Southwest Tour - Day 7
Day 7 - Gallup to Dallas TX, 783 miles
No pictures for the ride Sunday. The weather forecast had been warning of the rain front that had camped out across New Mexico and Texas. It looked like I would have a pretty clear ride through New Mexico, as the slow moving front had moved mostly towards central Texas and into central Oklahoma, but as I loaded up the bike to leave my Gallup NM hotel room, the ominous clouds coming in from the southwest gave me pause that I there might still be some rain in New Mexico after all ... so the camera stayed packed in the trunk. With almost all interstate to go from Gallup on home ... at least to Amarillo where I would pick up US287 to get back to the metromess, today was to be a simple ride-n-go kind of day.
I slept in a little later than normal today, knowing that it would be a fairly easy ride. I didn't actually get on the road until 8:00am MDT, but daylight combined with the 75mph speed limit let me make good time.
I made Santa Rosa, NM right at noon. A quick stop for lunch, fuel, and to let Cass know my status, and then I was back on the road.
Around Tucumcari NM, I decided to exit I-40 for a stretch, and ride down Rte 66 for a spell. I should have done this more out in Arizona where there were longer stretches of road preserved. The stretch through Tucumcari lived up to what I would expect a Rte 66 tour to look like. Several of the old motels, old gas stations, and old cafes were still there. Many were closed, but there were a few that were still in operation. For the past couple of weeks I've been chewing on the idea of trying to do a Rte 66 ride from Amarillo out to California, and the ride through Tucumcari reinforced that dream. It won't happen this year, but hopefully it's something I can put together before too much longer.
The sky would again darken up as I got into Amarillo, but no rain would fall while I was on I-40. Getting through Amarillo was much quicker today, since the construction that had things congested when I came through a week and a half ago was still constrained to the west bound lanes. Just outside of Amarillo I picked up US287, and was on my final leg home.
A quick stop for fuel in Memphis, TX, and it was looking like I would probably need just one more stop in Decatur. As I approached Wichita Falls, the rain began to fall. It stayed with me all the way through Wichita Falls, and a few miles south of town. Once I got away from the Wichita Falls traffic though, the rain seemed to let off, and I would make the rest of the ride to Decatur with just the threat of storm clouds looming on the western horizon.
In Decatur, I picked up US380 and my final gas stop. As I was fueling up, the rain would start again, but would be short lived. At this point, I got on the phone with Cass to start making dinner plans, and those last 60 miles from the Shell in Decatur to my driveway would just melt away. Home at last, it was time to stuff the bike into the garage, unpack the luggage, and shed the riding gear for the last time ... at least for another week and a half.
Even with the change in plans Saturday leading me to take mostly Interstate the rest of the way home, it was still a good ride ... and the cold beer at the end of the ride was also very much welcomed. That, and giving Cass the trinkets I had picked up for her along the way. :)
No pictures for the ride Sunday. The weather forecast had been warning of the rain front that had camped out across New Mexico and Texas. It looked like I would have a pretty clear ride through New Mexico, as the slow moving front had moved mostly towards central Texas and into central Oklahoma, but as I loaded up the bike to leave my Gallup NM hotel room, the ominous clouds coming in from the southwest gave me pause that I there might still be some rain in New Mexico after all ... so the camera stayed packed in the trunk. With almost all interstate to go from Gallup on home ... at least to Amarillo where I would pick up US287 to get back to the metromess, today was to be a simple ride-n-go kind of day.
I slept in a little later than normal today, knowing that it would be a fairly easy ride. I didn't actually get on the road until 8:00am MDT, but daylight combined with the 75mph speed limit let me make good time.
I made Santa Rosa, NM right at noon. A quick stop for lunch, fuel, and to let Cass know my status, and then I was back on the road.
Around Tucumcari NM, I decided to exit I-40 for a stretch, and ride down Rte 66 for a spell. I should have done this more out in Arizona where there were longer stretches of road preserved. The stretch through Tucumcari lived up to what I would expect a Rte 66 tour to look like. Several of the old motels, old gas stations, and old cafes were still there. Many were closed, but there were a few that were still in operation. For the past couple of weeks I've been chewing on the idea of trying to do a Rte 66 ride from Amarillo out to California, and the ride through Tucumcari reinforced that dream. It won't happen this year, but hopefully it's something I can put together before too much longer.
The sky would again darken up as I got into Amarillo, but no rain would fall while I was on I-40. Getting through Amarillo was much quicker today, since the construction that had things congested when I came through a week and a half ago was still constrained to the west bound lanes. Just outside of Amarillo I picked up US287, and was on my final leg home.
A quick stop for fuel in Memphis, TX, and it was looking like I would probably need just one more stop in Decatur. As I approached Wichita Falls, the rain began to fall. It stayed with me all the way through Wichita Falls, and a few miles south of town. Once I got away from the Wichita Falls traffic though, the rain seemed to let off, and I would make the rest of the ride to Decatur with just the threat of storm clouds looming on the western horizon.
In Decatur, I picked up US380 and my final gas stop. As I was fueling up, the rain would start again, but would be short lived. At this point, I got on the phone with Cass to start making dinner plans, and those last 60 miles from the Shell in Decatur to my driveway would just melt away. Home at last, it was time to stuff the bike into the garage, unpack the luggage, and shed the riding gear for the last time ... at least for another week and a half.
Even with the change in plans Saturday leading me to take mostly Interstate the rest of the way home, it was still a good ride ... and the cold beer at the end of the ride was also very much welcomed. That, and giving Cass the trinkets I had picked up for her along the way. :)
posted by Charlie at
6:04 PM
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