31. July 2024
The night had nice temperature and the sun came up just right to warm the tent for a short period. I had my usual breakfast and after packing up, headed out to the east. I didn’t make it very far before construction site stopped me. I had to wait quite long before I could continue.
All HWY and a lot of traffic. I made it to Chama, which I knew from my CDT ride. I also took the same mountain road east. Great weather unlike the last time, made it this time a beautiful ride. Not too much later I arrived in Antonita for the obligatory green chili burger and refueling the bike.
I had to backtrack about 10 miles before turning south onto the road which would cross the border into New Mexico on gravel. Right away I almost missed a turn but the following ride was great. First through a little valley next to a creek which was also scattered with campsites.
Then the route climbed into the mountains/hills. The elevation is high but the landscape looks kind of hilly and had a lot of forest as well.
I was impressed with the landscape and the ride itself, as I had not expected that of northern New Mexico.
I made it all the way to Abiquiu where I realized that I had stopped right here on my CDT ride. That made it clear to me that I had to stay tonight in the Riana Campground next to the lake. This is an Army Corp operated place and still cost only 15USD for a tent.
I had a nice relaxing evening with a great sunset and thanks to the generous host, who gave me some ice cubes, even a cold Old Fashion.
1.August 2024
The sky was cloudy and, in the east, you could see that some rain coming down. Still, I wanted to do the hard alternate section, north of the lake. It started rocky and got worse as more north I went.
As I reached the most northernly point, the road got a lot better and from El Rito it is paved. Heading back to Abiquiu Gas Station and then turned left onto a small, initially paved road along the Rio Chana. Past Barranca, it got gravel and then dirt. Where wet it was clay and you could see that several cars have been using detours.
The road leads to the bottom of the dam before going up and south on the HWY for a while.
When the track turns off the HWY it runs mostly through the forest, which only sometimes gives a view. In the forest are several big rocks scattered but the most impressive I have seen was the Teakettle Rock marked on the map.
I even saw some snakes getting busy on the road.
After refueling in Cuba, I headed out into the desert again. And I mean a lot of deserts. At least that’s how I see it. Basically, all the way to Grants it was barren land with many washouts.
Outside of Grants I occupied a camping spot and got supplies from town. A nice Steak and a beer completed my day. I also got lucky with the weather; it didn’t rain. Only a strong wind was going on most of the night.
2. Aug 2024
Leaving Grants took me into a long canyon named Zuni Canyon. Fast gravel road and great weather let me make good progress until I turned off onto the Bonita Canyon Road. That was slow and, in some places, muddy. One time I couldn’t find the road where the track was leading on, so I took a small diversion. Here in the forest are even small mine shafts.
The ride up to the Oso Ridge Lookout was rough. I spoke with the guy at the tower and he mentioned that there was a lot of rain and that’s why the road is so bad. Still worth to go up and enjoy the view.
A short ride brought me to the HWY and a little of the track is the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano. I didn’t visit this on my CDT ride so I went this time to the cave. It is still privately owned and has a lot of interesting history. The Cave is a great piece of nature and if I would not have been in Motorcycle Boots, I would have also visited the crater. But for now, the cave must be enough.
The following track was not my favorite as it had a lot of pavement and not much to see along the route. Only the Salt Lake lookout was great.
I ran from rain most of the afternoon but just before I reached Alpine, my stop for the night, it was catching up.
I had just refueled and waited for the majority of the rain to pass, outside of the store.
Thanks for the covered sidewalk with a bench for the customers.
The campground at the Luna Lake was nicely situated in between trees. The host was very kind and offered me even a tarp to cover all my belongings. That helped as it rained a lot during the evening. We spend that time with playing some poker, which I have no clue, with some of his friends and had a great time.
3. Aug 2024
Back across the Arizona border to Luna where some old trucks are parked next to the road and a newer one is placed on a huge post..
Not too far past the little town the route turns off the HWY and climbs up into the mountains. Nice ride but almost never a view.
As it had rained quite hard the road was sometimes greasy. That revealed some of the wildlife had used the road as well.
Closer to Reserve the landscape became more open.
Fuel in Reserve, a little town, before riding on a almost paved road south. The road had a lot of potholes and where gravel covered the road it had bad washboard.
Even the weather didn’t look too promising, I wanted to take the hard alternate across Corner Mountain. I wouldn’t do this again. It was a very rocky road and due to the forest fire, which destroyed all around, not much to see.
At on stretch was a green middle strip in the road. All looked great and for some reason I wanted to change the track. Unfortunately the green part was slightly raised with a step up covered by the gras. Not paying attention was taking its toll.
My plan was to camp before Chloride Canyon, but all camping spots where not much inviting and the weather didn’t look that bad. From the Beaver Workstation the road is a great paved windy road.
The closer I got to the Chloride Canyon turn off, the more rain clouds were in the sky. The last marked campground I couldn’t find and so I continued into the canyon. Soon it started to rain a little and I got worried. Thankfully it never rained hard and the creek was mostly dry.
There are really many creek crossings and some of them are long, as the river and road or often the same. I would not be in there when there is a storm going on. The canyon was interesting and I’m sure with sun, the colors would come out better. Still glad I did it. The riding itself was not difficult, except one or two steeper sections.
Reaching Chloride, the ghost town, it rained harder and I stopped only briefly for some pictures.
The Gas Station in Winston was out of order but I figured that I would have enough fuel to get to Elephant Butte. As soon as I reached the Red Hill, the weather was warm and sunny. Looking back I could see a big storm cloud hanging right where I was.
I made it to the Elephant Butte Lake State Park where I pitched my tent for the night. Now it was hot and I appreciated the shower included in the 18$ fee very much. Just the mosquitos shouldn’t be so aggressive.
4. Aug 2024
I woke up before the sun warmed up the tent. To use this opportunity, I packed quickly and was soon on the road. First all on pavement until Engle. From there the road was gravel for the most time. A very remote and boring section with many straight roads.
The more north I got, the worse the road became. Clay puddles, washouts and sandy bits. All of this in almost flat land.
Most of this route was along a huge military base.
I was tired when I reached the pavement. The long straight paved HWY in front of me and a sign telling me that Carrizozo is about 60 miles away didn’t help. Luckily the route turned off from the HWY and that road led through some valleys and hills. Initially I didn’t want to do it, but glad I pushed myself to ride that part.
The route past Carrizozo was according the BDR page closed due to wildfire. I forgot but got reminded just before I entered the National Forest.
So, a lot of pavement was on the menu. All the way to the turn off, just before Tularosa. As I turned onto the gravel road it started to drizzle. Not enough to pull out my jacket as it was also warm. Climbing the canyon on a small road covered with big gravel. This road must have been repaired recently. This was for about 5 miles and then it was again pavement for a while.
It was sunny again until I reached Cloudcroft. Some short showers passed through but hiding under a bush was enough to stay dry. I pitched my tent at a campground located just outside of town in a little valley.
5. Aug 2024
As the campground was in a valley, so it didn’t made sense to wait for the sun to dry the tent.
I packed up and left fairly early. Following the route which first ran on the highway to a lower elevation before it turned south onto a small gravel road through the forest.
There were not too many views and the progress was slow due to the many tight corners.
At one stretch a grader was just at work and cleaned up the road, well half of it for now.
The routing was quite interesting as it changed from fast gravel road too rough small service roads with sometimes steep climbs.
The Jim Lewis Canyon Road had some soft spots where I needed to be careful.
On the last part of this section into Weed I discussed with myself if it makes sense to ride section 1. I was on the road for a long time and the last 2 days were not so much fun as usual. Maybe I was just tired, but together with the fuel range, I decided not to do it.
So Weed was the end point for me on the New Mexico BDR.
FINISH
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