Day 2, Phoenix AZ (Miles logged 1320)

Day two started with a scenic drive along the Rio Grande River gorge south of Taos, NM. The pleasant morning temperatures gave way to scorching heat of the desert floor as I made my way through Albuquerque. That New Mexico heat was just a warmup to what awaited me in Phoenix as I ended my day. 

The lava flows of El Malpais and the majestic sandstone cliffs along Highway 117 southeast of Grant, NM were equally stunning.

I  hope you enjoy the pictures below from Day 2 of my ride. Many of you are in my thoughts and prayers I travel these roads each day. 

Riding this road south was definitely more relaxing than my trip through here riding in the opposite direction in 2020. It was quite an experience.  At that time, there was a two-inch layer of crushed road rock spread across the roadway the entire route. 

I was holding up fine during the ride, but the same cannot be said for my riding gear. Just before crossing from New Mexico into Arizona, I discovered half of the sole of my left boot had separated, which required a detour to a local Ace Hardware store for some shoe glue. However, my attempted repair was not very successful so I ended up stopping at a local Harley Davidson dealership in Phoenix to purchase new boots because, for the first time, I only packed one pair of riding boots. (Lesson learned) Lucky for me, I found a pair in my size on clearance at 75% off. God was definitely watching over me during this ride. 

Day 2 ended with 1,320 cumulative miles. 

Sunday and Monday I’ll be joined by Jeff Whisler, a retired Topeka officer from the motorcycle division, who now lives in the Phoenix area. Nothing like having a personal police escort to keep me in line. The journey should be more pleasant as we head into the mountains of Arizona, Utah and Colorado.

Day 1, Taos NM (Miles logged 733)

After attending breakfast with the Friday morning men’s group at Wanamaker Woods, I headed West by Southwest.

The morning was pleasant, however, temperatures rose as I headed past the many fields and grain elevators. Oil wells also dotted the landscape like ants on a picnic table. As I progressed West, meeting the never-ending parade of trucks, it dawned on me, if I had an $1 for every cattle hauler, grain truck or tanker I met, we could probably fund the children’s ministry for about three years. 

I stopped in Jetmore, Kansas, for lunch at a very tiny “hidden gem” called Judy’s Cafe. Had a fresh, ground beef burger with hand-cut fries.  

The smell of money (cattle pens) in western Kansas and eastern Colorado gave way to the more pleasant aroma of sage and pine through the rocky mountains in Colorado and New Mexico.

I also got my first traffic delay coming across the foothills of eastern Colorado as well as my first downpour of rain west of Walsenburg, CO. 

My riding gear protected me from the heat as well as the stinging rain. The associated cloud cover from the earlier rainstorm provided a pleasant last two hours of riding into Taos, NM.  

Miles completed today: 732.8