J.B. Henderson

Day 2, Thursday, April 16, 2015

 

My alarm went off at 6:30 AM.  I went to bed last night at 11 PM and slept like a log!  I had plenty of rest and got up immediately and started getting dressed.  Jan got up soon after and we were both ready for the day.  We took a couple of bags to our Motors, cleaned them, stored the bags and then went for breakfast.  We were the first ones up and working on the Motors.  C.E. and Ken came down next and started on their Motors.  Finally, everyone was up and having breakfast.  We all went out to our Motors and it was cold!  It was 54 degrees and we all put on our jackets.  We left at 8:41 AM and I was still leading. 

We headed eastbound on I-10 towards Las Cruces, NM so that we could gas up.  We rode for 56 miles and at 9:21 AM, I pulled into a Love’s Truck Stop in the outskirts of Las Cruces.  We gassed up and some had refreshments…coffee…guess who?  Yes, Chuck and the newbie, Jake.  Chuck got with Bruce and laid out the route for him.  Bruce got the pen (dry erase marker) and wrote the directions on his windshield.  This is easier that trying to remember the route.  We talked more about where we were going and Chuck changed the route again.  Bruce needed Chuck’s pen to make corrections on his windshield.  We were ready to leave now.

Bruce took over the lead and we headed east on I-10 at 9:58 AM.  I was now at the rear of the group.  As we were in the city of Las Cruces, I noticed some water droplets on my windshield.  I looked up to the sky and noticed clouds, but they were NOT rain clouds.  I looked forward and noticed that all four of the Harley riders were looking to their right.  I looked to the right and I realized, right then, what was happening.  The Harley riders were salivating, slobbering and tearing up because we were passing a Harley Dealership!  We didn’t stop!  That’s why the tears.  We continued on.  We rode through Las Cruces and then we crossed the border into Texas.  We exited I-10 at Exit 6 and headed to Transmountain Road.  Transmountain Road is a nice, windy road that goes over a mountain and allowed us to avoid the traffic on I-10 in El Paso.  The road was very smooth and excellent for Motorcycles.  When we got down from the mountain road, we entered onto the Loop 375.  Loop 375 took us around El Paso and we turned eastbound onto Highway 180.  We continued eastbound until we had to stop because of some construction in a little, dinky town named Cornudas, TX.  While we were stopped and waiting for the “go ahead,” Ken got off his Motorcycle and walked up to Bruce and told him that he needed a pit stop.  Ken told Bruce to just make a u-turn and go back about 100 yards to “May’s Restaurant,” which had an “OPEN” sign posted.  Bruce made the u-turn and we all followed.  We parked our Motorcycles and Ken was the first to go in, with me right on his tail.  Ken told the lady at the counter that there were eight of us.  When I got out of the restroom, everyone was already seated at a table.  I guessed that we were going to have lunch.  We had ridden for 116 miles and it was 11:47 AM.  I guess it was close enough for lunch time.  We sat and had cheeseburgers (they were big!), fries and grilled cheese sandwiches.  The food was good and the prices were cheap.  We were done eating and then continued eastbound with Bruce still leading.  We left at 12:45 PM.

We had ridden about 30 miles when we met up with a couple of vehicles going the opposite direction.  They both flashed their headlights at us.  We figured something was up, up ahead, being trained investigators that we are.  About a mile ahead, there was a Texas Highway Patrolman working “radar.”  That really didn’t affect us because Bruce was leading the group at 65 mph on a 75 mph zone.  We finally got to the intersection with Highway 54 and we turned right.  Just after we turned, we noticed a sign that told us that we were NOW on Central Standard Time.  We lost another hour.  We continued and at 3:10 PM, we stopped in Van Horn, Texas.  We had ridden for 96 miles.  We stopped at a Pilot Truck Stop.  The truck stop was very busy and we all had to wait in line to gas up.  After we did, we all took turns going in for a “pit stop.”  We left at 3:43 PM.

It was C.E.’s turn to lead.  The Pilot Truck Stop was on the south side of I-10.  North of I-10 was Highway 54 and on the south side was Highway 90.  C.E. led us onto Highway 90 and we soon got to the speed limit of 75.  C.E. was leading, Ken was next and I was third.  So, the first three Motorcycles were Honda Goldwings.  The rest, Chuck, Jan, Jake and Bruce are on Harleys.  As we were riding the speed limit, the four Harleys dropped back, way back, about a mile.  I guess they couldn’t keep up with the Hondas.  They caught up, then dropped back, and then caught up.  It was a vicious cycle!  We were riding and all of a sudden, C.E. pulled into, what looked like, an abandoned Rest Stop.  We rode for 71 miles and it was 4:42 PM.  This rest stop had no facilities.  I asked C.E. why we had stopped.  He told me that we stopped so that we could stretch.  I told him that there were NO bathrooms available.  He pointed at some trees and rocks and stated that there were plenty of places.  Well, he was right.  It seemed like this large boulder got bigger with each time it was watered!  This rest stop was a mile west of the town of Marfa, Texas. We left at 4:54 PM.  When we rode through Marfa, there were plenty of places that we could have stopped.  Oh well! 

We continued east on Highway 90 and after riding 33 miles, we stopped at a Holiday Inn Express at 5:27 PM in Alpine, Texas.  C.E. and I went inside to “make the deal” while Chuck and Jan rode a block or two away to the Best Western to check prices.  Chuck and Jan went to three different hotels and found that they were ALL booked!  I called Chuck and told him that the discounted price quoted was $161 for a King Suite, and they had 6 left.  All of the other rooms were booked.  Chuck told me to get them because there were no other rooms available in this town because of three events going on.  I secured the rooms and we all checked in.  When Chuck and Jan returned to the Holiday Inn Express, they had another rider with them.  J.B. Henderson joined them at the Best Western.  J.B. had passed us and went to the Best Western and met up with Chuck and Jan.  The Best Western is the location where we were supposed to meet J.B.

We all parked our Motorcycles close to our rooms and tucked them in for the night.  We got our bags and took them to the rooms.  We were pleasantly surprised that the hotel was having a “Reception.”  The Reception included FREE beer, wine, coffee, cookies, juices and munchies!  We lucked out!  We all went in and enjoyed our “Reception” and then we walked about a block away to the Pizza Hut for dinner.  A couple of the guys were not happy or impressed with the service.  We ate and our bellies were happy.  We had a good time and then walked back.  The hot tub was very small and no one got in.  I came back to our room and started on today’s blog.  I did go to the “Business Office” of the hotel and posted yesterday’s blog.  I figured out a way around my computer problem until IT guy Chuck fixes it.

We rode some good roads today and logged in a total of 372 miles.  Tomorrow, we hope to ride south to “Big Bend National Park” and the area.  We hear that there are three rides in the immediate area that is said that they are for “experienced” riders.  We shall see…