Day 2: Carrizozo to Elephant Butte

Today was a blur, so let’s see if I can recall everything. We’re on a routine of waking up at 6, gearing up, packing, and heading out. It seems to fit the schedule, and none of us feel rushed. This morning, we skipped breakfast and hit the route. Today was a mix of highway, quickly packed dirt, sand, and thick chunky gravel. After leaving Carrizozo, we cruised through an RV park beside an old lava bed. Most campers were still sleeping, but a guy was walking his dog, who appeared annoyed by our presence. A long-distance road bicyclist was happy to see us. After that, we hit our first sandy trail. This was my first time on sand with the Yamaha, so it took me a minute to feel it. The front got a little loose, but after experimenting, I found the optimal speed to be between 35-40 mph in 3rd gear. This seemed to be the sweet spot to lay on top of the sand. Running in 3rd gave more room for “when in doubt, throttle out” situations. Weight to the back, high RPMs, keep the weight off the front wheel, and hope for the best. I was a little surprised none of us wrecked today. We all cruised right through the sand. We planned to stop in San Antonio, NM, for a burger, but since it was Sunday, we found out very little is open in these small towns, so we pressed on to Socorro. We looked up a place that said it was a Japanese restaurant, and it turned out it was just a regular diner. The waitress told us somebody had edited their Google page. After breakfast, we topped off on gas and headed towards the west side of the White Sands Missile Test Range. There was plenty of sand and high speed straightaways. We saw cows, a fox, and a dirt devil. After that, we headed towards Elephant Butte, where we had reservations at the Elephant Butte Inn. On the way there, we stopped at the lake and took many pictures. From there, we went to the inn, which, at first, we thought was closed. No employee cars or guest vehicles, just a massive building. We checked in, dropped gear, and got ready for dinner. We intended to take an Uber, but no Uber was found. We went to the lobby and asked the front desk guy about the deal with taxis, Uber, etc., but had no such luck. He did offer up Kaitlyn, his roommate who wasn’t his wife yet married (🤔), to drop us off at the Truth or Consequences Brewing Company. This random person dropped us off and picked us up from dinner for $20 each way. Categorize that situation under things that happen in small towns. After we finished eating, we went outside and hung out while waiting for our ride to arrive. That’s when we ran into Ingel. This guy stood out like a sore thumb. He was a tall German guy with a deep German accent and carrying a typical fighter pilot helmet bag.
Jeff and I are both former Air Force guys, so we had to chat it up with him. Ingel had been stationed at Holloman AFB for 16 years as a fighter pilot. After his service, he decided to stay in NM to the extent he was a current City Commissioner for Truth or Consequences. After returning to the hotel, we busted out our tool kits. We went over our bikes to ensure everything was tightened up, nothing was broken, and everything was good to go. We have our first optional technical section near Truth or Consequences tomorrow, so we will see what these bikes can do. It will be more of a skill than a bike, but we will find out. Jeff is doing laundry with body wash, so I’m waiting to hear if soap is all over the floor in the laundry room 😆😂 . Make do with what you have….