Madrid NM, home of the "Wild Hogs" - off Rt 66

Today was a "day off" meaning we were going to rest and recuperate. Well, in theory anyway. Last night when we got settled into our room, Donna remembered she wanted to ride to Madrid, NM and see "Maggies Diner" of Wild Hogs (the movie) fame. So after breakfast we hopped on Big Red and rode 2 up to Madrid.

Madrid was a coal mining town in the late 1800s and survived as such until 1950 when the coal played out and Madrid became a ghost town. Since then various artisans and craftsmen have opened up studios and brought the town back to life. You can read the complete history here.

The outside of Maggies is just like the in the movie, inside it was just another touristy gift shop. We passed on buying anything. However, the ride getting there was spectacular. I made a route on HD Ride Planner, downloaded it to BIBY (our Garmin Zumo 660 has a name - Bitch in a Box, the "Y" because the big BIB is in Freddie the freightliner). We liked the ride so much we rode it right back to Albuquerque.

This route follows the Turquoise Trail up the mountain and into Madrid, linking Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The drive is approximately 50 miles along Highway 14, traveling through the mining towns of Golden, Madrid, and Cerrillos NM.

The ride was full of scenic vistas, modern adobe houses juxtaposed by some relics of a bygone era when mining was king.

Next stop was for some lunch, we had hoped to find some nice little diner but opted for Denny's for coffee and a sandwich. Next we had to do some shopping and replenish our dwindling supplies. I dropped Donna off at the hotel and headed to a car wash to get the first layer of bugs and road crap off the bike. Donna will get hers clean when we get it serviced sometime in the next week or so.

All in all it was a great day and very restful for both me and Donna. Tonight we plan to see a movie. Found a theater showing "World War Z". So off we go for a dinner of popcorn and who knows what else. Tomorrow, it's back on the route heading West. Where? not sure but we'll know when we get there.

Stu

DONNA'S UPDATE: The winds brought in a front and lots of rain...movie cancelled. We splurged and ordered Domino's pizza. Stu's been hankering for one the last few days. As to tomorrow, we made reservations in Gallup, NM. Looks to be a nice riding day!