Took a little ride...

[lasvegasrider]

AND??


Please - more the more

[Peachmaan]

Howdy, R/1 (still didn't change your name, huh [you should start a poll, concerning this topic..... I bet the Perv's in JM could come up with a good one])

I am not a Smugmug user (yet), but it seems you have to convert the vid to the MPEG-1 format.... did'cha do that??

Something to read @
http://www.smugmug.com/help/video-clips-online

Shows that you have a sense for protecting the "wild-life".... bummer it didn't work out as well ...

Eventually, I find I am squashing more than I miss as the hypnotic effect of the long empty road has me staring at them in a vain attempt to identify what sort of creatures they are. This of course causes Silvers tires to run right over them as the bike goes where you look. Squish, Ooops, sorry… have to stop that

(Buttheads voice) Cabo, yeah Cabo, hehe he (/Buttheads voice)

[docgonzo]

Well, for those of you who wanted to know how Sean did so well in Las Vegas, I did some research.

He actually IS an actor, who in his former life, was a Knight!

Check out: http://tinyurl.com/2d4ss



Later, Docgonzo

[Rogue 1]

New Mexico Rt 80 North bound


Glad to be back on US soil, I pull over for a quick smoke to calm my nerves and notice that Silvers cam cover seals have blown again (see Update #3 and the replacement by Engle BMW in Kansas City).
Once again the BMW MOA book comes out and I find a dealer in Deming, New Mexico, on I10, only 159 miles away and on my route to El Paso. This day promises to be a long one now. Rose has the address and has plotted my course; I head off to Deming at about one pm and hope to make it there by three.




Arizona Hwy 80, which has brought me south east, now turns sharply north in an easterly direction towards New Mexico and Interstate 10. Just short of the state line, I see a sign signaling an upcoming “Historic Landmark�, I like stopping at these when I have the time. This one commemorates the “Surrender of Geronimo�. Cool, I plan on stopping but as I approach and slow, I am freaked out by what I see. There is a guy peeing on the marker! What the…? I can’t figure out the purpose of this… he could have gone on the side, this much be intentional… maybe it’s an ancestral thing… who the hell knows… I decide to err on the side of discretion and pass on this particular landmark. It takes all kinds.



I cross into New Mexico, another first time state and fly along 80, desolate and empty at a healthy pace. Few cars are seen and the mountains once again frame the desert wasteland.

Beautiful.




Further on, a beat up, dusty, navy blue pick up truck in front of me signals me to let off the gas as we enter a small, single road town. A police car sits on the side of the road, the officer inside looking right at us with his radar gun. Thanks for the warning.

I wave as I pass and I laugh out loud when I get a look at him, he’s a dummy… he’s a decoy, a stuffed mannequin wearing a uniform and cap, pointing a cardboard radar gun. Gotcha!


Good cops, not so good cops and... un-cop?


I make I10 and head east over the high plains desert, noticing the never ending string of signs that warn of the very possible dangers of sand storms and inclement zero visibility. The winds are high, but no dust storms… probably a good thing but I would have liked to have seen one. The signs were akin to a promise.



I reach Deming, a dusty, nothing, highway town, population about 4000, and Rose guides me right to the BMW dealer’s doorstep. On the way, I notice a large contingency of homeless, hobo’s in the old days, set up here and there in makeshift shelters, alone and in small groups, ragged, bearded and disheveled. The road isn’t the same for everyone.
The shop is medium sized but well laid out. The folks at Deming BMW are friendly and attentive. They get Silver up on a lift immediately for an oil change and a cam seal replacement. She has 8533 miles on her odometer. There are a few Highway Patrol officers here, getting work done on there bikes… the BMW RTP’s (R1150RT Police Bikes) are pretty popular across the US.


Sherriff in the house


Deming is a pretty depressed town (by the look of it), a real dust bowl, barren and dry and I am surprised that they have a BMW dealer here.
I utilize the down time to catch up on my journal.

Silver’s work is completed, I ask why the seals have blown again and the tech tells me that they must have been improperly installed, pinched, when they were replaced in KC. I grab a quart of oil, as this will be the last dealer I see until I exit Mexico, whenever that may be.

Again, I am warned off El Paso and advised to stay the night in Las Cruces, 70 miles further on I10 and 50 miles short of El Paso. It’s late in the day, the day has, again, been a long one and I decide to cease today’s movements in accordance with their recommendations, Las Cruces it is.






I stop at a Chevron at the entrance to I10 and fill Silvers tank. 70 miles later, as the sun sinks low on the horizon behind me, I crest a hill and see Las Cruces spread out before me in a flat valley, surrounded by mountains.



Las Cruces


The magic hour gives the city a beautiful glow that will tarnish as I get a closer look. I take the first exit, Hotel Drive (seems like a good idea), and find myself on a mile long stretch of flea bag motels, competing for clients at an average rate of $18 per night. I don’t think I’ll feel comfortable parking Silver outside one of these places. Best seek out slightly better accommodations.
I stop into Barnett Harley Davidson; a bike shop is a bike shop, to get the down low on Las Cruces and they point me in the direction of the National hotel chains.

They have a nice selection of boots and I feel the longing to replace mine. My boots have seen better days. Thousands of miles, rain, dust, sand, snow, heat, cold, wind, friction and abuse have conspired to bring them to ruin. The resole in Raleigh has worn away and the left inner sole is starting to free itself from its upper. I try on a pair of boots, nice, great ankle support (which will come in handy in Mexico and off road). Good tread on the soles; good look too, $100.

I pass, determined that my boots can see me through, how can I abandon them now. I’ll definitely have to hang these up when I’m done.

I grab a burger and hit a Motel 6, paying $5 more that the Super 8 next door because they have direct entrance to the room and I can park Silver outside my window.


I settle in with a 6 pack, tempted by the bottle of red given me by the French and fire up Hal for an evening of update composition.

[[[Editors note; Funny, this stuff isn’t easy… I probably agonize over each page an average of 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Not to mention draft corrections and additions as I remember other details (I won’t tell you where I am as I write this one in particular, but I will say I’ve been hold up in a hotel room and the last 12 pages took about 11 hours).]]]

The end of another great day… close to 300 miles… Tombstone, Bisbee, Douglas, a border crossing, Sonora ME, Arizona, New Mexico, Deming, bike service, Las Cruces, fake cops and pissing tourists… who could ask for anything more?


More to come

[CityClip]

This stuff is great! The chicks, the scenery, everything is a dream!

[dragoon]

How did I miss this thread? I'm only on page 2 of 13 but had to respond.

Rogue 1 this is a top shelf report

[dirtrider]

Keep it coming! Best ride report ever!

Spent a few days in Las Cruces last fall as a buddy works at Las Cruces Motorsports. Best mexican food I've ever had, great weather, and a rockin Hooters. Not a bad place to visit.

[bvkamp]

Originally Posted by Rogue 1

[[[Editors note; Funny, this stuff isn’t easy… I probably agonize over each page an average of 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Not to mention draft corrections and additions as I remember other details (I won’t tell you where I am as I write this one in particular, but I will say I’ve been hold up in a hotel room and the last 12 pages took about 11 hours).]]]

Your ancestors are gonna love this someday. What a legacy to leave behind!

[Rogue 1]

Originally Posted by dirtrider

Spent a few days in Las Cruces last fall as a buddy works at Las Cruces Motorsports. Best mexican food I've ever had, great weather, and a rockin Hooters. Not a bad place to visit.

There was a little cantina around the corner from the hotel. I got hungry a little later that evening and I agree with you Dirt, the food was pretty damn good...

[Rogue 1]

Originally Posted by bvkamp

Your ancestors are gonna love this someday. What a legacy to leave behind!

Thanks bv... what a great way to look at it... I think you're right...

[Rogue 1]

I debated whether or not to post this and decided that I would dedicate it to Linzi and her bikini!


Tuesday October 29^th

I wake up early at 6:30am, and continue to work on the Journal until about 11. Silver packed, Rose leads me to a local cobbler to get my boots repaired… they are closed. I pick up some spare bulbs for my Maglite, to replace the burned out ones, see a bit of Las Cruces, and the place looks a lot nicer in the sunlight but I remain unimpressed.

Not much fanfare...








Back on I10 East bound I begin the short journey to El Paso; Silver is running poorly, her engine is knocking; I think she got some bad gas at that Chevron in Deming. I cross the state line into Texas in less than an hour, at about 2 o’clock, and am in the center of El Paso 15 minutes later. The town is big, this is a city. Ciudad Juarez, ME, my first real Mexican city sits a stones throw to the south.

Everybody has a cowboy hat. I decide I should have one too. (Go ahead, roll your eyes)

I stop in a shopping center for lunch at a Steak and Ale and on the way in break down and buy a cowboy hat, yes, I’m an idiot, but I think it’s a good look, in Texas anyway.


Inside the Steak & Ale, while I eat one of the best quesadillas I’ve ever had, Tony the manager and I, the only two people in the whole place, strike up a conversation.

Tony and yours truly (man I look stupid in a cowboy hat)


I mention my delight with the food and ask if I can expect this kind of quality in Mexico, unequivocally, he answers “No�, and asks why I am going south. I tell my story and we talk about the importance of following, no, chasing, with a vengeance, your dreams.

Tony is 39 years old and his dream is to own his own restaurant someday. I ask him what his dream was when he was 29… he say’s it was the same… I smack Tony on the back of his head (literally) and push him hard to get off his ass. To go to the bank first thing tomorrow and apply for a loan, to start scouting for locations and investors, otherwise, he’s going to wake up, realize he’s 49, and wish he’d have listened to the crazy gringo that went ballistic on him 10 years earlier.

As I leave, he won’t take my money, we hug and I tell him I’m going to check up on him, and that when I do, he better have made some progress… and I will; somehow.

It’s late in the day, I’m procrastinating about entering Mexico and I decide to stay in El Paso for the night in order to get a full day tomorrow. I check into the Executive Inn and the guy at the counter, Bobby, very cool, points me in the direction of the bar across the street.

Back in the hotel and in bed by 12, I sleep fitfully, tossing all night, nervous about tomorrow’s border crossing…




That should have happened today.



More to come... thanks for reading my story

[sdmotor]

Excellent report Rogue!!! I can't wait for the next installment

[CityClip]

Originally Posted by Rogue 1

More to come... thanks for reading my story

Dood, thanks for WRITING the story.

BTW, Rogue is a chick. You should change your name. Lone Ranger is the obvious one. Nope... taken. Anyone?

[lasvegasrider]

humm -great report!

I look forward to the next part of the storey line

[tribeless]

Granted, running the cowboy hat in Crooklyn might pose some problems but Im thinking its working for you in texas...