[Ducati] Albequerque?

[Peter Bonner]

Scott,

Well, as someone said, the spelling is a bit different than what you wrote,
but that's ok, because the name of the town is not spelled correctly anyway.
The town was originally named for the Duke of Alburquerque, but the first
"r" was dropped due to a spelling error, and thus the town is known as
Albuquerque.

Altho I am currently stuck in Texas, due to work, and its not bad here,
being in the hill country, so it is similar to your climate, but Bob Marren
makes a great point, it is the hottest, dryest place on earth, except of
course for west texas, most of arizona, southern calif. and other places
like that. However the worst part about Albuquerque is all the
californicators moving there in search of a better climate and cheaper
houses, with the result being housing prices are getting quite high in Alb.

Now if your idea of paradise is that 95% humidity and temperature that Bob
has down in Florida, you may be uncomfortable in Albuquerque because you
won't feel like you should take a shower every couple of hours if you spend
time outside. That dry climate just wicks the moisture off and if you get in
the shade, you will feel comfortable even when temps reach 90s. Sun vs shade
is definitely different temps. It's not as cold feeling as Nashville in the
winter, and not as hot feeling in the summer, but you do get the seasons,
and occasional snow in town, altho it usually is melted by noon. From the
center of town, you can drive 20 minutes, catch a tram, and be ready to ski
down a 10,500 ft mountain in winter, but play golf in the morning before you
go. Its a bit longer drive to the ocean for surfing however. As someone
noted, Taos (one of the premier resorts) is nearby, altho more like 140
miles for skiing, but Santa Fe has good skiing and is 80 miles away. Local
New Mexico style cuisine is unlike any sort of Mexican food you will find
elsewhere, and many won't settle for anything but NM style. It sure beats
Tex-Mex for my palate, but experiences vary.  And yes, Tom Rolland, the
Buckle King lives there too. So you could just order up a complete set of
buckles in person. If you don't have one of Tom's buckles, shame on you,
they are a real necessity for Ducatisti.

As for dealers, you have one of the best Ducati dealers in the Southwest,
PJ's Ducati-Triumph dealership right there in Albuquerque. On the west side
of town is a race track, which is not great for bikes (too many walls) but a
short version is used by the Sandia Motorcycle Racing Inc., which is based
in Albuquerque (not Santa Fe), however a much better track is available down
south in Deming, NM with the Arroyo Seca Motorcycle Association. SMRI and
ASMA have a joint season of sorts, with some events at each track for racing
plus track days.

Plenty of real mountains (not those foothill things back east in TN) which
means if you miss a curve, you might not be seen again, but lots of curves
of course.

Year round riding is possible, in younger days, I commuted daily on my Moto
Guzzi, putting 110k miles on in three years, BUT a couple of times, it
seemed a bit chilly going by the bank clock/temp sign and seeing 8 degrees
or so. However in any month during winter, there will be some days when it
will be warm enough to ride. During the summer, it is always more
comfortable for riding there than it is here in Texas, where we get humidity
above 60 % along with temps in the 90s.

If you like green grass and stuff, you won't see that much, like back east
in TN.

Suggest you check housing prices etc to see if the salary will support the
move.

Peter


Message: 7
Date: Fri, 06 Apr 2007 09:02:44 -0400
From: Bob Marren <bmarren at bellsouth.net>
Subject: Re: [Ducati] Albequerque?
To: Ducati Owners Group <ducati at ducati.net>
Message-ID: <461644F4.7040409 at bellsouth.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Scott Cloninger wrote:

>Fellow Ducatisti,
>
>I'm currently considering a job offer in Albequerque, NM.  Any of you guys
live in that area?  How's the riding around there?  How long is the riding
season?  Any tracks nearby?  Do I need snake-proof leathers?  Is there a
decent dealer in the area?
>
>All help is greatly appreciated,
>
>Scott, dont do it. Thats the hottest, dryest place on earth. After what
>
>
you have in the tri-state area you will be miserable. Bob