New Mexico

Well, the last three nights of our ride were cursed with poor internet connectivity. If I don't finish publishing these photos I know I'll never hear the end of it from my dad, so I figure later is better than never.


The view from Sandia Crest. It was unbelievable. The height of the view gave me a bit of vertigo.

This is a restaurant that was used for a lot of the filming in the movie "Wild Hogs" I've never seen it but I guess all the lodge scenes are filmed in here.

Me and the do-rag. I've never been a fan of them, and now look at me!! A step in the right direction? hmmmmm.

New Mexico was pretty cool...with the exception of Albuquerque.

We started the day with a nice 70 mile ride on an old route for the 66. It wasn't the original road, but it followed the same path. We passed through some beautiful hills until we came to Santa Fe. Todd told me Santa Fe is home to the oldest church in the entire country. I don't know when it was built, but it was a beautiful looking building. Our group got broken up in the town because I didn't follow "Seeker Protocol" (another thing I'll be hearing about for a while I'm sure) and it took a little while to get all back together. The town is very unique in that there doesn't seem to be any plan to the way it's laid out. Once back in our group we parked the bikes and strolled around for a bit. Really neat city...and there seems to be a lot of money there. I saw Bentleys, a Ferrari, and Range Rovers all over the place. Lots of money in Turquoise I guess.

After Santa Fe we headed through the mountains toward Sandia Crest. We went through a bit of rain, but it was nothing to cry about. Sandia Crest is a mountain with a winding road all the way to the top. At the very peak there is a little lookout point facing Albuqueque. The views from up there are absolutely amazing. It feels like you're on top of the world, and the mountain slope is so steep you feel like if you fall off, you'll land smack in the middle of Main Street. The ride up was fun...lots of tight turns and lots of dragging of the foot pegs.

We went through Albuquerque, got lost, wasted two hours, had a McDonald's hamburger and left. Can't wait to go back.

After Albuquerque we headed for Gallup. The 15 miles east of Gallup were one of the most memorable desert landscapes of the trip. As we rode through this section the sun was just beginning to set. The Interstate runs through the desert floor and to the north are gigantic sandstone bluffs jutting out from the hill behind them. It reminded me a lot of the scene in "Cars" where the bluffs are the hoods of old Cadillacs...I wouldn't be surprised if that scene was designed after this spot. It was beautiful. Reminded me a lot of Lake Powell at sunrise.

The video doesn't even come close to doing this justice. The colors coming off the rocks were intense. Good stuff.