Chix on 66 – Day 11 Santa Fe to Taos, NM

Posted byKaran AndreaPosted inUncategorized

Monday, June 20

Santa Fe to Taos

We started the day with having tintype photos done at our hotel El Rey Court in Santa Fe. Jason Sims reached out to Rob Gibson, and he came out to do photos of us. I can’t wait to actually get them in my hands!!

Because of that, we got a late start today, but it was a short 75 miles to Taos. We headed to the gas station on the way out of town, and that’s where things got weird. When I started my bike up to leave, it started making this crazy grinding noise. My starter wouldn’t disengage. Fuck. I turned the ignition off, and it kept grinding. A couple people came running over to try and figure it out, meanwhile, I’m sitting on my bike listening to my starter grind itself to death, thinking, well, this time I’m fucked.

Someone pulled the ground wire off the solenoid and it finally stopped. Then Ryan Leighton Allen showed up and tapped on the thing a few times, put the wires back and tested it, and it appeared to be fine. I was still trying to process all the adrenaline that had been coursing through me. I was shaking and my brain was scrambled.

After I kind of got my shit together, Ryan convinced me to take the “high road” to Taos. I didn’t want to, but it seemed everyone else did, so we went. I really don’t like mountains. I do them, but with a great deal of fear. Heights just terrify me. And I was still nervous about my bike. I didn’t trust it, and I was having trouble pulling hills as it was. We did the first maybe 20 miles or so and we all pulled off at an overlook. My bike was running like a fat pig. I hated it. It sounded like shit, it felt like shit, I was still a mess of anxiety and I did not want to be on that road. I saw nothing of the scenery. I had tunnel vision. It was just one of those days for me.

We got going again and the bike started running nice. It was even pulling hills better. We stopped for gas and the bike was still starting ok and not freaking out, and it was running pretty good. Then we took a sharp left and went uphill again. The fat pig was back. Bogging and unresponsive. Finally we got into Taos, and I was very glad to put my kickstand down. I could not get off the bike fast enough. We went for dinner because we were all starving from having no lunch, and I had three bourbons to settle my nerves.

Here’s hoping tomorrow is better.

Published by Karan Andrea

I ride motorcycles, I live motorcycles, and I write about motorcycles. Both of my blogs are written for motorcyclists: atomicshovel.blog tells the never-ending story of my 1974 Harley-Davidson FLH, which I have named the Atomic Shovel. My other blog coachk.home.blog is written for riders of all skill levels, but is primarily aimed toward the rider who is transitioning from the riding range where they learned basic skills, to the open road. This blog address the most common questions I see in the online groups and forums: dealing with anxiety - yes, that is the number one question, navigating traffic, parking, holding your bike on an incline, just to mention a few. Much of what I write is simply drawn from my own experiences - successes, failures, do-overs. Nothing in either blog should be construed as the absolute one and only approach; rather, look at them as a starting point for your own discovery process.

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