Friday morning, May 15th found us in the shadows of the Sandia Mountains of Albuquerque, New Mexico just before sunrise.
The staging crews begin to set up and prepare for the arrival of Midway’s riders with a cool crisp breeze, temperatures hanging in the lower 50s, and the sounds of a city starting to wake up and start a new day.
The Rich Ford dealership sat perfectly alongside I40 in the Southeast part of town allowing us to assemble and begin a new day’s ride with little effort of getting underway.
Faintly in the distance the crews begin to hear the unmistakable rumble of motorcycle engines as they rumble down the street and turn the corner. Bit by bit, bike by bike, the platoon lines begin to take shape once again with even more than the day before. New riders joining the pack begin to sign in and embark on their adventure with us.
A small cafe within the dealership opens it doors to offer a hot breakfast of burritos, coffee, juice, and cereal bars. The burritos make an instant hit with all of the riders. As some are aware, no one does breakfast burritos better than Albuquerque as it is almost a staple during the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival every fall. Their choices of hashbrowns, eggs, bacon, sausage, all wrapped up in massive tortillas with the option of either Hatch red or green chile, a must have to truly experience the New Mexican culture and cuisine.
SP4 Elliot Cook was honored with the Missing Man formation, ridden for and remembered by Popeye, a close friend of the family.
As the anticipation grows, stories being told, APD and AFD arrive on the site, everyone is ready to start a new day. And just as the sun breaks over the mountains casting its warmth onto the bike below, the signal to go is given, and the adventure begins.
Immediately the pack heads east up into the mountain pass with APD and Bernalillo County Sheriffs guiding and trailing the pack, through the pass on out into the plains of eastern New Mexico. Blooming sage can be seen and smelled along the freeway, giving an earthy but sweet smell to enjoy while riding across the high desert in the early morning hours. Plateaus and rock formations all around, as far as the eye can see with red, orange, and a mixture of browns and yellows mixing them through.
Before we knew it, we created a hill and headed down into a depression with Santa Rosa right in front of us. Our first fuel stop at the Loves station allowed for everyone to stretch their legs, grab a quick bite plus two to three bottles of water as hydration is a much needed aspect of riding rough this high altitude and dry desert setting.
With everyone fueled and ready to go, Juice read the Missing Man biography over the radio with a PA system to help those who could not hear the broadcast.
Maj Harry L McLamb was honored with the Missing Man formation, ridden for and remembered by Sarge, a first year rider of Run For The Wall Midway.
The group departed Loves and headed to a traditional stop at the Blue Hole, a natural spring oasis with crystal blue waters that is used for underwater caving and swimming by the locals, and a refreshing point in the Midway’s journey.
Started years before, it has become tradition for Road Guards and Leadership Team to jump into the natural spring waters, rain or shine, hot weather or cold; and the waters remain a constant 64 degrees all year round. Today was no different as the temperature had risen to the high 80s and showed no signs of getting any cooler for the time being. All of the Road Guards, most of the Leadership and several of the riders took advantage of the cooling opportunity and shied their support in the Midway Family Tradition.
Lunch was also served in the banquet hall of the visitors center where folks could relax in the air conditioning for just a bit longer before beginning their trek through the desert heat once again.
As the first horn sounded signaling 10 minutes to ride, several County Sheriff’s warned us of several serious vehicle accidents up the road and began planning different route strategies if needed as the stays of the interstate was closed for the time being.
With plans set in place, riders mounted their bikes and were once again heading off to the east, their mission goal on the horizon. Word came down as we were on our way that the accident scenes were cleared enough to travel through allowing the group to press on with no worries ahead.
The desert sun had warmed the sands and winds to the upper 90s now, acting almost like a massive hair dryer for everyone, including those that jumped into the spring, drying their clothes completely within 15 minute of starting out once again.
Our next fuel stop was near the New Mexico and Texas border, Russell’s Truck stop where locals were set up and awaiting our arrival with water, sunscreen, gremlin bells and other small tokens of their appreciation. Inside the staff was handing out ice cream cones to all of the riders that wanted one and allowing for a relaxing bit of time to get out of the day’s heat, if not for just a moment’s time.
The final push was then made across into Texas, the pan handle and grasslands, up and out of the lower sand and rock basins before. Of course these plains offer the perfect opportunity for wind farms with their massive windmills dotting the landscape as far as the eye could see. Even though these structures were massive and awe inspiring, they also signaled the presence of constant winds sweeping across the land. Nonetheless, riding through these giants gave us a unique perspective of just how vast of the area was, with high altitude clouds spotting the skies along the way.
The smell of sage was slightly still present but had been almost completely replaced with the smells of plains grass on the warm summer winds. The temp had also dropped down to the mid 80s, comfortable enough with the moving wind as we continued towards Amarillo.
The traffic steadily grew as we approached the city, another oasis in the vast open plains. Texas Highway Patrol, County Sheriffs and local PD all surrounded the pack as we rode close towards the city, guiding us in as if we were a special procession that was handed off to them at the border.
We arrived at Christian Heritage Church with open arms, flag bearers, cheering crowds and an overall hero’s welcome.
Dinner was prepared by volunteers from around the area that made Amarillo, TX one of if not the favorite stop of Midway Route. Texan BBQ and hospitality is absolutely amazing and hard to beat.
Awards were given out but not before the posting of the colors by Jr ROTC as well as our national anthem and America the Beautiful being sung as well. Amarillo has won the hearts of many Midway riders and for very good reason.
Although many were there, unfortunately the fire departments were unable to attend due to wild fires burning around the city. So please say a prayer for those hero’s, their safety, and the ability to protect our communities.
Until tomorrow night,
Keep the rubber side down,
Shiney side up.
Be safe and Rise safe.
Stitch
Due to circumstances beyond our control, Midway Route Photos from previous runs are no longer available. 