Road Trip!!!!!!!!!!!1 (teaser), more to come..

[DanTheMan]

Hi all,
I left the great state of Minnesota, North central, on the morning of May 29th on a westward journey to my mother's house in Yucca Valley, CA (without her knowledge) at the early hour of 6:30 AM. I was tired from trip preps, but really pumped!!:-D I had the bike packed up with everything I needed and 10 lbs of "stuff" I really didn't need. I was going to get my "Ironbutt" cert on this ride (so I thought, again more to come.........watch the late news....:-D I don't have time today to tell the whole story, so it's coming in installments, with pictures, as the next week progresses. I've got a MSF class to teach in Duluth, MN this weekend, so i'm pressed for time getting ready for that, stuff to pack, etc. (it's another 120 mile trip from my house), but stand by, I'll tell y'all about this really cool great trip on my 27 year old totally stock (with the exception of the luggage carrying stuff) bike real soon, starting Monday, many installments to follow to cover the whole 4,170 miles with quite a few pictures. This was done in a 9 day period as well, and was a lot of fun (most of the time, when I wasn't battling 30-40 mph winds and gusts from my starboard or right side for ye landlubbers and hail storms and tornadic activity......), anyway, more stories to come, stand by for heavy rolls.........:-D

 

[DanTheMan]

I know I promised more today, with pictures, but I had some unexpected mechanical problems with other vehicles in the yard, so now I've got to fix them, along with changing the oil on my bike, hopefully the trip story can continue tomorrow.........:-|

 

[bonanzadave]

We're waiting...................................................8-[

 

[DanTheMan]

Actually, it's not going to happen until Friday morning, I'm replacing the head gasket on the motorhome, gotta have it working for this weekend, I'm teaching the BRC in Bemidji, and already have my campsite reserved. sorry to keep y'all waiting.....

 

[DanTheMan]

Pictures

Pictures

Okay, it's Friday morning, but a week later...........here are some picts, more to come with more story next week.....:-D

Idaho Springs, CO

Eisenhower Tunnel, CO

 

[DanTheMan]

more pictures....

more pictures....

I-70 westbound rest ares in the Canyonlands....

Rt 66 on the way to Amboy, CA, 15 miles west of Needles, CA

 

[DanTheMan]

more pictures.....

more pictures.....

Amboy, California

Snowbeard and I at his house in Boulder, what a great host he and his wife are, letting me overnight at their place....:-D

 

[Tom MLC]

Nice pics of your bike, Dan. That's what happens when you ride alone. Nobody to take pics of you with the bike! Looks like an awesome trip.

I rode a stretch of Route 66 between Newbury Springs & Ludlow on a run to Phoenix last year. That red road was like a highway to nowhere. Kinda poor shape though. Lots of gravel & cracks. What a shame. I came to a halt at a RR crossing waiting for a freight train in the early morning. Felt like whistling old Hank Williams' tunes.

 

[DanTheMan]

Back for some more story, and oh, thanks, Tom, I do have a lot of bike alone picts since I didn't bring a tripod..............
Anyway, after leaving my house, I had rain storms all the way to Minneapolis. I expected to meet up with Bonanza Dave on the way through Burnsville, but my cell phone wouldn't connect with his cell phone network for one reason or another, so we didn't get to ride together this time. (I plan on making the SCR fall run and maybe Galena this year, he's considering it so we may yet meet...). Since we were unable to connect, I kept on riding towards Des Moines, IA with the IBA Saddlesore 1000 as my goal for the first day.
Heading south, I started encountering 30-40 mph headwinds all the way to Des Moines, IA. Packed up as I was, and with the fairing and all, my mileage quickly dropped in the mid 20's, so I was filling up every 60-70 miles (shoulda laid down on the tank bag, it would've been better, but I didn't figure that out until later). Going through Des Moines, I got in the middle of two more thunderstorms, rode through them while heading west, now with strong sidewinds buffeting me back and forth. I kept my speed down to about 62mph (by GPS), and was managing about 31.5 mpg at that speed.
Two thunderstorms (minor) later, I arrived in Omaha, NE. I ate supper, called my wife, told her where I was, topped off my oil, filled my gas tank, and watched more storm clouds gathering on the horizon to the west. I decided to press on, it was about 6pm by that time, my westward trek was going much slower than I planned........., but I still thought I could make my 1000 mile mark (Ogallala, NE) by midnight. I stopped at a rest area about 40 miles east of Grand Island, NE, where another traveler told me of driving in torrential rains with hail, 4-6" deep on the Interstate west of Grand Island. He said he was only managing 30 mph in it following tailights through. I continued on, fully geared up in my rain gear, and prepared to do battle with the elements...... The storm hit me about 20 miles east of Grand Island, I battled it until I got to the Grand Island exit, the only travelers on the Interstate were me and a few semi-trucks that were passing me. I finally gave in (sliver hail felt like it was poking through my sleeve, lightning was all around me, and there was standing water about 4" deep on the road) the storm won the battle that night, I checked into the Motel 8 at 10 pm that first night. I only achieved 700 miles my first day on the road............:-|
Stay tuned, more story and pictures to come this week:-D

 

[Redman]

Nice pics. Espcially the one with snow covered hils in background.

Yes, more please.

 

[Billy_Oliver880]

I hope to do what you are doing someday man.

 

[DanTheMan]

Well, on with the story............, I woke up around 7 am, had my free breakfast and coffee, pulled the bike in front of the motel door to load up. The drenching of the night before had my bike running very rotten, something like 3 1/2 cylinders most of the time. I rode out of Grand Island towards Colorado and after stopping for gas I noticed an oil leak from my filter housing cap. When I got to Ogallala, I stopped at the Napa store, bought a couple of quarts of oil, some silicone gasket maker, and center standed it in the parking lot to fix it. Then I headed out for Colorado and my visit with Snowbeard and his lovely wife.
Going down I-76 south, I was close to my exit to head west to Boulder when I saw a huge thunderstorm coming my way from the Boulder area (you can see a long ways in the plains country). I pulled off on the shoulder, and quickly donned all my rain gear again. When I got on the road again, the storm passed behind me and I rode to Snowbeard's house all dressed for rain and nothing appeared.
When I got there, I was treated to an excellent fish fry and really great libations at one of the local hangouts in Boulder that Snowbeard and I rode to.
More to come, maybe I'll even be able to post some more pictures next time...........:-D

 

[DanTheMan]

Sorry the pictures are all out of order, just happens to be the way I downloaded them, but here are some more, I'll do some more story later.

Grand Jct. Colorado Vietnam Veteran's memorial (all pictures)

 

[DanTheMan]

More of the Memorial....

I left Boulder at 8 am but didn't get out of the Denver/Golden area until after 10 am. I had wiring issues, had a wire part company somewhere in the harness, it powered the front marker lights and my voltmeter. I ended up splicing into another wire in the fairing that came on with the ignition switch. Going up towards Eisenhower tunnel, I found my bike not liking the higher altitudes a whole lot. Between 5500-7000 rpm, it would spit and sputter. I thought when I got over Vail Pass summit and started into Glenwood Canyon that I would make it to Mesquite, Nev. by 10:30 pm, but it wasn't to be so. The road destruction crews were happily at work in the tunnels, so I ended up having to wait in traffic for about 3 hours, so I didn't even make it to Grand Jct until about 4:00 pm.
I forged on from Grand Jct. after eating a small supper, and headed into Utah on I-70. I filled my tank and made sure my 2 1/2 gal. can was full as I left Green River so I could make it across the 110 mile stretch of no services, since I was only getting about 32-38 mpg. I had to use the 2 1/2 gals about 20 miles from Salinas, just about where I figured I would. Now, it was about 10 pm, and I still had 3 hours of travel to make it to Mesquite. Several gas stops and energy drink stops later, I finally got all the way through Utah, and the little sliver of Arizona to stop for the rest of the night in Mesquite. I stayed at the Virgin River Hotel/Casino for $29.95, then fed the slot machines another $20.00 before I went to bed.....Another 650 miles behind me, stand by for more installments..:-D

 

[Billy_Oliver880]

Arizona? You didn't stop by? Disrespectful.

 

[DanTheMan]

Arizona? You didn't stop by? Disrespectful.

Do ya know that small corner? Ya can't really go into Arizona from there, otherwise I WOULD'VE WOKE YA'LL UP AT 1:30 AM!!!!!!!!!!:-D (I didn't want to follow the small illegal off-road trails loaded up on my 850 to disturb you, though the thought was there........:-D)

 

[DanTheMan]

Sorry for the long gap in installments......

Sorry for the long gap in installments......

Hey, starting this week,I'll be adding more installments to my road trip. Had my daughter, son-in-law and grandkids here, had to keep the grandkids occupied, don't get to see them too often since they're in NC.:-D

 

[Grandpa]

DanTheMan, good story and photos. Good for you!

Now let me correct you on a minor item on your signature:

The bags on your GS850, (good-looking bike on the photos), are not off a GS1100E. They're off a GS1100GK. Those are the bags that came from the factory on GK models, model years '82, '83, and '84.

You may wish to correct your signature accordingly.

Again, good touring report and pics. Thank you.