Road Trip! Update: Day 2
Well, kids, I meant to update from Amarillo last night, but the wi-fi at the Big Texan had a pretty weak signal from the room, so I just opted to write today instead.
So, yesterday we rode approx. 250 miles, from Oklahoma City to Amarillo. It wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated. I was a little sore getting into Amarillo, but I've discovered as long as I get at least a 15 minute break about every 130-150 miles (basically, every gas stop), I can go that same distance again.
The Big Texan was neat. It was appropriately corny and gaudy, and the steak was definitely worth the hype. I had a 12 oz ribeye, which was fantastic. The rooms weren't terribly fancy or anything, but it is what it is for the price. The experience is what makes it worth while, for sure. I took some pics in the morning, and I'll take more on our way back through there when we head home.
We left this morning and rode towards New Mexico around 9ish. The weather was pretty cool and comfortable the whole way - 80's through a large portion of the ride. I think the hottest it got was maybe in the low 90's in Albuquerque, but at 70mph, you don't really feel it. I forgot to mention that I bought a Tourmaster mesh two-piece suit for this trip - it comes with a waterproof/windproof liner as well as an additional liner for warmth. So for the purposes of this trip, it's more than enough, and the price was definitely right. I'm not quite to the point of needing something like Tracy's $1000 Aerostitch suit. If I find myself doing this on a regular basis, then I'll probably make the investment.
Anyhow, back to the ride report. :)
We did stop at the Cadillac ranch on our way out of Amarillo and took some photos. I was kind of annoyed with this kid who kept standing in the middle of my shot. I'm kind of a photography snob in that way, lol. Dammit, can't you see I'm trying to be artsy-fartsy here!? Anyway. It was cool. Leaving that, we passed some really horrible, foul-smelling stock yards. I'm not looking forward to that sensory experience again.
The ride through the remainder of the Texas panhandle was pretty uneventful. It was a great deal of flat nothingness stretching from one end of the horizon to the other. The terrain only started to get interesting when we were approaching the New Mexico border. We made our first stop in Tucumcari, NM for gas. From there, we stopped again at Clines Corners to buy some fudge and eat lunch. Our next stop was about 80 miles outside of Gallup. There were nasty storms on either side of the highway ahead of us, and I debated on fitting my waterproof liner, but opted against it as Tracy assured me the highway wasn't going toward either storm. He was right - but he didn't count on a huge storm being right in front of us once we got into Gallup. We didn't get rained on until we were within 10 miles of the hotel, and it was only sprinkling, so I opted to tell him to keep going rather than stop and take time out for just a little rain.
So our total mileage today was approx. 420 miles. My ass is a bit sore, but again, given a 15 minute break, some water, and a smoke, I probably could have done another 130 miles. But as it is, we were pretty hungry, and it's another 200 miles or so to Flagstaff, so this was the most opportune stop. So here we are, Gallup, NM.
Tomorrow we ride to Las Vegas, NV. We'll be crashing with Gina (someone we both know from CycleForums... Tracy has crashed at her place before), and might go check out the Strip, or just hang out at her place and chill for the night. I'll write tomorrow's report from there. :)
**Edit: I forgot to mention a couple things. In Oklahoma, near Sayre, we were stopped at a Shell station and this old guy very nearly backed into Tracy's 'Busa. If Tracy hadn't yelled, "HEY!" and waved his arms frantically, he probably would've hit it. The guy had parked at an odd angle right at the front door of the convenience store (not even a parking space!), and was leaving. Good grief.
On another note.. if ever you are in Gallup, NM, the pizza from Glenn's Bakery is fantastic. Just be forewarned: the jalapeno and cheese crust doesn't actually come with jalapenos and cheese already baked into the crust. They take a basic white crust, sprinkle some cheese on the outside, put a bunch of jalapenos with the tomato sauce, and call it a day. So... it was a significantly different (and spicier) experience than either of us had expected. It was still tasty. But my mouth was on fire. I imagine tomorrow my ass will be too. Wee!
So, yesterday we rode approx. 250 miles, from Oklahoma City to Amarillo. It wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated. I was a little sore getting into Amarillo, but I've discovered as long as I get at least a 15 minute break about every 130-150 miles (basically, every gas stop), I can go that same distance again.
The Big Texan was neat. It was appropriately corny and gaudy, and the steak was definitely worth the hype. I had a 12 oz ribeye, which was fantastic. The rooms weren't terribly fancy or anything, but it is what it is for the price. The experience is what makes it worth while, for sure. I took some pics in the morning, and I'll take more on our way back through there when we head home.
We left this morning and rode towards New Mexico around 9ish. The weather was pretty cool and comfortable the whole way - 80's through a large portion of the ride. I think the hottest it got was maybe in the low 90's in Albuquerque, but at 70mph, you don't really feel it. I forgot to mention that I bought a Tourmaster mesh two-piece suit for this trip - it comes with a waterproof/windproof liner as well as an additional liner for warmth. So for the purposes of this trip, it's more than enough, and the price was definitely right. I'm not quite to the point of needing something like Tracy's $1000 Aerostitch suit. If I find myself doing this on a regular basis, then I'll probably make the investment.
Anyhow, back to the ride report. :)
We did stop at the Cadillac ranch on our way out of Amarillo and took some photos. I was kind of annoyed with this kid who kept standing in the middle of my shot. I'm kind of a photography snob in that way, lol. Dammit, can't you see I'm trying to be artsy-fartsy here!? Anyway. It was cool. Leaving that, we passed some really horrible, foul-smelling stock yards. I'm not looking forward to that sensory experience again.
The ride through the remainder of the Texas panhandle was pretty uneventful. It was a great deal of flat nothingness stretching from one end of the horizon to the other. The terrain only started to get interesting when we were approaching the New Mexico border. We made our first stop in Tucumcari, NM for gas. From there, we stopped again at Clines Corners to buy some fudge and eat lunch. Our next stop was about 80 miles outside of Gallup. There were nasty storms on either side of the highway ahead of us, and I debated on fitting my waterproof liner, but opted against it as Tracy assured me the highway wasn't going toward either storm. He was right - but he didn't count on a huge storm being right in front of us once we got into Gallup. We didn't get rained on until we were within 10 miles of the hotel, and it was only sprinkling, so I opted to tell him to keep going rather than stop and take time out for just a little rain.
So our total mileage today was approx. 420 miles. My ass is a bit sore, but again, given a 15 minute break, some water, and a smoke, I probably could have done another 130 miles. But as it is, we were pretty hungry, and it's another 200 miles or so to Flagstaff, so this was the most opportune stop. So here we are, Gallup, NM.
Tomorrow we ride to Las Vegas, NV. We'll be crashing with Gina (someone we both know from CycleForums... Tracy has crashed at her place before), and might go check out the Strip, or just hang out at her place and chill for the night. I'll write tomorrow's report from there. :)
**Edit: I forgot to mention a couple things. In Oklahoma, near Sayre, we were stopped at a Shell station and this old guy very nearly backed into Tracy's 'Busa. If Tracy hadn't yelled, "HEY!" and waved his arms frantically, he probably would've hit it. The guy had parked at an odd angle right at the front door of the convenience store (not even a parking space!), and was leaving. Good grief.
On another note.. if ever you are in Gallup, NM, the pizza from Glenn's Bakery is fantastic. Just be forewarned: the jalapeno and cheese crust doesn't actually come with jalapenos and cheese already baked into the crust. They take a basic white crust, sprinkle some cheese on the outside, put a bunch of jalapenos with the tomato sauce, and call it a day. So... it was a significantly different (and spicier) experience than either of us had expected. It was still tasty. But my mouth was on fire. I imagine tomorrow my ass will be too. Wee!