Memphis to Nashville - All good things must pass

The final day of Biking Bad 2014 started like the they all do, waking up in yet another hotel, packing up our gear, hauling it to the parking lot, loading up the bikes and setting out in search of breakfast.

Bill and Jim pack their bikes for the ride home.

We completed our morning tasks and took an easy Sunday morning ride out of downtown Memphis.  We found a breakfast spot and sacrificed the final pig of Biking Bad 2014.

 Our traditional totus porkus

With breakfast out of the way, it was a simple matter of 190 miles on I-40 and on to Nashville.

We arrived in Nashville by noon, in plenty of time to celebrate Mothers Day.

The Nashville skyline

Biking Bad 2014 covered 3,950 miles and 18 days.  We rode through Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.  We saw the Mississippi Delta, Cajun Country, the Texas oilfields, the Crossroads, Carlsbad Caverns, the Abo Ruins, Vicksburg, Erath, the UFO Museum, the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, the high plains, several mountain ranges, the Texas Panhandle and the Ozark Mountains.

We dined on fried chicken, tamales, gumbo, etouffee, burritos, tapas, pistachio fudge, hot wings and lots of pork.

We had a wonderful time touring the bayou with Moe and learning about the impending coup from Max.

Hearty thanks are owed to our families, friends, co-workers, dogs and everyone else who allowed us these 18 special days.  Carrie, Fifi and Laurel deserve special gratitude for once again giving us the time and space in which to indulge our need to explore and to ride our motorcycles.

What about next year?  We'll let you know.

Ozark Mountain Rib Eaters

Life is full of false choices.  Today's false choice was to either blitz some twisty roads in the Ozark Mountains or down some dry rubbed ribs in Memphis.  A binary, yes or no, black or white decision.

We did what we do best.  We refused to choose.  We picked both.

The day started with a spirited 70 mile run through the eastern Ozark Mountains.  The weather was dry and cool and the roads were twisty and scenic.  Truly a good morning.

We took Highway 65 onto I-40 near Little Rock.  It was then a matter of cranking up the music and settling down for a 130 mile ride into Memphis. 

Jim and Bill deliberate over possible routes

This picture has more green stuff than the entire state of New Mexico

View from Highway 27 in Arkansas

Back to Tennessee

We have been told that this year's blog has not included enough food coverage.  OK.  How's this?

This says it all:  happy hour at the Peabody Hotel and ribs at the Rendezvous

Dry rub ribs at the Rendezvous

Libations in the Peabody Hotel Lobby.  Peach Bourbon, Mint Julep and Manhattan.

Dessert in the Peabody Hotel Lobby.  Left to right, Tennessee Pecan Bourbon Pie, Lemon Meringue Pie and Equinox Cake (hazelnut praline chocolate mousse cake).

Tomorrow, we pack our bikes and ride out of town for the last time.  We are a little over 200 miles from Nashville and expect to be home by early afternoon.

Interstate, Interstate, Lunch, Interstate

The weather finally broke and we finally broke away from Hinton, Oklahoma.  Yesterday's refuge from the weather at the Hinton Inn was what we needed, but not what we wanted.

A day off in Santa Fe?  Sure.  Great food.  Great shopping.  Pretty things to look at.  A day off at the Hinton Inn in Hinton, Oklahoma?  Decent food.  No shopping, other that what can be found in a Love's truck stop.  Anyone need a chrome horn?  Pretty things to look at?  Nada.

 Ready to make our escape from Hinton, Oklahoma

All that said, the Hinton Inn is staffed by extremely nice people who maintain a quality inn and who provide their guests with both breakfast and dinner.  Breakfast was so-so but they cooked a killer pork roast for dinner last night.  They also have fast broadband internet service.  Bloggers like that a lot.

Our journey today consisted of 100 mile runs down the interstate, punctuated by 15 minute stops at an array of convenience stores.  We did have a good lunch at the Southern Cafe in Salisaw, Oklahoma.

 Under dark skies riding through Oklahoma City

We stopped for the night in Russellville, Arkansas, about 75 miles west of Little Rock.  Russellville sits on Arkansas Highway 7.  North of Russellville, Highway 7 turns into one of the better twisty roads in the Ozark Mountains.

If the weather looks good tomorrow, we might head north on Highway 7 and joyride the Ozarks.  We would then take a northern route across Arkansas and cross the Mississippi River near Dyersburg, Tennessee.  It is a fairly long route so who knows.  If the weather looks iffy, we will take I-40, through Little Rock and end up in Memphis, for a night of dry-rubbed ribs and whatever other Memphis BBQ delicacies jump on our plates.  Twisty, scenic roads versus succulent Memphis barbeque.  There is no bad answer.

A Day in Hinton, ID the Mystery Dog Walker/Actor, Netflix to the Rescue

We awoke in Hinton, Oklahoma, and immediately checked the weather forecast.  High winds and incoming storms gave us pause to reconsider our plans for the day.  According to the weather forecast, we might make it a 100 miles or so before a major storm socked us in.  The thought of packing up our bikes, riding down a very windy, somewhat slick interstate through a major city (Oklahoma City) and then stopping to unpack our bikes again so we could check into another motel, all for the net benefit of 100 miles or so, left us a bit cold.  So, it's a day at the Hinton Inn in Hinton, Oklahoma.  After all, the Hinton Inn offers good internet, excellent satellite TV and free breakfast and dinner - all for $71 a day.  Plus, we have a Love's next door compete with three fast food franchises.  Life if good here in Hinton, Oklahoma.

Since not much is going on today, it might be a good time to solicit a little help with an ongoing mystery.

We stopped for lunch a few days ago in Taos, New Mexico.  As we secured our bikes, I noticed a stranger wearing a Breaking Bad cap out walking his dog.  He started a conversation (we get a lot of that) and I mentioned his cap.  He said they were "impossible to get."  When I asked him how he got his, he responded that he is a former Breaking Bad cast member, appearing in seasons one and two.  He said he played a school administrator in the show but left when he realized that they were not going to develop his character.

He went on to say that he was also in No Country for Old Men, the Coen brothers movie starring Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem.  According to the stranger, Javier Bardem shotgunned him in the street toward the end of the movie.

He then claimed that he was recently cast to play the role of a deputy sheriff on Longmire, the A&E show about a Wyoming sheriff which starts its third season on June 2.

He told me his name, which I failed to write down and subsequently forgot.  This is obvious blog material so I undertook a extensive Google search to check up him out.  I found nothing.

Were we conned my this mystery dog walker?  Probably.  But a small chance remains that he is indeed an actor and has appeared in these movies and TV shows.  Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to assist in this search.  The first Biking Bad 2014 reader to positively identify him as an actual actor wins a coffee cup from the UFO Museum in Roswell, New Mexico.

 Mystery dog walker/actor.  Who is he?  A UFO Museum coffee cup hangs in the balance.

By mid-morning we had all read and responded to our emails, checked the weather reports repeatedly, browsed the web and avoided The Price Is Right on the lobby TV.  The afternoon was dedicated to Netflix.

The Hinton Inn in Hinton, Oklahoma.

We make our escape from Hinton on Friday morning.  We hope to make it to Little Rock, depending on the weather.

Neighbors, Heat, Wind, Kix on 66

We put in a yeoman effort today,  riding 310 miles on I-40 in the face of high 90's degree weather and extremely strong winds.

But before we get to that, let us introduce Paul and Sally Tampien.  The Tampiens are in the midst of a two and a half month long motorcycle trip that is taking them all across America.  They ride a three-wheel Honda Gold Wing, complete with a pull-behind trailer and a full size cooler.  Oddly enough, we had to travel to Tucumcari, New Mexico, to meet the Tampiens.  It is odd because they live in Brentwood, Tennessee, only about five miles from Jim's house.  They are also posting to a blog and invite anyone interested to check it out.  Their blog is:  www.tampientravelstourdewest.webs.com

Paul & Sally Tampien, neighbors from Tennessee

Now, let's talk about breakfast.  We left our hotel in search of the old part of Tucumcari that is a step back in time.  Old U.S. Route 66 ran right through Tucumcari.  Several of the old businesses built in the 1930s and 1940s remain in operation and have retained their vintage look.  In the midst of this time warp we found Kix on 66, a local eatery.  It serves a killer breakfast.  Jim and Bill went with a southwestern cuisine while Bo stayed with the tried and true basic American breakfast.

Breakfast from Kix on 66 in Tucumcari, New Mexico

Kix on 66 sign

Vintage RV park on Route 66

 Competition across the street

Palamino Motel

 

We pulled off I-40 to find lunch and ended up at The Roost, a wonderful little place in Shamrock, Texas.  The cheeseburger, reuben and club sandwiches were as good as we have had anywhere.  The young waitress was delightful and took great care of us.  We left with some incredible homemade pistachio fudge.  Be sure to stop if you are ever in the neighborhood.

Sign outside of The Roost in Shamrock, Texas

Now, back to our day of riding.  As mentioned earlier, our ride today consisted of 310 miles on I-40.  We left Tucumcari riding east and quickly arrived at the Texas border.  Our route took us through Amarillo and across the Texas panhandle.  We then hit the Oklahoma border and made it to Hinton, Oklahoma, about 40 miles west of Oklahoma City,    We found logding at the Hinton Inn just before a big storm blew up.

The weather looks pretty iffy for the next few days.  Our hope is to see some sights in Oklahoma City and southeast Oklahoma as well as some twisty riding in the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas.  If the weather holds, that is what we will do.  If it doesn't, we will slowly work our way home on I-40.

13th Day, Shotgun Willie's, Gravel, Twisties, Fixed Bike,

Today was the 13th day of our 13th motorcycle trip.  In spite of the many frightening possibilities such numbers portend, the day went off without any major hitches.

We awoke at 8,671 feet of elevation in Red River, New Mexico,  It was 38 degrees and our bikes were covered with frost.  We were at 4,086 feet of elevation when the day ended in Tucumcari, New Mexico.  The temperature was above 90 degrees.

Our morning respite took place at Shotgun Willie's, a local Red River eatery owned by a newcomer to town, Steve Cherry.  Steve and his family moved to Red River two years ago from Denton, Texas.  Steve says he has found a real home.  He accepts the occasional 20 degrees below zero winter mornings because he loves the summer high temperatures of 80 degrees.

Breakfast at Shotgun Willie's.  The uninspiring white cylinder on the left is actually a really good breakfast burrito filled with sausage, scrambled eggs, hash browns and green chilies.

Shotgun Willie's.

Steve Cherry, Shotgun Willie's proprietor and newcomer to Red River.

We rode east out of Red River on Highway 38, the same road we had ridden yesterday (in the opposite direction, which makes for an entirely new ride).  It was a great way to start the day - as many twisties and ups and downs as one could hope for.  It provided another opportunity to cross Bobcat Pass at over 9,800 feet of elevation.

We turned off Highway 38 at Eagles Nest, New Mexico, and ripped across the Cimmarron Canyon, yet another 22 mile thrill ride through the heavily forested Colin Neblett Wildlife Area.

Immediately east of Eagles Nest sits Eagles Nest Lake, a 2,000 acre lake constructed in 1918 by ranchers Charles and Frank Springer to irrigate their ranch.

Jim was riding lead so I radioed him to let him know that I was pulling off onto a gravel parking lot overlooking the lake to take a photo.  There is a reason people on two wheels avoid gravel parking lots.  I came to a stop and raised my left foot in order to put down the kickstand.  At that point, my right foot started to slide on the loose gravel.  The bike started leaning left, far enough so that I was not able to pull it back up to vertical.  I was able to gently lower to the ground.  I radioed Jim again and he returned to the parking lot.  He and I lifted the bike back up.  The bike is fine.  The photo was only so-so.

My poor baby has given me 44,000 miles of joy.  I guess you could say I let her down.

Eagle's Nest Lake.  A photo well earned.

We rode on until we reached Cimarron, New Mexico.  Former boy scouts will recognize Cimarron as the home of Philmont Scout Ranch.  Cimarron is also located on the old Route 66.

We turned on Highway 39 and continued our way south.  We stopped for lunch at Annette's Cafe, in Roy, New Mexico.  Roy is, according to the welcome sign at the edge of town, a village.  It was small, desolate and actually had tumbleweed blowing down the empty streets.  Lunch (Sloppy Joes with green chile sauce and an enchilada), was excellent.

Annette's Cafe in Roy, New Mexico

We rode the final 100 miles to Tucumcari, New Mexico, in high winds and increasingly warmer weather. 

Mesa along Highway 39

Mill's Canyon

Our final descent from the high plains

The fine folks at Sandia BMW in Santa Fe completed repairs to Bill's bike by mid-afternoon.  He got a new battery and some major work done to his front forks.  His brakes were fine.  He joined back up with us in Tucumcari late this afternoon..

On Wednesday we begin our return to Tennessee.  Tucumcari is roughly 1,000 miles via I-40 from Tennessee and we have five days to make the journey.  Our plans at this point are to do as little interstate as possible, spending our time instead exploring the back roads of Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Pork, Bridges, Voting, Sustainable Building, Brake Problems, Trains, Boxers, Hot Wings and Cows

We have heard from loyal readers who say they miss our traditional morning porkfest photos.  So, we began the day wolfing down big breakfasts with camera in hand.

Breakfast in Taos

After the portfest we took Highway 64 north out of Taos.  Our first stop came after crossing the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge.  The bridge sits 565 feet above the Rio Grande River below, making it the seventh highest bridge in the United States.

The Rio Grande George Bridge

The Rio Grande Gorge just south of the bridge

Bill, Bo and Jim at the Rio Grande George

Visitors to the Rio Grande Bridge rest area are invited to cast a Yes or a No vote on whether they approve of the place.  Very odd.  Regardless, the facilities were clean and tidy and did nothing to offend us.  We cast a Yes vote. 

We turned onto Highway 285, which runs north toward Colorado and crosses the high plains at elevations over 8,500 feet.  Along the way we came across the Earthship Biotecture project.  Workers were busy constructing earth-friendly dwellings as we looked over the facility.  The dwellings appeared to be renewable, sustainable, inclusive and green in a ethically, politically, environmentally and socially responsible way.  Whew.

House under construction by Earthship Biotecture

High plains hillside at 8,500 feet of elevation.

Bill's BMW R1100RT developed a small leak in the front brake.  Although it was working fine at the time, he did the smart thing and decided to return to Santa Fe and get it repaired.  Naturally, motorcycle shops nationwide are generally closed on Mondays so he will have to wait until Tuesday morning to get it fixed.  As Bill turned south we continued on north.  We will meet up with him sometime tomorrow after the repair is finished.

Jim and Bill moments before Bill turned south to get his bike fixed.

Our route north took us into Colorado for a several miles until we turned south back to New Mexico.  Our short Colorado visit did offer a few items of interest, as pictured below.

Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railway in Antonito, Colorado

Boxer Jack Dempsey's birthplace in Manassa, Colorado.

Statue of the "Manassa Mauler" in front of his birthplace.

The Old Fashioned Soda Fountain and Ice Cream Parlor in San Luis, Colorado.  San Luis is the oldest town in Colorado.  The Ice Cream Parlor served, surprisingly enough, incredible hot chicken wings.

Once back in New Mexico we came across highway signs featuring cattle and flying saucers.  It is unclear whether we were being warned of both or if the cattle were being warned to be on the lookout for flying saucers.  We had to stop and look closely to determine for sure it is a flying saucer and not a sombrero, which would have deepened the mystery.

 Jim riding down Highway 196 toward the Sangre de Cristo Mountains

We decided to spend the night in Red River, New Mexico, a resort town of 484 people in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.  The short ride there was extremely twisty and a fitting end to a great day on the road.

 Bikes at rest outside of our cabin in Red River, New Mexico

Bill made it safely to Santa Fe and enjoyed a fabulous ride while getting there.

Los Alamos, Rio Grande Gorge, Bobcat Pass, Taos

We enjoyed our day off in Santa Fe.  None of you are expected to feel sympathy for three grown men who abandon families, jobs and other responsibilities for 18 days days of motorcycle riding.  Nonetheless, nine straight days of packing, unpacking and riding takes its toll.  Saturday in Santa Fe recharged our batteries.

Our eleventh day on the road started, as usual, with packing our bikes, downing a full American breakfast and poring over maps to determine our day's route.

We decided to ride to Los Alamos and then on to Taos.

The ride to Los Alamos started with about 20 miles of interstate, which, due to the great scenery, was better than usual.  Once off the interstate we took Highway 502, which provided a fabulous twisty mountain ride that took us through the White Rock Canyon and Pajarito Plateau into Los Alamos.

Los Alamos is home to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which was created to manage the Manhattan Project, the research and development project that produced the world's first atomic weapons.

Other than the great ride there, we hoped to visit the Bradbury Science Museum and the Los Alamos Historical Museum.  Unfortunately, our Sunday morning visit to Los Alamos meant that most places in town, including museums, were closed.  So we stopped at Starnucks to sit out in the 72 degree sunshine and enjoy a cup of joe.

While at Starbucks, we met Jim Burkhardt, a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, who has worked for 12 years at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.  He was also out on a Sunday morning motorcycle ride.  He previously worked in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.  He still has a lot of family in Tennessee and hopes to move back.

From Los Alamos we traveled along the Rio Grande Gorge on route to Taos, New Mexico.

In Taos we had lunch, checked into a hotel, and hit the road for more riding - an 80 mile mountain loop that took us back to Taos. That ride took us over Bobcat Pass, a 9,800 foot pass in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.  We saw snow along the roadside.  Much of the route was through high plains - flat expanses surrounded by mountains at over 8,000 feet of elevation.  The descent was a twisty, downhill joyride through the Carson National Forest.

Riding along White Rock Canyon

Los Alamos

Jim Burkhardt.

Downtown Taos

Riding along the Rio Grande Gorge

The Rio Grande Gorge

The Sangre de Cristo Mountains

Ranger station at the Carson National Forest

And now, a couple of flashbacks to Saturday in Santa Fe:

Jim took this wonderful picture of a wedding party after the nuptials were held in downtown Santa Fe on Saturday afternoon.

 The best meal of Biking Bad 2014 so far was at La Boca, a Santa Fee tapas restaurant.  

The photo shows Bruschetta with crimini mushrooms, cream, and fried egg, topped with truffle oil & reggianito cheese; Tuna Tartare; and golden and red beet salad with goat cheese, watercress, frisee with sherry shallot vinaigrette.

Today we continue our exploration of northern New Mexico.