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May 13, 2008
One More Thing
One of the Albuquerque Motorcycle Riders Group folks is enamored with Ducati's, and we had discussed for a while how fun it would be to take the two Duc's up to Madrid. Last Friday we did just that. His brother dropped him at the house after they had dropped off his Triumph at PJ's to get some desperately needed fork seals installed. While checking the tire pressures on the 750, I noticed a little smudge below the right fork seal. Uh-oh. The gaiter covering the fork tubes was completely soaked. So Friday I will take the 750 back in to PJ's to have its seals replaced.
Regardless, the trip to Madrid and back was spirited and scenic.
Posted by Underblog at 6:13 AM | TrackBack
May 4, 2008
(Not Quite) Sipapu and Return
The Albuquerque Motorcycle Riders' Group arranged a "quick ride to Sipapu" for burgers. I adore all the roads in these parts of Santa Fe, Taos, and Mora counties, and so I strongly suspected I would be joining them. I convinced The Finance Manager from work to join us, further enforcing my commitment to ride on Saturday. Up until the last minute I was undecided on which bike to ride, but I went along with my initial feeling and brought the 750 Sport. The Finance Manager had seen the bike but we had never gone riding together with me on it, and the AMRG folks had never seen it before. As it turns out, none of them could tell the difference between the two bikes anyway.
Unfortunately, Georgie (today's organizer) learned that the resort at Sipapu was closed until Labor Day. Perhaps he meant Memorial Day, but in either case Sipapu Burgers were out of season. I suggested that we stop at Leona's (whose name I had inconveniently forgotten at the time) at Santuario de Chimayó for tamales. There was some question (again due to the season) whether Leona's would be closed too, but we decided that we would give it a shot. Cinco de Mayo Weekend is the occasion for increased law-enforcement activity along the highway, and so Georgie's policy of "speed limit plus 5" seemed to be a prudent course. We got underway about a half-hour late, and already the Finance Manager was beginning to make noises about peeling off somewhere along the way and heading home early.
We took NM 313 north from US 550, the same route I took last week on the 750 as part of the Madrid Loop. On NM 313, we passed what I take to be a flock of Dusky Grouse. They looked like small grey turkeys. On this ride, we bypassed the frontage roads and stayed on I-25 another few exits past NM 14 to NM 599. Police presence was abundant. Three sets of red-and-blue flashing lights were present on 599, and several more on NM 503 near the Nambé Pueblo. One of the things I enjoy about the AMRG is that stops are prearranged and discussed in advance. That way, the group can regather and stick together. There is little to respect in a group that in effect "ditches" its members. We stopped at Hollywood Casino for this purpose, and again past the first stoplight on NM 599. We arranged to collect ourselves and fuel up in Pojoacque.
In Pojoacque, Georgie suggested that I lead the way through the twisties to Chimayó, where we would collect the cruisers. I had never continued on NM 503 to NM 76, always having taken the Santuario turn off. To say that the stretch of NM 503 between the Santuario turn off and NM 76 is twisty is something of an understatement. The road is not only narrow but strewn with fist-sized rocks. It also snakes through some neighborhoods that are positively European in their rights-of-way and building setbacks. Very scenic, however, but very challenging.
Once the group assembled at NM 76, I then led us to the Santuario, where surprisingly few of these folks had ever been before. All went according to plan, though the 1.1 miles between Chimayó and the Santuario road somehow put several minutes between the sportbikes and the cruisers. Lonche at Leona's was splendid as always, and I think next time I may try a burrito con chicharrones. At Santuario, it was decided that rather than proceed to Sipapu, we would return via NM 4. The Finance Manager split off Pojoacque while the rest of us took the scenic route.
On NM 502 (a "safety zone"), we proceeded at the speed limit plus five. While I was riding up front, a coyote ran across the road, requiring me to hit the binders in a hurry. Once we made the turn off for NM 4, we stopped in White Rock to fill our tanks. Here, I convinced the group to check out the Lookout we discovered on the last AMRG ride I attended a few weeks before. NM 4 was a total blast. I got a little ahead so I pulled over at Bandelier to let some others catch up. By the NM 501 turnoff I had pretty much caught up.
The stretch of NM 4 from the 501 turnoff to NM 126 is perhaps even better heading south than north. Once around the cages, there was much passing of motorcycles. As folks got ahead they would pull over and let others lead. Since I always had a light on in my rearview mirror I did not much worry about getting too far head. Still, it was pretty fun breaking the "ton up" on some of the larger sweepers. After a pause at NM 126 to collect the group and meet a fellow rider from Tennessee breaking in his new GS 1200, we indulged in some spirited riding until the Village of Jemez Springs. Beyond the Village it was more or less a calm ride to San Ysidro, where we collected the group for goodbyes.
All told, mileage was about 235.