Painted Desert Tour

[Huck]

I'm heading to the Painted Desert for an interesting Scooter trip. I'm meeting up with a bunch of the guys I roll with, in Sturgis. They are flying out from all over the country, but mainly from the Ohio area. They are shipping their scooters out with LH Trucking (the owner of which is one of the runs organizers.)
The long and short of it, is that I'll ride from here to Las Vegas, NM on Wednesday and then meet up with the Driver (an old friend). I'll hook up with about 14 other Harley's and run all over the Northern NM area and end up in Durango on Saturday. From there, if they feel like a frosty balls run, I'll lead them over Molass and Coal Banks Passes and into Silverton. I should be on the road home, Sunday. Wish me luck and warmth, as I'm sure Taos and Durango will be chilly (Chama is just plain ol windy and chilly).

Its a 10 year anniversary run and I'm getting pumped for it, now. An interesting side note is that we will have a retired NFL player and his buddy riding in a topless Jeep (windshield down). They will be running as a chase vehicle. I'm unsure, but have been told it was an earlier Willy's. We'll see......

I hope to be back with plenty of pictures and some funny road stories. We've got an experienced Road Captain and I'll be providing a
'locals' perspective for much of the trip. I've been over most of these roads, but not with this group.
I just wanted to share my next adventure, as I'm truly psyched to get some miles under me, this Fall. :D
Huck

If you know of any scooter tramps that live in NM and want to put on some miles. Let me know and I'll forward them an itinerary.

[Griswold]

Sounds sweet except for the frosty balls part. Be safe and enjoy.

[Huck]

I'm packing my Carhardt, just in case. Its snowing between 1 and 2 feet today on the passes, in that region of CO. I took the name 'Frosty Balls' from a Northern Arizona run. On January 1st every year, Grand Canyon Harley Davidson has a 'Frosty Balls' Run. It starts in Bellemont and then rolls off of the Rim into Cottonwood. I've been on it enough times to know, you need the right gear to be comfortable.
Thanks for the well wishes and I haven't forgotten to stop by, I've just been prepping for the trip. :)

[k7mto]

Sounds like fun. I hope the guys in the Willy's wear goggles if they plan on keeping the windshield down at higway speeds. Def get pics of that and let us know which retired player it is :)

[Huck]

Matt,
We are all firm believers in eye protection. A bug @ 10mph can put out an eye. If I remember right, its Brian Tome..... He was an offensive end. If I got the wrong Brian, I'll find out soon. I guess he'll be our 'heavy' for the trip... (literally, the guy is big). I've been doing some work for another retired NFL player, Irv Smith, and he's just a big 'ol teddy bear.
I'll let you know how everything turns out. I'll be interested to see if they really keep the windshield down for the journey. I think the idea is that they want to be 'in the wind', like us.

[katvans]

Great adventure Huck, be safe and take some pics. :D

[corwyyn]

'Frosty Balls' describes it well. As of 1:30 this morning (2:30 MDT) it was 32 in Taos :eek: It sure is beautiful country though. If you get a chance you might take them across from Taos to Tierra Amarilla on the way to Durango. You may have gone this way before and if you have you know what I'm talking about. Since the trees will be turning it should be a great ride. Stay warm and stay safe.

[Huck]

Funny you should mention that route. The ride to Durango will be starting in Taos at the Fechin Inn:
SR 185 to Tierra Amarillo to Chama to Dulce to Bloomfield to the 550 to Aztec and then into Durango. Its one of the most 'regular' routes we are taking. I only worry about the paving project on the road from Tierra Amarillo to Chama. It is my hope that it will be full of pretty views.

Rich, thanks for the well wishes. I'll take some pictures for you.:)

[Huck]

Guys,
I made it back in one piece, earlier in the week. I got my pictures downloaded, but am waiting for the 'official disk' of pictures to be sent out my way and then I'll put up a webshots album, or something.
1900 miles in 5 days; beautiful colors and weather.... Life is good.

The football player is a guy named Eric Kattis. He's a nice guy and was great to drink a beer with.
Just an FYI,
Huck