(Saturday, 05-04-2013) Today we are headed for Santa Rosa, New Mexico. We had a complimentary breakfast at Penny’s Diner; and anticipating another day of vast expanse and little else, we had the diner make us a sack lunch (no SubWay in Vaughn).
It was a slow day as we rode on US-54 into a headwind most of the way. We did see a couple of small herds of antelope as we rode. They weren’t sure what to make of the humans on horses with wheels, and so they ran off before we could get a good picture. We stopped to eat our lunch in Pastura, another poor town in New Mexico.
Lunch by the church in Pastura, New Mexico
When we arrived in Santa Rosa, we picked up Route 66, which we would follow for a couple of days. Our lodging for the night was at the Best Western in Santa Rosa, at the top of a very steep hill (the first time on this trip that we got off our bikes and walked up a hill). There was a restaurant next door where they actually served wine (although they limited it to 2 glasses per person).
(Sunday, 05-05-2013) We started the day on the non-historic Route 66 (otherwise known as I-40). The shoulders on the freeway are usually fairly wide and clean, but I-40 is much busier, especially with truck traffic, and so we were happy when we had the opportunity to get off at Newkirk after about 25 miles. Newkirk consisted of a gas station with a small convenience store. We bought a couple of sandwiches and had lunch at a picnic table out front. We met a friendly couple from Rhode Island doing a cross country tour in the other direction on their motorbike, with their dog in a sidecar. We shared stories of our adventures and we took another opportunity to spread awareness of RhizoKids International.
After lunch we picked up Historic Route 66 and rode on it for about 20 miles.
Bruce on Route 66
Since we were now off the freeway, and on the historic highway, we were able to take shelter under a group of trees when the rain clouds caught up with us. Fortunately, it was not a very hard rain and it didn’t last long; but we did put on our raincoats for the first time.
We were looking forward to an afternoon ice cream break at Stuckey’s, only to find it to be another closed, deserted business.
Finally rolling into Tucumcari, New Mexico we again rode past miles of boarded up and deserted motels and restaurants. Our lodging for the next two nights was at the far end of town at the Quality Inn. Our rest day layover was well timed, since the following day brought cloudy skies and afternoon thunder storms. We were glad to be safe and dry.
bruceandjeanbicycle 