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Last year I had planned a very nice motorcycle trip to New Mexico to visit the Trinity Site. But COVID caused me to cancel those plans.
In January of this year I started thinking of another motorcycle trip. I have also informed my employer that I intend to retire this year, so this is going to be an interesting year.
Laurie still has reservations about the virus so she will not be with me on this trip. But my can of Lysol will be!
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Today started out very nice. Perfect temperature, wide scenic views and no traffic. Then around noon I hit 100 miles of Mrytle Beach SC. Putt putt golf, water parks and hundreds of traffic lights. Which is fine if you like that kind of thing, but I don't.
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Yesterday was tough. I called it quits early and looked for a motel. This one had a Waffle House so it was a yes!!!
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I got a late start today because of a light rain. The entire day was gray and cloudy. And the public access roads to the beach were not paved. Silvia does not do well in sand. So the only photo I have for the entire day is of an ice cream break. But I did meet a couple of fellow motorcyclists who warned me about some road construction in the area. So I was able to avoid that.
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Today was a good day. The temperature started at 59 and remained in the low 70's most the day. I gained some elevation and there was a cool nip in the air. No traffic, wide open spaces and friendly people. Even with a few mishaps, it was a great day. Read more details along with the photos and video below.
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I decided to skip Big Bend National Park. Mid March is their busiest time of the year because of Spring Break and with COVID easing up everyone is traveling. They are having 25% larger crowds. People and traffic jams are not what I want. I will return to this park some day with Laurie.
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I got out before sunrise based on the recommendations of my cousin and I was not disappointed. Please watch the video. It is shorter than yesterday and has some neat content.
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I really like the higher elevations and New Mexico has plenty. You can be riding along with the temps in the 50's and in a short amount of time drop a few thousand feet and the temp's are in the 70's. Today the topography changed frequently from flat desert to alpine like forest then back to desert. Never boring.
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I put an extra day in my plans in case of mechanical or weather trouble. But I have been lucky and not needed it. So I took that extra day and did an unplanned ride today. That was a great idea. I said a couple of days ago that these trips recharge me. Today I did a lot of recharging and am nearing 100% (grin).
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I had no idea this breakfast burrito would "fuel" me through this day. I wanted to see a little snow but I got more than I wanted.
I rode north from Moriarty NM hoping to see a little snow. I have been to Santa Fe a few times so I skipped that and headed east on a local Route 66 road that parallels I-25. The snow kept falling. I thought it was neat.
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There are still Route 66 sites I have not seen. I planned to hit a few of them today. However, my snow storm ordeal yesterday left me an hour west of where I had planned to be. I also crossed a time zone today and lost an hour. Then in Amarillo I noticed they had applied brine to all the bridges. Checking my weather app, Amarillo should get snow tonight.
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Rushing to El Reno, OK last night and skipping some things I wanted to see was the right choice. This morning there is snow in Santa Rosa and Moriarty. There seems to be ice or snow in Amarillo. I guess they knew what they were doing with the brine on the bridges.
This is also my last blog for the trip. I will take a couple of days to get to eastern KY to see my Dad, then return to home and wife in NC on Saturday.
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I combined the videos from my spring 2021 cross country motorcycle trip into one video. I am using Luma Fusion for editing and find that I really like it. The entire editing process can be done on my iPad and adding music and transitions is very easy.
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