I had the desire to go to Taos. It was a detour, but wanted to see again that town I lhad seen many years ago. My friends in Albuquerque recommended me a route from Taos, NM through the mountains and connecting to I-40 close to in Tucumcari.
When I left their house, a few drops started to fall. I had heard the comment that due to the dry air, most of the time the rain evaporates before getting to the ground. This morning was one of the days where it looked it was going to hit the pavement.
I rode out direction North and when getting closer to Santa Fe, it started to rain. North of that it turned into buckets where I could barely se the lights of the cars in front of me. It did not look that any relieve from the bad weather was coming any time soon.
I am used to rain and it does not bother me to much, but I started to consider the conditions. The dry season creates a very thin layer of dust on the road, which when it gets wet it becomes a very slick surface. I also thought of the curvy roads high in the mountains with little visibility and little traffic. With these conditions I started to consider my options. If I had to get back to I-40 anyhow, there was no real need to cross the mountainous roads. The whole fun was to see nice scenery and enjoy the ride.
I made my decision fast and turned around heading South again.
As soon as I got more South of Santa Fe, the sky looked much lighter and the last down pours where moving away of me. Once back on I-40 I had a sunny sky. Amazing how the weather can change in such a short distance, but also a reminder how the mountains have a tremendous impact on what happens with the moisture in the air.
Now that I had less miles to ride, I made it all the way to Amarillo, TX.
Pedro who was following me on the Spot, soon called me during a refueling stop, to know if there was something wrong with my bike. I updated him with the latest info of my changed route and knowing I was trying to reach Amarillo, TX , he was so kind to find me a place to stay. What a service!! :)