Newsletter No. 28
September 14, 2022

Yesterday I made it almost to the edge of La Bajada Hill!

We had such a long and eventful ride yesterday that I didn’t have time to post an update, but all concerned agreed it was our best day yet. I rode the Red One out of Las Vegas New Mexico on frontage roads all the way to the Pecos River. I managed to get the Red One right down to the old bridge across the river. This would have been a much easier crossing for C.K. Shepherd if that bridge had been there so he would not have to push Lizzie down into and 300 feet across the flowing river.

Old Pecos River Bridge - September 13, 2022

From there, we rode into Pecos to be greeted at the gas station by the Mayor, Telesfor “Ted” Benavidez, who was excited to see us passing through. From there, I rode the Red One right through Santa Fe and stopped at the Plaza for a picture.

Santa Fe Plaza - September 13, 2022

On the way to La Bajada Hill, we ended up on an unexpected gravel road for a few hundred feet and I would have done OK but the surprise of the conditions and the turn at the bottom of a dried sandy wash was too much for me and I dumped the bike in the soft sand. No injuries to the bike (I was OK too, but they said I would be sore today, but that did not happen). Picked it up, cleaned it off and headed out to the big event for the day, La Bajada Hill. Having driven that road in my car, I knew it would be the most challenging off-road riding yet, so I was anxious. I committed early to stopping at any point. I made it almost all the way, within a half mile of the top of the Hill, and had to stop because there were many golf-ball size volcanic rocks in the road. So Lloyd and Andy pressed on to the top of the Hill. I never lost sight of them and was in radio contact. Disappointed in a way, but satisfied with the experience and ever grateful for the OJT from Lloyd about how to ride this kind of road.

From there, we intended to ride through Isleta south to Belen but the gas line had become crimped and was unable to accelerate well, so we trailered it to Belen.

Heading west on US60 today through Magdalena, the Very Large Array, Pie Town, Quemado, across the Arizona border, through Springerville (where C.K. is known to have stopped for gas), then the Petrified Forest for overnight in Holbrook.

If you have not checked it out, I have a live tracking page on Garmin (should be tracking again today after two days I forgot to turn it on:

https://share.garmin.com/ND86G

Thanks again for all the support and encouragement.

Mark