The Restless Biker

Day 80 to Day 83 Wednesday May 26 to Saturday May 29, 2010 Reserve, New Mexico, USA to Bluff, Utah Bluff to Moab, Utah Moab to Wellington, Utah Wellington to Burley, Utah It's been a long day and I had gone through Burley, Idaho looking for a motel for the night. It's hard to imagine that I was using my electric vest to try and keep warm. Suffice it to say, taking the road less travelled can be a bit demanding in spite of being much more rewarding than sticking to the Interstates to hang out with the semis and RV's. The driver in front of me was excruciatingly slow and I finally decided to go around her in the dual turn lane to my left. No sooner had I done it and I realized that the car coming the other way was a cop car. A quick check of my mirror and my suspicions that I wasn't about to be left alone were confirmed. Soothing red and blue lights gently followed me into the mall parking lot. "How are you doing?" said the very nice officer. ...

Day 78 to Day 79 Monday May 24 to Tuesday May 25, 2010 Villa Ahumada, Chihuahua, Mexico to Silver City, New Mexico, USA Silver City to Gila Cave Dwellings to Reserve, New Mexico, USA The Big Shove The cool thing about the hotel I stayed at in Villa Ahumada was that it had a private garage which locked from the inside. Then you went up the stairs to your room. When I realized that I needed something from the bike I could just walk down without bothering to put my clothing back on ...hehe! Exiting Mexico was very straightforward. 30km's before the border there's an aduana post and you need to stop to officially "exit" Mexico. You are then in the 30km "free zone" near the US border. After that you just drive out of Mexico and into the clutches of the US border people at any nearby crossing. Wanting to avoid Ciudad Juarez I headed west, planning on crossing at Palomas/Columbus. About 15km's out of Ciudad Juarez the sign said Santa Teresa, NM so I...

Day 76 to Day 77 Saturday May 22 to Sunday May 23, 2010 Real De Catorce, San Luis Potosi to F.I. Madero (Torreon), Coahuila F.I. Madero to Villa Ahumada, Chihuahua The Push I've now decided that this will be my "push" to get back into the US of A. My time is running out and I need a tire pretty soon ....kinda like several hundred kilometres ago. My best bet to get one is in the USA. To start off my "push" in the most efficient way I got up at 8:00am and had a leisurly breakfast with three coffees and desert. At about 11:30am the bike was loaded up and ready to go. "Click, click, click" went the starter. Absolutely no juice left in battery. I got someone to help me push the bike from where I had been boxed in by another guest. A nice little downhill roll and the famous clutch popping did the trick. Ellie sprang into life. The steep cobblestone roads in Real De Catorce are a bit freaky. The cobblestones have been nicely polished by the car ...

Day 75 Friday, May 21st, 2010 Ciudad Mante, Tamaulipas to Real De Catorce, San Luis Potosi, Mexico Now it’s on to Real Catorce. This is a semi ghost town at nearly 10,000 feet elevation. I’m basically seeking some cooler nights, but if there’s a ghost town thrown in as a bonus who am I to argue. My map showed a paved side road which would take me to Metahual. 20 minutes in, it turns into a construction zone. 2.68km’s being paved said the sign. Well I can handle that. A detour is required to get around the construction. I somehow managed to mess it up and ended up in the yard of a poor squatter type family living in a hut with mud floors. “Que Vende?” asks the woman as I’m getting directions from the man (What are you selling?). I really have to leave a few things at home on my next trip! It turns out there are 50km’s of dirt road ahead of me. My rear tire is worn right down and I’m not about to do any more gravel until I get a new tire when back in the USA. So I went back...