Double Feature

Days 7&8

Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we have for you a very special double
feature! Because I was too wiped to write a post last night and too
rushed to write one this morning, we will be recapping both day 7 and
day 8 in one big post. Enjoy!

Day 7

Miles today: 467 Total miles: 2,136

So I mentioned that I did an oil change on the bike yesterday morning,
which took a couple hours, so I got out of Austin around 11 or 11:30.
I headed up through Abeline and then towards Lubbock. The really cool
thing about crossing Texas is the dramatic change in scenery that you
get to see as you move across the state. East Texas is pretty similar
to Mississippi and Louisiana, bu as you move west, the land flattens
out and the trees go away - drier land and more desertlike conditions.
Farmland needs more irrigation and the winds pick up also.

I made a stop along the way to get out the map and plan the rest of my
route for the day, and a man walks in, sees me with all my maps laid
out and says, "I like your style, son. Got all them maps spread out
just lookin for somewhere to go." Made my day.

I got towards Lubbock and found a campsite in the AAA guidebook that I
brought, and headed that way. It took me a little longer than I
thought and I got there well after dark. Well, this turned out to be
one of those campgrounds where they set horror movies, so after I rode
around for longer than I should have, I gave up and got a motel room.

All in all a pretty good day, but the frustration from not finding
that campsite and having to shell out for a room left me with a bad
taste in my mouth.

Day 8

Miles today: 381 Total miles: 2,517

I've been sleeping more than normal on this trip. I think riding makes
me more tired than I realize. So I got in late that night and woke up
late the next morning - around 9 or so. Also, it turns out that the
clock in my room hadn't been updated for DST, so it was actually 10:00
am. After getting ready and packing up, I didn't get going until 11.

I rode through Lubbock to start, which was a bigger city than I
thought - around 250,000 people. Roy Lee - I just saw your comment
giving me directions to BBQ and I really regret not seeing that
earlier. Thanks for the recommendation but it looks like I'm out of
range now. Looks like I'll have to come back again.

I kept going northwest into New Mexico, aiming for Santa Fe. I saw a
marked difference between the two states just in crossing the border.
It feels like frontier country out here - people seem a like more
"individualistic" for lack of a better word. Houses and zoning are a
little more irregular and the land is even drier. Much less good
farmland and only a few cattle here and there.

The wind has picked up a lot, but I'm hoping that's just from the cold
front moving in. If you're hearing about the snow in Denver, northern
New Mexico is catching the southern portion of that. Temps were down
around 40 or high 30's when I rode the last 40 miles or so, and I
thought my fingers were going to fall off, they were so cold. It's
supposed to be worse tomorrow morning, temperatures around 30 in Santa
Fe and 40 around Albuquerque.

Also - another "made my day" moment: I saw TUMBLEWEEDS! I have only
ever seen those in movies and in movies/tv that spoof westerns. It was
surreal to watch the wind carry them across the road in front of me.

Got a room in Santa Fe because it's supposed to snow tonight. I'm
looking to get to the Sports Authority tomorrow morning for some hand
warmers so that I can go for longer without stopping as much

So Vegas by tonight is out - I have over 600 miles to go. I'm hopingto
do about 400 today to make Flagstaff and leave myself a shorter trip
thursday

*Morning note : There is snow on the motorcycle. Today migt not be
very awesome.