This event was a self-led ride. The basic plan was for riders to form their own groups, get themselves to Ruidoso, NM on Saturday, June 6th, and then start riding the NM BDR the following morning. There was no registration, no event fee, no swag. I provided recommended logistics consisting of dates, times, hotels, dinner spots, and a route that consisted of six days of riding a clockwise loop of New Mexico. Everything else was up to each group.
Here's what the 6 day riding plan looked like:
The first four days the route followed the NM BDR route. However, the BDRs are designed as point-to-point, meaning you start the BDR in one place and end the BDR somewhere else, hundreds of miles away. For example, the NM BDR starts in Dell City, Texas and ends in Antonito, Colorado. Clearly, that wouldn't work since most of us trailered our bikes to NM from Texas and needed the ride to end back in Ruidoso.
I did not particularly want to ride three hundred highway miles on my KTM 500 EXC from CO back to Ruidoso so I designed a course that eliminated the first and last sections of the BDR (the first section from Dell City, TX to Ruidoso, NM and the last section from Abiqui, NM to Antonito, CO). Days 5 & 6 deviated from the BDR and took us back to the Ruidoso on the a mix of dirt and pavement.
Day 0: travelling to Ruidoso
Tricepilot Bob and myself trailered our KTM 500 EXCs from his place just outside of San Antonio to Ruidoso. There isn't much to talk about - it was an 11 hour drive (for me) across the western half of the Great State of Texas.
Loaded up and ready to go
"He's the man."
"No, he's the man."
Random gas stop somewhere along the way.
You've heard of vehicles being held together with duct tape and bailing wire? Those fabled vehicles exist as evidenced by this photo. Except for the bailing wire. He didn't have any that I could see.
There was a flurry of activity at the Quality Inn in Ruidoso. A bunch of riders arrived before us and it seemed every rider was in the process of preparing for an early morning departure the next day.
It could have been a KTM/Husqvarna convention! I've been organzing rides and rallies for a long time (about 15 years) and when I first started the mighty and long-lived Kawasaki KLR 650 was the most popular vehicle at any event. It was common for 1/3 or so of all the bikes at one of my rallies to be the KLR. That is no longer the case. Instead, KTM and Husqvarna (which is owned by KTM) have taken over as the most common manufacturer. Those guys must be doing something right.
The Quality Inn was a nice place with interesting decor.
20 riders showed up for the group dinner at K-Bob's steakhouse. I estimate about 30 riders in all attended some or all of this event.
We observed social distancing by sitting at tables of 6...
...or less.
Don't feel bad for Kubota Mike in the above picture. Others joined him shortly after I took that photo.
We would be crossing the desert tomorrow and were worried about the heat (reported to have been 114 degrees just a few days earlier). Our plan was stands up at 7 am so we could arrive in Truth or Consequences, NM before the hottest part of the afternoon. We all agreed to make it an early night, so after dinner we headed back to the hotel. I was in bed by 10 pm.
Welcome to the Two Wheeled Texans community! 
Feel free to hang out and lurk as long as you like. However, we would like to encourage you to 
. Some was justified.
