Day 6, Part 1
Amarillo, TX to Albuquerque, NM
Waiting for the sun (as it is) to rise, and for the fog to lift. Meanwhile, I checked the bike, started it, popped it into gear and it went right in. I guess riding the clutch a bit before I parked it for the night worked to clean the discs off and keep them from sticking.
330 miles today in front of me. Looks like heavy wind and some rain all the way. I am waiting for visibility to improve, and then I will set out. Probably longer rest stops today.
Day 6, Part 2
Amarillo, TX to Albuquerque, NM
Thankfully the weather was not a bad as the forecast made it appear. It was cold and rainy leaving Amarillo, but the wind wasn’t too bad, so I was grateful.
I rode in and out of the storm front, but the landscape was amazing. I remember coming through OK yesterday – I rode around a curve and there it was: Big Sky Country. The massive sky, the wide open vistas. More of the same beauty today, even if the weather was less than ideal.
Much of the way through Texas, I was riding alongside railroad tracks. The flat, open landscape made the trains look so much longer because you could see the whole thing at once. And the colors of the soft green sage against the red dirt – gorgeous. Nature is such a talented artist.
I took route 60 most of the way. There was a 20-mile stretch of it that narrowed down from 4 lanes to 2, with very little shoulder, which I hit just after going through a huge downpour. The rain stopped, but there was the biggest, blackest storm front still hanging over me. I could see the end of it in front of me – miles and miles away. Big sky…
But at this very moment, it was peaceful. There were no cars in either direction. Just me, my bike, and the road. Those 20 miles made up for all the rain and cold.
Further along, I am following my GPS, which indicates that I need to turn left, but I don’t really see a road… I slow down, slow some more… Doublechecked my GPS. Yep. This is my turn, but it’s a farm road. A dirt and gravel farm road. What?? But I went ahead and made the turn. Into God’s country. The road was 11 miles long, and the first 5 were unpaved. I was still able to run about 40 because it was well packed. At one point there was a sign that said Free Range Cows. I slowed because indeed, there were cows grazing right beside the road.
After the cows, I eventually ended up on another segment of Route 66 coming into Albuquerque. Beautiful scenery again, still, more… Finally got into Albuquerque – the nicest paved roads I have seen in days… Found my hotel, and very literally two minutes after I parked the bike, all hell broke loose. Rail, hail, thunder and lightning.
Instead of making longer rest stops today, I didn’t even shut the bike off. Gas and go. If I had not done that, I would have been riding in that hail storm.
I did notice I lost the last bolt out of my fender on the left side. Probably all the rough roads. I don’t know if I have a replacement. If not, I will try a zip tie until I can find something that will work.
Tomorrow…. Kanab, UT. Finally!
The Atomic Shovel 