The Other New Roads We Rode
As if the road up to Sandia Crest isn’t spectacular enough for you, wait till you get to the top.
OK, holiday hiatus over with, let’s get back to what we were discussing, i.e., new roads we rode on this year’s OFMC trip. I last highlighted NM518 from Mora to Penasco. What came next?
Leaving Espanola we were only going as far as Socorro and if we took I-25 we would have been there in two hours or less. That would never do and besides, that would take us right through Albuquerque–not a pleasant idea. No problem, I knew–or thought I knew–that we could just cruise down that way on the east side of the Sandia Mountains rather than the west.
So the plan was to get off I-25 at Bernalillo and take NM165 down to where we would hit the road up to Sandia Crest. Nice thought; bad plan. That road is unpaved and unmaintained so we had to go back to I-25 and go through Albuquerque after all. Then we turned east on I-40 to Tijeras and up that road and then up to Sandia Crest. Once we got off at Tijeras it was all new road and the road up to Sandia Crest is fabulous. At least that part of the plan was good.
And then for nearly all of the rest of the day it was still new roads. We backtracked to Tijeras, crossed under I-40, and continued south on NM337. This road also runs to the east of the hills. I don’t know if these are still the Sandias stretching south but whatever they’re called, we stayed east. We went down through canyons, over hills, and then also over a whole lot of flat, open land. But at least we weren’t on the interstate, and it was all new for us. At Mountainair we hit US 60, also new for us, and took it west to finally rejoin I-25 just north of Socorro. A good day riding.
The next new road came the next day, as we headed west out of Socorro, once again on US 60. This was a nice ride through some attractive country and past the Very Large Array until we stopped at Datil for lunch. The road splits here, with US 60 going on northwest through Quemado and over to Springerville. Going southwest, NM12 runs down to Rancho Grande Estates and ends at the junction with US 180. Either would have been new for us. We took NM12.
The first part was a wide-open expanse but then we were in a broad valley between mountains. When we got as far as Apache Creek we came onto road we had ridden before. Last time we were coming the other way and went north on NM32 to Quemado. So as far as Apache Creek we were backtracking on a road we had been on before, but then at US 180 it became another new stretch as previously we had come north on 180 and turned east on 12. Now we continued north on 180 from where we had turned off last time.
This was a terrific stretch of road. It goes on up to Alpine, Arizona, and I had heard for years about how great the “Alpine Loop” was. The stories were true. Through canyons, over mountains, this was a great ride. We spent the night in Alpine and then continued up to Eagar and Springerville and then caught US 191 north to AZ61, headed east, which became NM53 when we crossed back into New Mexico. That took us to NM62, which carried us up to Gallup. All of that was new.
Our only feasible option from Gallup was north on US 491, a road we have been on several times. Still, we had the chance to get off it before reaching Shiprock by turning northeast on Indian Service Route 5, which carried us over to NM371, which we had been on before. All of this route was mostly desert but at least the service route curved around staying on a series of hilltops. I had no complaints.
We spent the night in Farmington and then headed northeast on NM516 to Aztec, where we picked up US 550 going north. We’ve been on them before. The last new road, however, came soon after we crossed back into Colorado when we turned east off 550 onto County Road 110, which was a really sweet little two-lane that wound its way around a bit and then followed a broad valley to Ignacio. So much preferable to US 160 further to the north.
So that was a heck of a lot of new roads in one trip. I think the reason we were able to hit so many new ones is that for years we have taken this trip in the middle of summer, when the beastly heat has dissuaded us from doing much in Arizona and New Mexico. Especially Arizona. But this year we went in September and that made a huge difference. And opened up a lot of new roads.
Now, if I can just convince these guys that it really isn’t horrible riding in Kansas and Nebraska, maybe we can hit some new roads out that way. But I’m not holding my breath.
Biker Quote for Today
Psyclepath – noun: A person suffering from an extreme love of motorcycles.
