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!
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!
posted by Randy Masters at 6:55 AM
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