In May 1998 we came back to Texas, my family, "Das Mopped", and I. We all had to get used to the heat again, even the bike: Right after arrival it started to develop weird running habits with sudden powerlosses from time to time. It even stalled once in a while, on one occasion in the middle of the night on Interstate 10 close to downtown El Paso. Believe me, a scary experience! To make a long story short: I replaced the airflow meter and the ignition control unit (= big bucks...), and we were back in business.
I mostly used the bike for commuting to the College of Business Administration at The University of Texas at El Paso, where I studied towards an MBA degree. By the way, I was also the college's webmaster at that time. But a few times I somehow managed to just take off and do some riding: with my old Club, the German Motorcycle Club El Paso, or with my ex-brother-in-law, who rides a R 1100 R, or later with my other ex-brother-in-law, who rides a R 1100 RS, or simply by myself. I even attended a few BMW rallies over the years: The Bavarian Mountain Weekend in New Mexico two times, the Roadrunner Rally in Arizona also two times, the Top o' the Rockies in Colorado, and even the 2001 BMWMOA National Rally in Oregon. But one after the other.
I didn't have a chance to pre-register for the 14th Bavarian Mountain Weekend in 1999, the annual rally of the Land of Enchantment BMW Riders, so I just left home on Friday morning, packed with my camping gear for the first time since the 1997 Äppelwoi Treffen back in Germany. Since I had planned to arrive in Sipapu around noon, I stayed on the Interstates 10 and 25 for about 350 miles. I was overwhelmed, once again, by the emptiness of the Southwest. There was an exit every 30 to 50 miles, and in-between, there was ... well, nothing. Flat, open country, with desert shrubs growing and tumbleweeds blowing by.
I came through Albuquerque and left Interstate 25 right after I passed the state capital Santa Fe to finally ride on some interesting roads. It only took a few miles for the scenery to change from desert plains to rolling hills covered with pines, almost (but not quite) like the German Black Forrest. The roads were perfect: curvy and in good shape with little traffic. But, much to my surprise, the weather changed, too: black clouds started to cumulate, and not too much later it started to rain. So my last 30 miles or so to the rally site reminded me more in Germany than I had wished.
The rally was held at the Sipapu Ski Lodge and the surrounding area. The lodge itself offered showers and approximately 50 bedroll spaces similar to the ones of the Hüttentreffen in Switzerland. It also featured a big room with fireplace and wood-burning stove for get-togethers, and a store that sold all kinds of gifts and, most importantly, beer and wine. Behind the lodge was a little river, and across was plenty of room for camping, right underneath the Sipapu ski-lift. In one word: a great set-up for a beemer rally.
Registration was crowded, with a line of wet riders waiting. To my disappointment I was told that there were no rally-pins left, since they only had enough for the first 200 registrants. At least it stopped raining, so I could pitch my tent without getting wetter. Later, I paid the store a visit and, with a six-pack of beer in my hand, started to look for old friends. I wasn't lucky, though, and therefore I began making new ones instead. This turned out fine, and just before midnight I retired to my tent.
The next day we had perfect riding weather. I took off by myself towards Taos, NM. This little town is very nice looking, with all buildings in adobe style and lots of little stores, mostly selling gifts and artwork. After an hour or so I left town and started riding through the most gorgeous scenery. There were many good quality roads with lots of curves and very little traffic, so I enjoyed myself for the rest of the day.
The evening started like the one before, with a supply run to the lodge's store. After dinner, I spent my time talking with many different people: With Cynthia, an old friend I ran into, who told me that she had lost her husband Dan in a motorcycle accident years ago when they were both attending the Guzzi National Rally in Italy, TX. And the couple from Colorado that was telling stories about their motorcycle tour through India. And Rob Lentini, MOA tech wizard, with whom I had an argument via Internet years ago over the expression "Nazi-bike" that he had used in one of his postings. And the kid I had met the night before, who had been so proud of his brand new K1200RS and who wrecked it on Saturday's ride, straightening a curve. And to the LoE-beemer's president, who gave me a rally-pin he had found on the premises after I asked him if it was possible to order some more. Altogether, an interesting, good night.
Sunday's ride back was a lot more fun than the one two days earlier, since I stayed away from the Interstates most of the time. Instead, I took secondary roads crossing some very deserted, but beautiful territory. Although I have to admit that I had a weird feeling in the stomach sometimes when I passed through deserted areas, thinking about my bike's power surge problems at that time. Anyways, I made it home without incidents. The closer I got to the Sun City, though, the less appealing became the scenery. In the end, I was happy when I arrived home, greeted by big happy smiles in the faces of my (at that time) wife Chely and my little boy Colin.
The third weekend in May, 1999, my brother-in-law Thomas and I attended the 19th Annual Roadrunner Rally, held by PITS in Strawberry, AZ. This ride brought a new experience for me: Having ridden more than 100 Kmiles on various bikes, I never had a flat tire. Thomas, on the other hand, with rather limited riding experience, was "lucky" enough to punch a screw into his rear tire after owning the bike for only around 2,000 miles. We managed to get to the rally site, though, were the tire was replaced.
The rally itself was fun, with my purple tent surprisingly being one of the main attractions. Many people stopped by and asked where I purchased it. The comments reached all the way from "Does this thing come with maid service?" to "Oh, you park the bikes inside, too..."
