May 12, 2019: 1st Leg– Mesa, AZ to Alburquerque, NM
11:00 am: Preparing and packing for a cross-country motorcycle ride is more stressful than I anticipated deciding what is essential and what isn’t. Raven, our new 2019 Harley-Davidson Road Glide Ultra, is the least of our worries given her 5-year extended warranty and nationwide dealership support. Having GPS and cruise control will be a treat I’ve not enjoyed on my previous motorcycles, so I eager to play with all the new bells and whistles. I depart home under beautifully clear skies and head north on the AZ-87 Beeline Highway towards Payson following the massive storm systems which have flooded the midwest. I’ve downloaded 3 weather apps to ensure I avoid riding into thunderstorms, or worse. Plan B was to travel east on the I-10 to I-40 via the I-20 and I-30, but that option was washed away by torrential rains and flooding throughout the southwest and central plains…
1:00 pm: dark clouds fat with moisture loom over my intended route to Payson. As I approach Rye the distant yet beautiful gray curtin of virga (rain that evaporates before reaching the ground) decides to treat me to a ‘desert baptism’ and in a matter of minutes Raven and I are thoroughly drenched. We press on and it’s getting harder to see through the lenses of my sunglasses. Then the rain lets up, the moisture evaporates from my clothes and we’re golden. The smell of wet desert earth and mesquite is amazing, so fresh and clean unlike the reeking ammonia of the many dairy farms that dot south Maricopa county. The desert has a unique beauty I am growing to appreciate, especially against the backdrop of a dramatic storm or blazing sunset. The biggest sun devils I’ve ever seen in AZ dance across the high country spawning smaller baby-tornado activity until another storm soaks us right up to Holbrook. Thank goodness for neck gaiters which I pull up over my nose to spare my face the bee-stings of raindrops peppering my face. I love my Sena Cavalry motorcycle half-helmet, but not in those moments when the wind salted with fat raindrops triggers second-guessing my choice in headgear…until the weather clears.
8:00 pm: The lights of Alburquerque appear before me as I remembered them from the Flying J truck stop on the ridge west of town. My GPS takes me to two closed gates at Kirkland Air Force Base where I plan to spend the night and not worry about sketchy people taking an inordinate interest in Raven, or what she might have in her shiny black hard bags or matching trunk…an additional perk of being retired military is my wife and I can stay in excellent accommodations all while protected by our nation’s finest.
A micro-waved Marie Callendar’s fetuccini with chicken and brocolli tastes like a feast after 8 hours on the road with 3 pit stops. I know I’ll sleep deeply and well. The weather forecasts promise that I’ll be riding in warmer weather as I make my way to Amarillo, TX and Oklahoma City, OK on my way to pickup my bride Lori in Nashville, TN by early Friday morning. Raven is fueled and ready for the second leg of our trip to participate in the final nationally-sponsored Rolling Thunder XXXII demonstration ride in Washington, D.C. on Memorial Day weekend. My biggest lesson this day: I miss traveling with my wife. I would not intentially want to subject her to the discomforts Raven and I ‘enjoyed’ this day, but solving problems together is part of the beauty of our marriage. Technology helps us connect throughout the day as Raven and I steadily make our way to Nashville.
Raven Tales 