Day 9: Holbrook, AZ to Tucumcari, NM (via Santa Fe) – Sinking Asphalt, Miraculous Stairs, and Jet-Skiing Harleys
What a day on the road! Day 9 of our Route 66 100th Anniversary tour saw us tackling fierce crosswinds, soaking in centuries of Southwest history, dodging asphalt traps, and riding under a massive double-arched rainbow.
From the mountain air of Santa Fe down to the classic neon glow of Tucumcari, this was a day for the record books.
0500 Kickstands Up & Crazy Drivers
We got kickstands up at 5:00 AM to stay ahead of the scorching Southwest sun. We made a quick run to Gallup to top off our tanks, then pushed through the Bluewater Village area toward Albuquerque. The desert crosswinds were brutal today, buffeting the bikes and keeping us leaning hard into the gusts just to stay in our lanes.
We veered north at Albuquerque, taking a quick breather at Thunderbird Harley-Davidson.
As we got closer to Santa Fe, we witnessed one of the most insane pieces of driving any of us have ever seen. The car right in front of us completely missed its exit, slammed on the brakes, almost got rear-ended by a car in the right lane, slammed onto the shoulder, and then drove straight down a steep grass embankment, across the huge median, and onto the missed exit ramp. Absolute nut job!
We rolled into Wicked West Harley-Davidson in Santa Fe to grab our official check-in photos before riding tight and close as a pack into downtown Santa Fe to hunt for some lunch.
Miraculous Stairs, Car Shows, and Asphalt Traps
After a few loops through the tight streets, we scored some parking in downtown Santa Fe and took a short walk over to the Loretto Chapel.
Built in 1873 and designed by Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy, it’s the first Gothic building west of the Mississippi. But the real attraction inside is the famous Miraculous Staircase—a wooden spiral staircase that makes two complete 360-degree turns up to the choir loft with no central pole and zero side supports. It completely defies engineering logic! The nuns actually had to request handrails years later because climbing it was so nerve-wracking.
For lunch, we hit The Shed. New Mexico loves its green chiles, and lunch was incredible—though we were a little bummed they didn’t have sopapillas on the menu today.
On the walk back to the bikes through the center square, we stumbled right into an impromptu classic car show. Tyler was in absolute heaven, shouting out models left and right:
- ’65 Chevelle!
- ’68 Corvette Stingray!
- Datsun 240Z!
- Chevy C10!
The standout for me was a wild 1964 Saab with a custom flame paint job. It had a plaque on the firewall showing it won “Best of Show” back in 2017—definitely not something you see every day.
When we got back across the street to the parking lot, my heart dropped into my stomach. From a distance, I thought someone had backed into my bike and knocked it over. As I ran up to it, I realized what was actually happening: my kickstand had sunk three inches deep directly into the melted asphalt! The bike was leaning at a terrifying angle and was probably 30 minutes away from flopping flat on the ground. We looked it up later—asphalt has to hit over 120°F to get that soft. Bullet dodged!
Rainbows and “Jet-Skiing” through Tucumcari
Leaving the Santa Fe Square, we picked up the original Route 66 alignment, taking NM Highway 104 through sprawling mountain ranches. The scenery was unreal—gorgeous green valleys framed by sweeping peaks.
Storm clouds were brewing all around us, and the lightning to the south was dancing like wild across the sky. By the time we pulled into Tucumcari, the main storm had passed, but the streets were still slick. Just as we crossed the city limits, the clouds parted to reveal the biggest, widest, most vibrant full-arch rainbow any of us had ever seen.
Because of the heavy downpour right before we arrived, a massive puddle had pooled up across the main road into town. Billy yelled over the comms, “Stay left, stay left!”—but Tyler had other plans. He aimed his bike dead center and plowed straight through it at speed, throwing a double-side wave of water like a jet ski! He yanked his feet up so high his boots were practically higher than his handlebars. Jet ski baby!
Motel Safari & The Restaurant Adventure
Tonight, we’re checked into the iconic Motel Safari—located right across the street from the Blue Swallow Motel where we stayed a few nights ago. Opened in 1959, the Safari has been in continuous operation on the Mother Road for over 66 years, packed with retro mid-century charm.
By dinner time, we were all dead on our feet. Only three restaurants were open nearby. We weren’t in the mood for pizza or Mexican, so we decided to mix it up and try the local Chinese restaurant.
The guy at the front desk warned us it was “a little rough on the outside, but good.” He wasn’t kidding. The very first thing that greeted us in the entryway was a dead fish floating at the top of the lobby aquarium.
At that point, exhaustion had fully set in. We were in that slap-happy state where everything is funny. When the waitress came over and asked Billy why they hadn’t eaten their soup, his brain just completely bypassed all social filter and he deadpanned: “‘Cause it didn’t taste good.”
We laughed non-stop through the rest of dinner—that deep, uncontrollable belly laugh that only comes from being completely worn out after nine hard days in the saddle.
We wrapped up the night with a quick gas station run for some beef jerky and Dr Pepper for “second dinner,” and now it’s time to crash.
Another incredible day on Route 66 in the books. Catch you all on the flip side!
