HotRodZilla
GOD BLESS AMERICA
I keep seeing all you guys up north grovel about all the snow you are getting. I look outside and for the most part it is warming up nice here in the southwest. The weather was great all week and weekend too, but I got some kinka sinus thing on Friday night and spent my three days off trying to breath. So ****...No riding.
Well, I got to work today and it seems everyone extended their weekend by an extra day, so I bailed out early to hit the road. It was 75 degrees when I left my house.
The plan was to leave Albuquerque, taking Unser north through the back of Rio Rancho to NM550. This first pic is about 3 minutes from 550 and about 20 from my house. Albuquerque is below that rise on the mesa (behind the stupid semi)
Once I hit NM550, it was open road to San Ysidro where I headed North on NM4 towards Jemez Pueblo and Los Alamos, home of the nuclear bomb.
This pic is an old church about 1.5 miles north of the turn off:
The temp hovering around 70 degrees, I passed Jemez Pueblo, but stopped for a picture of the red rock the pueblo is famous for. This is an area on the side of the road that is full of vendors on the weekends. The rocks to the East are way cool and the views through here make it hard to concentrate on the road.
The next stop was Soda Dam, which is basically a large rock with a hole around the side. The rock blocks the river, so it is forced through that small opening. It will be a hellavua sight when all this snow begins to melt.
After the dam, the road is a wonder. It is fast and full of turns, but there can be road salt lurking on some of the corners. The area is also full of elk. The Forrest Rat's bigger cousin. This is the Battleship Rock Rec area, surrounded by some great hunting grounds.
As NM 4 winds north, it passes in and out of the Valles Caldera. It is basically a huge ranch that was donated to the federal government years ago. It boasts some of the most sought after once-in-a-lifetime elk hunting permits in the nation. Its huge, green and beautiful this time of year.
After the snow kicked in, the temperature dropped about 12 degrees in 5 miles. Never bad though; it bottomed out at 54 degrees.
After leaving the Valles Caldera, the road thins out and is bordered only by trees and drop-offs. Much of the road is posted as 20mph turns and 10mph switchbacks. They are NOT kidding. Especially with the winter sand still on a lot of the road. This next pic is on the south side of Los Alamos Natl. Laboratories.
From Los Alamos, I rode back to Santa Fe, and was gonna take NM14 to Albuquerque, but my daughter had to get to Gym class. Since I ride NM14 all the time anyway, I took the freeway home. After 225 miles, the temps were about 70 degrees when we pulled into the driveway.
What a great day to skip out of some work. May the Northern Cold let you guys out of your garages sometime before July.
Well, I got to work today and it seems everyone extended their weekend by an extra day, so I bailed out early to hit the road. It was 75 degrees when I left my house.
The plan was to leave Albuquerque, taking Unser north through the back of Rio Rancho to NM550. This first pic is about 3 minutes from 550 and about 20 from my house. Albuquerque is below that rise on the mesa (behind the stupid semi)
Once I hit NM550, it was open road to San Ysidro where I headed North on NM4 towards Jemez Pueblo and Los Alamos, home of the nuclear bomb.
This pic is an old church about 1.5 miles north of the turn off:
The temp hovering around 70 degrees, I passed Jemez Pueblo, but stopped for a picture of the red rock the pueblo is famous for. This is an area on the side of the road that is full of vendors on the weekends. The rocks to the East are way cool and the views through here make it hard to concentrate on the road.
The next stop was Soda Dam, which is basically a large rock with a hole around the side. The rock blocks the river, so it is forced through that small opening. It will be a hellavua sight when all this snow begins to melt.
After the dam, the road is a wonder. It is fast and full of turns, but there can be road salt lurking on some of the corners. The area is also full of elk. The Forrest Rat's bigger cousin. This is the Battleship Rock Rec area, surrounded by some great hunting grounds.
As NM 4 winds north, it passes in and out of the Valles Caldera. It is basically a huge ranch that was donated to the federal government years ago. It boasts some of the most sought after once-in-a-lifetime elk hunting permits in the nation. Its huge, green and beautiful this time of year.
After the snow kicked in, the temperature dropped about 12 degrees in 5 miles. Never bad though; it bottomed out at 54 degrees.
After leaving the Valles Caldera, the road thins out and is bordered only by trees and drop-offs. Much of the road is posted as 20mph turns and 10mph switchbacks. They are NOT kidding. Especially with the winter sand still on a lot of the road. This next pic is on the south side of Los Alamos Natl. Laboratories.
From Los Alamos, I rode back to Santa Fe, and was gonna take NM14 to Albuquerque, but my daughter had to get to Gym class. Since I ride NM14 all the time anyway, I took the freeway home. After 225 miles, the temps were about 70 degrees when we pulled into the driveway.
What a great day to skip out of some work. May the Northern Cold let you guys out of your garages sometime before July.
