Back to Texas

After our devilish lunch, we rode the Enchanted Circle, a loop of highways 532, 38, and 64 encircling Wheeler Peak. Beautiful scenery and some great twisties. We stopped at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial near Angel Fire, which was difficult for a couple of the guys who had been in the war. A beautiful garden with a chapel open 24/7.

After looping back to Taos, I continued to lead, but when I hung a left away from the river towards the mountains, the back part of the group disagreed and turned around. Oh well, their loss.

The four of us continued--a fifth caught up--and we took the High Road to Taos through the mountains instead of following the river. Follow highways 518, 75, 76, and 503 north to south.

More info: https://web.archive.org/web/20090804190933/http…

I tell you, those guys missed the best part of the day. I rode them hard through handlebar gripping, squiggly twists and perfectly cambered, sweeping curves. We eventually popped out on top of the ridge with Santa Fe in the valley below. What a great ride!

When we pulled into the dealership a little later than expected but still in time for dinner, we found we had beaten the folks who turned around 🤣. I won a handlebar leather whip and a neck gaiter, and two guys gave me a shirt, so I wore a lot of clothes to my hotel that night 🤣. So ended a terrific road rally made better by the company I met along the way 🤟.

This morning, I managed to pack all the new stuff and roll out about 08:15. I was supposed to have breakfast with a couple of the guys, but the previous night's goodbyes were enough to last, so I hit the road.

I made it to the Albuquerque for the HD photo, then jumped on I-40 to tear back to Texas. I took a photo from the road of the half-buried cars at Cadillac Ranch, but kept rolling because so many other people had stopped. Then a quick pic at the Amarillo HD, a turn north for a Texas Tour stop, then another beeline down I-40 into Oklahoma.

Remember the gas can I bought for my 150-mile sojourn down the ET Highway? Well, I'm still carrying it, and because it has gas in it, I find myself pushing Willie to go just a bit further every tank. He didn't like it today. We went 110 miles before the light came on. Then another 23 miles before the remaining indicator stopped counting down and just said low. Then another 9 miles until the indicator started flashing and the red alarm indicator came on. Then the final 1.7 miles with me drifting on the downhills and into the gas station. By the time we got to the pump, the gas gauge was so confused it kept flipping back and forth from empty to half full. Willie took me 143.7 miles on one 3.5-gallon tank running around 3,000 rpm most of the way. I don't think we would've made 144.

After gassing up, I paused in Lawton at the HD to find a hotel. The closest available place was in Duncan, so I began racing the storm. I got pretty concerned when I passed a Storm Chaser van with the driver talking on the CB and staring at the clouds 😳. But I made it to the hotel with enough time to unload and park the bike under the portico 😁. I was pretty tired though and almost popped the clutch a couple of times in the parking lot. Now, I'm watching the lightning, listening to the thunder, and breathing a sigh of relief that I didn't get caught in it.

So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

Day 68 mileage: 372.9 (total 16083.6)
HD Dealership Challenge: 4 (total 108)
50 Rides, 1 Nation: 1 (total 12)
MCGTTX Stops: 1 (total 33)Read more