License Day

Hi All

Well!! What a day!! Spent all day wrangling bureaucrats. But it was a success in the end.

The idea was to get the bike registered and insured in my name. The rego cannot be done without insurance and the insurance cannot be done without a local license.

So it was down to the DMV in Cottonwood Plaza. Front up with a mountain of paperwork that they immediately photocopied into three mountains. Then decided they wanted more info, so we had to go back to the house and get more. Back again and after traipsing up and down the office from window to window - then repeating the whole process because they got my DOB incorrect - they finally issued me a brand new New Mexico drivers license with motorcycle endorsement. Because they felt sorry for me they didn't confiscate my original Qld license.

So by now it was lunchtime and the insurance office in another part of town was closed, we had lunch ourselves. Down to the Insirance and the agent - Tim - a really nice bloke - organised and re-organised the application until he brought it from $427 to $273. Not bad for full comprehensive with $1000 excess on a GoldWing for a year. Couldn't get shorter time, but I'm not complaining.

Then it was back to the good old DMV - this time on the bikes - and once again took a number and waited. And Waited. Hint: if you want anything done in the Albuquerque DMV, get there in the morning. After another two hours we finally got the girl to come out and check the VIN and Eng No. Then back in to complete another mountain or paper and hand over the long-awaited-for plate. And now John G knows why we hang around shopping malls.

We felt great.

Then it was off to a Mexican restaurant for a celebratory dinner.  Boy they like their chili hot in Albuquerque!

So that is all the bureaucratic stuff out of the way.  Now the holiday can begin in earnest.  Tomorrow we have a meetup breakfast with a bunch of Albuquerque Goldwing riders, then spend the rest of the day preparing the bike and trailer.

Saturday we depart Albuquerque for the west coast.

Baxter Court, Albuquerque

BRed with the new plate

Both New mexico bikes

Jack tightens up the bolts

Plate numbers match the bike - we worked all day for this.

Time to suit up and ride

We're off

Do we look proud?

Riding in Albuquerque

For Ulysses Forum people - the translation from spanish is "Go to the Norty Corner" - or something like that.

Crossing the Rio Grande

Check out the sideways traffic lights