spyderbret
Well-known member
This is my first attempt at a ride report so please forgive me if it is either boring, long winded or just plain does not make sense. It is important to note, however, that I had an incredible time and I can’t wait to go somewhere again very soon!!!
So I went on my first long distance trip this weekend on my FJR. Not only was it my first on the FJR but it was my first multi day trip ever…..
My brother got married on Saturday and my wife and I had been trying to figure out how we were going to fit it in our schedule. You see, my brother actually already married the girl a few months ago without telling anyone so we weren’t sure why they were going to do it again. As near as we could figure they just wanted the presents!!! :yahoo:
It turns out that my wife needed to go up to Reno on Friday for business so she asked me if I wanted to ride up Friday and meet here there. She didn’t have to ask me twice!!! We found out in enough time for me to order and receive a brand new Garmin Zumo!! I had been trying to find an excuse to get one and this sealed the deal.
I used MapSource to plan my route. Since I was not in any hurry on Friday to get there I took the scenic route…. I left Las Vegas a little after 7am to try to beat most of the heat. Due to the heat I opted to skip Death Valley and take Highway 6 about 40 miles north of Tonopah….
Here is Tonopah on Friday morning.
Here is an action shot (sort of) going down Highway 6 on the way to some fun roads… Taking pictures while moving is harder than it seems, this was a first and last attempt…
This is the valley just after the fun road…
I took a right on Highway 120 which ended up being a blast!! I was a little nervous because I had never been this way before and I didn’t know where the next gas station was… I shouldn’t have worried, still had about half a tank when I got to the next station. This is Black Lake, I think…
Had some more fun during the previous few miles…
This next shot was just after I came out of the forest by Momo Lake. That was a great stretch as well. It was weird because I guess there had been a fire there a few years ago and there were a lot of burnt trees. It was cool though!
UGH!!!! I took a right at Highway 395 and had to stop for gas in Lee Vinning…. Painful!!
This next shot was along 395 but I can’t remember where exactly. It was really great though!! Beautiful roads and beautiful scenery…
I took 395 all the way to Highway 89 and took a left.. I am so glad I did!! I was having so much fun I didn’t stop to take pictures!! Shame on me!! There is a nice review of Highway 89 on Pashnit.com if you are interested though. I highly recommend that stretch..
I picked up Highway 88 and then back on to 89, and then to 50 up to South Lake Tahoe. What a great ride!! The only thing that was disappointing was that the traffic in Tahoe was terrible!!! I rode up the east side of the lake through Incline Village and then on to Reno. I arrived at the Grand Sierra hotel (Formally the Reno Hilton) about 4:30pm. Total time on the Zumo was nine and a half hours. Eight was moving!! The best part about the first day was that I really was not that tired!! I rode about 520 miles and was ready for more!!!
Day two was pretty much reserved for the wedding but I did manage to get my wife to go around Lake Tahoe with me. We did about 150 miles in about 5 hours. We stopped a lot. Here are a few pictures of Tahoe…..
It was actually pretty smoky from the California wildfires… Still nice views though!!
We stopped at the overlook of Emerald Bay. It was nice!!!
Here is a little self portrait…
I love Tahoe!! We ended up taking North Shore Drive to Truckee and then 80 into Reno. We made good time and got back to get ready for the wedding. A good time was had by all!!!
The trip home….
The trip home ended up being very interesting…
Here is a picture from the hotel parking lot looking south…. Very smoky!!
It was like that all the way to Fallon! I ended up taking the highways all the way home. No fun roads… I ended up having brunch with my brother and family Sunday morning so I didn’t get on the road until a little after 11am. I wanted to get home before the sun went down so I took the quickest way.
All was well until I got to Tonopah! I got sprinkled on a little just before I stopped for gas and I thought I was lucky!! Here is what I just missed..
All looked well to the south so I gassed up, put on my gear and headed out. About 5 minutes south of Tonopah the sky opened up and rained like crazy!!! There was even hail at one point. The crazy thing is that I kept a close eye on the weather the past week and no one said anything about rain. Needless to say I got soaked!! It rained on me for about 20 miles. There was hardly any rain on either side of the road, just on the road and on me!!! It got as cool as 65 degrees. I was getting a bit chilly!! The bike did great and just kept moving. I didn’t stop because there was not anywhere to stop with any shelter. It really didn’t last that long anyway… No pictures of the rain but after those 20 miles the 65 degrees turned into 90 real fast. It ended up being nice because I kept cooler for a little longer since I was wet.
After that I just cruised home. I got back to Vegas about 6:45pm to this…
That was a really nice welcome home!!!
Here are the stats..
Well that was my trip. It was the best time I have had in a long time!! I love this bike!! It was also very educational…
What did I learn? Well, always pack rain gear, even if you think don’t need it… 500 mile days all alone are really easy on this bike, the Zumo is a great tool, especially when set up with XM radio, doing 80+ with an aftermarket windscreen fully up really affects your gas mileage and I learned that I just don’t ride enough. My goal over the coming months and years is to find time to put some serious miles on this great motorcycle. Hopefully I will have lots more ride reports to come!!!
There are some more pictures here: More Trip Pictures
Thanks for reading!!!
So I went on my first long distance trip this weekend on my FJR. Not only was it my first on the FJR but it was my first multi day trip ever…..
My brother got married on Saturday and my wife and I had been trying to figure out how we were going to fit it in our schedule. You see, my brother actually already married the girl a few months ago without telling anyone so we weren’t sure why they were going to do it again. As near as we could figure they just wanted the presents!!! :yahoo:
It turns out that my wife needed to go up to Reno on Friday for business so she asked me if I wanted to ride up Friday and meet here there. She didn’t have to ask me twice!!! We found out in enough time for me to order and receive a brand new Garmin Zumo!! I had been trying to find an excuse to get one and this sealed the deal.
I used MapSource to plan my route. Since I was not in any hurry on Friday to get there I took the scenic route…. I left Las Vegas a little after 7am to try to beat most of the heat. Due to the heat I opted to skip Death Valley and take Highway 6 about 40 miles north of Tonopah….
Here is Tonopah on Friday morning.
Here is an action shot (sort of) going down Highway 6 on the way to some fun roads… Taking pictures while moving is harder than it seems, this was a first and last attempt…
This is the valley just after the fun road…
I took a right on Highway 120 which ended up being a blast!! I was a little nervous because I had never been this way before and I didn’t know where the next gas station was… I shouldn’t have worried, still had about half a tank when I got to the next station. This is Black Lake, I think…
Had some more fun during the previous few miles…
This next shot was just after I came out of the forest by Momo Lake. That was a great stretch as well. It was weird because I guess there had been a fire there a few years ago and there were a lot of burnt trees. It was cool though!
UGH!!!! I took a right at Highway 395 and had to stop for gas in Lee Vinning…. Painful!!
This next shot was along 395 but I can’t remember where exactly. It was really great though!! Beautiful roads and beautiful scenery…
I took 395 all the way to Highway 89 and took a left.. I am so glad I did!! I was having so much fun I didn’t stop to take pictures!! Shame on me!! There is a nice review of Highway 89 on Pashnit.com if you are interested though. I highly recommend that stretch..
I picked up Highway 88 and then back on to 89, and then to 50 up to South Lake Tahoe. What a great ride!! The only thing that was disappointing was that the traffic in Tahoe was terrible!!! I rode up the east side of the lake through Incline Village and then on to Reno. I arrived at the Grand Sierra hotel (Formally the Reno Hilton) about 4:30pm. Total time on the Zumo was nine and a half hours. Eight was moving!! The best part about the first day was that I really was not that tired!! I rode about 520 miles and was ready for more!!!
Day two was pretty much reserved for the wedding but I did manage to get my wife to go around Lake Tahoe with me. We did about 150 miles in about 5 hours. We stopped a lot. Here are a few pictures of Tahoe…..
It was actually pretty smoky from the California wildfires… Still nice views though!!
We stopped at the overlook of Emerald Bay. It was nice!!!
Here is a little self portrait…
I love Tahoe!! We ended up taking North Shore Drive to Truckee and then 80 into Reno. We made good time and got back to get ready for the wedding. A good time was had by all!!!
The trip home….
The trip home ended up being very interesting…
Here is a picture from the hotel parking lot looking south…. Very smoky!!
It was like that all the way to Fallon! I ended up taking the highways all the way home. No fun roads… I ended up having brunch with my brother and family Sunday morning so I didn’t get on the road until a little after 11am. I wanted to get home before the sun went down so I took the quickest way.
All was well until I got to Tonopah! I got sprinkled on a little just before I stopped for gas and I thought I was lucky!! Here is what I just missed..
All looked well to the south so I gassed up, put on my gear and headed out. About 5 minutes south of Tonopah the sky opened up and rained like crazy!!! There was even hail at one point. The crazy thing is that I kept a close eye on the weather the past week and no one said anything about rain. Needless to say I got soaked!! It rained on me for about 20 miles. There was hardly any rain on either side of the road, just on the road and on me!!! It got as cool as 65 degrees. I was getting a bit chilly!! The bike did great and just kept moving. I didn’t stop because there was not anywhere to stop with any shelter. It really didn’t last that long anyway… No pictures of the rain but after those 20 miles the 65 degrees turned into 90 real fast. It ended up being nice because I kept cooler for a little longer since I was wet.
After that I just cruised home. I got back to Vegas about 6:45pm to this…
That was a really nice welcome home!!!
Here are the stats..
Well that was my trip. It was the best time I have had in a long time!! I love this bike!! It was also very educational…
What did I learn? Well, always pack rain gear, even if you think don’t need it… 500 mile days all alone are really easy on this bike, the Zumo is a great tool, especially when set up with XM radio, doing 80+ with an aftermarket windscreen fully up really affects your gas mileage and I learned that I just don’t ride enough. My goal over the coming months and years is to find time to put some serious miles on this great motorcycle. Hopefully I will have lots more ride reports to come!!!
There are some more pictures here: More Trip Pictures
Thanks for reading!!!
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