Isn’t it funny how we all wish our lives away wanting the weekend to come as soon as possible? That’s not the case for me this week nor was it this week exactly one year ago. I call them the dreaded days of last summer. I hated those Fridays and the rough weekends after each. Today, one year later, I try to make the most of each day and I am thankful for such a beautiful day as today.
It was a chilly start this morning. When I first got up the temperature gauge on the bike showed 40 degrees. We packed up, had breakfast at the motel and were getting on the road by 7:00 A.M. However when I started the bike I noticed an immediate problem. The audio system on my bike would not power on and I did not want to be without my tunes and GPS. I thought about the problem and remembered on Wednesday my heated hand grips died so I replaced a blown fuse with another that with a slightly larger rated. Big mistake. Now I had another blown fuse back in the main fuse box that controlled everything. After I replaced it and everything was functioning we were on the road by 7:30.
The sun was shining on us all day and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky as we headed West on route 89 which was once a part of the Oregon trail. This road is an absolute perfect motorcycling road. Following along beautiful lakes and streams it was hard for me to keep my eyes and thought on the road. It was somewhat technical through the mountain twisties but yet smooth and fast with no traffic.
After a couple of hours we got on I15 in Utah and super slabbed it down past the Great Salt Lake to Salt Lake City. We then headed west on route 50 through the western mountains and deserts of Utah and over the border into Nevada.
We pulled into a KOA campground in Ely Nevado around 5:00 P.M. and setup camp. It was also a good opportunity get some wash done before we headed out for diner.
Tomorrow well ride west on 50, aka “the loneliest road in America”, towards Carson City and then tour the Lake Tahoe area before heading into California.
Life is good!
Total miles: 465 Butt factor: 3
Friday, June 19, 2009
Day 6 Bungee Science
In my opinion the 4 most important inventions by man, in chronological order, are fire, beer, the wheel and bungee cords. Packing a motorcycle for a 3 week trip is not easy. Then having to repack it every day, it becomes almost a science. After the first week we have mastered the science of the bungee.
I was up at 6:00 this morning and decided to walk down to the Super 8’s lobby to get a cup of coffee and some oatmeal at the free continental breakfast before packing my bike. Tom decided to pack first and then grab his breakfast but just as he was heading to the lobby there was a power outage. Nothing was available unless you wanted some cold cereal so we got on the road a little early this morning.
It was 54 degrees when we pulled out at 7:15. The skies were overcast and the roads were still wet from the overnight rain. I decided to wear my heated clothes because we would be riding in some high elevations. We had rain off and on all day but it would only rain for 5 minutes and then it would be sunny skies and dry road. The temperature never got higher than 59 and as low as 41.
We started on I90 east and then took 89 South into Wyoming . We heard Beartooth Pass was still being repaired from the winter damage so we changed our plan and entered Yellowstone at the North entrance. We toured around the park all morning making stops at Mammouth Hot Springs, Tower Falls and Old Faithfull. We took the South exit from the park and picked up 89 South again and rode through Grand Teton National Park. The road, which followed along the Snake River at the bottom of the Tetons, was definitely in the top 5 roads that I have ever ridden. We continued through Jackson Hole, a quaint little western tourist town, and stopped for the night around 6:30 in Montpilier, Idaho.
Tomorrow we’re heading west through Idaho and into Salt Lake City and across Utah.
Life is good.
Total miles: 404 Butt factor: 3
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
