jocko87
Well-known member
Many of you know I put my 05 down at SFO in Eureka Springs the last weekend in April. I didn't hurt myself very much, but I needed a new bike. Not normally a big deal, except I wanted another 05 and had a huge trip planned starting the middle of May. Damn, time to start shopping. I found the bike I ended up buying before I left Eureka Springs but with it in California and me in Kansas the negotiations were slow and careful. I finally flew into John Wayne Airport in San Something, Ca and picked up my new 05. It is nicely farkled with a power commander, Autocom, risers, Stainless brake and Clutch lines along with Galfer rotors, Corbin Seat, Cal-Sci windscreen and Givi Trunk among other things. Very nice but approx 31K miles instead of the 7K I had on the first bike...oh well. Anyway, the bike is nice so I leave from Lake Forest, CA for a gorilla run to Wichita. I had slapped on my Zumo the handlebar temporaraly and was on the way.
Nothing exciting happened on this trip, unless you find excitement in cold rain. The route was east on I-10, north on 89 in AZ (which should have been much more fun) east on I-40 and up to Kansas on 50/54. Just about the most boring route that you could find. The only excitement was running 89 in a storm and dropping a saddlebag trying to get raingear. I thought I would scout 89 for the up coming trip but literally 10-15mph in sections was no fun. Watching your saddlebag slide down a hilll is no fun either.
Anyway, sometimes motorcycling is not the most fun. 1400+ miles of basically pure hell, but whatever, I'd be back.
I arrived in Wichita with exactly one week to get ready for my most epic journey. A few things needed done but nothing out of the ordinary. Permanent Zumo install, sliders (because they worked well the first time), Vista cruise, my new Bill Mayer seat, setting up the Autocom and new tires because cords are bad. A few test rides to work and I was ready to roll.
For a little background on this trip, my riding buddy from back home (riding together since the big-wheels era) his mom lives in Lake Havasu City, I have a pool tournament in Vegas :friends: bingo, a trip is born. We had actually planned to visit his mom 3-4 years ago on the bikes but somebody had trouble with Johnny Law that involved a license and a long period of time, but I digress.
The original plan was for me to leave Wichita and Steve to leave Gillette and meet in Fort Collins, where my Aunt and Uncle live. Tornados, hail and snow in the mountains forced a meeting in Pueblo instead. Continuation of the miserable riding I was used to. I ran in rain and gale force crosswinds with a little hail mixed in for variety. Steve ran in rain and gale force headwinds and was forced off the road for a period of time by hail in Colorado Springs. We finally met up at a Denny's in Pueblo for coffee, route planning and catching up on old times. It was decided by the weather report to get south and west as soon as possible. Destination for the next day was set as Flagstaff with a Grand Canyon detour, 660 odd miles.
The next day the sun came up bright and warm for what seemed like the first time in weeks and we headed south toward Walsenburg where we turned west on HWY 160 and the Wolf Creek Pass. We couldn't see the top of the mountains and we knew we were in a for a tough crossing. Starting at about 5-6000 feet we started to see piles of snow in the hills and combined with the creek along the road it was one of the most beautiful areas I've ever seen. I was I had stopped for more pictures. Just short of the ski area the snow started coming down in bunches and was piling pretty good on the road. We stopped near the ski area for some gear changes and some pictures, not to mention the tire chains...
The riding was very sketchy the rest of the way up and for about 5 miles on the way down as much of the road did not have any bare spots with 3-4 inches of slush on the road. We made it without incident (I'm getting the hang of the wet riding thing) and fortunately this would be the last weather we would deal with the entire trip.
Continuing on 160 to the west on good roads and good weather we made good time until west of Pagosa Springs where we ran in to this Guy Two up on a Wing, he slowed and waved us by just as the road was getting good. I thought nothing of it and continued at what Steve and I call a spirited pace on the way to Durango for lunch. 5-10 minutes later I notice a Gold Wing riding in formation with us and having no problem keeping up. We weren't trying to lose him but I'm not sure we could have if we wanted to. I was confused that he would putt along and wave us by, only to crank it up and be right on our asses? Using me for a front door? To close for that I'd think. He followed us to Durango and a gas stop where he showed us a fancy camera setup and asked for my email to send me some video. No shit? Cool. I gave him my address and forgot about it. After we got back from our trips, he sent me a DVD and loaded the video Here Pretty cool to see yourself on video, the quality of the DVD is muchmuch better.
The rest of the day was uneventful, stopping at four corners and skipping the Grand Canyon with intentions of going out in Flagstaff which is a very good party town if you've never been. We each had a huge bottle of Arrogant Bastard Ale at 7.2% and decided sleep was more important than partying and we would catch up later.
Sunday saw us spend half the day on 89 and 89A south of Flag. Parts of the road in the park area were crowded being Memorial day weekend but the really good sections of road all seemed to be void of traffic as we flew though some of the best riding I've ever had. It was as though the motorcycle gods felt they owed us for the miserable weather we had endured and blessed us with fair skys and empty roads in all the right places.
The downside of such great riding is the lack of pictures taken, it was not until after we got to the desert and bored that I got the clicker going. See the whole reel of pics here.
We cruised into Lake Havasu from the south and litteraly fell into the pool and a cocktail and started to unwind. My tournament started on Tuesday and I wasn't about to leave the pool until then.
The next 5 days were a whirlwind of playing pool, booze, sitting by the pool, food, shows, booze and debauchery. There are only a few pictures of this time and this is a good thing.
There were a few mentionable riding moments in these few days however. A day ride in Lake Mead recreation area and the Valley of Fire state park is not to be missed if you are in the area. The majority of the Lake Mead road is brand new and a tremendous ride. It slows down some on the north end where the old pavement is so bumpy and cracked it was scary in some places. The Valley of Fire was awesome and I was able to take many more pictures. We saw the Hoover dam and the new bypass which is very impressive and not a bad road either. Old route 66 though Oatman and Laughlin was nice, deserted and a pretty cool ride.
We each made some seperate and joint trips between Havasu and Vegas as our schedules allowed and ended up in Havasu again to relax by the pool and ready for the trip home. Leaving out of Havasu at first light with a destination of Moab and the Cisco Canyon road we were able to stop at the Grand Canyon that we missed on the way down. 600+ miles with half of it being kinda boring until we joined up with 163 north to Monument Valley and 191 the rest of the way to Moab. We went hungry except for some nachos because apparently Utah closes at 7:30.
The next morning, after a big breakfast, we toured the Arches National Park and headed NE out of Moab on Hwy 128, the Cisco Canyon Road. Traffic was heavy with some construction activity but the ride was still good, very scenic with a few curves as it followed the Colorado River. We joined I-70 and headed east for some 150 miles of some pretty decent slab riding until we headed north at Rifle, CO on Hwy 13. The road looks straight as an arrow on a map but we met many bikes coming out so it had some promise. It turned out to be a very decent road with lots of sweepers through some very pretty mountain valleys. We finished the day on Hwy 40 to Steamboat Springs.
The thing we noticed most about Colorado was how wet it was, mountain runoff and rains combined to make for some very interesting side roads. Barns were under water and low roads were swamped everywhere.
In Steamboat we relaxed, got the hot meal we were yearning for and settled in for some good drinking and a good hockey game--triple overtime.
The next day we took our time riding Hwy 40 over the Cameron Pass and Hwy 14 into Fort Collins which is a ride I would highly recommend with lots of great views and curves. We stopped for some nice pictures at the Poudre river.
A nice visit with some family and another good meal and it was time to go home. Breakfast at the Waffle House brought back memories of our time in the South when we were younger and just like that it was over. I was riding east and mostly straight, Steve rode north in the rain, I'll spare you the details of Kansas except that it was the hottest day of the trip and I was riding into a 40+ mph headwind...welcome home.
Stats-
FJR miles-5955 altogether
Performance Awards-2 for me, 1 for Steve...life is so unfair
Tires destroyed-3
Cigars consumed-9
Beers consumed-No comment
Bugs-Yes
Pictures taken-357
Shows-Cirque de soweird-KA
Henry Weinhards Root Beers-4 mmmm good
Many things on this trip made me feel small and put things in perspective
See you down the road brother
Nothing exciting happened on this trip, unless you find excitement in cold rain. The route was east on I-10, north on 89 in AZ (which should have been much more fun) east on I-40 and up to Kansas on 50/54. Just about the most boring route that you could find. The only excitement was running 89 in a storm and dropping a saddlebag trying to get raingear. I thought I would scout 89 for the up coming trip but literally 10-15mph in sections was no fun. Watching your saddlebag slide down a hilll is no fun either.
Anyway, sometimes motorcycling is not the most fun. 1400+ miles of basically pure hell, but whatever, I'd be back.
I arrived in Wichita with exactly one week to get ready for my most epic journey. A few things needed done but nothing out of the ordinary. Permanent Zumo install, sliders (because they worked well the first time), Vista cruise, my new Bill Mayer seat, setting up the Autocom and new tires because cords are bad. A few test rides to work and I was ready to roll.
For a little background on this trip, my riding buddy from back home (riding together since the big-wheels era) his mom lives in Lake Havasu City, I have a pool tournament in Vegas :friends: bingo, a trip is born. We had actually planned to visit his mom 3-4 years ago on the bikes but somebody had trouble with Johnny Law that involved a license and a long period of time, but I digress.
The original plan was for me to leave Wichita and Steve to leave Gillette and meet in Fort Collins, where my Aunt and Uncle live. Tornados, hail and snow in the mountains forced a meeting in Pueblo instead. Continuation of the miserable riding I was used to. I ran in rain and gale force crosswinds with a little hail mixed in for variety. Steve ran in rain and gale force headwinds and was forced off the road for a period of time by hail in Colorado Springs. We finally met up at a Denny's in Pueblo for coffee, route planning and catching up on old times. It was decided by the weather report to get south and west as soon as possible. Destination for the next day was set as Flagstaff with a Grand Canyon detour, 660 odd miles.
The next day the sun came up bright and warm for what seemed like the first time in weeks and we headed south toward Walsenburg where we turned west on HWY 160 and the Wolf Creek Pass. We couldn't see the top of the mountains and we knew we were in a for a tough crossing. Starting at about 5-6000 feet we started to see piles of snow in the hills and combined with the creek along the road it was one of the most beautiful areas I've ever seen. I was I had stopped for more pictures. Just short of the ski area the snow started coming down in bunches and was piling pretty good on the road. We stopped near the ski area for some gear changes and some pictures, not to mention the tire chains...
The riding was very sketchy the rest of the way up and for about 5 miles on the way down as much of the road did not have any bare spots with 3-4 inches of slush on the road. We made it without incident (I'm getting the hang of the wet riding thing) and fortunately this would be the last weather we would deal with the entire trip.
Continuing on 160 to the west on good roads and good weather we made good time until west of Pagosa Springs where we ran in to this Guy Two up on a Wing, he slowed and waved us by just as the road was getting good. I thought nothing of it and continued at what Steve and I call a spirited pace on the way to Durango for lunch. 5-10 minutes later I notice a Gold Wing riding in formation with us and having no problem keeping up. We weren't trying to lose him but I'm not sure we could have if we wanted to. I was confused that he would putt along and wave us by, only to crank it up and be right on our asses? Using me for a front door? To close for that I'd think. He followed us to Durango and a gas stop where he showed us a fancy camera setup and asked for my email to send me some video. No shit? Cool. I gave him my address and forgot about it. After we got back from our trips, he sent me a DVD and loaded the video Here Pretty cool to see yourself on video, the quality of the DVD is muchmuch better.
The rest of the day was uneventful, stopping at four corners and skipping the Grand Canyon with intentions of going out in Flagstaff which is a very good party town if you've never been. We each had a huge bottle of Arrogant Bastard Ale at 7.2% and decided sleep was more important than partying and we would catch up later.
Sunday saw us spend half the day on 89 and 89A south of Flag. Parts of the road in the park area were crowded being Memorial day weekend but the really good sections of road all seemed to be void of traffic as we flew though some of the best riding I've ever had. It was as though the motorcycle gods felt they owed us for the miserable weather we had endured and blessed us with fair skys and empty roads in all the right places.
The downside of such great riding is the lack of pictures taken, it was not until after we got to the desert and bored that I got the clicker going. See the whole reel of pics here.
We cruised into Lake Havasu from the south and litteraly fell into the pool and a cocktail and started to unwind. My tournament started on Tuesday and I wasn't about to leave the pool until then.
The next 5 days were a whirlwind of playing pool, booze, sitting by the pool, food, shows, booze and debauchery. There are only a few pictures of this time and this is a good thing.
There were a few mentionable riding moments in these few days however. A day ride in Lake Mead recreation area and the Valley of Fire state park is not to be missed if you are in the area. The majority of the Lake Mead road is brand new and a tremendous ride. It slows down some on the north end where the old pavement is so bumpy and cracked it was scary in some places. The Valley of Fire was awesome and I was able to take many more pictures. We saw the Hoover dam and the new bypass which is very impressive and not a bad road either. Old route 66 though Oatman and Laughlin was nice, deserted and a pretty cool ride.
We each made some seperate and joint trips between Havasu and Vegas as our schedules allowed and ended up in Havasu again to relax by the pool and ready for the trip home. Leaving out of Havasu at first light with a destination of Moab and the Cisco Canyon road we were able to stop at the Grand Canyon that we missed on the way down. 600+ miles with half of it being kinda boring until we joined up with 163 north to Monument Valley and 191 the rest of the way to Moab. We went hungry except for some nachos because apparently Utah closes at 7:30.
The next morning, after a big breakfast, we toured the Arches National Park and headed NE out of Moab on Hwy 128, the Cisco Canyon Road. Traffic was heavy with some construction activity but the ride was still good, very scenic with a few curves as it followed the Colorado River. We joined I-70 and headed east for some 150 miles of some pretty decent slab riding until we headed north at Rifle, CO on Hwy 13. The road looks straight as an arrow on a map but we met many bikes coming out so it had some promise. It turned out to be a very decent road with lots of sweepers through some very pretty mountain valleys. We finished the day on Hwy 40 to Steamboat Springs.
The thing we noticed most about Colorado was how wet it was, mountain runoff and rains combined to make for some very interesting side roads. Barns were under water and low roads were swamped everywhere.
In Steamboat we relaxed, got the hot meal we were yearning for and settled in for some good drinking and a good hockey game--triple overtime.
The next day we took our time riding Hwy 40 over the Cameron Pass and Hwy 14 into Fort Collins which is a ride I would highly recommend with lots of great views and curves. We stopped for some nice pictures at the Poudre river.
A nice visit with some family and another good meal and it was time to go home. Breakfast at the Waffle House brought back memories of our time in the South when we were younger and just like that it was over. I was riding east and mostly straight, Steve rode north in the rain, I'll spare you the details of Kansas except that it was the hottest day of the trip and I was riding into a 40+ mph headwind...welcome home.
Stats-
FJR miles-5955 altogether
Performance Awards-2 for me, 1 for Steve...life is so unfair
Tires destroyed-3
Cigars consumed-9
Beers consumed-No comment
Bugs-Yes
Pictures taken-357
Shows-Cirque de soweird-KA
Henry Weinhards Root Beers-4 mmmm good
Many things on this trip made me feel small and put things in perspective
See you down the road brother
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