Day 3: Elephant Butte to Reserve

We started the day off at the Elephant Butte Inn. We had high hopes of grabbing coffee in the lobby, but there was a sign that said no coffee until 9. With that said, Jeff got out his camping stove, and we had instant coffee right outside our hotel door. Today was another mix of blacktop, a little sand, fast desert roads, twisty blacktop that needed massive repairs, the technical section of rocks, old creek beds, and all the stuff that makes adventure motorcycle riding great. One of the first highlights of the day was when we stopped at the Winston General Store.

https://www.winstongeneralstore.com/

This place is featured in every motorcycle video specific to the NMBDR. You can buy everything from firearms to Elk calls (it’s Elk season), gas, and an ice cream sandwich. They had two pumps out front right next to the front door. The intersection where this place is located is where riders could either take the highway or jump on the red “technical” section and try their luck with the unforgiving terrain Chloride Canyon offers. By eye-balling the map, the technical section looked to be 20-25 miles of nonstop suspension smashing goodness with dozens of dry creek bed crossings and dips that would destroy bikes not meant for off-road use and keep you focused and on your toes. I can attest that the big bucks I spent on a front/back Ohlins suspension setup when I first bought the bike were worth every penny. It’s like off-roading an oversized puffy recliner. There were also boulders all up and down the sides of the trail.
We ventured down the trail and had an absolute blast for about half of it. We came across a notorious hard right turn, a steep grade, and to the left hill. This is the part that made the trial overall technical. There are numerous blogs and YouTube videos about bikes that didn’t do well in this section. Ron gave it a go and didn’t quite make it up. I know my skillset limitations on the big Yamaha and what my bike can do, but I chose to pass on that specific obstacle. The right line was full of highly loose sand with small rocks, and the left had more enormous stones. Absolutely no footing for a knobby tire to grip. You are down as soon as you break traction, and there’s no recovery from that. We were too deep in nowhere to risk injury or broken bikes, so we turned around and returned to the General Store. I did manage to grab 20-plus minutes of GoPro footage, so I’ll edit and blast another clip out into the universe.
After a second round of buying junk food, we continued. The end goal for the day was here in Reserve. It took forever to get here. I remember seeing a sign that said 51 miles, then 31 miles, etc. We eventually made it to Frisco Lodging in Reserve. Once again, we ripped all the gear off the bikes, filled on gas, cleaned up, and walked to Uncle Bill’s Tavern for dinner. When we returned, we quickly looked over the bikes, waxed up the chains, and called it a night. I’m sure there was more, but I’m tired and can only type so much on a friggin phone.