

and a good one.

2010 New Mexico Trip - Part 1

Wednesday 25 August 2010

It's easy to sleep after a long day's ride when the temperature has gone from 100+ to 50- At least it was for me. It was the honking of geese and the rising sun that finally turned me out of my sleeping bag at 0700 to head for a shower and begin the day. Traveling solo has one major advantage that seems to outweigh the disadvantages. I am always in sync with the plan because I make it. If it takes me 30min to pack and go I have no one on whom to wait. If it takes 2 hours to find my keys or savor my coffee there's no one tapping their foot or looking at their watch. No pressure, no guilt. Today was about an hour before I headed back over to Blake's for a great breakfast burrito and a disappointing cup of coffee. I find the coffee-in-a-thermos that places are using now somehow produces a less palatable brew than the aquarium-round glass ball nestled in it's burnished steel knot-hole.
My camera let me know that it was time for new batteries, and I'd lost a pair of foam earplugs, so it was off to the ever present Walmart for supplies. Including Aleve. How far from 'civilization' must you go to escape WallyWorld? But, secretly, aren't you glad they are there for your convenience?
This morning I intentionally head to the interstate - I-25 - southbound around the corner towards Santa Fe. Traffic is light, and the temps are such that several layers are required to keep warm at highway speeds. They will soon become too much and get removed and 'stuffed' when I make the turn north to explore NM63 up past Pecos NM. I'd seen this route on the map and after a little bit of wiggling 63 seems to just end in the National Forrest by Cowes. Pecos is a bit back from 25, and so does not get a lot of traffic or commerce. It shows. They do, however, have some beautiful churches and seem to take clergy and religion seriously. The road became less and less civilized until finally it was merely a single lane NF road but asphalted (!) winding through pines and around rocks until ending at a dirt trail head parking lot. Along the way were private homes on lease from the NF service. Beautifully simple yet complete log homes with brilliantly colored lawn chairs (those old metal ones, like Rt66) out front and yard gnomes hiding under low pine branches.
My curiosity satisfied I returned to I-25 and into Santa Fe where I sought out the SAF airport and U-storage. I do try to take care of my 'horse' on trips, at least by making sure there's a safe place for it to stay when I go home. Airport Storage is 1.25 miles from the terminal, and Ian was happy to set me up with a 5x10 unit and my own personal PIN to unlock the gate. Quick, pick 4 numbers. What did you use? Social? Address? Phone? I typically hark back to Plebe Induction Day at USNA when, wearing stiff new white canvas uniforms, 1400 of us were told to memorize everything on this card. So my Mid'n Identification Number is my passkey. Good luck breaking THAT code!
Anyway. That accomplished it was up NM285 to NM502 and west toward Los Alamos, where I got onto NM4 for some twisty, climbing and diving action. It's breathtaking, at 7800', riding around Bandalier Wilderness, and I should have prepared myself mentally to park the bike and take a walk, but I hadn't, so I didn't. I just rode and rode until I came to Jimmez Springs Forrest (another breath-taking-ly beautiful spot) and turned off onto NM126 which is bladed dirt. I'd been here before, may years ago, but had forgotten how nice it was. It is about 40 miles of bladed packed and occasionally rutted dirt road, with cattle guards and cattle sprinkled here and there. My plan was to cut off onto a less developed dirt road and come up the back way to Coyote, but unfortunately the road was harsher than I was willing to handle and even with GPS I was less than confident in my directions, so I finished 126 into Cuba, swung north on 44/96 to Gallina, and then lit off into the San Pedro Mountains on an NF road and threw down my tent for the night. That's an interesting feeling, one that most of us have never had or cannot even imagine - to simply stop, leave the pavement for a dirt road, and then leave even that for a patch of grass and throw down a temporary shelter. I suspect a Motel 6 is as temporary a shelter as many of us can imagine. Again, I had water, food and shelter, so all was well. All was better than well.

All was fine!

2010 New Mexico Trip - Part 1

Tuesday 24 August 2010

Hello Road, I've missed you. It's been a long time..... (sung to that C&W tune on the infomercial)

After burning a day of vacation to wrap up (I thought) some family car problems (they came unwrapped shortly after returning from my trip, but that's another story), I was packed up and at 0800 headed out - to Starbuck's for a traditional send off from one of my friends.
Back in the days of Columbus and Cook, one was granted audience before the King and/or Queen to explain the purpose of the expedition and plead for permission and money. Later Shackleton and Mallory would convene the Explorers or National Geographic Society to lay out their plans. In modern times we meet our buddies at Starbuck's Coffee to pick up some VIA instant coffee and have one or two for the road (which will cause us to stop again shortly to leave number one or two by the road). It's all good.
Traffic was manageable up 287 through Ft Worth, and soon I was settling into the old rhythms, a pattern of boredom, reminiscence, and technical analysis of this vibration or that sensation trying to match it up with a recently replaced part or maintenance procedure (recall I have been known to lose drain plugs in inopportune times). Front wheel bearing? New Tire? Where do I go/stop and what can I do?
But rather than dwell on the negative, I decide it's good news that Wichita Falls and Amarillo are no longer in drought but have probably caught up and surpassed their needs, and I have successfully worn in at least the right side of my new rubber leaning into the North Wind.
I like to hang a left at Amarillo and head out I-40 for a bit to Tucumcari, then the real trip begins when I leave 40 for NM104. On this road one gets the same feeling as a night solo in an airplane or sailing out of sight of land. One travels mile after arid mile alone with no house or hint of human save a not-so-friendly barbed wire fence, and the goals of preventative maintenance and personal mechanical skills become crystal clear. At one point approaching the Chonchas Reservoir some mischievous soul has tinseled an 8' pine tree by the side of the road to crack a smile in those who pass by. Were it not for the Camel Back Hydration I carried, 'cracking a smile' would be a literal phrase. Water too has become important - out here you get back to the basics.
When my technical analysis threatened to overwhelm the beauty of my surroundings I would force myself to recall that I carried water, food and shelter with me, and was on no set schedule, so a breakdown would be an inconvenience, not a disaster.
At about 2000 (8pm) I arrived in Las Vegas NM, proceeded north up NM518 to Storrie Lake State Park and for 8$ was treated to a patch of grass between the lake and the clean bath-house. Quick dinner at Blake's Lot-a-burger (great fries!) and I was done for the day.

Sweet.