@TRayB said: @CalvinAndHobo , my go to resource when travelling out of state with a firearm is https://www.handgunlaw.us/ . I used to print out the documents for each state I would be travelling thru, and note which states had a Duty to Inform requirement. I've only once been pulled over while carrying, in SD, which doesn't have a Duty to Inform requirement, so I did not inform. My personal belief is, since I have no intention of shooting a police officer, or being shot by one, the firearm is a non-issue, and is best left out of the interaction. I have heard credible stories of people being disarmed by the officer, who may not be familiar with the particular firearm model. Not all police are "gun guys". Also, if being disarmed, the officer will most likely tell you not to touch the firearm, meaning he or she will be reaching into your concealment to take it from you. There is serious potential for mishaps during that procedure. I have also heard stories of the firearm being returned in a disassembled condition, while being told "Do not re-assemble this until I have left".
That being said, my plan is to inform the officer IF the situation leads to the officer asking me to step out of the vehicle. I do not want anyone to be surprised, which only leads to increased confrontation. I understand the situation is somewhat different on a motorcycle, but if the firearm is concealed well enough, the situation is similar. If asked to step off, most likely you will be frisked, so prior to stepping off, I would inform.
Just my $.02, along with the link to the resource. I believe there is also a handgunlaw.us app.
Stay safe, and thanks for the great pics, keep 'em coming.
Driving home from the Guns and Ammo South East Shoot in Tennessee, I was pulled over by a Trooper in Georgia. He asked if there were any forearms in the car. The wife was ready to panic, I answered with a simple Yes Sir. He asked where? I replied with one on my hop, another in the door next to the wife and 12 or 13 in the trunk. Without batting an eye he said, let's just leave them there. He issued me a written warning and asked where I had been. Told him about the shoot and he wished us a good day and drive safe. They aren't all a-holes
Logistics cannot win a war, but its absence or inadequacy can cause defeat. FM100-5
@TRayB said: @CalvinAndHobo , my go to resource when travelling out of state with a firearm is https://www.handgunlaw.us/ . I used to print out the documents for each state I would be travelling thru, and note which states had a Duty to Inform requirement. I've only once been pulled over while carrying, in SD, which doesn't have a Duty to Inform requirement, so I did not inform. My personal belief is, since I have no intention of shooting a police officer, or being shot by one, the firearm is a non-issue, and is best left out of the interaction. I have heard credible stories of people being disarmed by the officer, who may not be familiar with the particular firearm model. Not all police are "gun guys". Also, if being disarmed, the officer will most likely tell you not to touch the firearm, meaning he or she will be reaching into your concealment to take it from you. There is serious potential for mishaps during that procedure. I have also heard stories of the firearm being returned in a disassembled condition, while being told "Do not re-assemble this until I have left".
That being said, my plan is to inform the officer IF the situation leads to the officer asking me to step out of the vehicle. I do not want anyone to be surprised, which only leads to increased confrontation. I understand the situation is somewhat different on a motorcycle, but if the firearm is concealed well enough, the situation is similar. If asked to step off, most likely you will be frisked, so prior to stepping off, I would inform.
Just my $.02, along with the link to the resource. I believe there is also a handgunlaw.us app.
Stay safe, and thanks for the great pics, keep 'em coming.
Driving home from the Guns and Ammo South East Shoot in Tennessee, I was pulled over by a Trooper in Georgia. He asked if there were any forearms in the car. The wife was ready to panic, I answered with a simple Yes Sir. He asked where? I replied with one on my hop, another in the door next to the wife and 12 or 13 in the trunk. Without batting an eye he said, let's just leave them there. He issued me a written warning and asked where I had been. Told him about the shoot and he wished us a good day and drive safe. They aren't all a-holes
Route 9 runs along the border west of El Paso for about 70 miles. Here’s what it looks like. No signs of civilization anywhere.
Here’s the new border wall.
It seems pretty stupid honestly. Just need some rope and you’re good to go (assuming you have a way to get out of the desert once you cross over). Feels like that money would be better spent on more equipment or agents. I don’t really know what I’m talking about though, being a civilian from Iowa and all, but after seeing it my reaction was just kind of like “I mean I guess?”. It just didn’t look like something that would stop anyone, which is the whole point. I wonder how many drones we could put to use with that money? Or how many more agents we could hire? This is all just stuff I was wondering to myself while I was riding, it’s not based on any facts of any kind. Researching stuff on a bike seems like a terrible idea.
Maybe we just make Verizon fix the border, since they kept texting me this every time I got close, as the road would wind back and forth alongside it.
Columbus, NM was the town where route 9 ended, and you could no longer go west. It also seemed to be thriving just like Presidio was, almost no abandoned buildings. Apparently I’m not the only idiot who’s out to punish themselves in this heat.
Or more likely, other riders didn’t go in the peak of summer.
As I made my way north, the desert faded and turned into a more hospitable place.
It’s pretty amazing how northwest Montana (on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, AKA the dry side that doesn’t get much rain) and southeast New Mexico (also the eastern, dry side of the Rockies) both have almost identical looking landscapes, despite being thousands of miles apart. Sure, the species of the various shrubs are going to be different, but they still look the same to me.
The farther north I got, the prettier it became. I’m very happy for the internet, since I can let everyone else travel all the roads, and then I can just take the best ones.
This is where I’m staying tonight in Clifton, AZ. There has to be a good story behind this sign.
That was scary and painful. I wonder how far into the future we need to get before I know whether or not I’ll get pelted with hail before leaving in the morning.
@Bob_Luken said:
With a nice windshield like yours I figured all you had to do was duck down and drive a little faster.
It was coming down something serious. Somewhere around dime sized hail, with quarter sizes sprinkled in every now and then. With rain, normally the windshield gets most of it, but with the hail it was too heavy to be moved off its path, so I got hit pretty good. Couldn’t go fast either, since it was kind of like riding on marbles that explode when you run over them. Luckily that gas station appeared after about 2 miles so all’s well that ends well. I was debating just pulling over on the side of the road and hiding under a tree right before it did, and letting the insurance handle the rest.
@Bob_Luken said:
With a nice windshield like yours I figured all you had to do was duck down and drive a little faster.
It was coming down something serious. Somewhere around dime sized hail, with quarter sizes sprinkled in every now and then. With rain, normally the windshield gets most of it, but with the hail it was too heavy to be moved off its path, so I got hit pretty good. Couldn’t go fast either, since it was kind of like riding on marbles that explode when you run over them. Luckily that gas station appeared after about 2 miles so all’s well that ends well. I was debating just pulling over on the side of the road and hiding under a tree right before it did, and letting the insurance handle the rest.
I'm glad you're OK. I wasn't serious. I was only going for lols
Route 191 was one of those most incredible motorcycle roads I’ve ever been on. I think it’s just barely second place to route 23 in Arkansas as far as this trip goes, because it was just barely less twisty. It was twice as long though, no one else was on it, and the scenery was better, so maybe it should be first place?
You can see what the road was like in these pictures.
There were a number of animals running into the road, but the cows were the only ones that hung out and didn’t run away.
Once I got into Pinetop, AZ the rain started. Just a trickle, so I got my rain gear on before really getting wet. The forecast this morning said no rain expected, but I know that doesn’t mean anything in the mountains. Then out of nowhere, ear splitting thunder, and small hail mixed with rain. Half a mile later, the hail picked up and took over for the rain, and I had to slow down. Another half mile, and it really started hurting. It kind of felt like a mild bee sting each time I got hit, and I was getting hit about 5 times a second. After a half mile of that, I started looking for a spot to pull over, and right before I did, that gas station appeared. It got even worse while I was waiting it out, and then turned back into rain after about 10 minutes. I hung out in the gas station for about an hour waiting for the rain to let up a bit, and then backtracked 5 miles to a casino I was planning to just skip since it wasn’t far enough into the day’s route. The hail rattled me pretty good, and I probably wouldn’t have had any fun riding the rest of the day anyway. Gunna play some more poker tonight, and head out tomorrow.
@Bob_Luken said:
With a nice windshield like yours I figured all you had to do was duck down and drive a little faster.
It was coming down something serious. Somewhere around dime sized hail, with quarter sizes sprinkled in every now and then. With rain, normally the windshield gets most of it, but with the hail it was too heavy to be moved off its path, so I got hit pretty good. Couldn’t go fast either, since it was kind of like riding on marbles that explode when you run over them. Luckily that gas station appeared after about 2 miles so all’s well that ends well. I was debating just pulling over on the side of the road and hiding under a tree right before it did, and letting the insurance handle the rest.
I'm glad you're OK. I wasn't serious. I was only going for lols
Today was much better. Spent half of it being chased by a rain cloud, but it never actually got me.
Didn’t take as many pictures as I would have liked because of it, but still got a few half decent ones.
The weather was beautiful today aside from that rain cloud stalking me. Like 95 degrees, dry, and cloudy, so it never really felt “hot”. A perfect riding day.
Does anyone know why so many of these trees along the road don’t have lower branches? Is it animals? The state of Arizona cutting them off for some reason?
I did a stupid thing again today, but I don’t care, it was delicious.
The route I wanted to take north is apparently closed, which sucks, and cut today short. I’ll be stopped in Sedona, AZ for the night, and then backtracking tomorrow while also having to take the lame highway route.
At least I found a very nice place for like 60% off, $122 total including taxes, and they have laundry in here too.
Tomorrow is Grand Canyon day, should be fun.
Spectacular! Many find the Grand Canyon a disappointment, because they're standing at the top and mistakenly believe that they're taking in the whole thing. Not so. Standing at the top, the other side doesn't look that far away. It is. At best you can only see about 20% from the top.
If you could hike down to Indian Gardens (unless the DEI people have changed the name) you can walk out to the overlook and see the other 80% below. Probably not possible for you this trip, it's an all day thing and may require a permit.
Not trying to discourage you, at all, definitely go and see it, but if it seems underwhelming, know that you're only seeing a small bit of what's really there. I think it was Coronado's people who "discovered" it, and thought they'd cross it by sundown. I can't remember, but I think 3 or 4 weeks later they found a way around.
Great pictures and great trip, Calvin. I'm so jealous. Ride on!
WARNING: The above post may contain thoughts or ideas known to the State of Caliphornia to cause seething rage, confusion, distemper, nausea, perspiration, sphincter release, or cranial implosion to persons who implicitly trust only one news source, or find themselves at either the left or right political extreme. Proceed at your own risk.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
I think I want to retire in this general area around Sedona. Close enough to a grocery store but once you go out a few miles you just get all kinds of versions of this.
Arizona seems like a healthy state. Where I live, almost everyone is fat, especially as people get older. I can’t really think of any old people I know back home who don’t have some form of potbelly. Down here that’s not very common. I wonder if it’s the heat? I’m personally not hungry when I’m hot. It might also be the Mexican food being so dominant, compared to the garbage we call American food. I can’t imagine going to a chain burger restaurant if there’s a street taco place right next door that’s going to be the same price and come out of the kitchen just as quickly.
The Grand Canyon is massive. I know that sounds obvious, but it’s kind of profound when you’re just sitting there looking at it. It’s really hard to feel any sort of self importance when you’re there. I felt like an ant in a sense, but in a good way. I don’t really know how to describe it with words.
I’m camped for the night in Tuba City, AZ just inside Navajo Nation. This hotel I’m at, Navajoland Hotel, is actually very nice.
I would have stayed here anyway though. I think one of the best ways to help disenfranchised communities is to voluntarily spend your money on their businesses, instead of giving it to McDonalds or Amazon. If someone is making an effort to earn their own money, and leave a nest egg for their children for the first time in hundreds of years, then I want to help those people. If someone wants a nest egg without working for it, that’s a different conversation. I try to avoid being a hypocrite when I can, so if I’m going to say that someone doesn’t deserve something, I feel that I also need to try to help out the people who do. The dollar is the ultimate step stool in life. How I spend my dollars is much more important than who I vote for, and if people are making an effort to earn those dollars, then I’m happy to give them to those people, instead of some soulless corporation that won’t even end up paying any taxes. That’s my take on it at least.
Last year, when I passed through the northern end of this reservation, I was struck by how well it seemed to be doing. This year, it’s kind of the same for the southern end. It’s still mostly empty of course, since land wise you can’t really grow anything. But it’s very pretty.
The towns I passed through all seemed full. No abandoned buildings aside from a couple outside of town in the middle of nowhere. Multiple areas of new construction happening in the towns like Kayenta. In northern Montana and North Dakota last year, the reservations were just dilapidated trailers and single wides. There are some of those here, but they’re not dilapidated, and most of the houses are real, permanent buildings, and they look great. I need to look that up when I get home, I forgot to last year. Why are they seemingly thriving out here but not on other reservations?
@Wylaff are these also wild? Any way to tell? They were outside of town east of Kayenta, AZ if that matters.
This truck is awesome.
It started raining after I pulled in, at least this time the forecast was accurate. I might be getting rained in tomorrow, but we’ll see.
Gambled and lost. Got soaked and pulled in to a Super 8. It was kind of worth it though because no one was out today and I only got wet for a few miles before getting a room and a hot shower. I may need to look into @Amos_Umwhat ’s suggestion about a sheep skin cover for my seat. I’m much more sore than last year. Made it just short of Taos, tomorrow’s first half of the ride is supposed to be amazing, might try to wake up early to avoid all the motorhomes.
@CalvinAndHobo , seriously, the sheepskin is money well spent. I've had mine since 1992. It's kind of retired to the tractor now, but I could still throw it on the bike at any time. It's black, so it goes with anything. Some people say "it's ugly", but I don't have any eyeballs in my backside, can't see it when you're sitting on it. And, best of all, I can still feel my feet at the end of the ride, not to forget the aforementioned backside. Rolls right up and strap it to the trunk when you don't want it on. Keeps the seat cool when you're not on the bike, allows airflow and blood circulation when in use.
WARNING: The above post may contain thoughts or ideas known to the State of Caliphornia to cause seething rage, confusion, distemper, nausea, perspiration, sphincter release, or cranial implosion to persons who implicitly trust only one news source, or find themselves at either the left or right political extreme. Proceed at your own risk.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
Calvin, from Taos are you going up over Raton Pass and then on through Cimmaron Gorge? Lovely ride if you do. Not much after that, though, at least not if you go straight through the Oklahoma Panhandle, "No Man's Land". 107 F last time I did it, got a little road hypnosis going straight and flat for SO long in that kind of heat. Be careful. North up I-25 is an option, and actually prettier, but it is interstate and a major truck route, which sucks. Be safe.
WARNING: The above post may contain thoughts or ideas known to the State of Caliphornia to cause seething rage, confusion, distemper, nausea, perspiration, sphincter release, or cranial implosion to persons who implicitly trust only one news source, or find themselves at either the left or right political extreme. Proceed at your own risk.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
@Amos_Umwhat said:
Calvin, from Taos are you going up over Raton Pass and then on through Cimmaron Gorge? Lovely ride if you do. Not much after that, though, at least not if you go straight through the Oklahoma Panhandle, "No Man's Land". 107 F last time I did it, got a little road hypnosis going straight and flat for SO long in that kind of heat. Be careful. North up I-25 is an option, and actually prettier, but it is interstate and a major truck route, which sucks. Be safe.
Yup here’s the route. If you thought the Oklahoma panhandle was boring, look at that stretch north to Nebraska. That’s route 83, also known as the road to nowhere. Then again, I’m a bit strange, and the sections of nothing and no one are some of my favorite.
Comments
Driving home from the Guns and Ammo South East Shoot in Tennessee, I was pulled over by a Trooper in Georgia. He asked if there were any forearms in the car. The wife was ready to panic, I answered with a simple Yes Sir. He asked where? I replied with one on my hop, another in the door next to the wife and 12 or 13 in the trunk. Without batting an eye he said, let's just leave them there. He issued me a written warning and asked where I had been. Told him about the shoot and he wished us a good day and drive safe. They aren't all a-holes
To update. It was, in fact, a mistake.
Win some, lose some...
I know, You're a big dog and I'm on the list.
Let's eat, GrandMa. / Let's eat GrandMa. -- Punctuation saves lives
It'll be fine once the swelling goes down.
I'da said "Four"
Route 9 runs along the border west of El Paso for about 70 miles. Here’s what it looks like. No signs of civilization anywhere.
Here’s the new border wall.
It seems pretty stupid honestly. Just need some rope and you’re good to go (assuming you have a way to get out of the desert once you cross over). Feels like that money would be better spent on more equipment or agents. I don’t really know what I’m talking about though, being a civilian from Iowa and all, but after seeing it my reaction was just kind of like “I mean I guess?”. It just didn’t look like something that would stop anyone, which is the whole point. I wonder how many drones we could put to use with that money? Or how many more agents we could hire? This is all just stuff I was wondering to myself while I was riding, it’s not based on any facts of any kind. Researching stuff on a bike seems like a terrible idea.
Maybe we just make Verizon fix the border, since they kept texting me this every time I got close, as the road would wind back and forth alongside it.
Columbus, NM was the town where route 9 ended, and you could no longer go west. It also seemed to be thriving just like Presidio was, almost no abandoned buildings. Apparently I’m not the only idiot who’s out to punish themselves in this heat.
Or more likely, other riders didn’t go in the peak of summer.
As I made my way north, the desert faded and turned into a more hospitable place.
It’s pretty amazing how northwest Montana (on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, AKA the dry side that doesn’t get much rain) and southeast New Mexico (also the eastern, dry side of the Rockies) both have almost identical looking landscapes, despite being thousands of miles apart. Sure, the species of the various shrubs are going to be different, but they still look the same to me.
The farther north I got, the prettier it became. I’m very happy for the internet, since I can let everyone else travel all the roads, and then I can just take the best ones.
This is where I’m staying tonight in Clifton, AZ. There has to be a good story behind this sign.
FIFY
The jail used to be a cave in that rock wall.
That was scary and painful. I wonder how far into the future we need to get before I know whether or not I’ll get pelted with hail before leaving in the morning.
Where’s the “holy shít” button
Yikes
I know, You're a big dog and I'm on the list.
Let's eat, GrandMa. / Let's eat GrandMa. -- Punctuation saves lives
It'll be fine once the swelling goes down.
With a nice windshield like yours I figured all you had to do was duck down and drive a little faster.
It was coming down something serious. Somewhere around dime sized hail, with quarter sizes sprinkled in every now and then. With rain, normally the windshield gets most of it, but with the hail it was too heavy to be moved off its path, so I got hit pretty good. Couldn’t go fast either, since it was kind of like riding on marbles that explode when you run over them. Luckily that gas station appeared after about 2 miles so all’s well that ends well. I was debating just pulling over on the side of the road and hiding under a tree right before it did, and letting the insurance handle the rest.
I'm glad you're OK. I wasn't serious. I was only going for lols
Route 191 was one of those most incredible motorcycle roads I’ve ever been on. I think it’s just barely second place to route 23 in Arkansas as far as this trip goes, because it was just barely less twisty. It was twice as long though, no one else was on it, and the scenery was better, so maybe it should be first place?
You can see what the road was like in these pictures.
There were a number of animals running into the road, but the cows were the only ones that hung out and didn’t run away.
Once I got into Pinetop, AZ the rain started. Just a trickle, so I got my rain gear on before really getting wet. The forecast this morning said no rain expected, but I know that doesn’t mean anything in the mountains. Then out of nowhere, ear splitting thunder, and small hail mixed with rain. Half a mile later, the hail picked up and took over for the rain, and I had to slow down. Another half mile, and it really started hurting. It kind of felt like a mild bee sting each time I got hit, and I was getting hit about 5 times a second. After a half mile of that, I started looking for a spot to pull over, and right before I did, that gas station appeared. It got even worse while I was waiting it out, and then turned back into rain after about 10 minutes. I hung out in the gas station for about an hour waiting for the rain to let up a bit, and then backtracked 5 miles to a casino I was planning to just skip since it wasn’t far enough into the day’s route. The hail rattled me pretty good, and I probably wouldn’t have had any fun riding the rest of the day anyway. Gunna play some more poker tonight, and head out tomorrow.
I gave you a pity one.
Today was much better. Spent half of it being chased by a rain cloud, but it never actually got me.
Didn’t take as many pictures as I would have liked because of it, but still got a few half decent ones.
The weather was beautiful today aside from that rain cloud stalking me. Like 95 degrees, dry, and cloudy, so it never really felt “hot”. A perfect riding day.
Does anyone know why so many of these trees along the road don’t have lower branches? Is it animals? The state of Arizona cutting them off for some reason?
I did a stupid thing again today, but I don’t care, it was delicious.
The route I wanted to take north is apparently closed, which sucks, and cut today short. I’ll be stopped in Sedona, AZ for the night, and then backtracking tomorrow while also having to take the lame highway route.
At least I found a very nice place for like 60% off, $122 total including taxes, and they have laundry in here too.
Tomorrow is Grand Canyon day, should be fun.
Spectacular! Many find the Grand Canyon a disappointment, because they're standing at the top and mistakenly believe that they're taking in the whole thing. Not so. Standing at the top, the other side doesn't look that far away. It is. At best you can only see about 20% from the top.
If you could hike down to Indian Gardens (unless the DEI people have changed the name) you can walk out to the overlook and see the other 80% below. Probably not possible for you this trip, it's an all day thing and may require a permit.
Not trying to discourage you, at all, definitely go and see it, but if it seems underwhelming, know that you're only seeing a small bit of what's really there. I think it was Coronado's people who "discovered" it, and thought they'd cross it by sundown. I can't remember, but I think 3 or 4 weeks later they found a way around.
Great pictures and great trip, Calvin. I'm so jealous. Ride on!
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
It's too bad about Oak Creek being closed, you'll be able to see it from the highway.
Thanks @Trykflyr_1
I think I want to retire in this general area around Sedona. Close enough to a grocery store but once you go out a few miles you just get all kinds of versions of this.
Arizona seems like a healthy state. Where I live, almost everyone is fat, especially as people get older. I can’t really think of any old people I know back home who don’t have some form of potbelly. Down here that’s not very common. I wonder if it’s the heat? I’m personally not hungry when I’m hot. It might also be the Mexican food being so dominant, compared to the garbage we call American food. I can’t imagine going to a chain burger restaurant if there’s a street taco place right next door that’s going to be the same price and come out of the kitchen just as quickly.
The Grand Canyon is massive. I know that sounds obvious, but it’s kind of profound when you’re just sitting there looking at it. It’s really hard to feel any sort of self importance when you’re there. I felt like an ant in a sense, but in a good way. I don’t really know how to describe it with words.
I’m camped for the night in Tuba City, AZ just inside Navajo Nation. This hotel I’m at, Navajoland Hotel, is actually very nice.
I would have stayed here anyway though. I think one of the best ways to help disenfranchised communities is to voluntarily spend your money on their businesses, instead of giving it to McDonalds or Amazon. If someone is making an effort to earn their own money, and leave a nest egg for their children for the first time in hundreds of years, then I want to help those people. If someone wants a nest egg without working for it, that’s a different conversation. I try to avoid being a hypocrite when I can, so if I’m going to say that someone doesn’t deserve something, I feel that I also need to try to help out the people who do. The dollar is the ultimate step stool in life. How I spend my dollars is much more important than who I vote for, and if people are making an effort to earn those dollars, then I’m happy to give them to those people, instead of some soulless corporation that won’t even end up paying any taxes. That’s my take on it at least.
Last year, when I passed through the northern end of this reservation, I was struck by how well it seemed to be doing. This year, it’s kind of the same for the southern end. It’s still mostly empty of course, since land wise you can’t really grow anything. But it’s very pretty.
The towns I passed through all seemed full. No abandoned buildings aside from a couple outside of town in the middle of nowhere. Multiple areas of new construction happening in the towns like Kayenta. In northern Montana and North Dakota last year, the reservations were just dilapidated trailers and single wides. There are some of those here, but they’re not dilapidated, and most of the houses are real, permanent buildings, and they look great. I need to look that up when I get home, I forgot to last year. Why are they seemingly thriving out here but not on other reservations?
@Wylaff are these also wild? Any way to tell? They were outside of town east of Kayenta, AZ if that matters.
This truck is awesome.
It started raining after I pulled in, at least this time the forecast was accurate. I might be getting rained in tomorrow, but we’ll see.
Gambled and lost. Got soaked and pulled in to a Super 8. It was kind of worth it though because no one was out today and I only got wet for a few miles before getting a room and a hot shower. I may need to look into @Amos_Umwhat ’s suggestion about a sheep skin cover for my seat. I’m much more sore than last year. Made it just short of Taos, tomorrow’s first half of the ride is supposed to be amazing, might try to wake up early to avoid all the motorhomes.
Starting to see some green, instead of all brown.
@CalvinAndHobo , seriously, the sheepskin is money well spent. I've had mine since 1992. It's kind of retired to the tractor now, but I could still throw it on the bike at any time. It's black, so it goes with anything. Some people say "it's ugly", but I don't have any eyeballs in my backside, can't see it when you're sitting on it. And, best of all, I can still feel my feet at the end of the ride, not to forget the aforementioned backside. Rolls right up and strap it to the trunk when you don't want it on. Keeps the seat cool when you're not on the bike, allows airflow and blood circulation when in use.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
Calvin, from Taos are you going up over Raton Pass and then on through Cimmaron Gorge? Lovely ride if you do. Not much after that, though, at least not if you go straight through the Oklahoma Panhandle, "No Man's Land". 107 F last time I did it, got a little road hypnosis going straight and flat for SO long in that kind of heat. Be careful. North up I-25 is an option, and actually prettier, but it is interstate and a major truck route, which sucks. Be safe.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
Yup here’s the route. If you thought the Oklahoma panhandle was boring, look at that stretch north to Nebraska. That’s route 83, also known as the road to nowhere. Then again, I’m a bit strange, and the sections of nothing and no one are some of my favorite.
