Back To The Road

 April 10, 2013

I had a great 5-day visit with Charlotte, Brian and Asher. It went quick. I was able to use some time there editing videos, a luxury I fear I won't have as I make one night stops along the road with marginal Internet connections.

I left Cave Creek at 8 a.m. and spent a good portion of the morning trying to skirt around the HUGE city of Phoenix to US Hwy 60 that would take me east through the mountains to Globe, a much preferred route over Interstate 10 through Tucson.

I ran into a dirt road in the skirting process but only had to back track 8 miles to Fountain Hills, then south to the 202 freeway loop that led down to US 60.

It was cool, but fine with a T-shirt and jacket, when I started out. I expected the day to get warmer, but instead it got colder and colder. I stopped in Superior and added a turtle neck under my jacket, even contemplated digging into the pack for my long johns. The leather chaps were barely adequate in warding off the cold wind. I guess I failed to recognize it is a long way from summer and I was traveling all day in the 3,000 to 4,000 elevation range and at 4585 feet when crossing the Continental Divide, although that area of New Mexico is flat as a pancake.

The cold wind was gusty in the mountains and got pretty fierce when the country opened up south of Globe. Lots of side gusts before Lordsburg where an abrupt east turn onto Interstate 10 meant the increasingly fierce and steady wind would be coming from behind. That tail wind worked great for several miles and probably helped the gas mileage. But the highway angled north from time to time and the wind was back with a vegence. It got so bad I considered stopping in Deming rather than fight it the last 60 miles to my destination at Las Cruces.

There were brown clouds of dust in the distance and if any followed the path of the large tumbleweed that just blew across the freeway about a quarter mile ahead, I'd need a pair of goggles rather than mere sunglasses.

I stopped in Deming for fuel and contemplation. (The bright side was dirt cheap gas ... 3.37 per gallon.)  Watching the wind blowing the branches of the few trees in the area, the direction looked parallel the freeway and in my direction.  I decided to get back in the fight. Glad I did because I'm 60 miles further down the road and it was a tailwind nearly all the way.

I took 2 1/2 batteries worth of video on today's ride. Of course 90 percent of that will be whittled away for a short video that will someday be uploaded here. But it won't be happening tonight. This wifi connection at the Motel 6 in Las Cruces is pretty slow.

I called Sherry this evening and she says the weather report for my neck of the woods is not good, but I may be south of the bad stuff. I guess I'd better start watching the weather channel.

Tomorrow's plan is to get at least as far as Alpine, Texas. Hope the wind is gone in the morning.

On The Streets of Cave Creek With Grandson, Asher

Asher

Rest Area at Superior, Arizona

Goldwingers

Cave Creek, AZ to Las Cruces, NM ... 414 Miles

London Bridge & Cell Phone Challenged

April 5, 2013
I rode into the sun for just a short ways on this pleasant, wind-free morning from Needles. The good ride was even better when I turned south onto US 95 to Lake Havasu City where I intended to snap a photo or two of the famous 1831 London Bridge that was dismantled in England in 1967 and reassembled in Lake Havasu City, completed in 1971.

Getting a good view of London Bridge was difficult due to it being surrounded by fenced/gated resort property, or so it seemed as I tried twice to penetrate the viewscape. I did manage a "glimpse" of a small portion of the bridge from the parking lot of one those golf-cart roaming resorts. I lacked the necessary interest to pursue a better view, so settled on what I saw, which was enough to check it off my "been-there-done-that" list (not to be confused with a "bucket list").

I had debated whether to take Hwy 95 or the Kingman route, which I think might have been a little quicker. I'm glad I opted for Hwy 95. I believe it to be less monotonous and it's a pretty ride alongside the Colorado River on what is called the Parker Strip, below Parker Dam.

I peeled off US 95 onto Hwy 72, then hooked into Hwy 60 at the small town of Hope. Caught some gusty cross winds between there and Wickenburg where I stopped for fuel and intended to call daughter Charlotte with an updated "ETA".

Not being a hi-tech cell-phoner, with stored phone numbers and speed dial (I have an archaic "go phone"), I had to dig out her phone number from a zippered pouch on the back of my pack, then had to rummage through my jacket pockets for some reading glasses. Dialed the number, put it to my ear and realized I still had my helmet on. Canceled the procedure; took off the helmet and started over. Then the phone didn't work. Upon inspection I discovered I had no cell service.

The quickest route to Cave Creek involves a left turn a few miles east of Wickenburg. I was prepared. (By the way, my Garmin GPS was doing well in holding its charge if used sparingly during a day's ride .... it'd be nice if I could plug it in. Maybe someday.) I was warned away from that left turn by a big digital sign advising of a paving job on that highway and to expect "long delays". I opted for its second advice ... to seek an alternate route.

The GPS was going nuts about missing the turn and instead of offering an alternate route it kept instructing me to turn around. I turned it off. When I was far enough away for it to forget, I turned it back on hoping it would show a logical alternative. It did, instructing me to seek the 303 freeway. The 303 is a new, traffic-sparse freeway that circled north where I hooked into the 17 one mile shy of my needed exit to Carefree Highway. Another 8 miles or so and I was in Charlotte and Brian's neighborhood, where they moved last November. I'd never been there.

Turn left in 300 feet, the GPS instructed. I argued, why not the intersection I'm at now, because there is nowhere to turn in 300 feet? Sure enough, I overshot the turn and had to come back. Did the same thing with the entry gate to the gated community, a fact I'd forgotten about and so did my daughter because I had no knowledge of the combination needed for entry. Didn't matter, I'd overshot the entry. ...... by and by I was at another locked gate.

Back to the cell phone; list of phone numbers; reading glasses; Checked this time and the phone "did" have service. I had that much going for me. Dialed the number. Put it to my ear. Yep..... forgot to take off the helmet AGAIN!

Once again I reversed the complicated phone call procedure and was soon in contact with Charlotte who was a block or two away. Long story short .... she had to come down and let her dawdling father in.

After hugs and handshakes, a bit of relaxing and showering away the road grime, Brian and I took the 25-mile ride to Paradise Valley where Grandson Asher and his mom were already preparing for Asher's participation with the Phoenix Boy's Choir concert. It was a good show. We were home by 9:30 or 10 and I for one was looking forward to a hay-hitting encounter with the guest bed.



Partial View of The London Bridge
at Lake Havasu City, AZ



Needles To Cave Creek

Needles To Cave Creek, AZ (242 Miles)



Detour



High Dollar Gas, Rough Roads and Wind

Thursday, April 4, 2013
I woke to a blustery overcast morning but that's okay because I was in time for coffee. I was packed and ready to roll in record time and only needed a fill up of gasoline to be complete. A station was handy next door.

In addition to above $4 for gas throughout California (I paid $4.599 in Ludlow), I've noticed a pattern in the inefficient self service pumps. I was willing to concede operator error for the first fill up or two but have finally concluded the pumps are the ones with the problem. And they almost never print a receipt, even when you press "yes" when the pump asks if you want one. Their favorite phrase is "see cashier". The cashier will give you a receipt .... after you stand in line behind the snack-buying crowd.

On this particular Mojave morning, after two failed attempts, I got the same digital reply .... "see cashier". That was easier said than done.

I walked to the door of the adjacent convenience store to find it boarded up. A big sign next to the closed/locked door read "CASHIER" with an arrow pointing to the end of the building. No door there. Continuing to walk around the building, to the opposite side, I found the entrance to the store, completely out of view of the pumps and my bike with all my gear ripe for the picking by anyone of the thieving persuasion.

The apathetic clerk robotically instructed me to leave my card at the counter, go fill up, come back and pay. (Apparently she could override the stubborn pump and make it work.) Not only did I have to come to the opposite side of the building once, but twice! I had to know "why" that door was boarded up. I asked. The clerk said because the wind blows so hard, and most of the time, it's too bothersome to have people coming in an out of that door.

The only entrance to this store is on the opposite side
of the building, apparently a permanent remedy for
too much wind blowing through an open door
on this side, which is now boarded shut.

The clerk was right about the blowing wind. It was kicking up pretty good by the time I got to Barstow and eastbound toward Needles. Not a bad wind, but too much for it to be a comfortable ride. Comfort was also compromised by the very rough road in many areas along the route. I thought I might lose a filling in a few areas, or  worse, my camera would shake loose and be reduced to plastic shrapnel in my rear view mirror. That aggravation, plus a sign advertising construction ahead, caused me to take the next rest area exit and do exactly that. Rest. I downed a granola bar or two and had a few swigs from my water bottle.

A young man from a shiny maroon pickup sauntered over to trade Harley stories. His home was Fresno and he was on his way to the Grand Canyon. He'd thought about riding his "Fat Boy" but it was raining so he didn't. I felt lucky to have missed the rain.

By and by I pulled into line for the construction. I wasn't too disappointed because they at least were addressing the problem of the very rough road. The construction didn't last long and I was soon back to my wind-fighting ride to Needles where I arrived early, about 2 p.m.

The plan was to stow my gear in the room and take the 22 mile ride to the old mining town of Oatman, Arizona that sits on an original portion of Route 66 between Kingman and Needles.

A gaudy little tourist trap, Oatman charms the crowds with its footloose donkeys who roam the streets at will. Kids especially like to feed them "hay cubes" made available at various locations in town. It's a cute town and worth the visit if you're nearby.

I walked the main street, took a few photos, and conversed with fellow "bikers". A retired State Farm Insurance agent from Billings, Montana (name of "Gary") traded stories with me for quite some time as I leaned over a hitching rail admiring his customized white Road King Classic. He said he trailered his bike to Las Vegas where he's been for 6 weeks. Next week he plans a ride to Monterey for a reunion with his two daughters. He's hoping for dry weather.

A man and wife road into town on separate Harley's. She on a Road King and his was an Ultra Classic. They were from Alberta. Again, they hadn't ridden from there. Impossible this time of year with the snow. They also trailered their bikes and were staying at Bullhead City. 

Click for: OATMAN PICTURES

I returned to my room at Needles just before dark and walked next door to Denney's for supper. An early departure is planned for tomorrow in hopes of getting to Daughter Charlotte and family's home in Cave Creek by 2 pm and prepare to attend Grandson Asher's choir concert in Phoenix in the evening.

Mojave To Needles Video

Needles To Oatman Video
(Best Viewed at 640 Resolution)

No Coffee, Rough Road and Green Hills

Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Tom Bodett may leave the light on for you at Motel 6 but he's not much in tending the coffee pot. I learned if you arrive a little after 8:30 a.m. you find only spits and sputters in all three of the palm-pumping thermoses in the office. Not a good way to start the day.

I purposely delayed an early start, hoping the Sacramento commuter traffic would be finished when I passed through in about an hour. It was. Nevertheless, it's still not comfortable being in the middle of all those lanes on a motorcycle with lane-weaving traffic zipping all around you. I was glad when it was over.

The next challenge was negotiating the axle-breaking ruts of Stockton. A friend had warned of that area, having been there in recent months. He was right. I was counting on his also being right about "when" the rough spots ended, in the vicinity of Lathrop. He was right about that too. It was eventually smooth sailing for most of my day on Interstate 5. And a long day it was.

So as to bypass the big city traffic of Bakersfield in my turn east, I continued 18 miles on I-5 to Hwy 223, a two lane that bypasses Bakersfield on the south, through farms and dairies to the town of Arvin, beyond which is a pleasant country road over green hills, eleven miles of beauty and next to no traffic. I stopped over the crest of the hill and enjoyed the peace for a while before re-joining the eastbound herd on California Hwy 58 to Tehachapie, Mojave and Barstow.

My original plan was Barstow but I decided to call it quits early at a Motel 6 in Mojave. I hope Tom has the coffee on in the morning.



Green Hills East of Arvin, California

Dunnigan to Mojave, 385 Miles



Cold Start



Ready To Roll



Tuesday April 2, 2013  

I Left home at 10 a.m. Destination .... Dunnigan, California. The alleged forecast was 65 degrees and partly cloudy. Maybe that was for later and not necessarily for me during my ascent up and over the snow-bordered Willamette Pass where a fine mud mist drifted up from the wet pavement and coated the back of my recently shined bike. It was hovering around 32 degrees at Chemult where, suffering from a near case of hypothermia, I stopped to thaw my hands over the hot exhaust pipes and stomp life back into my numb toes. I didn't realize my face was frozen until later, at Klamath Falls where I stopped for gas and my lips didn't work when trying to communicate with the station attendant. After Klamath Falls the sun was breaking through, shining promise on the horizon.

The sun was shining birght and warm near Redding before dipping low in the west, casting an amber glow on the landscape, the ingredients of a very pleasant ride. The only wind was that generated at 70 mph. The Harley was on cruise control and purring like a kitten. I was loving it.

Back to reality ……. my left leather chap became unzipped from the little wind turbulence there was. It split like a cheap corset all the way up to my hip and was flapping in the wind like a loose sail. I feared the metal snaps/zipper would beat the paint off the saddle bags before I could safely stop. I was able to hold it together, literally, with my left hand until the next off ramp where I stopped and remedied the problem.

It was a little later than planned getting to Dunnigan, arriving at 7:15, just before dark.

I've amassed quite a bit of video footage of the day's ride but due to the time involved in editing and uploading it will be a while before I can post anything.




MT Shasta Viewpoint Between
Klamath Falls and Weed, CA

 


Cloud-Buried MT Shasta

 



MT Shasta







Oakridge To Dunnigan, 395 Miles



Video of Ride From Oakridge, OR to Dunnigan, CA
(Select 640 from video task bar for best resolution.)

Taller In The Saddle

Coming to the realization all my videos lack elevation, I ordered another ball mount for the camera and attached it midway up the right handlebar. Not only does this offer an elevated view, I can operate the camera without the remote, if need be, and possibly rotate it to the right or left without stopping first. That idea may not work as it will involve loosening one of the ball-mounted stems "just enough" to twist the unit without it being so loose as to cause jiggling/flopping or, worse, falling off completely.

The downside of this handlebar mount is that it might prove cumbersome to have the camera in my face mile after road-weary mile? I plan to leave the camera mounted while traveling, even though it will be turned off most of the time to preserve the battery, minimize boring footage and of course prevent filling the 16GB memory card before the day's end. Using it strategically but sparingly is the goal.... the challenge.



Handlebar Mount



Extension Clamped To Handlebar Mount

Lower Mount Between Auxillary
Lamp and Right Turn Signal

Camera Attached With Short Extension

Low On Right Crash Bar



Both Extensions Joined With Double-Ball Connector

Garmin GPS Mount

After that rainy ride home from Eugene the other day, we were blessed with one day of sunshine (it's now back to rain), which was a perfect opportunity to test the new mount with another ride to C T Beach.

Why not a different route than the familiar C T Beach road? Because most local roads are in the cold shadows where, not only is the road damp, moss is growing on the asphalt (only in Oregon). The ride to the lake and back is short and 90 percent sunshine, which keeps things dry, bright and enhances the color.

I have three choices in uploading videos ..... YouTube, Vimeo and Smugmug. Though I prefer Smugmug, I've received complaints about too much "buffering". That might be because of higher resolution or maybe Smugmug is just a moody site. There are three resolution selections accessible on Smugmug's video task bar, 640 being the best .... but perhaps the cause of the buffering? But if one has the patience to allow the video to struggle through to the end, the second run works fine. Perhaps, instead of watching the buffering struggle, go have a cup of coffee, come back later and watch the second run? Or, maybe I should start using YouTube instead of Smugmug and see if it works any better?

As for Vimeo ... I'm only allowed one video per week, unless I become a "paid subscriber". I don't like that dorky little smiley face Vimeo puts on each video. Perhaps that will go away if I'm a paid subscriber?

Smugmug Version:




YouTube Version:

Started Dry But Put Away Wet

To make sure things are in top shape before the big trip, I took my Harley to the shop a few days ago for its 5,000 mile service. (That's what I said in 1987) The appointment was for Friday at 10 a.m. but inasmuch as rain was predicted Friday, and possibly Thursday, I took advantage of the only dry day (Wednesday) to make the 40-mile ride and leave the bike. Sherry met me there and drove me home.

I mistakenly told the service manager there was no hurry with my Friday appointment (the procedure is a 4 hour job) because due to predicted rain I'd prefer to leave the bike until the next dry day. Aware of my hour long ride from Oakridge, the service manager agreed and said there was no problem leaving the bike for however long I wanted. Nevertheless, he'd give me a call as soon as it was ready on Friday.

Wednesday's dry weather was slightly cool and overcast but made for a pleasant ride to town. Along the way I practiced with the "GoPro" video camera, mounting it at various locations on the bike, as can be seen in the video inserted below.

I also experimented with my Garmin GPS, which I'll be taking on the trip and have recently installed a handlebar mount for it. It works fine. Though I don't have it wired to the bike, allowing for continuous display, its own battery is good for 90 minutes. My plan is to turn it on only when needed, such as when negotiating big cities and/or searching for a particular address. There will be little need for it on the open road.



Rear-View Mount of GoPro Camera



Rotatable, Ball & Socket Mounting and Waterproof Case

Remote Control

Time passed and our TV weather man changed his mind about rain on Friday. Rain wouldn't return until late afternoon on Saturday, he promised. It would be clear on Sunday and Monday (but the shop is closed on those days). Then, with a cold vengeance, rain, bordering on snow, will return Tuesday and will remain all week. Ummm? I thought. Perhaps I'd better pick the bike up on Friday after all. Or at least no later than Saturday afternoon.

If the 4-hour job started as scheduled, at 10 a.m., it stands to reason I should have received a call by 2:00 or a little after reporting its completion. When I heard nothing by 3:00, I called the shop. The service manager was out to lunch. At 3:00? He would call me back, they said. He did, and said the bike wasn't anywhere near ready. Because I said there was no hurry they weren't concerned when a previous job took longer than anticipated. Well, no problem, I said. Most of Saturday is supposed to be dry. The service manager said he'd give me a call as soon as it was ready Saturday.

At 11 a.m. Saturday morning, just as sprinkles started in Oakridge, the service manager called and said the bike had been inspected, serviced, tweaked, adjusted and passed muster. It was freshly washed and ready to roll. Sherry and I were en route.

After the wallet-draining ritual at the counter, I returned to the parking lot and retrieved my rain gear from the car as the boys brought around my bike, its sparkling surface quickly beading up in the non-stop drizzle.

I discovered my waterproof gloves were too small. I must've grabbed Sherry's instead of mine. Oh well, the 50-degree temperature shouldn't be that bad, I surmised, and figured I could make it home gloveless.

Two miles later my hands/fingers were numb. I wheeled into a gas station and dug out some fuzzy wool gloves. Even as rain-soaked sponges they are better than nothing and more flexible than wet leather gloves, my only other option. The stop was also an opportunity to extract the camera and give it a rain test. Housed in plastic, the camera is advertised as water submersible, so there should be no problem in the rain. It did quite well, recording my miserable ride all the way home.

Wednesday's Dry Run:

Wet Ride Home: (Select Resolution 640 On Video Task Bar For Best Viewing)