Las Vegas, NM

in
 

We started off the day with some burnt hands and kneecaps. Serves us right for not wearing proper gear. Instead of acknowledging and fixing the problem by putting on pants, we headed to Walmart and bought some 85 spf sunscreen and hit the road. 

It was a fabulous morning with cooler temperatures than we were used to as we rose in elevation into New Mexico. It's amazing how the nicer weather changed my outlook on the long road ahead of us. 

At about noon the temperature rose and it again got blisteringly hot. The sidecar doesn't allow for the best airflow so Kristen found a way to get some fresh air on her legs... Probably not the safest maneuver but it got the job done. She is having a blast - she said that navigating on a road that just goes straight for hundreds of miles is making her a little brain dead (which she's finding thoroughly enjoyable). 

After a little lunch we stopped to fill up the bike with gas on the side of the road with the jerry can (the Ural does not have a great range with its 5 gallon tank and lack of aerodynamics) and decided to take a pic of ourselves. Immediately following this glamour shot, Kris stepped back and hit the exhaust pipe, burning the bejezus out of her leg. 

At least the scenery was nice...

We then set the GPS for Las Vegas, NM and hit the road. All of a sudden the clouds started to look a little ominous and a storm headed directly for us. We pulled over and threw on our rain gear - CUE the most unflattering picture of Kristen ever taken. I love it so much. If I could somehow put it on a t-shirt I would. Anyway, this was the first rain of our trip and the first time we actually got a little cold. 

Right after the rain stopped, Elga started to run really poorly for some reason. The wind was pretty strong but sure not strong enough to force us down to 30 mph. Getting to Las Vegas was going to take longer than expected. 

So now we're currently hanging in Las Vegas while we try and figure out what's going on with the bike. She was running like a champ until we got to the mountains and so we're guessing it has something to do with carburetors. Maybe air filter. So while I try not to yell at the bike, Kris is going to do some laundry and edit some pics. Elga will pull through. The plan is to be back on the road tomorrow morning!