The Southwest Quest was located in the Tijeras range just south east of Albuquerque. I got involved through friends I met years ago on my solo moto trip to California. The area was insanely beautiful, and I loved being able to ride through the desert again! The skies are just gorgeous and the roads are prestine and curving up and down…
We look like we are having the time of our lives in these photos (because I know I was) These are the Instagramable and printable ones we have to hang on our wall- photos that we all strive for- Some see my feed and think, UGH more lovey dovey crap from Amy . lol.. or so I’ve been commented to… It doesn’t matter to me- online relationships ARE fake, they showcase the best of times and the most happy, missing what really lies beneath- and you know, all it normally is, is a normal relationship. Yeah we argue, yeah we disagree- like normal humans- It is all in how we end up afterwards that matters- and ultimately we chronical the good times- and there are MANY- but the bad times, the few times we don’t see eye to eye- we had one of those on the road, just like we’ve had many at home behind closed doors.Â
What it amounted to was 2.5 days of stress, learning lessons about long trips, and trying to find OUR jive on the road. It was once said, that being on the open road together, will either make your relationship stronger, or tear you apart. The strong and the weak, the novice and prepared, the stubborn and the flow… everyone who has ever been on a seven day + trip like this knows what I’m talking about.
I am a FLOW person. I know the road will throw all kinds of loops and rocks at you, but if you let it get you down, you will have a bad time. I pull over and rest when I’m tired, I brake for photo ops with huge statues, I run as fast as the road wind or bike will let me go comfortably, I stop to have the conversation with the old timer whos inspecting my bike, I’m not obsessed with the speedometer… but these are lessons I have learned with experience and mistakes and patience and love. My life goes much better when I follow my flow.
Benny is a STUBBORN person..bless his man heart… The clock is his enemy, he has to go atleast 90 mph on the highway, or he’s just not living. He rides until he is too tired to continue, no matter how dark it is, and he could care less about getting a photo of a state sign. Pound miles and focusing purly on the destination- missing all that lies between. It’s no wonder he was so stressed our first day.Â
Immediately making a mountain out of a mole hill, for example, our first 100 miles in – he ran out of gas. It wasn’t an emergency stop, we were on a pretty safe shoulder next to a dead toad… no biggie! I had a bike, I turned around to go get a gas can and gas.. he did learn that first 100 miles, he could only GO 100 miles until a fill up, and I had the odometer on my bike- he has removed his. When I returned, be had become so angry that he broke the gas can spout in his rage of cuss words and hysteria (most of which I recorded for Instagram stories) And he CHUCKED that can as far into the ditch as it would go.. which wasn’t very far into the wind… which also pissed him off…Â
We rode hard until way past dark, and had no choice but to get a hotel, since all camping was closed, Ben didn’t want to sleep in the ditch we pulled over in, and it was too dark to set my tent up alone. It was tiring, and late.. we got to shower, but that was the only perk- it was not a good first day.
Day one I let him have the reigns, I had no idea he was in such a hurry- honestly we had an entire week to cruise the 2560 miles out and back from New Mexico. That is not a hard thing to do. Recovering from flying 100 MPH across 800 miles in one day- into night in the 50+ mph winds across the plains.. that was almost impossible.
We hit the road on day 3- Benny’s bike is fucking up, and I’ve had it. Hes on YouTube all night and morning refusing to take his carb off at camp with my tools and rebuild it right there, to find the issue- but more than happy to complain he cant find a plug to charge his phone.
 At our first gas stop, as he fumes over his bike, I go rouge. I wandered inside and made friends with the locals- something I love to do on my solo trips, but being with Ben – I hadn’t met a single new person. So I chatted, had coffee.. they suggested a few things in the area, and I wandered outside- Now hes on his phone with someone about his bike… I sit down, have my coffee and doughnut on the curb -just in time for my loving husband to reach full on PISSED about his bike- so he has to go NOW.. BYE I said- I’ll catch up- see you at Cadillac Ranch!
Suprised by my answer, and that I didn’t immediately jump up and throw my half eaten breakfast away to suffice his whim- He does a burn out and succeeds in looking so cool leaving a gas station in a town of 4 people. I felt better.. like a weight of judgement was lifted from my shoulders.. like- I was free to ride my ride agian! I finished up my breakfast, checked my packs, saddled up and hit the road. I was just rolling into Texas, decided to stop for a picture of the sign,
    
 FOUR HOURS LATER….(spongebob again) at the Harley Dealership in Amarillo to fix Benny’s bike issues: one fuct up carb, two missing motor mount bolts, 2 missing exhaust bolts, and a loose head pipe. (remember he just took this engine out and put it back in a day before we left- OH and he didn’t use a single DROP of locktite) These avoidable issues put us so far behind- but I had gotten a really peaceful nap on the shop floor of Amarillo Harley, found a local burger joint reccomended by a customer in the front of house-and finally, after 3 days of ruining my vacation- we did it. Something must have snapped in his head- we just burned miles that afternoon- extremely HOT and DRY miles until we found a hotel.. not my ideal accomodations, but half of our ride time was taken away, We calmed down, we meshed, we found our peace on the road. After Ben telling me that I SUCKED and Me telling him I’M BETTER ALONE.. we made up.. and the remainder of our trip was magical.
 Sometimes, you just have to let the road teach you a few new things, whether those things are “slow down and smell the roses” “Haste makes waste” “a penny saved is a penny earned” or “your wife isnt always full of shit” every time… and the newbies find their lessons on their own.. you can’t teach them.. and I guarantee they wont listen anyway.
So, by the end of it, by my birthday- we were one cohesive team, traveling, and seeing sights, taking fun pictures, and YES we got a super nice hotel with a hot tub. Marriage is a game of learning each other and compromise.. And we learned how to do just that with each other on this trip. Â
We are now looking FORWARD to our next cross country adventure, and Im sure- more learning opportunities!