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« on: June 23, 2019, 12:06:29 PM » |
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Ride to Taos, NM May 30, 2019 – June 16, 2019 Start mileage 71,013 End mileage 75,411 Total 4,398 Gas $329.47 Gallons 135.2 Avg m.p.g. 32.52 Avg gallon $2.44 38 stops for gas Most expensive gas $3.30 Newberry's Store Cimmaron, CO May 31, Day 1 met Mike in Iuka, MS. 365 miles Rode about 1.3 miles from my house and watched a log truck turn in front of me at a stop light turning to go west. I was going west! I hoped this wasn't an omen of things to come. Managed to get by the truck on an uphill with passing lane only to find myself behind a cement truck. That's just great. Not even 5 miles from home. Get past the cement truck and pull into my favorite overlook for a photo. Pulling out of the overlook I see the log and cement trucks approaching followed by a group of bikes. All entering an uphill with passing lane. The log truck passes and there's enough room for me to pull out before the cement truck gets to me. Power On! A quick 1,2,3 gears and I'm past the log truck and getting well to the right because the lead bike of the group is also passing the log truck and I don't want to impede it. He passes me and then the second bike squeezes by me as the passing lane ends. He nearly runs into the rear of the lead bike. Oh well I can just go through the curves ahead with the 2 ahead and about 6 or 7 behind me. The bikes behind are far enough back that I don't feel bad being “in” their group. We get to a straight away with passing lane and I overtake the 2 bikes and away I go headed west. Stop light and bike 1 pulls up behind me and bike 2 pulls up next to me. Doesn't acknowledge me. Lights go to green and bike 2 thunders away from the line. I'm on a long ride and I don't want to get into a pissing match only 25 miles from home. As the bike thunders he pulls sharply across the front of me I guess to make a point that he's ahead of me. I wave bike 1 by me so I know he won't run into me and we continue down the road with the other bikes a way behind me. Next stop light and bikes 1 and 2 are in the right lane and I'm in the left turning lane. Green light and they thunder off and I make my turn knowing that the road I'm taking will loop me around and place me in front of them. There's a stop light where the road I'm on rejoins the 4 lane and Oh Joy it's green for me and I can see the group approaching about half a mile away. That means they disregarded the 35 and 45 speed limits they had ridden through. Next stop light and I'm in the left lane. Car ahead of me and they are in the right lane with an SUV ahead of them. Green light, car goes and there's a safe gap I cut through to get ahead of the SUV in the right lane. Half a mile down the road and the 2 bikes thunder past me again and the big, fat, small brained plonker once again cuts in front of me. I can tell he's small brained because his helmet looks something like a tea cup would look on top of a giant octopus. The rest of the group also pass me and I'm quite happy to let them be my rabbits as this 4 lane is well patrolled. I tuck in behind them about a quarter mile back and away we go. Approaching Blue Ridge GA the group is in the left lane and there are a variety of vehicles in the right lane. Suddenly it's a Chinese fire drill mixed with the Keystone Cops as the 2 lead bikes stupidly force their way across the left lane to pull into a gas station. The lemmings behind do the same with much horn blaring from aggravated drivers. Quite an exciting start to a multi day trip and I'm only 64 miles from home. I'd stayed at the Victorian Inn in Iuka 14 years ago. I think the same carpet was on the floor. The place had become a dump. Note their claim on the wall above the green water swimming pool. https://www.relive.cc/view/rt10005503789 https://postimg.cc/gallery/ogdk91jk/ |
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« Last Edit: June 23, 2019, 05:43:33 PM by Britman »
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« Reply #1 on: June 23, 2019, 12:07:09 PM » |
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June 1. Day 2 rode to Hazen, AR to meet Joe, Punisher, Rodney, Roger and Lance. 264 miles. Mike had a new I Pad with him loaded with a routing program that he was pleased with. I told him my route to Hazen involved a bit of interstate and he should find an alternative. It was going to be a short mile day so a bit of back road exploring was on the cards. Some of the back roads sucked. As many undulations as a big caterpillar. Cut through the Old Miss campus. BBQ sandwich with coleslaw – pass on the slaw next time. Blew $20 in a casino near Tunica, MS. Crossed the mighty Mississippi on Hwy 49 south of Memphis and on to Hazen to find the others already at the Travel Inn which is conveniently located next to a Mexican restaurant, I 40 and a couple of gas stations. I was starting to feel like crap. No Relive route. The app had a hissy fit and wouldn't create the route. The people at Relive tried a couple of times to make it happen but no luck. https://postimg.cc/gallery/2v0g78u1c/ |
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« Reply #3 on: June 23, 2019, 12:08:01 PM » |
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June 3. Day 4. Stillwell, OK to Guymon, OK. 441 miles. Now I face Oklahoma. I've ridden across OK before but on a more northerly traverse. How do you cope with Oklahoma? You gas and go and repeat until you don't want to any more and then you find a motel. I spend abut 40 minutes under an overpass hiding from a thunderstorm. Then I have to make a big detour around another thunderstorm I can see ahead of me. The advantage to this big sky is that weather is easily visible. Gloss Mountain State Park was a surprise. This is flat Oklahoma. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloss_Mountain_State_Park I ride through Guymon looking for motels. There's one with an annexe named “Pub”. Sounds promising. Uh Oh, $130 for a room. Just across the road is a Super 8 $62 for a room. Score. I quickly clean up and enter the “Pub” tingling with anticipation. What a letdown. 2 beers on draft. Bud Light and something else. Bar stools that are high with no foot rests. No discernible A/C and the smell of old fried food. 2 beers, 1 tequila, some generic chips and salsa and time to check the veins on the back of my eyelids. https://www.relive.cc/view/rt10005581236 https://postimg.cc/gallery/22305z6z4/ |
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« Reply #4 on: June 23, 2019, 12:08:59 PM » |
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June 4, Day 5 Guymon, OK to Trinidad, CO. 321 miles Today I ride to the highest point in OK. How will it compare to the highest point in AR? Black Mesa State Park isn't very highest point inspiring. A few scattered camp sites, shower/toilet block and gazebos. I take a turn around the roads in the Park trying to find anything that is designated the highest point. Nothing! Another bust. Oh well, onwards to points west and north. A few miles down the road I see another sign for Black Mesa. Ah Ha! Could this be it? By George I do believe it is. That's a bit more impressive and what's even more impressive it that this Oklahoma bump is higher than Mt. Magazine in Arkansas. AR 2,753 feet - OK 4,973 feet. The Relive route from yesterday shows the incline across Oklahoma. Mission accomplished. https://goo.gl/maps/pX9TkLXh4YEcs9gUABack on the road I think I remember the route form a few years ago. Riding through Kenton OK I am pretty sure I remember the road as I pass what used to be the old town jail. Next I come to a really interesting looking geological formation and I don't remember this at all. I find out later it's called the “Wedding Cake”. A few miles further on and I'm at about 110 miles of used gas. Hmm. I do have nearly a gallon emergency in my saddlebag but it would be nice to know how far it is to the next gas station. Please remember I have a head full of crud and cotton wool and my non functioning brain doesn't prompt me to use the portable computer I have in my tank bag. So much for the technological age. If you can't think to use it you're screwed I guess. A road crew filling in potholes tells me that the road I think I remember riding before ends in about 5 or 6 miles and is then dirt for about 20 miles. I hate backtracking but 20 miles of dirt and a shrinking gas supply gives me no option. Darn it. Today was a first. 90 mph right between two massive storms. All I had was an arc of sunlight ahead of me as I rode north from Clayton, NM on Hwy 64 towards Raton, NM. 2 funnel clouds dropped out of the storm to the right and the clouds were so low I could feel damp tendrils on the back of my neck. Hellacious side wind had me hanging off the left side of the bike. Semi trailers were heeling like a sailboat. 38 miles and I squeaked through the gap as it closed behind me. It's good to ride. Cross into New Mexico and then Colorado. A quick stop at the top of Raton Pass for a photo and on to Trinidad. Trinidad simply because it's just after 5 pm and before this trip I had given myself a firm talking to and told myself I would start looking for motels at around 5 as I have found myself too many times looking for shelter as the sun is going down. This is supposed to be fun and not an endurance test as some of my previous rides have been. Some of the downtown Trinidad roads are surfaced with brick or block. Stopping at a stop light and placing my let foot on the ground I find that the road surface is as slick as water on ice. There has been a sand / grit mix brushed into the joints but the excess has been left as a thin layer. This time I do have the sense to use my phone for information . The cheapest is called the Downtown Motel and it's about $50 including taxes. My kinda budget price point. https://www.trinidaddowntownmotel.com/ The motel reception office is closed and a hand written sign on the door instructs to go to room 11 to find someone to open the office. Hmmm that's a marijuana plant growing in a pot outside room 11. Looks fairly healthy but needs re potting into a larger pot. I knock on the door and a young woman opens the door and asks if I have a reservation. Nope. OK off to reception. The verbal instructions I receive re check out, wifi etc also include “No smoking in the room – but weed is OK”. I'm not in Kansas anymore Toto! I'm given the key to the “Star Wars” room. So called because the bed has Star Wars sheets and a bean bag chair with a Star Wars throw on it. I can feel the force or is it the pervasive smell of weed? It's a classy joint and this is illustrated by the window mounted A/C unit. It works but struggles to cool the room. Outside some of the rooms are benches. Most of them occupied by weed smokers. My room has a bench and it's occupied. The bench is right under the window A/C unit. The intake is above the bench and the excess and exhaled weed smoke is being filtered by the A/C unit and coming into my room. https://www.relive.cc/view/rt10005598581 https://postimg.cc/gallery/f97705jk/ |
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« Reply #5 on: June 23, 2019, 12:09:44 PM » |
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June 5. Day 6 Trinidad, CO to Durango, CO 431 miles Last night the weather forecast warned of morning thunderstorms and my phone weather app warned of flash floods. So up and on the road to try and get away form the rain before it developed. A quick northerly scoot up I 25 to Walsenberg and then west through the front range keeps me dry. Right in South Fork on to Hwy 149 and I'm disappointed to see the amount of new buildings residential and rental that have been built since I was last here. The road has also been widened all the way to Creede. I take a ride through Creede and it too has changed and grown. Too much tourist stuff for me so back onto 149 and north to Lake City. Lake City looks the same. It must be just far enough away from those who would want to change it leaving it to those that appreciate this small pocket of older style Colorado back country. I stop at what I believe to be one of the prettiest views in this area of Colorado. The valley cradling the headwaters of the Rio Grande River. Two other riders also stop and I chat with them. The usual rider talk. Where from. Where going. Where been. How many miles. How many days. How long owned bike. Etc etc. As I pull away from the stop 2 other bikes come towards me and pull into the over look. They are both Valkyries. At any other time that would be unusual but with the annual Valkyrie rally starting a few days and a couple of hundred miles south in Taos it's not a surprise to see Valkyrie riders in this part of the USA. WHAT IS SURPRISING is that it's Bruce aka DDT and Gerry. Bruce is a Valkyrie riding legend. His bike has been ridden by him for about 650,000 miles. No that's not a typo and yes it's the correct amount of 0's. We've met quite a few times at various Valkyrie gatherings. They warn me that the summit of Slumgullion Pass is cold and wet so I put on my rain-gear. They spoke truthfully. It's so cold and wet that I get ice on my windshield and my temperature gage indicates 36F. There's still about 6 to 8 feet of snow. All the higher elevation rivers and streams I've seen are full with snow melt. And it's all going downhill to some areas where previous rain fall has created flooding. At the top of 149 I have two choices. East to Gunnison or west to Montrose. Mental coin flick and the lure of the Million Dollar Highway wins so Montrose here I come. I stop for lunch at McDonald's in Montrose for lunch. A couple of days before I had ordered a Southwest salad at another McD's and it was pretty good. Choice of crispy or grilled chicken. Its become my new lunch choice on this ride. Heading south but still in Montrose I see Mike headed north and by the time I can make a U turn he's nowhere in sight. Another mental coin toss. Stay in Montrose or ride the Million Dollar Highway and stay in Durango. I know from past experience that Ouray and Silverton are out of my accommodation budget. The weather gods are smiling on me and the radar doesn't show any rain from Montrose to Durango so Durango or bust it is. The Million Dollar Highway gets shorter every time I ride it. The most challenging spectacular section is only about 45 miles long. Montrose to Durango is 107 miles. The section of highway 550 once out of the mountains has also become built up with more lodges, condos and rentals. The road also widened. It's a long near 25 mile straight road grind to north Durango. DDT and Gerry had mentioned that they were aiming for Durango for the night as well so once I got into Durango I called them and found they were at a motel not far away. Rode to see them and found the motel was over budget and I found another cheaper up the road. Spent another fairly sleepless night trying to not cough up a lung. https://www.relive.cc/view/rt10005618470 https://postimg.cc/gallery/2f41n0ky8/ |
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« Reply #6 on: June 23, 2019, 12:10:28 PM » |
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June 6. Day 7. Durango to Taos, NM 223 miles Still feeling like crap I decide to cut short my meandering and head to Taos. I call to make sure the motel has a room to accommodate me for the extra days in addition to those I'd already booked. They can and I can go hole up, take some OTC medicine and try and get better. Having a more positive attitude in the morning I'd taken a look at a route and decided I would do a little meandering on the way. Rather than just take the most direct route I use Hwy 172 and 511 which will take me by Navajo Lake. What a good decision. The road is built for meandering speed. A steady 40 to 50 m.p.h. And some wonderful scenery. The Lake is an oasis in the middle of the scrubby desert. Turn left on to Hwy 64 and I can follow this road all the way to Taos. After Chama, NM 64 gains elevation up to nearly 10,500 feet. Coming down the mountain I can see a big thunderstorm ahead of to my right. Will I be able to zip past this one as well? As I get up to about 80 it looks like I will be able to creep by with only a few sprinkles of rain. But here on the curvy mountain roads it's not as easy as on the flat plains to calculate the vectors needed to achieve rain avoidance. My impulse to beat the storm is quickly thwarted as a lightning flash just ahead of me and instant boom of thunder has me hard on the brakes. So I dawdle at about 20 m.p.h. watching the edge of the storm move along just ahead of me and to my right. Sometimes the road brings me closer and I reduce speed to a crawl. Then the road angles away from the storm and I can resume my 20 m.p.h. dawdling. Now the storm has moved further off to the right and I seize the opportunity. Damn the storm and full speed ahead. At the junction of 64 and 285 I stop to look back at the massive bulk of the thunderclouds I scraped by. It looks like they are about 50 miles wide and still headed off to my right. Looking ahead towards Taos the sky is clear and I may be lucky and dry. All I have to do is ride out the arrow straight last 30 miles. https://www.relive.cc/view/rt10005633881 https://postimg.cc/gallery/m8s6bdjk/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_OY71A4uoo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvAyhBLf2z0&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0atOji0UeeY&feature=youtu.be |
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« Reply #7 on: June 23, 2019, 12:10:56 PM » |
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June 7, Day 9. 0 miles
Holed up in the motel feeling like crap. Still awake most of the night due to a persistent cough.
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« Reply #8 on: June 23, 2019, 12:11:31 PM » |
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June 8, Day 10. 48 miles Saturday I was feeling like crap but decided to go for a short ride. Headed south on Hwy 68 to go take a look at the Rio Grande river. I had seen a side road that meandered by the river and that would eventually bring me out near the Earthship community. https://taos.org/what-to-do/landmark-sites/earthship-biotecture/Then I crossed the river bridge and the road surface changed for the worse. I've been on worse so I continued onward and uphill. Ooops. I haven't been on anything like this before. There are lumps of old blacktop haphazardly protruding from the sandy, rocky surface. It's a new game for me "Dodge a Bump". I'm not very good at it and am bouncing like a bucking bronco. A BIG buck bounces me off the seat and I close the throttle, hit a shallow water gully and stall with a bang thump under the bike. Left leg strains as I fight to keep the bike upright. Dropping it to the left on this uneven surface will result in damage and the bike will be tilted downhill impossible to pick up. I AM NOT GOING TO DROP THIS THING. I AM NOT GOING TO DROP THIS THING RIGHT HERE. It's still upright. A river rafting guy in a pick up comes round the corner towards me. I flag him down and ask him if the road gets worse. He tells me I've covered the worse part. He lied. More likely his ignorance of riding a behemoth on a crap road surface. The last time I rode on a surface like this was on Moki Dugway on my ST1300. I stop on a relatively smooth uphill section for a breather and composure moment. Great view of the river below and a few rafters. Onwards and upwards. I flick up the kickstand and something doesn't feel right. There isn't that snug tight to the bike feel. Hmmmm? Off I go and I do an exploratory left foot kickstand feel. Well bugger, the darn thing is a bit floppy. What fun bouncing uphill and trying to keep the kickstand up with my left foot. At the top of the hill it's back to blacktop. I turn right back to Taos on Hwy 64 missing out on a visit to the Earthships to the West. Gearchange and secure kickstand. Gearchange and secure kickstand. Gearchange and secure kickstand. Gearchange and secure kickstand. Gearchange and secure kickstand. Gearchange and secure kickstand. What a pain in the butt. Made it back to the motel. Text Allen/Punisher about my problem and he tells me he will help investigate and fix tomorrow after he arrives in Taos. Thanks to someone posting on the forum about their bolt problem I had ordered a new one and had it securely stowed in my saddlebag. I'm not thinking very well due to a head full of congestion left over from the cold and hacking cough I developed at the beginning of the journey west. I need more medicinal relief so I take a short ride up to Walgreen's. Riding back into the motel parking lot I see my kickstand spring in the parking space I was using. Both ends are undamaged. Phew. https://postimg.cc/gallery/1mt3z2zv4/https://www.relive.cc/view/rt10005670503 Hwy 507 south of Taos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLVu6Xi5guE&feature=youtu.be |
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« Last Edit: June 27, 2019, 04:30:14 PM by Britman »
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« Reply #9 on: June 23, 2019, 12:12:00 PM » |
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June 9, Day 11. 0 miles. Coughing and waiting to fix kickstand spring bolt.
Allen came to my motel and his wrenching along with Mitch's advice make the bolt removal and replacement a 20 minute job. I contribute by sitting on the bike and leaning it to the right to give Allen a little more access.
The spring is stretched using a small pair of pliers.
If you are riding without a replacement bolt and spring. DON'T DO IT.
I am also going to follow the advice of others and make a doohickey from a wire coat hanger so a bungee cord can be used to keep the kickstand up if needed. The wire is used so a bungee cord wouldn't make contact with the hot exhaust pipe.
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« Reply #11 on: June 23, 2019, 12:13:30 PM » |
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June 11 ,Day 12. Taos, Red River loop. 193 miles A few of us gathered to ride a loop I had suggested. Smokin Joe had been given a page from a local magazine with the same loop. “The Enchanted Circle”. First I took them up to the Taos Ski Valley Resort. Joe had mentioned wanting to visit Wheeler Peak,the highest peak in New Mexico. Unfortunately the paved road took us to within about 3 miles. I didn't want to ask riders I didn't know if they wanted to continue on what looked like fairly well kept dirt roads and quite frankly my recent“adventure” had left me a tad gun shy of dirt roads. The rest of the pre lunch roads were pretty good with some straight aways until we got back into the mountains. We ended up at a cattle guard followed by a dirt road. A passing driver in a pick up told us that we shouldn't go any further. It was lunch time so we backtracked to a restaurant we had passed which had some Valkyrie bikes parked out front back in Angel Fire. https://zebsrestaurantandbar.com/ A very cool place and used to serving groups. I had the smoked sausage lunch plate which was very good and the others in the group seemed to enjoy their meals as well. I managed to work out my route faux pas so we headed out and took the previously missed, clearly marked right turn! Hwy 434 took us down the mountain running next to another creek full of water and I think it was fortunate I had missed the turn because lunch stops were pretty scare apart from a few rough looking local bars in the small towns we passed through. Then the road got straight again and I followed along behind a local in a pickup running 10 over the speed limit. Once we turned back towards Taos on 518 the road started gaining elevation again and we stopped at an overlook for photographs. Then back to Taos. I returned to Walgreen's to try a different decongestant. The pills I had previously bought proved to be very ineffective. I would thoroughly recommend the Vick's Vapocool I bought. I felt better within 24 hours. https://vicks.com/en-us/shop-products/dayquil/dayquil-severe-vapocool-daytime-cough-cold-and-flu-relief-12-fl-oz/ https://www.relive.cc/view/rt10005749258 https://postimg.cc/gallery/3cvqlpl3k/ |
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« Reply #12 on: June 23, 2019, 12:13:57 PM » |
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June 12, Day 13. Los Alamos ride 196 miles. The new decongestant made a marked improvement and I was up early to get laundry done. Mike had mentioned wanting to ride to Los Alamos so Mike, Joe, Preston, Roger and myself headed out at about 9. Mike had his BIG GPS operating and we followed the blue line route he had programmed. On the way Joe pulled over and suggested we go look at the Rio Grande canyon in White Rock, NM. Why not? His small GPS took us to a residential cul de sac. We could see the canyon but there was no access. While the others tried to work out access I rode further along the road and found a trail head that would take us to the canyon rim. After a short walk of a couple of hundred yards we were treated to a pretty spectacular view from right at the canyons edge. Then on to Los Alamos. Mikes route took us into the Los Alamos National Laboratory area itself and we had to pass through a security check point and show our ID's. I know a couple of the group may have been a tad nervous as they were carrying prohibited items. No one got locked up. We ended up in downtown Los Alamos and the rest of the group decided to visit the Bradbury Science Museum. I didn't want to be in a town so I headed back towards Taos. On the way I passed a sign for the Puye Cliff Dwellings http://www.puyecliffdwellings.com/ A mile down the road I turned around headed back. I've been to Mesa Verde and was hoping this would be similar. The entrance to the park was pretty impressive so I was hopeful. Hope was dashed as I pulled up near to the visitor center. I couldn't get to the center because it was a rough dirt road but I could see some of the dwelling holes in the nearby cliff face. Nothing on the scale of Mesa Verde. It was a fairly step walk up to the dwelling holes, I didn't want to do it in full bike gear and wearing riding boots. On the way back out of the park I was able to stop and get what Smokin Joe calls a “money shot” photograph of my bike. Parked across the width of the road with a long straightaway behind visually leading to some cloud covered mountains in the distance. The rest of the ride back to Taos was uneventful https://www.relive.cc/view/rt10005766899 https://postimg.cc/gallery/19cl5xngw/Rio Grande River gorge. White Rock, NM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=py10i8KycM8&feature=youtu.be |
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« Reply #13 on: June 23, 2019, 12:15:10 PM » |
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June 13, Day 14 Taos easy day
Having heard other riders glowing recommendations for Michaels restaurant I suggested we go for breakfast. What was going to be just 4 of us morphed in to 7. Dana, Wayne, Allen, Sweet Cheeks, Mike, Roger and myself. Once again no one had anything bad to say about the food or service. The people of Taos seemed pretty friendly and the business's I encountered were set up to service the tourists efficiently.
After breakfast I headed back to my motel to get packed ready for departure in the morning. My plan had been to go to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Mt. Evans and Pikes Peak on the way home.
I decided I had seen enough big holes in the ground and I've been to the North Rim before. I'd seen some photos taken by Roger and Joe of Zion. I had been surprised how green it looked. My previous visits had been during a dry spell and the park had been revealed in its full naked geological glory, Their photos showed greenery spread thought the park covering up a lot of the rock faces. The weather service forecast rain for the next 2 days for around Denver and I'd seen Wayne's photos showing the crowded parking lot at the top of Pike Peak so I passed on that. In addition I was still feeling cruddy and hadn't been sleeping well. So homeward it was to be.
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« Reply #14 on: June 23, 2019, 12:15:34 PM » |
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June 14. Day 15 Taos, NM to Enid, OK. 488 miles Hwy 64 east out of Taos goes up and over the mountains. 40F at the top and I had to use my left hand for about 50 miles to shield my eyes from the low morning sun. The Cimmaron Canyon section was beautiful but I had my deerdar on full alert. The rushing creek close to the road trees and undergrowth had me on high alert for deer and elk. Once clear of the mountains it's a long, flat, slow decline across eastern New Mexico into Oklahoma. Gas and GO! Holy Moly once you've ridden a few hundred miles across Oklahoma and then you are going to ride a few hundred miles more it really does get flat and straaaaaaaaaight. I rode, I stopped for gas and then I repeated that. Uneventful all the way to Enid. https://www.relive.cc/view/rt10005802268 https://postimg.cc/gallery/ezourbbk/ |
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« Reply #15 on: June 23, 2019, 12:16:05 PM » |
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June 15, Day 16 Enid OK to Decatur, AL. 747 miles Another plan change. I had been going to ride Hwy 412 all the way across Oklahoma and on to Dyersburg Tennessee. The local radar showed rain ahead on the route I was going to take. I didn't want to catch up to it nor have to dawdle behind it. So I headed southeasterly towards Oklahoma City and I 40. Full gas tank and away we go to enjoy the excitement of interstate riding. It soon become apparent that I'm approaching a fair sized city as the increasing numbers of drivers around me are going faster and driving more haphazardly. Oklahoma City, Fort Smith, Little Rock and Memphis, the drivers all exhibit the same erratic behavior. I've been out of metro Atlanta for a year and this style of city driving is something I've been accustomed to for many years still takes some getting used to. Once through and beyond the city limits those of us there for the long haul get back to “normal” driving. Being courteous, letting drivers pull out to overtake slower vehicles etc. Nothing aggressive. I wonder what those that study rats in mazes would make of the difference in the city versus distance drivers. I'm cruising at a comfortable speed for me and my bike. I slowly catch up with 3 other bikes and well if it isn't that riding legend Bruce again. He's riding third behind Gerry and Allen. I give them a cheery wave and press on. I was thinking of tucking in behind Bruce and rolling with them for a while but “I got a fever and the only prescription is MORE MILES”. Stopping for gas about every 100 – 110 miles gives me a chance to stretch my legs and fill my bottle from the half gallon Igloo cooler I have in my left saddlebag. The cooler has been invaluable. Fill it with ice and water in the morning and I have cool water all day. I make a couple of wrong turns in Memphis and end up riding on a city street from downtown Memphis out the east side to Collierville. This wastes about half an hour and I do some reckoning and realize that my target of Huntsville for the night isn't feasible before dark. As I roll towards Decatur I have a full moon rising in front of me and the setting sun sometimes blinding me in my mirrors. 8 gas stops later and I've crossed eastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi and two thirds of Alabama. Night falls as I finish unpacking my bike at the roach motel. Ooops I mean Motel 6 which I do find is a roach motel in the morning finding a couple in the bathtub, one on the floor and one on my hand as I'm getting dressed. https://www.relive.cc/view/rt10005829834https://postimg.cc/gallery/39c0zos9c/ |
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« Last Edit: June 23, 2019, 01:10:40 PM by Britman »
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« Reply #16 on: June 23, 2019, 12:16:33 PM » |
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June 16, Day 17 Decatur, AL to Clayton, GA 293 miles Up early again and one final day to home. It feels good to be back in the soft folds of the tree covered southern Appalachians. Muscle memory helps me get back into the constant need to lean from bend to bend rather than the upright posture of the past 3 days. A stop at Two Wheels of Suches for lunch and then the final 90 miutes to home. Relive made a straight line from west of Calhoun to lunch in Suches. I can assure you that section of the days ride bears absolutley no resemblance to a road in Oklahoma. https://www.relive.cc/view/rt10005857331 https://postimg.cc/gallery/n65tlwr4/ |
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« Reply #17 on: June 23, 2019, 12:18:28 PM » |
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Taos, the main road through town, Hwy 64, SUCKED. Bumps, holes, grooves and barely discernible road markings.
Memphis some of your roads suck and your drivers suck twice.
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hubcapsc
Member
Posts: 16799
upstate
South Carolina
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« Reply #18 on: June 23, 2019, 12:54:06 PM » |
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Taos, the main road through town, Hwy 64, SUCKED. Bumps, holes, grooves and barely discernible road markings.
The back road was OK  ... -Mike |
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« Reply #19 on: June 23, 2019, 12:56:25 PM » |
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Taos, the main road through town, Hwy 64, SUCKED. Bumps, holes, grooves and barely discernible road markings.
The back road was OK ... -Mike  |
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Oss
Member
Posts: 12760
The lower Hudson Valley
Ossining NY Chapter Rep VRCCDS0141
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« Reply #20 on: June 23, 2019, 01:04:27 PM » |
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sorry you spent so much time under the weather
It is truly satisfying to know you missed a big storm, a tornado or lightning
Those that dont ride dont understand
Thanks for taking the time to put up the report
Oss
Not one of the cool kids but I get around
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If you don't know where your going any road will take you there
George Harrison
When you come to the fork in the road, take it
Yogi Berra (Don't send it to me C.O.D.)
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Valkorado
Member
Posts: 10513
VRCC DS 0242
Gunnison, Colorado (7,703') Here there be twisties.
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« Reply #21 on: June 23, 2019, 01:08:03 PM » |
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Great report Britman! Gas at Newberry's? You must have been on fumes.  |
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Have you ever noticed when you're feeling really good, there's always a pigeon that'll come sh!t on your hood? - John Prine 97 Tourer "Silver Bullet" 01 Interstate "Ruby"  |
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baldo
Member
Posts: 6961
Youbetcha
Cape Cod, MA
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« Reply #22 on: June 23, 2019, 01:13:52 PM » |
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Nice writeup. I lost track early on as to where we'd been.
Serk's Google map thingy is excellent to show where you've been. I've been able to zoom right down the our campsite in several instances.
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« Reply #23 on: June 23, 2019, 01:14:59 PM » |
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Great report Britman! Gas at Newberry's? You must have been on fumes. I had my emergency nearly a gallon in my right saddlebag and only spent $10 there. |
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« Reply #24 on: June 23, 2019, 01:18:26 PM » |
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Nice writeup. I lost track early on as to where we'd been.
Serk's Google map thingy is excellent to show where you've been. I've been able to zoom right down the our campsite in several instances.
The Relive app is a good reminderer (I know, no such word). Can be a bit of a phone power hog so I bought a $10 battery pack which provided plenty of power all day. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0779YFP8M/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 |
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T.P.
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« Reply #26 on: June 23, 2019, 03:46:51 PM » |
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HEY BRITMAN, GREAT ride report!! After many Inzane's I finally got to meet up with you. Enjoy the Minnesota wild rice. https://lundsandbyerlys.com/category/recipes/?s=wild+riceT.P. |
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"Well you can call me T, or you can call me P, or you can call me T.P. but you doesn't hasta call me Toilet Paper"
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« Reply #27 on: June 23, 2019, 05:04:24 PM » |
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DDT (12)
Member
Posts: 4120
Sometimes ya just gotta go...
Winter Springs, FL - Occasionally...
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« Reply #28 on: June 24, 2019, 05:59:49 AM » |
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Paul,
Great report! It was great to have our paths cross a couple of times, also. Funny, I too had an adventure in Memphis! After Allan, Jerry, and I split-up, I did what I often do... missed a turn and ended up on surface streets, just as you did! Oh well, all part of it, I reckon... Anyway, thanks for posting your experiences, and for triggering memories for the rest of us!
DDT
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Don't just dream it... LIVE IT!
See ya down the road...
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« Reply #29 on: June 24, 2019, 06:34:35 AM » |
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I missed 5 happenings.
I managed to get 2 different train engineers to sound their horn when I was riding alongside a track and doing a kids arm pump.
A crop duster flew over OK Hwy 412 really low banked to the right. I stood up and gave the pilot a big wave. They wing waggled in return.
I twice gestured to a semi driver that there was a problem with one of their trailer tires/wheels. Each time there was blue smoke coming over the tire/wheel. Both pulled over to check.
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« Reply #30 on: June 24, 2019, 06:36:04 AM » |
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Reb saw an elk and a wolverine when riding close to Taos.. I saw some prairie dogs and a baby bunny rabbit in the road.  |
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« Reply #31 on: June 24, 2019, 06:39:51 AM » |
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Paul,
Great report! It was great to have our paths cross a couple of times, also. Funny, I too had an adventure in Memphis! After Allan, Jerry, and I split-up, I did what I often do... missed a turn and ended up on surface streets, just as you did! Oh well, all part of it, I reckon... Anyway, thanks for posting your experiences, and for triggering memories for the rest of us!
DDT
I went back and took a look at my route faux-pas. I actually went 4 miles less but it must have cost me 30 minutes at least. |
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hubcapsc
Member
Posts: 16799
upstate
South Carolina
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« Reply #32 on: June 24, 2019, 07:49:07 AM » |
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Reb saw an elk and a wolverine when riding close to Taos.. I saw some prairie dogs and a baby bunny rabbit in the road. I saw an extremely large thing that looked like a lama when I was coming into Taos on 64 the first day, he was practically standing in the road... -Mike |
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valknation
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« Reply #33 on: June 24, 2019, 12:33:20 PM » |
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This is a great report and a great read. I love reading ride reports of people's trips. Just sorry you weren't feeling 100 percent on the ride.
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rocketray
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« Reply #34 on: June 24, 2019, 12:42:02 PM » |
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thanx for the post...just couldn't get away from the shop....someday..
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« Reply #35 on: June 25, 2019, 05:44:20 AM » |
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While moseying along on day 2 with Mike I asked him to ride next to me. 3rd gear, 2,000 rpm Count of 3 whack the throttle open. I wanted to see what the difference really was between the 2 engines. So 1 2 3 Mike just goes away from me and I laughed. I asked him if that was full power and he gave a little shake of his head. OK. Let's try it again. 1 2 3 And Mike GOES AWAY from me. Quite a difference. We both have full saddlebags and a trunk fitted. I do have a personal weight penalty  but not enough to handicap my bike that much. |
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« Last Edit: June 26, 2019, 06:36:40 PM by Britman »
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« Reply #36 on: June 26, 2019, 06:02:16 PM » |
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New at start of the trip. 4,500 miles later.  This is the portion facing forward on the rack behind me. |
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Wizzard
Member
Posts: 4043
Bald River Falls
Valparaiso IN
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« Reply #37 on: June 27, 2019, 09:40:40 AM » |
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Great report. I enjoyed that. Thanks for sharing |
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 VRCC # 24157 |
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henry 008
Member
Posts: 1538
BRP
willard, oh
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« Reply #38 on: June 27, 2019, 11:14:25 AM » |
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Safe Winds... Brother  |
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hubcapsc
Member
Posts: 16799
upstate
South Carolina
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« Reply #39 on: June 27, 2019, 11:52:09 AM » |
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Did anyone take a picture of the 12 of us out in the parking lot
changing my brake pads?
-Mike
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