Yay. I am on the road and underway. Currently sat in a restaurant in Santa Fe, having some kinda ‘rita and waiting for my food. I skipped lunch, so I am very ready for all the things. It has been a long day mile-wise, but easy enough on the travel.
Yesterday did not go that well. If you read the previous blog entry, you will know that I had a long wait for my bike to be serviced and readied for travel. In the end, I waited 5 hours past the time it was supposed to be ready. I am a patient person, but this was quite a lot to ask. Then, it was raining hard on the ride home (about 40 minutes), and I got totally soaked AND battered by hail to boot. Not fun in the dark.
Then, when I got home, I realised I had lost the bike key along the way – sad face indeed. It had fallen out of my pocket when I fueled up, so a quick call to the gas station confirmed that they had found it, so my wonderful Lena went off to the gas station (about 20 miles away) to get my keys while I packed. The bike starts if the fob is in the proximity of it, so obviously the key had fallen next to the bike so I could get it started, but then the bike would not respond once I got home.
Anyway, it all felt a bit much, but I got everything sorted and ready-ish, and we went to bed quite late. I was up early with excitement. I tried to sleep a bit more, but it wasn’t happening, so I finally got up, let the dogs out (now we know who!!), then showered and loaded up.
I did have a cup of coffee before starting out, but my tradition is to breakfast on the road. About 80 miles from home, after riding through a bit of rain and a fair amount of cold (it was about 6 or 7 degrees C, which is about 90 million in fahrenheit I think – who understands these things?), I stopped in Buena Vista for a great bagel and a good cup of coffee at a lovely little spot. We have rafted in Buena a few times, and it is a cute little mountain town. The day was warming up a bit, but rain still threatened, so I kept my wet gear on.
The ride to Santa Fe is kinda boring. At least it is the way I went. I followed the highway that we live right next – US 285 – for most of the day. Aside from the odd detour dictated by Google maps, the 285 took me pretty much door to door.
Poncha Pass was quite pretty, and I have not been through much of the terrain that I crossed today, but large tracts of it were unremarkable. I transited into New Mexico around the middle of the day, by which time the scenery was pretty uniform: scrub and dry sand and rock. It was wonderfully warm though. I stopped for a comfort break somewhere about 90 minutes from Santa Fe, and the temperature was 28 degrees (again, about 90 something million in fahrenheit). I de-layered to suit, and changed my gloves to the lightest pair.
I always travel with multiple pairs of motorcycle gloves. If one gets wet, you can switch to another pair while the first dries. Some are suited to wet or cold, and some are light and breathe nicely. I have three pairs with me on this trip, a heavy, medium and light pair for maximum flexibility. My medium pair did not age well, but Lena did an emergency sewing job yesterday, so hopefully they will hold up for the trip.
Anyway, after a lot of highway miles and a couple of wee/fuel stops, I arrived in Santa Fe mid afternoon. I went first to the local Harley Dealer – I found that my handlebars needed a slight adjustment to make my riding position more comfortable. The local dealer was very near my motel, so I stopped there, and one of the service people was very helpful and tweaked the angle of the bars in a quick minute. I browsed through the store but didn’t buy any paraphernalia (I have almost no space on the bike). Then, on to the motel, which was about 4 minutes away.
The lodge is fine – I worry about cheaper accommodation, even if I rely on ratings on booking.com for my guide. There was a small pool, so I unloaded the bike and took a dip. I am currently about 10 minutes walk from the motel at a little plaza with a few restaurants and a cinema, enjoying my second margarita and overcoming the disappointment I felt when they brought my starter and main course within 3 minutes of each other. Tequila is a wonderful thing.
I am going to head back to my sumptuous accommodations shortly, where I plan to try review the hours of footage my GoPro captured today, and see if there is anything worth keeping.
Tomorrow morning I get onto Route 66 almost directly from the motel, the route which will accompany me (or, I think more fittingly, I will accompany the famous roadway) and follow it for 1000 miles to the Pacific Ocean. Do come back for more episodes each day. TTFN