2021 LOEBMWR RIDER CHALLENGE "FIRE STATIONS" IS STARTING NOWEmbedded into nearly every community in New Mexico is a group of volunteer, and in some cases paid, firemen and EMT/Paramedics that are the first responders to cover our emergency events. Hopefully our contact on the job with them will never happen, or will go smoothly if possible. These folks operate out of a wide range of facilities. There are unmarked metal sheds with big garage doors and no signage on them that serve to house the equipment in the smallest communities. In some cases there are beautiful multi-bay brick stations with living quarters, event halls, and very nice equipment. At times these are shared with other municipal organizations like the police. Big or small, they all deserve our recognition for what they provide. These stations are the subject of the 2021 Riding Challenge.
I tried to choose stations that were on roads that are fun to ride. I intentionally omitted the Northwest corner solely on the basis of probable continued Reservation closures. The Southeastern part of the state was largely omitted like last year as the roads are still in disrepair and overused by the oil industry. Some of the stations are pretty obscure and it might require a stop to ask a local where to find it, but the attached files below here should be pretty helpful. If you plan to navigate using Lat/long coordinates the waypoints would have to be loaded into your device using the GPX file.
The contest is open as soon as you read this, provided we have gotten to placing the files at the bottom of this posting. All entries are to be submitted by midnite Sunday November 14th, 2021 in order to be counted. As per the customary "rules", you must submit a photo of you and your bike at the station, which has to be recognizable in the photo. Send the photos to me at
RidingChallenge@LOEBMWR.org. Winners will be announced at the Christmas Party which is hopefully in early December. You can check on the progress of club members on the "scoresheet" at
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19kSgTXLYu2o2-Mt9LJ-DJLzreP7KmgP45oM4356WjZE/edit?usp=sharingWhile you're at the stations, you might encounter some of the First Responders. If so, be sure to thank them for the work they do. They are folks with families and jobs in many cases, and they have opened their lives to being interrupted by emergencies at all hours of the day and night. The next guy they rescue off the roadside could be you or I. Make 'em happy.
Check this forum thread from time to time for any updates or corrections. And PLEASE, if you encounter any issues such as stations which have been eliminated or road closures, post those on either the Facebook Page of the club
https://www.facebook.com/groups/loebmwr/ or on this forum thread.
Have fun. Ride Safely. Take a buddy. It's not a race, but a fun event meant to give meaning to our otherwise aimless wanderings. You must be a member of the LOEBMWR in order to win prizes, but of course anyone can submit photos of successful rides. You can join online at
https://loebmwr.org/JoinRenew.aspx for a mere $35. The free lunch for two at the Christmas Party is worth more than that!
Ride on! richard Strohmeyer
Google Map link at:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1E11QW87bwGevs2p9ocpfI5t8GQSh0KxP&usp=sharingGoogle info sheet at:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ISufLi2TcjlEynC2R7NxtyGxBSf_Vq8QsCv5mQMofK4/edit?usp=sharingKMZ file to open in Google Earth:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o5qaVNMgxTl0skUFsUgel0YJb4HnLAag/view?usp=sharingGpx file for Gaia and Basecamp at:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t5UitSWh3cay1LozUyfYgEj5featAnA7/view?usp=sharingPlagiarized copy of Sandy's instructions on downloading a GPX file to your Garmin GPS device:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AgF2B16RtK44IQSBZ6vp6ILz56O21IyN/view?usp=sharing