2,600 miles on a Honda - part 5

Thursday, 3 December 2009

After two nights of camping, i was ready for a night in a motel, hopefully with a little time to work on the bike. By the time i got to Garth Brooks' home town of Yukon, Oklahoma i had ridden around 1000 miles. A little later the highway turned into a turnpike so i decided to take route 66. 10 miles down that road i came up to this really strange looking building. It had an awning that kinda reminded me of the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars and had a giant metal pop bottle by the road.
The place is called Pops, it's a gas station with several hundred kinds of pop from all over the US. So i filled up with gas and had a Fritz's orange soda. It tasted a lot like Faygo, meaning it was great. In the parking lot there were dozens of motorcycles and after talking to some people, it turns out that on the weekends Pops is the the main hangout place in the area. They said on friday nights there usually isn't a place to park a bike it's so busy.

Then like always people ask me where i'm headed. After i tell them Michigan they ALWAYS say "WOW...you're a long way from home huh? Well good luck and stay safe" The first few days it didn't bother me but i've already ridden 1000 miles, how can i still be a long way from home?

Route 66 was great. Perfect speed with cool little towns every 20 miles or so. I stopped at a motel on the east side of Tulsa and started working on the bike. Changed spark plugs again, realigned the rear tire and tightened the chain. All set for another 1000 miles.

The next day i hit the 20,000 mile mark on the motorcycle. It seemed like a really big event at the time so i stopped and took a picture.
Then at the border into Arkansas i talked with a guy selling oranges and blankets with pictures of Elvis and wolves. I didn't buy any oranges but looking back wish i had got that Elvis blanket.

That night i camped at Bull Shoals State Park. It was on a river near the Bull Shoals Dam. I'm still amazed at the number of people that camp out that time of year. Although i was the only one in a tent, the rest of the people had RV's or campers. This time i used dead leaves as padding under the tent.

I also forgot to mention that back on day 3 in New Mexico i was talking to an indian guy at a gas station. He saw the bike and asked if i was doing some "long traveling" I said i was headed for Michigan. He said "oh ya you are doing some long traveling alright. Well i hope you make it. Be safe." I had never heard that phrase before but after thinking about it while riding a few hundred miles, i started to really like the term "long traveling."

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2,600 miles on a Honda - part 2

Wednesday, 2 December 2009

New Mexico border right after sunset
The next day i only rode 180 miles but it was one of the longest days on the trip for me, 10 hours on the road. My first stop was at El Morrow National Monument. I wasn't sure exactly what this was at first but i was riding by so i stopped. Turns out it's basically a puddle of water at the base of a rocky cliff. Well it's a little bigger then a puddle but not much. But apparently to people 100 years ago this was the main place to stop while traveling to get fresh water.
Then a few miles later i crossed the Continental Divide. Which as we all know is the dividing line between rivers draining into either the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans. Actually i only kinda knew that, i had to google it to be sure. And yes that's snow on the other side of the road. New Mexico is cold at 7,882 feet.

Just down the mountain from the continental divide was the Bandera Volcano & Ice Caves. Let me just say that the name and billboard are way more exciting then the place really is. The volcano was a big cone shaped hole in the ground. And the ice cave was a 50 foot hole that when you walked down into, it gets cold. Let me just say, don't go out of your way to see it any time soon.
I then drove through El Malpais National Forest to I-40. It was only 2pm and i figured i could drive another 180 miles to camp at Santa Rosa State Park. 30 miles down the road that idea came to an end. The traffic on the highway was at a complete standstill. So after waiting a few minutes i rode through the cars on the dashed lines for about a mile, to where i could see the accident. Turns out that two semi trucks collided, one caught on fire and the other spilled paint all over the road. In hindsight i should have immediately crossed the median, turned around and taken route 66. But i didn't, i waited...and waited. From 2:30 to 5:00 i sat, walked around and lied down on the highway next to my bike.


When they finally cleaned up the paint it was near dark so i rode through Albuquerque and stayed at a motel. The low temp that morning was 27 degrees and the bike was running poorly from the altitude so i decided to change the spark plugs in the Comfort Inn parking lot. By the time i left it was all the way up to 35 degrees. I stopped at Santa Rosa Lake State Park off route 66. Apparently New Mexico and I have a different opinion of what should qualify as a state park. It was a lake. Not very big, just a lake. But i guess that's cause i'm from Michigan and there aren't a lot of lakes in New Mexico. I ate lunch at the Route 66 Restaurant then rode to Tucumcari where i was going to buy some $4 mexican blankets from a mexican guy, but i didn't have room on the bike.

Another 50 miles and i was at the Texas border. I thought i should wear my cowboy hat i got in Nashville to try and fit in.

After that i had to hurry because it was almost dark and i wanted to see the Cadillac Ranch. From the pictures i thought it was tons of Cadillac cars buried half in the ground. Turns out it's only 10 but it was still really cool. I got there right at sunset and stayed for about a half an hour.

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Arizona to Michigan

Monday, 9 November 2009

Well i'm getting ready to drive with my friend John to Arizona. We're planning on stopping at a few places on the way down there. First stop is at the Louisville Slugger factory to have bats made with our names on them. For some reason i feel like this is going to be the absolute best part of the entire trip. Forget sunset views, national landmarks...i'm excited about a customized wood bat. Next we'll be headed to Nashville to see a concert at the Grand Ole Opry, Carrie Underwood i think. Then driving to Dallas to visit our friend Josh. Then it's off to Arizona.

I've been getting ready for the past several weeks. Setting up the tent in the living room, planning my route and getting the bike ready. It should be around 2,400 miles, taking around 15 to 20 days. Starting in Phoenix, then to Globe, then camp in the Petrified Forest, El Malpais National Forest... I'm going to try and do a lot of camping at national and state parks but who knows. After 200 miles of riding a day i might wuss out and stay in some motels.

White board organization
Route

All the stuff i'm taking

Final bike prep and cleaning

Practicing loading the bike up

Setting up the tent with the dogs

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