Passes & Canyons Blog

Q: What do you call it when your whole group just splinters?
A: The last day.

Heading out on the last day of the RMMRC New Mexico ride it was every man for himself. Some wanted to get home ASAP and got up early and blasted. Others didn’t get such an early start but were gone before the rest of us had finished breakfast. Then there were those of us who were not in a hurry and still intended to have a enjoyable day’s ride.

John and Alberto got up early and headed out. Tom and Dave left without me knowing it, as did Bruce, who I was told planned to take I-25 and may or may not have been traveling with Dave and Tom. That left Charley, Gene, Randy, and me, and we got off about 8:15.

Gas at Questa, then north. At first Gene set an easy pace, about 75, and that was fine with me. His speed increased gradually till we were going about 85. Turned left at Fort Garland, over to CO 17 at Alamosa and north. There was a sign that there was chip-sealing going on along 17 and we soon ran into that, but at first they stopped us, let a car pass the other way, and waved us on. Turned out it was not a fresh chip-seal and in fact they were sweeping off the loose gravel. And it only went on for a few miles so we got past it easily and quickly. Much nicer than the chip seal we ran into coming into Grants a couple days earlier.

Then lots of blasting and passing. The weather was beautiful. Above us only blue and to the northeast some light clouds, not of the thunderstorm variety. We stopped for a pee break in Fort Garland and then rode on to Poncha Springs. Stopped for a bit at the same place we stopped on the way out. Then rode on just to Buena Vista and stopped to get gas. This is a much more civilized way to travel than the river trip where stopping in less than 150 miles was frowned upon.

Then we just rode. Running pretty fast and passing a lot of other vehicles. The weather held and it was a really nice day to be out on the road. Saw a lot of other motorcycles, which seemed a little odd considering it was a week day. But we’d seen a lot of bikes so I guess maybe it’s just summer.

I’m getting the hang of coming back to town down US 285 with a group on bikes. Leaving Fairplay I was not committed to keeping up with Gene and Randy but did so as much as possible and, because of traffic, succeeding. Charley seemed to be thinking the same thing. Then we got to Pine Junction and the two of them got in the right lane and I moved into the almost vacant left lane and blasted past them and was now well out in front. I cruised at a comfortable, for me, pace of 75 and after awhile they caught up and passed me, with Charley now having caught up with them so he followed me on in.

We got to C-470 pretty much together and Randy cut off and we three continued east. All the way. I was the first to turn off although Charley had moved to the left lane in considerable lead of his left turn. I believe Gene lives in Aurora, somewhere not far east of Havana. Not sure they even saw me turn. And then in another eight blocks I was home. All in all a really good ride.

Biker Quote for Today

Dad, why do people who ride motorcycles look so happy?

Look son, in my opinion they are crazy. Also, they have a weird philosophy, they think they are free, they believe in enjoying the wind in their faces, the dust, the rain, the sun and everything else. They call their friends brothers; they help each other, they greet each other even though they are strangers. When they get off their bikes they embrace as if they have not seen each other in years, they live for the day, they are likely to die at any time but apparently do not care.

Dad, can you buy me a motorcycle?

As the crow flies it is about 175 miles from Grants, New Mexico, to Red River. Of course that’s not how roads go but sometimes, if you really try, you can make the ride a whole lot longer. On this recent RMMRC New Mexico ride, we made it about 300.

Grants to Red River is northeast, so we started by going west. That’s because there’s really no way to make that run going east without going through or around Albuquerque. No fun. Plus, that would have entailed riding all the way from Grants to Albuquerque on I-40. Extra no fun.

Instead, we headed west on I-40 about 25 miles to Thoreau, and then turned north. But first, barely getting going, I noticed that Charley, riding sweep, was nowhere to be seen. It turned out that just as he was getting on the highway his glasses simply fell apart. Unable to put them back together there on the spot, he pulled out some prescription sunglasses and put those on, then cranked it to catch up.

Seeing that he wasn’t behind me, I slowed down a lot. Once he caught up with me I tried catching up with the other guys but they were blasting. I was hitting 95 at times and couldn’t catch up, although when we passed a radar sign the other day it said I was going seven mph slower than what my speedometer was saying, so who knows how fast I was really going.

The others pulled off at the next exit, Milan, which is where we caught up with them. We sat there a little while, during which time we chatted a bit with some guys on dirt bikes. Then we were off again.

At Thoreau we headed north on NM 371, and then reached CR 9, which turned east. We were on the rim of a basin right there, heading into the basin, and as far as I could see we were heading into a lot of nothing. That told me this next stretch was going to be long and mostly straight. And it was. Plus, a mileage sign said Cuba, our next destination, 94 miles.

So we cruised along a ways and came to an intersection of a road coming up from the south and there were three dirt bikes parked there. I wondered if those were those same guys. If so, either we took a longer route than we might have or they rode on gravel. Who knew?

After awhile we came upon maybe the biggest array of solar panels any of us has ever seen. There was a little store there and we were overdue for a stop so we did. Meanwhile, apparently the dirt bikers went past us while we were in there because when we stopped in Cuba there they were again. I asked and they said they came up on the road from where we’d seen them and it was paved and a nice road. Some of the navigation on this trip has not been the best, it seems. But it can be really hard to know what a road is like with just maps.

We headed on from Cuba, presumably to Alcalde and to the south end of Taos to do the Angel Fire loop. At some point Gene took the lead and we were headed the route I expected and then he made a left turn. I forgot my maps on this trip so for maybe the first time ever I was not able to check and see where we were and what our route was. But this seemed wrong.

We kept going north then turned east past a sign saying Ojo Caliente ahead. I thought oh man! Ojo Caliente? Why are we so far north? And then we hit US 285 and Ojo Caliente was south and we turned north. I thought, oh man, if we take 285 up to Tres Piedras and go east we’ll be on US 64 headed for the north end of Taos. And I decided if that happened I would go left to Questa regardless of what everyone else did.

But we didn’t go to Tres Piedras, we turned east on what turned out to be a cut-off. Nobody ahead of me stopped to make sure folks behind made the turn so I did, but I wasn’t really in a place where they could see me in time to make the turn. Bruce did made the turn, and Charley, but Bruce said later he knew about the turn and would not have seen me in time. We reached US 64 just west of the Rio Grande Gorge and yes, that’s where we were.

Coming up to the NM 150 intersection, Gene pulled over and said we had two options: go left to Questa and over and beat the rain or go through Taos and head right into the belly of the beast. “Look at that over there.” The sky “over there” was as dark and ugly as you could imagine.

We headed to Questa. We got to Red River and got checked in, then sat out on the deck drinking, smoking cigars, and talking. And then about the time we were heading out to dinner the rain arrived. Two days in a row now that we dodged it while on the bikes. Our luck continued to hold.

Biker Quote for Today

Happiness is a motorcycle, a full tank of gas and twisty roads.

The second day of the RMMRC New Mexico ride had us heading south from Montrose to Gallup, New Mexico. This is a ride with two distinct parts.

In Colorado it was a nice ride along the east side of the Uncompahgre Plateau to Ridgway on US 550. Then we turned west toward Placerville on CO 62 and south past Telluride on CO 145. This takes you over Lizard Head Pass.

I’ve ridden this road many times but apparently it has been a long time since I’ve been over it heading south. Particularly after we got past Telluride it turns incredibly scenic. There are some amazing views! And I really did not remember that.

Then, heading down the pass, John, who was leading, pulled over. It was time for a break. Wow, this is not something I’m accustomed to with the RMMRC. But it turned out that with the leader and the sweep communicating by radio, when one guy decided he needed to stop and indicated such to Charley, at sweep, he told John, at lead, and it happened. This may seem absolutely normal but in my experience with this group I assure you it is not. But I like it.

Heading on we eventually came up behind a camper going slowly with about five cars just sitting behind it. Now, the courteous thing to do would be for him to pull off now and then and let all the folks behind him pass. This guy showed no courtesy.

John bided his time, presumably to let the cars pass when the opportunity arose but when it finally did, not a one of them made a move. So when it was almost too late John pulled out to go around the lot of them. That was a little too much. He got past all the cars but passing the camper another camper appeared ahead coming the other way. John goosed it and slipped in but not before the oncoming camper braked and swerved onto the shoulder. Not a good thing, really.

That opened the door. At this point others ahead of me started passing and darting in and out of the row of cars. The people in the cars made no move to spread out to open space for the bikes so the bikes ended up forcing their way in when necessary. I watched all this saying hey guys, don’t be stupid, but in some cases they were. Fortunately nothing bad happened. I made no rush to get around but got past when there was no risk.

We got down to Cortez and it was time for lunch so we stopped at a major intersection where we figured Dave, trailing behind in his pick-up, would easily spot us. You see, Dave got stuck behind this line for a lot longer than we did. It was a whole lot different for him in a Ford F-250 pulling a trailer than for us on bikes. But signals got crossed and Charley, phoning Dave, told him we were stopped in Shiprock, New Mexico, rather than where we actually were, in Cortez. You can look all day in Shiprock for the intersection of CO 145 and US 160 but you’ll never find it. Finally Dave just said see ya in Gallup.

The second of the two parts of this ride was the New Mexico part. This is mainly just a mile-burning trek. US 491 goes south to Shiprock and continues on through mostly flat, dry, brown territory, mile after mile after mile. No more twisty mountain roads; just crank that throttle and ride.

We got to Gallup, got checked in at the El Rancho, and it was time to have dinner and some beers and settle in in the bar to watch the Denver Nuggets in the championship play-off game 2. Nice way to end the day, except the Nuggets lost. Oh well, next time.

Biker Quote for Today

I don’t know the question but a motorcycle ride is definitely the answer.

I’m back now from that RMMRC New Mexico ride I mentioned previously and it really was an excellent ride. Here’s a quick synopsis and I’ll follow up with a more detailed narrative.

On Day One we started out with eight riders on bikes and one in a pick-up pulling a trailer. Our very own sag wagon. This was Dave, who had had surgery just the week before and couldn’t ride. But he was the one who organized the ride and on Saturday morning he got up and thought how much he hated to miss it so on the spur of the moment decided to drive the truck. The trailer was a totally generous thought that might easily have entailed pulling this trailer for 1700 miles for no real reason.

Montrose was the destination that day, over Monarch Pass, and we got there uneventfully. It was raining a bit in Denver as we departed but the skies cleared and it was a good day to ride.

On Day Two we turned south. Over Lizard Head Pass, past Telluride, down to Cortez, and then a long slog to Gallup, New Mexico. The first half was a sweet ride and the second half, as I say, was just a slog.

Day Three had us heading further south and we made our way on to Alpine, Arizona, where we stopped for gas. The route Dave had mapped out had us turning off here and heading east on US 180 but some roadside reconsideration led us to continue south on US 191. That turned out to be a great decision as we ended up on one of the twistiest roads you’ll ever find. And if you look at the map you’ll that this road doesn’t really seem to go anywhere so there was almost no traffic at all. But what a fun road to ride. Ultimately we ended up for the night in Silver City.

On Day Four we headed north, taking US 180, which we would have been backtracking on if we had followed the original plan the day before. Because we hadn’t, this was new road. NM12 connected us to NM32 up to Quemado and then other state roads up to I-40 at Grants, this day’s destination.

Day Five was definitely not a typical day on the road. We were headed east but to get there we first went west on I-40. North on NM371 and then east on County Road 9, over to Cuba. Then things got a bit screwy. The plan was to make it over to the south end of Taos and then ride the Angel Fire loop around Wheeler Peak, to Red River. But we ended up on the north end of Taos and the sky to the south was threatening so we turned north to Questa, then east to Red River.

And then we were at Day Six, with the destination being home. Some folks were in a hurry, some were not, and we left in several smaller groups taking various routes. Rain was anticipated but we made it all the way home dry. Nice.

That in a nutshell was the trip. But there’s a whole lot of meat in that nut and I’ll get into that next.

Biker Quote for Today

You’re only as old as you feel when you ride your motorcycle.

With departure for this year’s OFMC trip drawing near, we were through into confusion when Dennis got word that New Mexico has issued an order that anyone coming into the state must quarantine for either two weeks or the length of their stay, whichever is shorter.

So, right. We were going to be in New Mexico for three days and they’re saying we should quarantine for that entire time. Plus, the Indian casino hotel we had booked in Espanola told Bill when he called that all their restaurants are closed, with only their snack bar open. Short notice but revisions were clearly in order.

There are two things that are givens on any OFMC trip: golf and gambling. Frequently we combine the two. That didn’t look possible now, so we figured out a new plan. Our first night will be in Alamosa and we agreed to head from to Gunnison for two nights, including a day of golf, and then go for one night to the Sky Ute Casino Resort to get in the gambling segment. Everyone had their assignment as to who to call.

Text messages started flying quickly. Bill found out the Sky Ute was closed. And I found out that the motel we like to stay at in Gunnison, which is directly adjacent to the golf course, had changed hands and names and their prices had about doubled. Yikes. Let’s go to Plan C.

Dennis called Cripple Creek and made us reservations at the Double Eagle Hotel & Casino. We’ll go there from Alamosa. Bill was able to get us a tee time in Gunnison so I had to look around a bit, finally finding a different motel with rates that are not sky high. We just won’t be able to walk out the back door directly onto the golf course.

After that the trip will get back on track as planned so long ago.

I have to admit, I was starting to have reservations about the whole trip. Infections rates across the country are now reaching record levels, although not where we’re headed. Plus, what better social distancing can you do than riding a motorcycle? The one issue will be eating. Restaurants are open, and we’ll have our masks with us, and at worst we can go to grocery stores for food. At motels it will just be us in our rooms and obviously we all accept that we’ll be exposed to each other, but none of us has had any exposure we know of.

Some people might argue that we should cancel the trip, but some people made the same argument when Judy and I went to New Orleans in early March (after Mardi Gras, not during). We decided to go and we don’t regret it. We had a good trip, we didn’t get sick, and it proved to be the only trip we’ll probably get to do this year. We did cut it short by one day, however, when we found the world closing down around us.

If this turns out to be a bad idea I guarantee I’ll be telling you about it. But I’m optimistic.

Biker Quote for Today

I can see Elvis
Throned like a king astride a golden Harley
Smoking a reefer he just rolled
Full of Acapulco gold
With Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley — The Waterboys

We didn’t plan it this way but Judy and I spent two nights at Silver City, New Mexico. We heard great things not just about Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument but also about the road to get there (40 miles, two hours, through great scenery) that we decided to stay an extra day and go there.

First off, Silver City was a real surprise. I’ve been there before, but a long time ago. At this point Silver City is doing its best to become the next Taos but it’s a long way from getting there. What that means is that the very nice old downtown is intact and partially renovated, with several very good restaurants, a brew pub, galleries, and a lot of other upscale stores. But these stand side by side with empty storefronts. So it’s a nice place but it won’t break your budget.

The first half of the run up to the monument is on an extremely narrow, winding road that follows the contours of the land. This is NM 15. Very nice. After awhile NM 15 connects to NM 35 and from there the road is more cut and fill so it’s not as twisty but still very nice, and wider with actual lane markings. This dead-ends at the monument.

The monument is pretty interesting. The Mogollon Indians lived very briefly in a series of caves in the side of a hill, above a beautiful river valley. Not your typical cliff dwellings; these are really more like caves that go deeper back into the rock without the extended sloping ceiling/overhang you associate with cliff dwellings.

Once you’ve been to the monument, you backtrack at least as far as NM 35. From there you can take NM 35 as a different route down to San Lorenzo and there pick up NM 152 to US 180 and back to Silver City. We did, and it’s a nice route, too, though nowhere near as twisty as NM 15. Whatever routes you take, this is a beautiful part of New Mexico.

Biker Quote for Today

Riding a bike doesn’t make me a bad person, just like going to church doesn’t make you a good person.

Judy and I were recently in New Mexico and though we were in the car, not on a bike, we made it a point to hit some great motorcycle roads. The simple fact is, a road that’s great for a bike is generally pretty darn good for a car, too.

We spent a couple days in Ruidoso and boy if there is one thing you learn right away it is that Texans love Ruidoso. In Colorado it is common knowledge that Texans by the horde come to Lake City. Well, for Ruidoso, think Lake City on steroids. A waitress we spoke with said it’s commonly accepted that at any time of year, not just particular seasons, there are more Texans in Ruidoso than New Mexicans.

So we’re not into crowds and we headed south to Cloudcroft and the road from there to Timberon. This was a route I learned about on MotorcycleRoads.com. It was a good trip, and would be a really sweet ride. You’re up high, in fact, so high that along the way you encounter several observatories. Not the look-at-the-stars kind, however, but solar observatories. For looking at the sun.

Then from the main observatory it’s down and down and down through one of the longest series of S-curves I’ve ever seen, to Timberon. There is food here but no gas. Have lunch and turn around.

From Ruidoso we headed over toward Truth or Consequences, turning off the highway for Hillsboro to take NM 152 over Emory Pass to Silver City. This is a terrific road I wrote about some years ago on Examiner.com. At that time I called it New Mexico’s tail of the dragon. Yes, there are curves.

Things change, though, including your memory. I’ll need to dig that old article out to see what I wrote then but I would have sworn that on the western side of the pass the road went for 20 miles or more twisting, twisting, twisting along the creek. In fact, it does a phenomenal amount of twisting on the east side of the pass, and going up the pass, but on the west there are probably fewer than 5 miles along the creek.

Doesn’t matter. It’s still one of the twistiest roads you’ll ever see. Then there is one thing that has changed since I was last there: forest fire. Back in 2013 the area got hit hard by a fire, so it’s just not as green as when I saw it last. But it’s still a good ride. As that guy in my photo above would attest, I’m sure.

Biker Quote for Today

Some paths can’t be discovered without getting lost.

When the OFMC stopped in Raton on the third day of our trip I got gas along with everyone else. Unlike everyone else’s bikes, my Concours has a 7.5-gallon gas tank so when they all filled up again the next day in Red River I did not. We were headed to Santa Fe and I figured I had plenty of gas to get there.

We backtracked through Eagle Nest and down to Angel Fire, where we took a road we’d never been on before. Heck, I didn’t even know this road existed. I had always had the idea that Angel Fire was a dead end, like Telluride. But no, you can continue south and come out a couple different places. We were headed for Las Vegas (New Mexico).

The road quickly got very small, a narrow two-laner, often with no center line. And it got very twisty. Sweet. In fact, if you look at the Butler map of New Mexico they show a portion of this road in yellow, which means it’s very good. It was.

But it wasn’t long, as we rode this nice portion, before we ran up behind a logging truck. Oh great, now we get to go 10 miles an hour for the next hour. But no, the guy was nice and the first wide spot he found he pulled over to let us past.

So we would our way on south to Las Vegas and I was thinking if I had the chance without inconveniencing the other guys I would get some gas just to play it safe. But there was no way to do that with inconveniencing the others. And I knew I could get to Santa Fe. So now I started playing the game of seeing how far I could go before I had to switch to reserve. I was already at around 240 miles on this tank, and that’s about where I usually just go ahead and flip the lever rather than let run dry and start coughing.

But I get very good gas mileage when we’re going slow as we had been much of the way since Raton so I waited. From Las Vegas it was an I-25 blast to Santa Fe so that caused my needle to drop rapidly. And yet, as the miles clipped away the needle was still only in the red, not even near the E. How long can this go on?

Santa Fe was getting nearer but the needle was getting closer to the E. Finally it left the red entirely and buried itself in the E. But still no coughing or stuttering. Long story short, when I finally did get gas on the west side of Santa Fe my trip meter was at 308 miles and I still had not gone to reserve. It took 5.5 gallons to fill my 7.5-gallon tank so I could have gone more than 400 miles on that tank of gas. But more than 300 miles without flipping to reserve? I guess I don’t need no stinkin’ reserve. Except, of course there was that one time when Judy and I did run out entirely. But that’s another story.

Biker Quote for Today

It’s not what you ride, it’s what you ride for.