Route 66

Before heading south, I checked out Great Sand Dunes National Park, which was an incredible experience. The dunes are about 700 feet tall, so I figured it was the perfect place to take the bike off-road for the first time. It was definitely challenging—riding through deep, soft sand mixed with patches of snow was a whole new experience for me. I dropped the bike a couple of times, but honestly, that was part of the fun.

From there, I made my way down to Santa Fe, where I camped solo for the night in a desert canyon. It took about an hour of off-roading to get there, but it wasn’t as tough as earlier in the dunes. The next morning, I packed up my tent, took that classic left turn at Albuquerque, and kept rolling toward Texas.

Of course, no American road trip would be complete without a ride down Route 66. I was surprised to find so many old towns along the highway filled with abandoned gas stations and motels—it felt like stepping back into the late '80s, with a kind of ghost-town vibe.

Halfway through my ride to Amarillo, I realized I had mismanaged my time and would be riding after dark—a situation I’d been trying to avoid for the entire trip. I decided to take my chances, but it wasn’t long before I nearly collided with not one, but two large bucks on the road. The close encounters left me shaken, but with my hotel still two hours away, I had no choice but to push on through a nerve-racking ride. When I finally arrived in Amarillo, I decided to book an extra night after noticing a harsh rattle near the engine. Thankfully, it turned out to be just a loose skid plate that needed a quick adjustment.

Now I’m figuring out what to explore next in Texas.Read more