Nick and Dale's Great Adventure: New Mexico Edition

New Mexico seems like so long ago!  Long days on the saddle leave me a little tired to write.  Our first day was a shorter ride to Gallup, due to over 100 miles the day before.  Unfortunately, Google Maps lead us down a path towards a rugged dirt road.  A local man suggested we go back the way we came and use the interstate.  He noted that some big rigs had gotten back there by mistake as well.  

After Gallup, we headed to the next bigger town down the trail, Grants.  This was a big day as we crossed the continental divide, on the east side of the divide all the rain heads toward the Atlantic Ocean, just like we are.  Just on the outskirts of Grants, we stopped at a Supermarket where I once again enjoyed the privelege of a flat tire.  As Dale and I worked the issue with a patch and some Slime, we met Roy, recently widowed and fending for himself.  Roy asked us to guess how old he was, we gave our guesses.  He then informed us he was a WWII vet and was 96 years old.  We chatted for a while and then got back to the tire.  It wouldn't be the last time.

We are finding our way around using maps of Bicycle Route 66, just following Historic 66 or looking at other options like I-40 which allows bicyclists and, similar to Arizona, is in much better condition than the other roads.  After many mesa pictures, we took some time to photograph wild flowers including flowering cactus.  Beautiful.

We also learned that many of the Native American reservations are still closed due to Covid.  The Acoma Pueble near Sky City was an option we couldn't take.  We continued along to Albuquerque.  We were getting into some hills and I guess the long descent into town should have warned us.  We road near Old Town and into the city.

The next day would be interesting.  We were faced with a stiff headwind and steep hills that made the going a little tough.  Finding our way to the Turquoise Highway, we would work our way up, down and around towards Madrid.  Storm clouds chased us, we donned our rain jackets and ended up sheltering near a tree.  Rain and marble sized hail fell, some rumbles and a flash of lightning, and of course, wind. 

We met Keenen on the road out of town.  He had traveled 5800 miles on his bike, mentioning the stars in Tucumcari.  He seemed to be in his 30's, stated he quit his job and was happy to chat with some fellow bikers.  Later that day, after the rain, we met Josh who was also on a journey.  From the Allentown/Philadelphia side of PA, he started his journey to a new life and job in San Jose (I think).  He left from Key West.

We made Madrid, had a great lunch and continued to Sante Fe where we would stay for a rest day.  It was a long day of ups and downs, we ended up at Olive Garden for dinner.  Sante Fe is a nice town and we picked a beautiful day to explore.  

After Santa Fe, there was a lot of open space and small towns including Glorieta where a civil war battle was fought.   We stopped in Pecos to refigure the route due to a bridge closing.  We were eating some snacks when a guy yells out his truck window "the horses are coming for lunch".  We turned around and there they were. 

We packed up and kept moving.  Following the hills on the frontage road along I25 helped me to recognize how well built the interstate system is and how the original roads just followed the terrain.  We would do three hills to one longer, less sloped interstate hill.

Romeroville offered a KOA for sleeping.  We met the owner and his 5 dogs (all of which just showed up on the property).  I fulfilled a bucket list item by finally sleeping in a KOA Kamping Kabin.  No big deal, no bugs but a little dusty.  The KOA offered a nice breakfast to set us off for Santa Rosa.

Not much happening in Santa Rosa.  There was not much but hills for miles.  We seemed to be chased all day by storms although we didn't get wet.  I felt the urge to water a tree and, of course, the first car going by was a state trooper who blipped his siren to embarass me a bit.  When you gotta go...

Tucumcari brought another flat tire.  We stayed about a half mile east of town.  The lights from the hotel kept me from seeing the stars.  We tracked back to town for food and supplies heading towards Adrian, TX.