Flatlanders Ride through New Mexico and Colorado

[pathfinder]

Ok, boys and girls..... This is my first attempt at a trip report, so be kind.

Three of us Dan, Ed and I aka: Pathfinder departed Terre Haute Indiana at 7 am September 14 heading to the Southwest. Dan and I were on R1150GS, Ed on a K GT. The ride through St. Louis was

uneventful. I highly recommend early Sunday morning as a good time to pass through St.Louis and avoid the frequent traffic that you encounter there, as sometimes it can get ugly. We made it to Pratt Kansas the first night 694 miles. I took no pictures - just Interstated as I was hoping to make New Mexico in two days riding time.

The next morning we continued west through Kansas and headed into the panhandle of Oklahoma, down through Boise City and on into the thriving metropolis of Kenton. Along the way we say some

scenery. In Kansas you will find many of these along the roadside and some of these In Oklahoma we saw this kind of wildlife

As I said, Kenton is a large metropolis with one general store and one street light. Here Dan is studying the sign that says Free Ice

Cream and Gas TOMORROW! The owner of the general store apparently has a quirky sense of humor. This was my fourth trip through Kenton and I always look forward to it. Amateur astronomers like the fact that there are very few electric lights within 30 miles or so of Kenton , and if you talk to the locals nicely they will turn off the one street light.

Leaving Kenton and heading west on NM 456 you are never really very far from civilization , Then the road changes to gravel and occasionally mud I would not advise this road after rain as the ranchers trucks leave deep ruts in the mud some times..... and then they turn to adobe when the sun comes out..... After regaining pavement, we amble by Folsom, and fly on over

Johnson Mesa and down to Raton for the night. We saw several deer and mule deer in the right-of-way coming down from Johnson Mesa. Prudence was required when descending.... A short 366 miles with

about 17 miles of gravel for fun.

Tuesday morning we loaded early and headed down I-25 to Wagon Mound and then headed up into the Carson National Forest A side

note is that my brackets for my Jesses were intact when I put my saddlebags back on my bike that morning. They were not when I arrived in Taos that evening 333 miles later.

Along the way we saw two antelope dancing the dance of life with each other [img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/875267-M.jpg[/img[

We ended up in Chimayo for lunch and pushed on west past Espinola and Abiqui ending up in Tierra Amarilla and on to NM 64. A great road full of nice sweepers and good scenery but we were too early this year for the turning of the leaves. Last year it looked like this a couple of weeks later

After heading down from the mountains the only thing left was to cross the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge and and on into Taos to the Inn of the American Artists, where I have stayed for the last few years. Bike friendly management and great breakfasts.

The Inn is a B&B, well off the main road, and decorated with delightful artwork. Say Hi to Charles the innkeeper if you stay there sometime.

and


The next morning when replacing my Jesse saddlebags I noticed the right rear bracket had fractured - a quick discussion with Charles and we were on the way to the welding shop and all was quickly

repaired. We were on our way before 11 am - not too bad considering we needed repairs before departing. Our view from the room at the

Inn looking north Ed could not continue with us due to family concerns and left to return home the same morning.


From Taos, Dan and I rode east and north up around the Enchanted Circle, through Red River where we where we stopped for lunch. While we ate lunched we chatted with a rider from Albuquerque

who was riding a new FJR1300, all tricked out with GPS and radar detectors. Definitely a nice ride. We departed Red River, flew over to Questa and headed north to Colorado via 522.

We then headed west to Antonito and over the Cumbres Pass on 17. This is another great ride with equally great vistas. We sped down

to Chama and up to Pagosa Springs slowly getting caught in asphalt repair .

Next morning after cleaning off the frost on our bikes, we got loaded up and ate breakfast to allow the sun to get a little higher before heading up towards Wolf Creek Pass. At South Fork we continued

north on 149 over Spring Creek Pass and on to Slumgullion Pass. We crossed over to 92 near Sapinero and headed north to Crawford. I

took several pictures of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, but none of them do justice to the awesome size of this canyon. It is like trying to capture Grand Canyon in a picture. This is Dan at an overlook



We crossed McClure Pass and turned south on 82 to spend the night at Basalt. A lovely little town with a river running through it. [img]]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/920982-M.jpg[/img] This

is a route I will certainly do again in the future.

The following morning we again cleaned the frost off our bike saddles, and debated how to head home. It seemed to us that there was not left much for an encore on the way home to Indiana so we

decided to not travel down 82 and go over Independence Pass, but instead chose to test my welded bracket by heading directly east to Leadville via Hagerman Pass. Being Flatlanders we really did not have

much of an idea what Hagerman would be like - after all - how hard could it be? Well - it is better described as a fire trail than a road.... Several times on the ascent we got off our bikes and walked up the

road to see if we really wanted to try this with fully laden GSes. But we persevered... and a couple of hours later arrived here

The ride down was rougher due to a rockier surface and frequent stretches of scattered baby-heads on descent( a mountain biker term for loose 3-6 inch rocks ) and

And it has been said by others before - it is always a lot steeper than it looks in pictures. Anyway we made it down to Leadville without any bifs. We rode on that afternoon and spent the night in a fine

establishment in Syracuse Kansas listening to the cattle lowing in the stockyard.

From there on it was just a matter of riding out the miles along the Santa Fe trail to get back to Missouri and then on to Indiana. And

make plans for my next rip out west - next time - on to Torrey Utah.

I hope you have enjoyed this little report and the pictures. Baldy has truly done a great thing for motorcycle travelers and would-be travelers.

[pathfinder]

Ok so why aren't my pictures displaying automatically?

[DirtDOG]

Said pathfinder:
Ok so why aren't my pictures displaying automatically?

you have to put [/img] at the end and no space either at the front or back [img]http:whatever.whatever[/img]
DD

[patch29]

Your code looks wrong.



It should be

Did you use the IMG button?

[pathfinder]

Thanks I missed the slash and no space - will correct shortly

[patch29]

Not sure how to show the code capital IMG in brackets the second set is /IMG in brackets. Your links are valid.

[patch29]

Said pathfinder:
Thanks I missed the slash and no space - will correct shortly

If you run into any more problem check this thread for help.

[patch29]

I fixed it up for you, the photos look great. Nice report. I hope to get to that part of the country soon.

Flatlanders Ride through New Mexico and Colorado

Ok, boys and girls..... This is my first attempt at a trip report, so be kind.

Three of us Dan, Ed and I aka: Pathfinder departed Terre Haute Indiana at 7 am September 14 heading to the Southwest. Dan and I were on R1150GS, Ed on a K GT. The ride through St. Louis was

uneventful. I highly recommend early Sunday morning as a good time to pass through St.Louis and avoid the frequent traffic that you encounter there, as sometimes it can get ugly. We made it to Pratt Kansas

the first night 694 miles. I took no pictures - just Interstated as I was hoping to make New Mexico in two days riding time.

The next morning we continued west through Kansas and headed into the panhandle of Oklahoma, down through Boise City and on into the thriving metropolis of Kenton. Along the way we say some

scenery. In Kansas you will find many of these along the roadside

and some of these



In Oklahoma we saw this kind of wildlife



As I said Kenton is a large metropolis with one general store and one street light.



Here Dan is studying the sign that says Free Ice

Cream and Gas TOMORROW!



The owner of the general store has a quirky sense of humor. This was my fourth trip through Kenton

and I always look forward to it. Amateur astronomers like the fact that there are very few electric lights within 30 miles or so of Kenton , and if you talk to the locals nicely they will turn off the one street light.

Leaving Kenton and heading west on NM 456 you are never really very far from civilization





Then the road changes to gravel and occasionally mud



I would not advise this road after rain as the ranchers trucks leave deep ruts in the mud some times..... and then they turn to adobe when the sun comes out..... After regaining pavement, we amble by Folsom, and fly on over

Johnson Mesa and down to Raton for the night. We saw several deer and mule deer in the right-of-way coming down from Johnson Mesa. Prudence was required when descending.... A short 366 miles with about 17 miles of gravel for fun.

Tuesday morning we loaded early and headed down I-25 to Wagon Mound and then headed up into the Carson National Forest



A side note is that my brackets for my Jesses were intact when I put my saddlebags back on my bike that morning. They were not when I arrived in Taos that evening 333 miles later.

Along the way we saw two antelope dancing the dance of life with each other





We ended up in Chimayo for lunch and pushed on west past Espinola and Abiqui ending up in Tierra Amarilla and on to NM 64. A great road full of nice sweepers and good scenery



but we were too early this year for the turning of the leaves. Last year it looked like this a couple of weeks later



After heading down from the mountains the only thing left was to cross the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge


and


and on into Taos to the Inn of the American Artists, where I have stayed for the last few years. Bike friendly management and great breakfasts.

The Inn is a B&B, well off the main road, and decorated with delightful artwork. Say Hi to Charles the innkeeper if you stay there sometime.



and




The next morning when replacing my Jesse saddlebags I noticed the right rear bracket had fractured - a quick discussion with Charles and we were on the way to the welding shop and all was quickly repaired. We were on our way before 11 am - not too bad considering we needed repairs before departing.



Our view from the room at the Inn looking north



Ed could not continue with us due to family concerns and left to return home the same morning.


From Taos Dan and I rode east and north up around the Enchanted Circle, through Red River where we where we stopped for lunch. While we ate lunched we chatted with a rider from Albuquerque

who was riding a new FJR1300. He had it all tricked out with GPS and radar detectors etc. Definitely a nice ride. We departed Red River, flew over to Questa and headed north to Colorado via 522.



We then headed west to Antonito and over the Cumbres Pass on 17. This is another great ride with equally great vistas.



We sped down to Chama and up to Pagosa Springs slowly getting caught in asphalt repair .

Next morning after cleaning off the frost on our bikes, we got loaded up and ate breakfast to allow the sun to get a little higher before heading up towards Wolf Creek Pass. At South Fork we continued

north on 149 over Spring Creek Pass



and on to Slumgullion Pass. We crossed over to 92 near Sapinero and headed north to Crawford. I took several pictures of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, but none of them do justice to the awesome size of this canyon. It is like trying to capture Grand Canyon in a picture. This is Dan at an overlook



We crossed McClure Pass and turned south on 82 to spend the night at Basalt. A lovely little town with a river running through it.



This is a route I will certainly do again in the future.

The following morning we again cleaned the frost off our bike saddles, and debated how to head home. It seemed to us that there was not left much for an encore on the way home to Indiana so we decided to not travel down 82 and go over Independence Pass, but instead chose to test my welded bracket by heading directly east to Leadville via Hagerman Pass. Being Flatlanders we really did not have much of an idea what Hagerman would be like - after all - how hard could it be? Well - it is better described as a fire trail than a road.... Several times on the ascent we got off our bikes and walked up the road to see if we really wanted to try this with fully laden GSes. But we persevered... and a couple of hours later arrived here





The ride down was rougher due to a rockier surface and frequent stretches of scattered baby-heads on descent( a mountain biker term for loose 3-6 inch rocks )



and



And it has been said by others before - it is always a lot steeper than it looks in pictures. Anyway we made it down to Leadville without any bifs. We rode on that afternoon and spent the night in a fine establishment in Syracuse Kansas listening to the cattle lowing in the stockyard.

From there on it was just a matter of riding out the miles along the Santa Fe trail to get back to Missouri



and then on to Indiana. And make plans for my next rip out west - next time - on to Torrey Utah.

I hope you have enjoyed this little report and the pictures. Baldy has truly done a great thing for motorcycle travelers and would-be travelers.

[pathfinder]

Let's try this again




Ok, boys and girls..... This is my first attempt at a trip report, so be kind.

Three of us Dan, Ed and I aka: Pathfinder departed Terre Haute Indiana at 7 am September 14 heading to the Southwest. Dan and I were on R1150GS, Ed on a K GT. The ride through St. Louis was

uneventful. I highly recommend early Sunday morning as a good time to pass through St.Louis and avoid the frequent traffic that you encounter there, as sometimes it can get ugly. We made it to Pratt Kansas

the first night 694 miles. I took no pictures - just Interstated as I was hoping to make New Mexico in two days riding time.

The next morning we continued west through Kansas and headed into the panhandle of Oklahoma, down through Boise City and on into the thriving metropolis of Kenton. Along the way we say some

scenery. In Kansas you will find many of these along the roadside [IMG]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/875296-M.jpg/[IMG] and some of these

[IMG]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/875266-M.jpg/[IMG] In Oklahoma we saw this kind of wildlife [img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/919385-M.jpg/[img]

As I said Kenton is a large metropolis with one general store and one street light. [IMG]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/875292-M.jpg/[IMG] Here Dan is studying the sign that says Free Ice

Cream and Gas TOMORROW! [IMG]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/918420-M.jpg/[IMG] The owner of the general store has a quirky sense of humor. This was my third trip through Kenton

and I always look forward to it. Amateur astronomers like the fact that there are very few electric lights within 30 miles or so of Kenton , and if you talk to the locals nicely they will turn off the one street light.

Leaving Kenton and heading west on NM 456 you are never really very far from civilization [img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/918617-M.jpg/[img] ,

[img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/918588-M.jpg/[img] Then the road changes to gravel and occasionally mud [img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/918727-M.jpg/ [img] I would not advise

this road after rain as the ranchers trucks leave deep ruts in the mud some times..... and then they turn to adobe when the sun comes out..... After regaining pavement, we amble by Folsom, and fly on over

Johnson Mesa and down to Raton for the night. We saw several deer and mule deer in the right-of-way coming down from Johnson Mesa. Prudence was required when descending.... A short 366 miles with

about 17 miles of gravel for fun.

Tuesday morning we loaded early and headed down I-25 to Wagon Mound and then headed up into the Carson National Forest [img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/918801-M.jpg/[img] A side

note is that my brackets for my Jesses were intact when I put my saddlebags back on my bike that morning. They were not when I arrived in Taos that evening 333 miles later.

Along the way we saw two antelope dancing the dance of life with each other [img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/875294-M.jpg/[img]

[img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/875267-M.jpg/[img]

We ended up in Chimayo for lunch and pushed on west past Espinola and Abiqui ending up in Tierra Amarilla and on to NM 64. A great road full of nice sweepers and good scenery

[img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/875272-M.jpg/[img] but we were too early this year for the turning of the leaves. Last year it looked like this a couple of weeks later

[img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/920768-M.jpg/[img]

After heading down from the mountains the only thing left was to cross the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge [img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/875301-M.jpg/[img] and

[img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/920810-M.jpg/[img] and on into Taos to the Inn of the American Artists, where I have stayed for the last few years. Bike friendly management and great

breakfasts. The Inn is a B&B, well off the main road, and decorated with delightful artwork. Say Hi to Charles the innkeeper if you stay there sometime.

[img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/875288-M.jpg/[img] and [img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/919425-M.jpg/[img]


The next morning when replacing my Jesse saddlebags I noticed the right rear bracket had fractured - a quick discussion with Charles and we were on the way to the welding shop and all was quickly

repaired. We were on our way before 11 am - not too bad considering we needed repairs before departing. [img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/875276-M.jpg/ [img] Our view from the room at the

Inn looking north [img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/920692-M.jpg/[img] Ed could not continue with us due to family concerns and left to return home the same morning.


From Taos Dan and I rode east and north up around the Enchanted Circle, through Red River where we where we stopped for lunch. While we ate lunched we chatted with a rider from Albuquerque

who was riding a new FJR1300. He had it all tricked out with GPS and radar detectors etc. Definitely a nice ride. We departed Red River, flew over to Questa and headed north to Colorado via 522.

[img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/875268-M.jpg/[img]

We then headed west to Antonito and over the Cumbres Pass on 17. This is another great ride with equally great vistas. [img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/875278-M.jpg/[img] We sped down

to Chama and up to Pagosa Springs slowly getting caught in asphalt repair .

Next morning after cleaning off the frost on our bikes, we got loaded up and ate breakfast to allow the sun to get a little higher before heading up towards Wolf Creek Pass. At South Fork we continued

north on 149 over Spring Creek Pass [img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/876876-M.jpg/[img] and on to Slumgullion Pass. We crossed over to 92 near Sapinero and headed north to Crawford. I

took several pictures of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, but none of them do justice to the awesome size of this canyon. It is like trying to capture Grand Canyon in a picture. This is Dan at an overlook

[img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/875279-M.jpg/[img]

We crossed McClure Pass and turned south on 82 to spend the night at Basalt. A lovely little town with a river running through it. [img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/920982-M.jpg/[img] This

is a route I will certainly do again in the future.

The following morning we again cleaned the frost off our bike saddles, and debated how to head home. It seemed to us that there was not left much for an encore on the way home to Indiana so we

decided to not travel down 82 and go over Independence Pass, but instead chose to test my welded bracket by heading directly east to Leadville via Hagerman Pass. Being Flatlanders we really did not have

much of an idea what Hagerman would be like - after all - how hard could it be? Well - it is better described as a fire trail than a road.... Several times on the ascent we got off our bikes and walked up the

road to see if we really wanted to try this with fully laden GSes. But we persevered... and a couple of hours later arrived here [img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/875280-M.jpg/[img]

[img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/875295-M.jpg[img]

The ride down was rougher due to a rockier surface and frequent stretches of scattered baby-heads on descent( a mountain biker term for loose 3-6 inch rocks )

[img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/920947-M.jpg/[img] and [img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/875305-M.jpg/[img]

And it has been said by others before - it is always a lot steeper than it looks in pictures. Anyway we made it down to Leadville without any

bifs.[img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/875293-M.jpg/[img] We rode on that afternoon and spent the night in a fine establishment in Syracuse Kansas listening to the cattle lowing in the stockyard.

From there on it was just a matter of riding out the miles along the Santa Fe trail to get back to Missouri [img]http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/875307-M.jpg/[img] and then on to Indiana. And

make plans for my next rip out west - next time - on to Torrey Utah.

I hope you have enjoyed this little report and the pictures. Baldy has truly done a great thing for motorcycle travelers and would-be travelers.

[pathfinder]

Ok Patch I still didn't get it right the second time What am I doing wrong? I remved the spaces and added the / but still my file is not right. What am I doing wrong? It looks like I can ride a little better than I can code ha!

[patch29]

Said pathfinder:
Ok Patch I still didn't get it right the second time What am I doing wrong? I remved the spaces and added the / but still my file is not right. What am I doing wrong? It looks like I can ride a little better than I can code ha!

The second bracket should go [/IMG] it needs to be inside the brackets.

[pathfinder]

I need to pay more attention [/img] at the end!

[DirtDOG]

Got the slash in the wrong place, should be [/img]

[pathfinder]

Thanks DD - I think I finally have it figured out




A little New Mexico red rock

Pathfinder

[Wings]

Very cool. Gotta love Chama/Pagosa Springs area.