Archive for September, 2013

Are we on our way to Valley of the Gods? NM/TX

Sunday, September 8th, 2013

Daily thoughts from this Journey, sometimes a “Ride Report”, some Photos and sometimes videos.

Pie Town was open...

“Robert Hastings” wrote what I pasted below as we are idling in New Mexico with a pinched sciatic left leg nerve and lower back pain galore! “Sciatica”, it almost sounds poetic. But it is not. I know we all have a “certain” opinion regarding Chiropractors, and yes they are called “Doctors”, yet my Friends here recommended one. And a good thing it was as two days ago I end up barely able to walk. Back tomorrow and again Monday when I hope having the green light to head North into some of our favorite spaces. Eventually. Yesterday was great, today not so good. This too shall pass, he is really good straightening me up! It was obviously also a Blessing when I decided to back off the rough roads. The body has taken it’s toll throughout all these years of riding and when walking, sitting, every movement is subjected to pain, well, it is time to do something about it as a regiment of exercises is also right around the corner. Right now the good Dr mildly mentioned “exercise would be as throwing fuel in a fire, let’s heal you first”.

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Not Yet!

‘Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent. We are traveling by train. Out the windows we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of row and row of corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls.
But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour we will pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags will be waving. Once we get there so many wonderful dreams will come true and pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle. How restless we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for loitering – waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.
”When we reach the station, that will be it!” we cry, “When I’m 18, when I buy a new Mercedes Benz, when I put the last kid through college, when I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after!”
Sooner or later we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of Life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.
“Relish and enjoy every single moment!” is a good motto. It isn’t the burdens of today that drive men mad. It is the regret over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.
So, stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soon enough.’
~ Robert Hastings ~

Highway 60, New Mexico._-2 xxx

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Words as such as above are often needed to bring me back into my present reality even if a bit “stuck” at the moment, even more so when I watch our own video below shot only a few days before, our last ride for a bit. I don’t want to say “A while”! There is a time and a place for everything as the mile markers are of many and the rest areas are exactly what they are designed for: “Rest Areas”, with hopefully overnight camping allowed.

A lonely road in New Mexico.

A few days later now and none has gone according to plan. My second visit to the Chiropractor was a disaster. Going in with barely a certain notion of hip and lower back pain on the road of what I thought was a recovery, I exited and spend the next day with a fury of pain as before the first visit. It was time for some serious research and what a great source of feedback our Friends on Facebook can be! I think he did too much, I think he should have waited or done nothing and let the body heal itself after such great results from an initial visit. Too late for that. A thought came into mind. Riding always has cured “everything” from mental wounds as much as physical ones. Four Advil and a bit later found us on our way to Pie Town. I figured a 240 mile ride will cure or destroy me.

Rain and hail and 240 miles…

The first few miles were rough even with my custom made seat and a position so much more comfortable than the Ural. “Old Faithful” has always fitted me like a glove. As we rolled on, the scenery of the stages took over as all together I counted 3 rain storms and one hail storm we went through as being put through washing and drying cycles. Invigorating I must say. The “Very Large Array” came up as of course as it happens often I realized we had been here before. It was a great ride and soon it was time for Pie. The Pie Shop was closed the last time we went through. I was now looking forward considering all the “hoopla” I have heard and read about.

Highway 60, New Mexico. The Very Large Array.-3 xxx

Highway 60, New Mexico. The Very Large Array. xxx

Very Large Array, New Mexico. xxx

Very Large Array, New Mexico.-3 xxx

Very Large Array, New Mexico.-2 xxx

Disappointing to say the least for a $6 shrunken piece of pie with a cup of coffee [$1.50 more] which only the color of it had it’s designation from. How did “this” became a landmark I started wondering. Oh! well… at least my body was feeling better and Spirit had enjoyed the million smells passing by while as always keeping his eyes on my ability to ride. The storms were a plus as I could not help stopping every few miles to shoot a few photos throughout the scenes unraveling to no end all around us.

Pie Town xxx 

Pie Town-4 xxx

Pie Town-6 xxx

There is now true hope to move on North tomorrow, start the trek. Afternoons have been a bit too warm for us, Monday starts [they say] a cooling trend and we are ready for it throughout this eventful summer which will pass on through fall right around the corner. This is getting near the time we normally I realize drop south towards The Oasis. I am not ready yet. The Oasis is at the end of the World as I always say and once there the fuel needed to come back up or for that matter any destination throughout winter time is obsolete.

Highway 60, New Mexico._-5 xxx

Highway 60, New Mexico._-4 xxx

Highway 60, New Mexico.-6 xxx

And Life goes on and on trying to grab the moments passing by as also the nights and days moving on right along. We listen, we talk, we ride and hike trying to balance it all out, trying to not think maybe too much. The path is always already paved, we can only bounce back from it’s potholes the best we can.

Highway 60, New Mexico.-2 xxx

Stay well, stay healthy… The moral of these days is to truly listen to our body.

                                    Ara and Spirit