Check out the morning skies around Los Alamos, Espanola and Santa Fe Saturday morning. You never know what you will spy out there. Courtesy photo

BY RICHARD STURGEON
President/Founder
Jemez Riders RC

As many of you know, I work closely with the Motorcycle Safety Division of the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT).  With May just around the corner (May is Motorcycle Awareness Month), I was trying to come up with something new and exciting to raise motorcycle awareness throughout the state.  During a conversation with a staff member of the NMDOT, I found out that her cousin is a pilot who flies the Goodyear blimp out of Florida. 

It was fascinating listening to her talk about her cousin and all the cool places and events he’s worked.  She told me they are bringing the blimp out west for training purposes in late April and that they would be in New Mexico for 8 days. 

After a lengthy conversation, we came up with an idea of the blimp possibly flying the Albuquerque Box (the air flow phenomena that makes the Balloon Fiesta so successful) while towing one of the huge motorcycle shaped hot air balloons.  Luckily, one of those balloons happens to be owned by a New Mexico resident.  After some very hard work and negotiation, the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has agreed to participate in this as it will fulfill part of their intended training needs.  They have also agreed to fly the blimp and motorcycle north and float around Los Alamos, Santa Fe and Espanola.  Now that the Governor has signed HB 287, we can celebrate with this magnificent spectacle.

So watch the Saturday morning skies around Los Alamos, Espanola and Santa Fe!