A little danger on NM 502 (Part 1)

"Where does this road go?" It is a great game for a traveling day. And sometimes serendipity plays and awesome role as it did on a recent winter day just north of Santa Fe. During the winter the high temperatures in the area often linger in the mid 20's for extended periods. However, an occasional window will open up and provide a bright, clear sunlit day where one can gear up and pretend the riding season is not really over.





Actual beautiful, non-tagged road art.


One of the pleasures of living and riding in northern New Mexico is that the slabs and the highways are actually made pleasant to look at which to me is pretty stunning. As a long time resident of central and southern California it is so pleasant not to have a bunch of inconsiderate "taggers" mucking up every public surface with their stupid gang signs.



Nice curves and great scenery greet the rider on US-285N just out of Santa Fe.

Actually the slab riding up here can be downright pleasant as there are lots of mountains and the engineers chose not to blast every curve out of existence.

In keeping with the theme of let's see where this road goes mentality, in this community and surrounding area it pays to keep your eyes and awareness open to small things that are easy to miss.



A case in point being the Cottonwood Gallery just off of NM502 on the way to Los Alamos, sometimes called Atomic City. On an scantily marked dirt side road, one drives on what is little more than a dirt side road to a modest looking faux adobe structure. Waking through the door is a significant surprise. Inside is a very modern, yet intimate and comfortable working gallery inside what used to be a large private dwelling.



The road to the Cotton Wood Gallery

We will get to the danger aspect in part II

Road Show Christmas Podcast and Music Show

As the end of the year approaches and Christmas is a few days away our minds naturally turn reflective and look towards hope and renewal as well. Perhaps because most of us are not in a position to acquire material things to trade with each other the focus seems to be largely turning towards making or remaking connections with our friends and loved ones. In this spirit I took a little break from obsessing on motorcycles and turned towards the language of music to communicate the spirit of the season and hopefully bring a little extra joy to those around me.

In that same spirit I want to share the same joy and communication with our Road Show family. However in keeping with the focus of Road Show Podcast it also seemed appropriate to have something about motorcycles included in show.

In this sense I was fortunate enough to connect with David Woodby a biker, writer and web publisher from Panama City, FL. Woodby seemed like a natural choice to spotlight on this Christmas episode because of the helpful and supportive nature of his websites.



David Woodby Panama City, FL motorcycle examiner




Woodby and his wife started the website panamacitymetro.com a number of years ago as a service to help stranded travelers connect with hard to find resources such as shelter, medical care, clothing, etc. As an ex-soldier and area police officer he was well positioned to have access to this type of information. This website has been tremendously successful and its attitude of giving is very much in the Christmas spirt.

Woodby recently launched another website which really takes the form of on online magazine. His panhandlebiker.com website features events and things of interest to the riding community and is updated almost daily. Anybody in the area or thinking of traveling to an event there should check it out.

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About the music: I first had the idea to do this album back in October with grand plans to do an entire CD's worth. As the project progressed and demands on my time and technical problems increased it became clear the scope of the endeavor would have to be severly cut back. I very much like the idea of re-arranging Christmas songs in different settings without disturbing the integrity of the original melody, at least too much. I also thought it appropriate to compose at least one original piece that captured, at least through the lens of my experience, my personal feelings about being in Santa Fe at this time of year.

Credits: Heartfelt thanks go out to two special people who helped this project come together. Mike Ferenci who played all the guitar tracks from his studio in Los Angeles.



Ace guitarist and producer Michael Ferenci ponders a mix from his LA studio.


I also want to thank my great friend and overall master musician/mixer Raul Duarte who contributed valuable advice on mixing and instrumentation.

Of course many thanks belong to my wife Patti who continues to support the whole process.

The tracks you heard on the show are all available for free MP3 download at my music website. I hope they bring you some pleasure and joy.

Merry Christmas to all...

Cameron Weckerley (bmweerman)

Tribal Trouble

On a cold sunny day not too long ago the task befell on me to deliver a motorcycle to a customer living in the no man's land between Santa Fe and Los Alamos. The customer to whom the bike was being delivered wad, well interesting. The map the shop manager gave me was a good one, but a lot of the little roads and small communities out barely show up on them at all if at all. So here I am driving the company truck with a motorcycle in the back looking for nonexistent information on a map and trying to read these funky little county road signs. I keep pulling over to call the customer who sometimes answers the phone and sometimes does not and gives conflicting directions. OK, you get the idea.

I had just pulled back out on to the road when the dreaded flashing lights showed up behind me. I had no idea what I had done wrong but I dutifully pulled over. Seems I had run a stop sign which I did not see, and honestly, could barely see it even after the "cop" had pulled me over.

Here I must digress for a moment. One of the things that is unusual about this area of New Mexico is how the land is divided up piecemeal between United States property and Tribal Indian lands more commonly known as pueblos.



Above is an overall map of New Mexico tribal areas. For a more detailed map click here


Turns out when I got the ticket I found out I had actually been stopped by the tribal police who have jurisdiction even on public roads they happen to cross pueblo land. The traffic tickets they hand out do not go on your driving record nor are they reported to your insurance which is a good thing, but they still cost you. However, the information the tribal police and justice system gives you about how to clear things up is incomplete and misleading.

Initially the officer told me that I had to go to court, in Pojoaque no less, then he said I could just pay the $60.00 fine. Ok great, but wait, you have to show in in court even if you just want to admit guilt and pay the fine. I did a mental double-take on that one and asked for clarification and was assured that indeed, yes, one does have to show up to court just to plead guilty and pay the fine. The paperwork (ticket) I was handed seemed to confirm this.

Two week later I had to take the morning off from work and drive from Santa Fe to Pojoague, checkbook in hand, to sit out my court appearance and pay my fine. When I walked into the tribal justice building there on the left was a little window with a large sign that said, "pay traffic fines here." As it turns out you can go to the justice center any day of the week during business hours and handle your fines or, I also found out, you can indeed just MAIL THEM IN! No one in the system will tell you any of this in advance of course. But wait, they have one final trick up their sleeve. They only take cashiers or certified checks, not cash, no credit cards, nothing. Another fact that appears nowhere on the paperwork or will anyone tell you. Which means you either have to go to one of the local grocery stores and pay an overpriced fee to get a certified check, provided you have the right kind of debit card or cash, or go somewhere else to get one. The other option being, which is the one I chose, just go home and get a cashiers check from your own bank at mail it in which is what you could have done the first place.

Is there a point to this rather long rant? Yes there is, two in fact. First, be very careful when driving on tribal lands, the local lawmen are just out there waiting to pop you for the slightest infringement. Second, if do get busted just get a certified check and mail it in! Of course one could try to fight it in tribal court, but given my experience that seems like it would be a pointless venture.