Day 6: Santa Fe to McAlester (663 miles)

Long ride ahead: catching up from yesterday, we’re riding 663 miles from Santa Fe to McAlester, NM. The day started out nice enough, 50°F and sunny and looking like it was going to warm up. I was second-guessing myself about the heated gear and heavier suit I had put on, as I was sweating in the desert sun loading up the bike, but soon enough I was grateful I had it: as we headed south from Santa Fe, the clouds came in and the temperatures started dropping down into the high 30s. Brrr!

Along the way, Clo signaled for me to pull over. My brake light were stuck on, and my tail lights were flickering. It turned out to be two unrelated problems; the brake light problem was due to a malfunctioning brake lever switch, easily MacGyvered with some electrical tape, while the flickering taillights were caused by slightly-oversized LED bulbs which, when pressed against the red lens, became intermittently disconnected. This would require a stop at an auto parts store for replacement bulbs. But first, lunch…

Coming in from the cold to Chico’s Tortas & Piñas Lokas, we both ordered soups. I had the menudo, which was absolutely fantastic and just what I needed to warm me up.

On to Tucumcari. The town was pretty barren (strong Better Call Saul vibes ), but it had an O’Reilly Auto Parts store where we made a quick stop to change the bulbs.

We blasted through the last 500 miles, but not without a stop in Oklahoma City at Fassler Hall, a German beer hall and restaurant. The schnitzel and spaetzle were out of this world! The beers were very tempting, but we had some more miles to do, so I settled for what turned out to be a super tasty nonalcoholic IPA from Athletic Brewing Company.

Finally arrived at our hotel in McAlester, cold and tired, at 1:00am. I had finally run out of clean clothes and had planned on doing laundry at the hotel, but there’s a Walmart next door — easier to just buy a few extra pair of socks and underwear in the morning.