Back on the road again

We woke early to ensure we could be at the BMW dealers when they opened at 8:30 am.

Chris took the bike there while Wanda stayed back at the motel. Fortunately the service manager was sympathetic to our situation and took our bike in to have two tyres fitted even though we had not booked it in.

Chris walked back to the motel – 10 minutes away and with Wanda walked down to the dealers with our computer. The motel we stayed in was not able to give us access to the internet, but the BMW dealer had wifi for its customers. We were able to download emails, check banking arrangements and catch up with the latest news from Australia and the rest of the world. We were ready to go by 9.30am.

We rode back to our motel on new tyres and packed our belongings. Before checking out of the motel we walked across the road to Weck's diner to have brunch. It was a hearty meal that sustained us through to dinner. Jason was a friendly character. He had shared a room at college with Luc Longely, and travelled with him to Sydney and Perth in Australia, so we had something to talk about.

Leaving Alberquerque we headed for San Ysidro where we turned onto TX 4, a scenic roiute heading north east. We turned off onto State route 485 an impossibly beautiful ride up into the red mountains and the Gilman tunnels, two short tunnels that allow the road to wind through the narrow canyon. Not far beyond the tunnels the paving stops and the surface reverts to gravel. We turned back and continued along TX 4 to the funky town of Jemez Springs. Compared to the towns around the area, Jemez Springs was alive with people visiting art galleries, diners and taverns.

From Jemez Springs the road climbed relentlessly to a high ridge that we followed for a few miles before beginning a steep descent into White Rock. This had a huge supermarket and a fancy playground with a skateboard park for children in the middle of nowhere. We stopped there for drinks and a break to stretch our legs. We set the GPS to take us to Santa Fe, our stop for the night. The shortest route bypassed Los Alamos and had us in Sante Fe by late afternoon.

Motels near the centre of town were out of our budget, so we ended up a few miles away in a motel of great charm but few amenities – not even internet access!

Our first priority was finding a coin laundry and while our clothes were being washed, a supermarket.

We returned to our room with clean clothes and all the makings of a great dinner – the supermarket had Alaskan crab legs, a delicacy we haven't had for quite a while.