The FZ6 Pony Express - route & riders & comments

[MarinaFazer]

hey guys,

Any San Diego guys able to pick up the bag from the lower half of CA? Come on - we really need you! Nccoder?

 

[afpreppie04]

Bag is now in Rio Rancho:thumbup: And this old computer chair I got for free years ago suuuuuure is comfortable.

Headed out from Rio Rancho to Roswell about 9:30 this morning. Was running a little late so I opted for the fast but boring highway route. After being on the highway about 10 minutes I see flashing lights behind me. Crap. However, I didn't hear any sirens (although I did have ear plugs in), so I wasn't actually sure if they were after me. I figured I could pull onto the shoulder and get a ticket for sure, or pull into the other lane and see if they kept going or stayed behind me. I pulled in the other lane and they kept going with their lights on, phew. For some reason it was 3 police cars with their lights on escorting a tow truck towing someone down the highway. :don'tknow:

After changing onto the second highway I quickly made my way south where I met up with Fred in Roswell, only took two tries to find the right Starbucks.

Here's a picture of the handoff, with an alien friend.

We also found a wallside mural with more aliens!

I think Fred's Fizzer is more prepared for long trips than mine...

I snapped a couple more pics on the trip back. I took the twisty route on the way home.

First stop was a tribute to Smokey the Bear. There was a museum but I didn't have time to go in (only brought my tinted visor; didn't want to have to use it in the dark)

Next was entering a town called Carrizozo. I always liked the name of that town for some reason, and Billy the Kid was there.

Finally I was riding through a place called the Valley of Fire. There was a sign but it was a long time before the valley actually started so I didn't see any reason to stop at the time. Once I got in the valley itself though, different story. All the black stones are from volcanic activity, and the valley is huge! Going about 85 it took a good 5 minutes to get from one side to the other. Black rocks all around as far as you can see, very cool in the middle of the desert. It doesn't look like it in the picture, but most of the rocks were pretty small, only a few cubic feet each, but there were tons of them everywhere.

The Valley of Fire made up for the 20 minutes of pouring freezing rain I had to ride through to get there. Figures the day I go on a long ride it decides to rain. It was sunny when I left, and well, its New Mexico. So of course I didn't have any rain gear. After I got out from under the cloud and back in the sun though I dried off pretty quickly.

Fred has some more (higher resolution!) pictures when he gets access to a card reader. :rockon:

 

[ELIZABETH]

Thanks for the update, preppie!! Nice pics!

 

[rider1a]

Thanks for the update, preppie!! Nice pics!

I am closing in on 1,500 miles of superb sport-touring so far. The best set of roads with superb twisty and views I have ever experienced has to be highway 15 leading to the Gila Cliff Dwellings in southern New Mexico. This road is basically a one-way 40 mile roller-coaster leading to the Cliff Dwellings. I suggest riding this road during the week in order to avoid the dreaded RV traffic etc. The Gila's canyone beauty is in its diversity of rugged mountains, deep canyons, meadows, and semi-desert country. Elevations range from 4,200 to 10,900 feet and cover four of the six life zones. Flora and fauna are diverse. Ocotillo and cactus are found in the lower elevations, and juniper, pine, aspen, and spruce-fir forests are plentiful in the high mountains.

In addition the highway 152 east from Silver City to Kingston is what one might call the "Dragon of the West" as the rider experiences breathtaking swoops through tight canyon roads with ample amount of switchback etc. The high-rev'ing bike like our FZ6 has been very fun!

Since several key riders from California are unable to commit to the final leg of the Pony Express route, the ride is now officially over. I want to thank all of the Pony Express riders and their commitment to helping the bag make it across the United States. It has been fun!

We will try Europe and Australia next.

Safe Riding

Fred