Chix on 66 – Day 13 Albuquerque, NM to Winslow, AZ

Posted byKaran AndreaPosted inUncategorized

Wednesday, June 22

Albuquerque to Winslow

I took zero photos today. This was a tough one for everybody today. It rained in Albuquerque overnight and extended into the morning.

The highlight of the morning was Sharon Panhead learning to kick start her 65 pan. Super proud of that badass!

It finally cleared up around 10 a.m., so we took off. With a 300 mile day ahead of us, and such a late start, we opted to stick to I-40 instead of following Route 66 proper, although much of 66 IS I-40.

We thought we would never get out of Albuquerque. 40 was a challenge for us vintage riders. It was probably 5-6 lanes of 70 mph traffic, with on ramps to our right and speeding traffic all around us. Eric Bass Cycles blocked us by driving behind us, but it was still crazy.

Finally we got out of the city and things calmed down. Until an accident created a backup. We popped off an exit and decided to look for an alternate route around the gridlock. We thought we had one till the GPS tried sending us down a dirt road that, with all the rain, had turned to deep, sticky mud. Nope. We turned around and went back to the highway, which had cleared. So much for a 20-mile detour.

Further down, apparently there had been an even more severe situation. Not sure what, but they closed the interstate completely, so we were routed to the frontage road, which was Route 66.

Still gridlock for another 20 miles.

After we broke free though, we started getting our groove on and covered the miles easily. The scenery was amazing! Trains with 5 locomotive engines that were what seemed to be miles long. Colorful rock formations. Beautiful sky – even the storm front that taunted us the entire day made for a beautiful sky.

After our last gas stop, I noticed that my left gas tank stud was loose. I pinched the tanks with my knees for the last 60 miles to keep it from getting worse. I tightened both tank studs when I got in, but I should check a few other things to see if there is a reason for them backing out. Dinner with great people and now to bed.

Since there are no photos for the day, here’s our logo with our title sponsor, Harley-Davidson.

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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