Albuquerque to DC and Back

[puppychow]

Forgetting the guy who lends you his FJR to finish the IBR no less. Says a lot..
Butt.... Let's give him the benefit of the doubt..and not jump to conclusions.

EDIT - Because we are good guys like that...or since it's Friday -> ******* BMW guys!!

 

[HotRodZilla]

Day 9:

On Tuesday night, some decisions had to be made. We were still 1400 miles from home, and we were getting anxious. It didn't help that the guys were tired and somewhat dehydrated. Why? Because they didn't listen to me, but more on that in a minute. I was getting to the point that I wanted to be home also. I missed my wife and kids. Knocking out a 700 mile day on backroads would be hard, so the decision was made to take 72, I think, and hit I-40. Our goal would be Henryetta, where is where we stayed the first night on our way out. This was good, because I knew we could make it home from there. I also knew riding 700 miles back towards home is easier because of the time changes.

We were up early again, and on the bikes by 0700. We were scheduled for a stop at the Nashville HD shop, because Paul needed a shirt; again. Lol...We hit the road and made it to I-40 without incident. Then the ******** all came out at once. I'm not sure what was going on, but people were jerks. The first was some truck driver that was on our ass. The concerning thing about that is I was riding in back. I had space, and moved over, and he did the exact same thing to Paul. As he passed Paul, the guy got the one-finger salute. Then something weird happened. As the truck passed the other bikes, something bounced off the road and bounced off my windshield. Weird thing is, it was almost soft. I saw three or four of them. I couldn't tell if they were big tree seed pods coming from his empty flat-bed trailer, or if he was tossing Ping-Pong balls out of the passenger window. Later they guys commented that he was dropping rocks off the trailer, but whatever hit my shield was not a rock. Hell, maybe they were pieces of Styrofoam from an earlier shipment. Either way, I was glad to see him go. Next up was a lady who parked about 4 feet of the back of a semi, only going 60. She wouldn't move, wouldn't slow, wouldn't pass, she just cruised there. I was surprised the first two bikes squeezed through that small space, but they did, so we all did. She got the salute from me as I got in front of her. Last I saw, she was still parked there with a funeral procession of cars lining up behind her. A few other cars decided it was a great idea to pass us as fast as they could in the right lane, just to end up behind a semi, and realize we were all behind a slow car, but making a pass. A couple actually tried to move between the bikes, but Paul and I weren't having it. The last clown of the day was a lady that came up and was on my ass. I'm betting she was no more than 3 feet off my real wheel. I sped up a hair and just touched my brake lever, to maybe help her wake up. I couldn't go anywhere, as we were all trapped by slower trucks and traffic in front of us. That didn't help, so I did it again. All she did was try to make up the space, so I got pissed, downshifted two gears, so I had good power and grabbed a handful of brake. She nearly smoked them trying to stop, and then got 10 feet off my rear wheel. GAWD...I hate drivers!! Finally, we hit an open spot, so we were able to move. Third person of the day to get the salute. These clowns were ruining my mojo. Haha. When she passed, the entire passenger side of her POS van was crashed, so it was obvious she drives like **** on a regular basis.

We got into Nashville soon enough and made it to the HD shop, but not before getting stuck at a RR crossing where the longest train in the world was going through at 5mph. Cars were backed up for blocks, and people were turning around. Holy Hell...After getting past that, we made our stop and Paul got his shirt. The ride was pretty uneventful until we crossed the Mississippi leaving Memphis. That's when the wind started. Not just regular wind, but wind with 50mph gusts. This was not unexpected as the radar was showing a storm moving northeast in the area. I knew it wasn't going to be too long, but we were stuck with it. Paul was leading at that point, when we ran into an issue. The issue was he was going 75-80 in the posted 70 zone, but Todd and Craig were only going 58. OMG...I wanted to choke someone out. The slower we went, the longer we had to deal with the wind. Also, AR has lots of tree cover, so we would come to a section of trees nearly a mile long that blocked 90% of the wind, but they wouldn't speed up. I don't remember when we passed the wind and got a little rain, but I thanked God and we moved along. At the next gas stop, Paul and Todd had a conversation I didn't witness. Apparently, Paul told Todd he wouldn't lead anymore, and talked about the problems of trying to lead a group that won't stay together. We obviously have different rules in the twisty stuff, and everyone needs to ride their own ride, but this is long, straight BS, and the lead rider is trying to judge cars and passing, which is hard, when two guys fall a half mile behind the leader and then a half mile away from each other. Todd led the rest of the way, and all was fine.

On the way out, we had passed lake Eufaula in Oklahoma. On the east side of the lake is a road called, "Lottawatta Rd." We laughed at that because Paul is from Oklahoma, and the only thing dummer than Texans are Oklahomans. We laughed about how they came up with that name. I could just picture some old Okie drinking with his friends, saying, "Well, hows we gonna keeps from gettin lost? We can call it Fishin'Hole Rd." Another Okie says, "But I don't fish there, and I don't know where the holes is. Oooh, hows about 'GitYerTruckStuck Rd?' That happened to me last year." Yet another, "Nope, lets call it 'BoatsAreUsefulHere Rd." Finally the smartest of the group says, "Well, boys, whats about "Lottawatta Rd."' There is a lottawatta out there in them thar hills. Lots of fish and snakes too, but ain't no body gonna remember that." Whatever...Either way, we saw the sign on the way out, and I forgot about it until we saw the warning for the exit ramp, on the way back. Paul pointed at it, and I was cussing myself for missing the picture. Then I remembered there would be a sign at the exit. I wonder if I'm part Okie?? So, as the sign came up, I was losing the fight with getting my camera out of my tank bag at speed, so I just pulled over. I grabbed a quick shot, that ended up being partially blurred by the sun...Dammit...and then I had to catch up. Well, we all know FJRs are good at catching up, and mine is no slouch, so I may have broken the speed limit catching that group at a very good FJR Nominal speed. I told Paul I got a picture, and he hadn't even realized I was gone. Haha...

The delays on the road put us into Henryetta at 8pm. We had talked about eating at the same pizza place we ate at on the way out that had a pizza buffet. However, the buffet ended at 8, so we went across the street to Braum's. The place wasn't packed at all, and we got quick food. I decided I wanted a shake or ice cream, so I went and got into the line. NOW people were showing up. The guy behind me, that actually let me into the line in front of him had 6 SIX daughters that were coming in in waves. AND, I thought God was mad at me. Sheesh. The crazy lady in front of me ordered two shakes, and that was the last time I saw the cashier guy. I stood there for what seemed like 10 minutes. I finally said, "Screw it, I don't need ice cream anyway, and this isn't worth waiting for." I walked out of line, we gathered our stuff and hit our hotel. As we were walking out, the line for ice cream was to the door. Screw that!! I was happy to be off the bike. Freeway droning sucks!!

We made our plans for morning and decided 0730 would work, as we knew our time-line from the trip out there. We also knew we gained an hour, so we figured it would work great. Of course, Paul and I yapped until midnight again, and finally went to sleep.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Forgetting the guy who lends you his FJR to finish the IBR no less. Says a lot..Butt.... Let's give him the benefit of the doubt and not jump to conclusions.

I tried to like your post, but I'm out. I hate it when that happens. Haha...Maybe he was just off. Out with his wife, not expecting to have to remember something and then someone blasts him with an off the wall question.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Day 10...Finally (Last day!!)

So this was the one day I didn't mind being up kind of early. 0630 is my usual wake-up time anyway, and having only an hour time difference, it was like being up at 0530. Still not bad, considering the day before was 0330. We had breakfast and loaded up the bikes. Turned out poor Todd didn't get the 0730 memo and had been ready to go since 0630. He said he gets up at 0500 every day anyway, but I apologized anyway. Poor dude, just hanging out, waiting for the rest of us to get the Hell up. Craig ended up asking Paul for a funnel, because his 2017 HD with less than 5k miles needed oil. I guess having an HD is a lesson in periodic maintenance, because I have seldom looked at my oil level on a trip. I know it was full when I left, and I know it will be full when I get home. However, I decided to look, just for the Hell of it, and I'll be darned, it was exactly were it was the day I did the change. I have 65,000 more miles on my FJR than that HD Screaming Eagle has, and I don't burn a drop of oil. They blame the oil consumption on the hard twisty riding, but my bike saw mostly 2nd and 3rd gear all day, and ran high revs. That's what bikes are supposed to built for. Some guys like "character." I'm totally good without it. "Boring" and reliable as all Hell is good enough for me!!

We hit the road, and went into the same routine. Todd leading, and me in the back. We passed Oklahoma City, and the dammed wind started. Not quite as bad as yesterday's, but more head-on, which made it use more fuel. That wasn't good with the lead bike only making 120 miles on a tank, especially as we gained our altitude back. Sure enough, 99 miles later, we were stopping. DAMMIT!! As we fueled up and got to talking, Todd mentioned that Clinton OK, where we were had a tornado warning earlier. Just great. Haha...I went into the store, and when I came out, Paul pointed directly next door, showing me the Yamaha dealership sign. We all laughed because I kept making comments about needing to find a Yamaha dealership. Then he said, "It only took us 3800 miles to find one." And I retorted, "Yeah, but we haven't needed one." Todd, who rides the Vulcan was nearly rolling on the ground ,and Craig just said, "Oooooh." Then I toned it down, because I didn't want to jinx anything. Last thing we needed was some stupid bike issue, no matter what brand. Haha...Of course, my bike made the entire trip without a hiccup.

Back on the road, and the effing wind got worse. In case you don't know, I hate the mutherfu*&^&&*&^%$ sonf of a bi*&^%##$%^ wind. F&*^ the wind. Todd laughed later when I pointed out, its not good for ****. It breaks stuff. We can't run, ride, shoot, get on a roof, or even fly a frigging kite in the wind. It's as destructive as it wants to be, and is ALWAYS blowing the wrong way. Why couldn't we get a tail-wind?? That has NEVER happened. It's always blowing in our faces, and 5 million miles an hour, beating the crap out of us and ruining our gas mileage. There wasn't really any choice, either ride in the wind, or stay sitting where we were, so at 72mph, and stopping every 100 miles, we droned back home.

A few incidents during this trip got me thinking. Remember I said the guys were tired and dehydrated after all the twisties, and they had to slow dramatically for the wind? We also got some rain, which also slowed them down. I will admit, at almost every gas stop, I was the last one ready to go. Why? Because I had to put in my earbuds, put on my helmet, put on my gloves, and put on my Camelbak. I wore good gloves, a full face helmet, always had my Sure 215s in my ears, keeping the wind out, and always had my good jacket on. The other guys all had half-helmet brain buckets, cheesy gloves, sometimes no jacket, no hydration, and no ear plugs. This wasn't all of them all the time. Paul has a cup holder on his bike, and smokes and drinks while he rides. At least he drinks. Craig made it almost the first day, before he started plugging his ears. Paul took along his Nolan modular, but only wore it in the rain and when the wind got bad. The funny thing is, when it came to ride time, I was the only one who never needed to slow down. It could have hailed, and it wouldn't have mattered to me, because I was dressed for it. Craig actually went to CycleGear in DC and bought a 3/4 helmet for the rain, and he didn't take it out of the box until the last day. The amount of time they slowed up the trip due to being ill prepared was exponentially more than the extra minute or two they waited for me at gas stops. I also began to learn the signs of them being ready to gear up, so I would start then, and actually ended up waiting for them.

The 100 mile gas stops were killing me, and our time. When I travel, I usually stop every 200-250. I hit the restroom, top off my CamelBak and maybe eat. This only happens every few hours. On this trip, EVERY stop was a cigarette, a call to someone, a trip to the head, a snack to buy, and 20 minutes we didn't need to spend. A couple times, I didn't even take my helmet off, and jumped back on the bike, only to realize they were all going inside. I need to find a way to limit those shenanigans to every-other stop next time. We'll see...

We stopped in Amarillo for gas and lunch. After lunch, we finally got to NM. This is where I usually bring the speed up and run about 95. I can smell home from there, and there's no reason to putz around. Not this time, we had to stop in Tucumcari for fuel. The bitch of the wind was, I was only getting like 30mpg too, so it was going to force me into an extra stop, no matter what we did. We rode from Tucumcari 100 miles Milagro. The goal was Clines Corners, but that was about 120, and Todd didn't think he could make it. The pumps in Milagro are OLD. They also face north and south between the store and the freeway, so cars getting fuel are parked facing either east or west. I parked facing west, and hung my helmet on my mirror, like I always do. Because the pumps are old, they don't have card readers, so we had to go into the store to pay for gas. Because of this, I forgot to put my bike on the center stand, like normal. Normally, I get off, remove my gloves, put the bike on the stand, remove my tank bag, and then remove my helmet, or just fuel up and then take my helmet off after I move my bike. However, I don't go into stores with my helmet on, so I took it off, out of order. I went inside, gave the lady my card, and went back to my bike. I went to put it on the stand, and the wind caught my helmet and blew it off the bike. I still use a Scorpion EXO1000 that has the round shield removal disks on the sides. I saw the helmet hit the ground, and followed something as it blew and bounced to about 60 yards away. When I found it, it was one of the disks. Dammit...Thankfully, it popped right back on, and nothing seemed broken. Scratched my tinted shield, and basically pissed me off. Now, I was mad, and wanted to be home. I was tired of the wind. However, this was the only stop, where every one was off, gassed, and back on, ready to go!

We left there, and knew home was right at 90 miles. It was slow, but we were moving along, until we got into Albuquerque, where we were treated to a traffic back-up due to a crash. 4424 miles, and where did we see the ONLY crash of the trip? 9 miles from my front door. I'm not sure what's wrong with people in Albuquerque. They drive like ****. Albuquerque is small enough, that under most circumstances, we can be from just about anywhere to just about anywhere in about 15 minutes. If traffic is busy, maybe 20 or 30, but it's not bad. I can't figure out how these ********* can't pop their heads out of their ***** for 15 minutes. EVERY day, there are crashes in the same spots, all caused by people who have no business driving. Writing tickets doesn't help, because these people breed and their dysfunctional offspring drive the same way.

We got through that, and it was clear sailing to the driveway. Parked the bike in the driveway, and checked the mileage. We had a good ride, and I had fun with my friends. I was super glad to be home, and couldn't wait to see my wife and kids. I opened the garage, and...Nothing. My wife's car was gone, and the house was empty. Haha...Of course it was. In a previous post, I explained they were all everywhere, so it took a little bit, but one by one I found them.

AND, that is it. I got up late this morning and planned to change my oil, as I am almost at 5k miles on this change. I said the Hell with that and didn't even really look at my bike. It can sit for a day or two, and then I'll do some maintenance it needs. For now, I have about 200 emails I need to catch up on, and have to get some work done this week. I'm gonna spend a lot of time in my office, which I don't really enjoy, but it makes being away from my office easier.

Thanks for reading, and the comments. Those were the only reason I wrote nearly every night. Especially, THANK YOU to the guys that bought t-shirts or donated money. That money kept a bunch of stuff off my card, and kept the actual out of pocket for the trip very low. I paid for gas off my card, but that was just for simplicity. I'm betting gas was no more than about $250. Not bad, considering the mileage and the number of days we were gone. The guys were impressed by how many shirts I sold, and were super happy that they were all over the country. You guys rock!!

 

[Teehaml]

I enjoyed reading about your adventure to the east coast and all the one finger salutes and grabbing a fistful of brakes in front of the tailgaters. Around here they have the #77 number to report all you "Aggressive Driver's".

 

[gregory]

Great RR AJ, thanks for taking us along.

 

[HotRodZilla]

I enjoyed reading about your adventure to the east coast and all the one finger salutes and grabbing a fistful of brakes in front of the tailgaters. Around here they have the #77 number to report all you "Aggressive Driver's". :to_keep_order:

What's funny is, in all those miles, only one car got brake checked, and the only salutes were on that one morning. Even those drivers in Virginia didn't warrant that, except the one. Doing that stuff on a MC falls into the "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes" catagory. We're like horses. The only real defense we have is to run away, which is why I had shifted to 3rd before I braked on that lady. If she hadn't of responded, I knew I had the power to get moving quickly.

I just don't get tailgating on the open freeway. An entire huge open road, and people think riding someone's ass will get them there .0000035 seconds faster. It makes me crazy. Honestly, except for a couple very isolated incidents, 99% of the drivers we came across were super cool.

Driving tests need to be more often and more thorough. Lol...

 

[hppants]

I enjoyed the details of the narrative. We've never ridden together, but from your description, we would ride well together. I get your frustration regarding the differences between the others and yourself, but I also applaud your patience and compromising demeanor.

I find slower traffic holding me up in the twisties is more prevalent in the Appalachians that in the Ozarks. In my experience, those razorbacks move over.

 

[TripperMike]

This adventure/trip of your's was a riot to read about AJ. Thanks so much for posting. I'm still trying to come to grips with the fact that the first half of reports were all done from your phone.

Glad you guys all got home safely. See ya down the road bud.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

I enjoyed the details of the narrative. We've never ridden together, but from your description, we would ride well together. I get your frustration regarding the differences between the others and yourself, but I also applaud your patience and compromising demeanor.
I find slower traffic holding me up in the twisties is more prevalent in the Appalachians that in the Ozarks. In my experience, those razorbacks move over.

And just what are you implying here? Your little 6 day ride to California just got extended by at least two days. I am gonna take my time at each stop, I am gonna have trouble with my gloves, I am gonna be slow with my helmet, I am gonna be souvenir shopping...

Just kidding. I will only be slow in the twisty sections.

 

[weluvbikn]

Thanks for the journey !

 

[dcarver]

Since it looked like it was going to get physical, I did the mature thing and picked which guy I was going to hit first.

You can ride with me anytime, AJ. Love it. Damn fine read too. Well done mi amigo.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Since it looked like it was going to get physical, I did the mature thing and picked which guy I was going to hit first.
You can ride with me anytime, AJ. Love it. Damn fine read too. Well done mi amigo.

What I liked about that was his complete confidence that he was going to take that one out and move on. Not everyone understands that level of confidence or how it is won.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Since it looked like it was going to get physical, I did the mature thing and picked which guy I was going to hit first.

You can ride with me anytime, AJ. Love it. Damn fine read too. Well done mi amigo.

What I liked about that was his complete confidence that he was going to take that one out and move on. Not everyone understands that level of confidence or how it is won.

That level of confidence is going to get me some broken teeth one day. There's always someone bigger/badder/meaner. Being more diplomatic would probably suite me better.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Since it looked like it was going to get physical, I did the mature thing and picked which guy I was going to hit first.

You can ride with me anytime, AJ. Love it. Damn fine read too. Well done mi amigo.

What I liked about that was his complete confidence that he was going to take that one out and move on. Not everyone understands that level of confidence or how it is won.

That level of confidence is going to get me some broken teeth one day. There's always someone bigger/badder/meaner. Being more diplomatic would probably suite me better.

Which is exactly why I have one fake front tooth.

 

[dcarver]

Since it looked like it was going to get physical, I did the mature thing and picked which guy I was going to hit first.

You can ride with me anytime, AJ. Love it. Damn fine read too. Well done mi amigo.

What I liked about that was his complete confidence that he was going to take that one out and move on. Not everyone understands that level of confidence or how it is won.

That level of confidence is going to get me some broken teeth one day. There's always someone bigger/badder/meaner. Being more diplomatic would probably suite me better.

Which is exactly why I have one fake front tooth.

Soooo then.. do you first remove the fake tooth before punching the phucker? :rofl:

 

[Laser Dude]

Since it looked like it was going to get physical, I did the mature thing and picked which guy I was going to hit first.

You can ride with me anytime, AJ. Love it. Damn fine read too. Well done mi amigo.

What I liked about that was his complete confidence that he was going to take that one out and move on. Not everyone understands that level of confidence or how it is won.

That level of confidence is going to get me some broken teeth one day. There's always someone bigger/badder/meaner. Being more diplomatic would probably suite me better.

In this day and time, it's more than likely to get you shot than punched. People are nuts these days.

 

[Uncle Hud]

HotRodZilla posted: I'm pretty sure two of those guys don't want to be my motorcycle friends anymore.

That's pretty funny, but I know what you mean. Inevitably, I end up talking to guys who assure me they like to ride long distance .... until they see my Iron Butt license plate frame. (That license plate frame isn't pretentious, it eliminates a lot of unnecessary chit-chat.)

 

[airboss]

Happened at MoonShine. Talking to an HD rider who was telling all about their epic poker run all the way from Chicago to MoonShine.

Then he noticed he was standing between a BMW GS with New York plates and an FJR with Arizona plates, then he got Quiet, then he left.

Doesn't always take an IBA plate backer to cut the BS, but it helps.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Hahaha...The entire department is in an uproar about how we RODE all the way to DC and back. Some are talking about how they can't even drive that far. I'm getting props for doing it on a "sport bike" instead of a comfortable cruiser. Because cruisers are built for that sort of thing, I guess. REALLY?!?!?!? People and their backwoods beliefs about motorcycles make me laugh. The Motorcompany has apparently done a VERY good job. Sheesh!!