 | New Mexico and Motorcycles! Can’t beat this combination!
On May 30th the Hub City Wings Motorcycle Club took off for Red River, NM. We meet at George’s Restaurant for Breakfast with everyone excited to start the trip. The weather was great, our tummies were full and we were all rested and ready to go!
We had 11 motorcycles and 15 people total. Starting out with Jerry leading the group, followed by Audie, Larry and Joanie with their friend Jenni, Rudy and Janie, Manny and Stephanie, Bowie and Wanda, Ed and Mary, Ruth, and Mike taking the back door. Our ‘bad boys’, Rusty and Don, were not able to leave until 11:30 AM but caught up with us slow riders outside of Mora. That gave us 13 motorcycles and 17 people!!
What a sight we were with that many Gold Wings running down the road together.
The scenery was pretty typical of West Texas, dry and flat until we were well into New Mexico. After that it was spectacular with the mountains and green trees and valleys.
The weather was perfect.
We started out at about 9:30am, riding North West to Clovis NM, on over to Fort Sumner, then north to Santa Rosa, and up to Las Vegas NM. From there, we headed up to Mora, Angel Fire, and finally Red River. What great ride!!
Our home base was Red River at the Ponderosa Motel and after a short meeting to plan out our activities, and after deciding that 13 motorcycles were too many to ride in one group down the highway, we knew that we’d have to break up into smaller groups for our next few days rides. After that, we all walked down a block to the local steak house and had dinner. After dinner, everyone was pretty tired so we retired for the night looking forward to the next days ride.
Saturday we all rode over to Taos for breakfast at Michaels and there we broke into three groups. Larry, Joanie, Rudy, Jane and Jenni went shopping in Red River and Taos while Audie wanted to just ride up by Tres Ritas (I think that’s the name of it) and sit by the river, eat jerky and relax for a while. Jerry had been having trouble with his radio on the way down, so he went off looking for someone to fix his microphone. The rest of us, Manny and Steph, Ed and Mary, Bowie and Wanda, Ruth and Mike, Rusty and Don took a beautiful ride first up to the Taos ski valley, then back down to Taos, and over to the Gorge where we took advantage of some of the local vendors wares. The we took the 64/84 loop down to Espanola, where we stopped for some HOT New Mexico Mexican food, and back to join up with the others at Red River.
It was during a cold drink break in a VERY small village on that side trip that Mike and Don discovered that they were COUSINS!!! Small world!
After returning to Red River and taking a nice cool shower, some of us decided to walk down to the local tavern and visit over a couple of Margarita’s. Afterwards, some of the group was outside visiting, when 5 deer came walking and running around the downtown Red River area. What a sight! Sure made an impression on us that we did NOT want to ride at night in that area!
On Sunday, Rusty, Audie and Don broke out at about 9:00 AM heading home. A little later, Larry, Joanie and Jenni, and Rudy and Janie headed home also as they all only had 3 days off.
After breakfast across from the hotel, Manny and Steph, Bowie and Wanda, Ed and Mary, Jerry, Ruth and Mike headed over to Angel Fire and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. What a beautiful and emotionally moving place. Certainly gives one pause to reflect on the events of that period of time.
From there we rode on down to Mora and took a beautiful little rode back up to Ranchos de Taos. A small road with little villages and lots of tall Ponderosa Pine trees lining the road. Back through Taos, and out a few miles down the road from the Gorge is a community of Earthships earth friendly homes. A few of us took the tour of these remarkable homes that are completely self sustained. They are built with recycled materials, tires, bottles and cans. They harvest their water from the roof, and cycle it 4 times ( drinking & cooking, then cleaning, then on to watering plants, then into the toilets). They use solar/thermal heating and cooling with solar and wind electric power charging a bank of deep cycle batteries. The community reminds one of Whoville with the odd turns and shapes of the homes! Some of the homes are rather modest in appearance, and others reflect the era of the hippies that settled here back in the 60’s and 70’s. Definitely worth the stop.
After Whoville we headed back to the hotel where we ate pizza and visited with each other in the community room for a while before turning in and preparing to head home the next day.
Monday was a very HOT ride staying at around 101o to 104o with a really strong wind from Clovis NM on in to Lubbock, but thankfully not much dust. We made many stops to cool off and rehydrate. The other customers and car hops at Sonic in Muleshoe looked at us kind of funny as Ruth kept pouring ice water over her own head!!! The Sonics and D.Q.’s profited greatly from our return trip!!
The final crew all made it home to Lubbock safely at around 7:00 PM to 7:30 PM with memories that will last a lifetime, many much closer friends and one found second cousin!
Thanks to all who rode along and those that helped make it a reality, particularly Family Power Sports, without whom the trip would not have been half as nice.
Truly a beautiful, memorable trip…
Mike & Ruth
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