i rode today

i rode yesterday it was nice to get and ride put about 112 miles on

I rode my 83 kz1100 daily rider saturday afternoon around Albuquerque. I took I-40 east into the mountains, and headed south from Tijeras through some fantastic 'canyons' (NM 337) and eventually turning east again just before the small village of Chilili, New Mexico.

It was a dirt road after about a mile, apparently, but my destination was on the other side and the alternative was another 45+ miles. I had done extensive google mapping of the trip and still been surprised that it was a dirt road. I mean, wtf google? So that was about 6 miles of muddy dirt roads through an Indian land grant area, passed a bunch of SUVs and everyone waved. Terrific scenery though.

There is a point where you come over a rise, and through some trees you can see the plain that stretches between ranges, from Moriarty to Clines Corners and south. We've had a bunch of snow here in NM this year so it's all white with distant mountains black on the horizon. The benefit of being on a crappy dirt road in the middle of January between exactly nowhere and nowhere else, is that you can find a place to go and be utterly surrounded by natural silence. It was nearing 50 degrees, sunny with a clear sky and light breeze, mid-afternoon high-mountain arid forest with snow on the ground sort of picturesque setting. And I had it all to myself!

It can feel a little hairy trying to get a big bike through muddy tracks and ruts at any sort of decent speed (especially with nearly bald, and rock-hard touring tires) but I pushed through the mud to find some very gravel-covered tarmac when I got to nowhere else. There are two kinds of homes in the area:

1)Very decent looking 'ranches' or large, several acre estates (usually horses and farm equipment somewhere). As you come east off the slope of the mountain you see a bunch of biggish homes tucked away in the hills. Big plots of land.
2)Trailers. Whatever you want to call them, in shapes and forms that make you laugh and be sad at the same time. Mobile homes that have been poorly stucco'd in place, mutant appendages of scrap wood and unfinished additions atrophying in neglect...and then pure poverty staring you in the face. The small villages here are very revealing.

In just about every case, there are SUVs in the driveway covered in dirt, and usually they're being tended to by a couple dirt dudes (cooler on standby, usually on the 'porch').

I ended up at a place called Rio Grande Brewing Co, in Moriarty, on the edge of nowhere (next exit 6 miles nowhere). I had my own private bull session with a very underworked bartender and several pints later (I paced myself, I had several hours of daylight left when I got there) I got on I-40 and scooted back to ABQ and my nicely stocked beer fridge.

All told it was more than 80 miles, in early January, some of it on dirt. I keep reading about how in the midwest they're still waiting for the first big snow (with temps in the 70's to boot), which makes me a bit jealous but I make do.

So yeah, I rode Saturday. And today.

.

I took my girl out for a ride on V day, so not quite today...but anyways.

This is a lake where I fish for Bass in the summer.

first ride of 2012 in the bank
minus 9c and sunny
that 17f for you imperial folks
made a smile 48 km long
plus 2c and sunny tomorrow so more riding coming up

Short ride today. 63 degrees in south central PA. I would rider further but have oil leak from cam plugs. I have new aluminum ones from Z1 and a VC gasket waiting to be put on (hopefully tonight). Rode about 10 miles checking if I need anything else before taking the VC off. First time I had it above 50 mph. Very fun!!!!!!!

71 today 90mph before you know it Too windy for a long ride!

9am53 wrote: I took my girl out for a ride on V day, so not quite today...but anyways.

This is a lake where I fish for Bass in the summer.

i thought u ment your other girl.
then i look at the pic and think, u took her parking , i dont see her ,but i know she must still be in the long grass somewhere. lol :laugh: