I was up at 5:00AM and on the road by 6:30 hoping to get a few miles done before the wind cranked up to the forecasted 60 MPH today in New Mexico. First time I have ever had to brush piles of dirt off the motorcycle before I could load my gear on it. It was thoroughly covered including the inside and outside of the windshield.
It was such a calm lovely morning it was hard to believe it wasn’t going to be a great day to ride. Around 9:15 I road past a windmill farm where only a few were turning lazily in the light wind. It made me wonder how fast they were whirling yesterday. Do they control those blades so they can only turn so fast? The terrain isn’t too exciting along I-40 so I guess the highlight of the ride was a herd of antelope not far off the road.
The wind wasn’t too bad when I stopped for fuel in Tucumcari (I love that name) but started picking up shortly there after. By Cline’s Corner it was once again so awful I wondered if I could make it to Albuquerque. I just heard on the news the gusts were particularly bad in that area.
I made it to Albuquerque and stopped to check weather on my computer. It was blowing 40 in Gallup, gusting tp 55 and expected to get stronger throughout the afternoon. I tried heading out of town but the wind was so bad I turned back and got a room. Only 400 miles today. I better do a lot better than that the next two days.
It may not happen until I get home, but I will be doing a write up on the Sandia Peak Inn in Albuquerque. Nice place, incredibly clean, delightful owner, and great price. I helped the owner with some computer issues and had time to find out why my MP3 player and cell phone wouldn’t charge today so it was a good afternoon.
I’ll be on the road early again tomorrow. Supposed to get down to 45 here tonight and 25 in Gallup so it looks like I’ll have to bundle up. They are also saying the wind should be better, but who knows. This may sound silly but I’m not going to say how far I’d like to get tomorrow because I’m afraid I’ll jinx it…
Leave a Reply