After being a member of the local HOG (Harley Owners Group) for a few years, I finally got invited to go to the officer training...although the newsletter editor isn't technically an officer. Nonetheless, I got invited to ride to the training in Albuquerque and I said, sure.
We left Bryan/College Station on Wednesday morning just after 6:00am, March 22...our destination, Clovis NM, about 550 miles away...probably a 12-hour day. The weather was forecast to be a bit cool but sunny all the way. For once, the weather man was correct...it was 67 and cloudy (and dark) when we pulled out. Our plan was to travel north on Hwy 6 until we intercepted I-20 just east of Abilene.
Our volunteer Road Captain took off...without a GPS...and didn't stop for two hours in Meridian for gas. By the time we stopped, the temp actually dropped two degrees, even though the sun had come out. In fact, the temperature stayed around 65-68 until we almost reached our final stop.
Back on the road after a quick stop, we headed towards our second stop near Eastland on I-20. This was another 15-20 minute fuel stop. We got on the interstate and headed west towards Sweetwater where we were turning northwest on Hwy 84 towards Lubbock. Being lunch time, we decided to eat before leaving the interstate. We had a quick lunch and we're back on the highway in about 30 minutes.
Hwy 84 between Sweetwater and Lubbock isn't much to write about...stockyards, tumbleweeds, a few oil jack pumps and a bunch of wind generators.
About two hours later we entered the city limits of Lubbock. We figured we were running ahead of schedule so we detoured to Wild West Harley Davidson to look around. I didn't buy anything...mostly because I had been there and done that.
Back on the road and headed to Clovis. I forgot to mention we were traveling with one of the owners who had made reservations in Clovis, so Clovis was set in stone...barring any unforeseen event. Well,the unforeseen event didn't occur and we coasted into Clovis about 4:30pm...11 1/2 hours of riding. Even though the weather was good to us, we were still tired. BUT, not too tired to go back up the road about a mile to the High Plains Harley Davidson. I was a good boy once again and only bought a poker chip.
The best thing we got at the dealership was information. One of the stall was a retired NM Highway Patrol Officer and he gave us a tip on how to bypass I-40 and all the trucks. A little while after getting back to the hotel, we walked a couple blocks to a great Mexican food place. Bellies full, I headed to the room and ended going to bed at 9:00pm...Mountain Time. Still, I had had a long day.
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