Flagstaff, AZ -> Los Alamos, NM

Waking up this morning was a strange experience. I closed my eyes for just a second. I cracked them back open and noticed sun coming through the shades of my room. This made me panic and woke me up before eight. Good for an early start I guess. Wolfed down the protein bar I bought in the Montclair Starbucks the day before to gain access to their bathroom, "Sir if it's locked there's probably just someone in it," and hit the road.

The Airbnb I woke up in, same one I went to sleep in

I was expecting to be frozen half to death in the brisk Flagstaff morning but it didn't happen. Sixty degrees and lovely. It only took about an hour before I had to stop, get gas, and pull the liners out of my gear. Every time I get gas someone stops to talk to me, this never happened in LA or Santa Barbara. In Winslow, three different people came up to talk to me about motorcycles, traveling, or what have you as I changed from cold to warm gear. There was one crazy man who told me about his Gixxer 750 swapped quad. For those not in the know, that's a homemade death wish. "Oh, she'll pull on a 'vette up to 120." Yikes. The Guzzi definitely attracts attention out here.

A lil outside of Winslow, some cool rocks

I had lunch in Gallup, a town just on the New Mexico side of the Arizona-New Mexico border. A few things happened when I crossed that line. The rocks got really pretty and I started to notice small drops of water on my helmet. I took my lunch break as an opportunity to panic and research the weather. I was under the impression that it was going to cooperate with me all day. As a native Californian, the prospect of water falling from the sky felt like betrayal. I wanted to avoid it. Luckily, the skies were to remain clear for the rest of the day.

I had a mission to attend to today. About a year ago a good friend of mine passed away. Being that he was an Albuquerque denizen and we have been suffering with a pandemic I was unable to attend any sort of memorial for him. I managed to find where he is resting now and had a little memorial for him with some of my friends on Zoom. Mourning in quarantine is different but it felt good to do. He's got a great view of the Sandia mountains now.

Group photos in our modern age

As the wind picked up and the sun was beginning to head down it was time to ride to Los Alamos for the night where my friend Daniel is hosting me now. The drive from Santa Fe to Los Alamos is gorgeous. It feels as though you are cruising up a windy mountain road and all of a sudden a sea of houses begin to peek out of the trees. The elevation gain was intense. By the top of the 7500 foot climb, I was able to feel that my bike was down on power from not getting enough air.

Once I got to his house we went out (in a car!) to obtain provisions for the evening. My rear end was quite sore form all the motorcycling so we obtained several cans of healing libations and some tasty frozen Indian food. 

Libations and dinner with groundskeeper Willie (not in tartan) and Daniel (in tartan)

I was initially planning to be in New Mexico for only two nights but this would put me in the path of thunderstorms on Friday night heading in to Amarillo. My schedule is now at the mercy of the weather. Any Way The Wind Blows...

Today's Distance: 431 miles

Total Distance: 965 miles

Best Song On Spotify: "Pills I Took" by Hank Williams