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Howdy Folks!
Did I ever tell you the one about…
I decided to head out of Boulder, CO & venture toward New Mexico to visit a family & friend, Alix, of my Brother-In-Law, Chase. They Henry’s live in the Earthship home community in Taos, NM.
Chase told Alix what I was doing with GLwR & wanted to know if she wanted to meet up with me in Taos because I’d be riding through NM. She looked up my website & what I was doing & agreed. Chase gave me her phone number, I called her while I was in Boulder to coordinate a day & time. It was a few days out so I chilled in Boulder a bit, not that I minded, &, headed out to Taos the morning of the our rendezvous.
I had been riding along the Rio Grande River, at the bottom most part of the Gorge for awhile when my beautiful voiced navigator came over my Bluetooth instructing me to turn left.
I’m always happy when she prompts me of upcoming directions as it’s nice to hear another voice besides my own on long treks. It’s a welcome soothing effect & slight interruption from the focused, zoned out mesmerizing trance the Techno music has over me & it is the only music I prefer to ride with.
I like Techno music because there are no words, just hypnotic, transforming, primal beats in patterned psycho-rhythms that enhance my riding experience. It focuses me while it, at the same time, allows me to be a blank canvas, taking it all in as I ride. I feel as though I’m in a different world, on a different planet.
I certainly know, this may not be the music of choice for everyone, though, the beats tend to have a mind melting, morphing affect that goes nicely with whatever scenery I’m motoring through. I have to say, music is an extra enhancement bonus to an already amazing experience.
So, if you’re a motorcycle rider, riding without music, you might want to give a try, no matter what kind of music is your preferred choice. As my Great Aunt, Ann, used to always say, ‘To each his own’. I digress…
Now, back to the story…I had been this way the year before, riding this same course & remembered that when I followed the map, I didn’t turn left at this point. Last time I passed it, though this time, I was being directed to make a left.
So, I thought, hum, maybe they made a new ascending road up to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. From there it was, then, just a straight short distance to the meeting place I was heading to meet the Henry family at the Taos Mesa Brewing Co.
As I approached the turn, I saw rafters all on the banks & all around the bridge I was going to be turning on to cross the river to the road Google Maps was directing me to take. I really couldn’t make out the entire road, but, it looked paved & all good for the first part of the road. Then as I rode, it turned to a light dirt, gravel which I knew would be no problem for me to ride as I’ve ridden a lot of gravel, dirt roads on the Goldwing without any problems.
It wasn’t until I took the first, 90 degree angle turn to the right, that I realized that this was not meant for motorcycles, at least, not a 1988 Touring Goldwing. I thought, maybe a Motor Cross Motorcycle, but, not what I was riding. Too late, I was already too far into the rocky boulder terrain to stop.
The problem was, the terrain, angle, grade & light gravel turned aggressive as the gravel road itself turned instantly into large, loose, rocks of all shapes & sizes, some even small boulders. The turning angles were all sharp left & right turns on this terrain which proved nothing short of frighteningly challenging. My rear tire kept slipping out & here were no guardrails of any kind with steep cliffs to the left & right. I zigzagged up the road as instantly the grade went from subtle to steep.
Knowing I was too far in to stop or even attempt to stop or turn back, I pressed onward & upward. I knew my footing would be rough to keep the Goldwing upright if I stopped & I might fall. I also realized that I might not be able to get going again as my rear tire kept shakily dancing over the rough rocks & would just spin out if I tried, the bike was just too heavy at 1,000 pounds. Turning around wasn’t an option either because I knew it would be too unstable to balance a turn & I’d probably loose my footing & dump the bike.
So, I dug deep, calculating, visualizing & focusing all my attention. I adapted my seating from relaxed to aggressive by gripping my thighs tight to the body of the bike & tightened my grip on my handlebars, but not too tight, so I could go with the flow, rather than fight it.
Hyper-focused I just kept on going, continuing on, up, up, up this unforgiving coarse. I’m always one with my motorcycles when I ride, though this time, I felt I was actually part of the motorcycle.
All of these realizations happened in seconds, though seemed like an eternity.
The bike bounced as tires slipped to the left & right, though felt surprisingly sure. I just kept focusing on keeping a steady, slow speed. I realized any throttle adjustment at all, faster or slower, would cause me to loose my rear tire’s grip & traction causing me to spin out & fall. So, onward I rode at the steady, even speed & pace, right around 15 mph. The constant speed steadiness proved difficult due to the continual bouncing & jarring caused by the rocky terrain, so I just adapted, tuning out to tune in.
I remember thinking, what am I going to do if I dump my motorcycle here. I mean, Progressive & AAA are great, but, here! How would they even get to me, I’m in the middle of nowhere on a road, if you can even call it that, that only 4-wheel drive vehicles were ascending & descending.
Speaking to that. As I was approaching the 1/2 way point, in between the bottom & top of the Gorge, a 4X4 Pickup Truck with a family inside & in the bed of the truck was coming down as I was going up. When they got closer I glanced over at them & witnessed the shocked looks on all their faces, saying it all to me without uttering a word. The looks said, ‘What is this crazy guy doing riding up this road on a motorcycle? He must be crazy!’
Yes, my friends, the situation was crazy, & yes, I’m most certainly a little crazy, probably a lot. Haha! So I just looked at them & shrugged my shoulders with a quick, little, uncertain smile & continued on, up, up, up.
The road seemed endless, the course only got worse as I went until finally, I saw what appeared to be the summit. It was & I crested. Somehow, I managed to ride to the top alive without any of my worst concerns happening.
When I reached the top & pavement greeted my tires, I put the bike in neutral, dismounted & literally ‘kissed’ the tarmac. I never realized just how beautiful a paved road looked until that moment.
Another family in a 4X4 Jeep passed me getting ready to descend the road I just ascended, again, looking at me in disbelief. They asked, ‘Did you just ride up that!’ I said, ‘Yeah, I did!’ To which they replied chuckling, ‘Are you kidding me, that road has warning signs stating to travel at your own risk & only 4-wheel drive vehicles only are recommended! Didn’t you see the signs?!’ Are you crazy?!’ I replied laughing, ‘No, I missed the signs & yeah, that was crazy! I listened to my GPS Google Maps lady navigator who told me to take this road. It looked OK at the beginning & quickly went South, but, I was already in it & my only choice was to keep going up, hoping for the best’. To which they simply said, ‘Well, glad you made it, AMAZING! Welcome to Taos!’ I replied as I mounted my steal steed, ‘Thanks! Peace & love, travel safe’. And watched them disappear down the road I just road up.
Relieved & thankful for this most wonderful adventure in story to be shared, I reviewed it in my head. I tooted my own horn a bit at the disbelief of my skill set, as that was a feat to behold, gazing back down what I just road up. I thought about all I had ridden through thus far & just smiled & thought to myself, ‘Wow! My ideals, thoughts & dreams about what this adventure was going to be like, were nothing compared to the actuality of what I’ve been experiencing’. It’s pretty amazing when the reality super-exceeds any of the dreamed expectations.
I realized too, that next time I’m questioning the lovely navigation lady’s voice telling me to go on a route I’m uncertain of, it might be a really good idea to put into practice a quick stop before I commit. To get off my motorcycle, look for signs, look for alternate routes on the GPS & physical maps & find a better alternate course.
One thing’s for sure, I love roads less traveled off the beaten path & well, this superseded anything I could have imagined or dreamed to ride this motorcycle on.
After about 10 minutes of thankfulness, looking back at what I just rode up & thinking about it all, it was then I noticed a pretty fierce storm approaching. I estimated was about 3-4 hours out & I needed to get to the Brewing Co., to meet the Henry’s, so off I motored, reliving the experience as I approached the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge.
Yeah! That just happened!
Just another lesson learned from amazing experience & just another amazing story, one of many, on the wild, wacky Getting Lost with Randy cross country adventures!
Peace & Love, Awaken, until next time…
