Arizona US-191

August 30, 2012

El Paso TX

Wow!!  What a surprise this turned out to be.  Once again the map is not accurate in detail.  The map really cant portray what the road reaaaalllly does!  I describe this road as the Tail of the Dragon repeated over and over on the Beartooth Highway!!

Yes, I was scared crapless again….yes, I’ll have to get a good Mexican dinner con frijoles y jalapenos to mitigate the constipating impact this ride will have upon my tender, youthful sensibilities L.

Riding out of Springerville was pretty much a level, perhaps somewhat minor incline of a ride, to where the excitement began.  Bob took some photos in town showing the differences in our bikes/packing and also one of his teddy bear sitting on a local monument.  I also asked him to take one of a trailer with the name Paddock on it….I have a Boeing friend who has that name.

Laundry & Writing

August 28/29, 2012
Springerville AZ

T’was a slow day…purposely so.  Got up when I woke up, felt good enough to stay up.  Strolled over to the motel office for some dark liquid and then hunkered down to play catch up on the blog writing.  Seems I am not as disciplined as I would like to think I am.  The long hours of riding each day doesn’t leave me much time left to write.

The blogs are significantly behind…so much so that I think I’ll start writing beginning with the ride from Lewiston to Burley and complete the stories forward to now.  Then when I have time I’ll fill in the stories prior to Burley back to Sturgis. 

The only news to put in for today….besides doing laundry, writing

Million Dollar Highway US-550

August 28, 2012
Springerville AZ

Yesterday was quite a ride!  It was the day to ride the US-550 known as the Million Dollar Highway. My rest was excellent…the Affordable Inn is a very nice motel with a good hot breakfast to start the day.  The room was very clean and well appointed….been a while since I stated in an upscale place like this one.

While loading the bike I met Ernie and Laura Desotell from WI.  They had been touring the west lately and were on their way home (I subsequently received an email from Ernie letting me know that they arrived safely).  I believe Ernie recently had surgery and they were very happy he recovered well and were able to get out on the road.

Sophia was loaded up and I headed north on the 550 which was right outside the motel’s parking lot.  It wasn’t long before I encountered my first twisty leading up to a view point with a big sign declaring ‘Switzerland of America’.  There were two busloads of tourists and a trio of ladies abandoned their husbands to get a photo with me….but no time to chat with them and learn of their originations and life’s stories as the buses were loading for departure.

Riding a Night Time Road

August 27, 2012
Montrose CO

Woke up early and found that the power came on some time during the night so my cell phone and computer got charged.  After loading the bike I tanked up at the Shell station and then began the long hard ride to Montrose CO to be positioned for the US 550 USA Best 15 Ride Challenge tomorrow.

The ride only got slowed down once on the early leg where the I-84 splits from the I-86 and angles southeast towards the UT border.  This is a long stretch of road without any service for about 50-60 miles.  About 35 miles into that stretch I noticed a rider on the side of the road, looked like he was on a Triumph.  I pulled in behind him and found that he was out of gas.  I told him I could help as I had a spare tank of gas and he gratefully accepted…but I sensed some hesitation.  I repositioned Sophia in front of his bike, dismounted, and while keeping an eye on him, began unstrapping the net stretched over my bags.  He came over to tell me that he had started with a full tank but that he had left the choke or fuel control or something wide open and that resulted in a high consumption rate of fuel.  Didn’t make sense to me at the time and I noted it for future research.  Then he told me that he had a tow truck on its way from Snowville bringing him gas and felt he should wait for it and not ‘stiff’ the driver.  I agreed with him, re-strapped the netting and took off contemplating chokes, rich vs lean settings, fuel flow, yadayada, with no clear understanding of what could take place with an open choke.  Oh well, definitely will check into it later.

I-84 finally joined the I-15 around Tremonton and I began the long ride through the urban world.  Traffic density began increasing a few miles north of Brigham and got heavier heading into Ogden, Salt Lake City and Provo.  The ride was rough…sections of road under construction with sections that should be under construction, traffic that should be flowing at 55mph but goes at the 70+ pace of the city rush, unpredictable drivers who suddenly make lane changes without using blinkers, drivers who drift out of their lanes, and many more dangers to the motorcyclist.  I am unsettled riding in urban and suburban areas now…much time has been spent in the country roads and hills were the air is clearer.

A Dark Motel

August 26, 2012
Burley ID

Woke up early having had a good rest….800 mg of Ibuprofen helps in that regard.  Since it was early, and since the motel manager offered rags and hose to wash Sophia, I decided to do that first thing, and also give it a spray wax,  Tire pressures were down about 4 psi which is not too bad.  But the air suspension was low almost 12 psi. so I pumped it back up to 45psi which is where I think it rides best given the load I’m carrying.

I had the opportunity of meeting Tim Trellstad from MN.  He and his German Shepard Sheba are traveling via motorcycle.  Check out Sheba’s riding quarters atop the trailer.  If you look closely you can see here head protruding over the top.

Also met Al Waldon from Arkansas...i think somewhere around Branson.  He and his sweetheart are doing some traveling and he told me about some great scenic rides that I need to visit in Arkansas.  He also gave me the name of a great lodge to stay at called the Pond Mountain Lodge.  If I remember correctly the owner, Judy Jones, is a PhD and converted a farm house into a beautiful lodge offering individual cabins and various activities to engage in while staying there.

A quick load up and then some breakfast and I was down the road at 10:20am, a little late but beneficial as we’ll see later.

Lolo Pass/Friend From Past

August 25, 2012
Lewiston ID

The morning was cold, I could feel it into my bones as I walked outside at 8am with a cup of the motel’s continental breakfast coffee in my hand.  The sun was up in the clear sky but the earth wasn’t warming the air currents yet. Sipping the coffee I concluded it tasted good so went back into the breakfast lounge to have some more along with a warm waffle.  Perhaps engage in conversation with other travelers if there are any lively ones bent on such a morning activity.

There weren’t.  Sometimes I gain some info about the highway ahead

Road to the Sun, Glacier NP

August 24, 2012
Missoula MT
(Mucho photographs)

Saw JB and Yoda in the morning and we agreed to meet for breakfast at the local café about a block up the road.  It is a nice place and they serve a good breakfast and coffee.  While eating we got to know each other a little more.  JB, in his 60’s, is a Vietnam Army veteran and was in the Chu Lai territory.  Yoda is in his late 70’s and I don’t remember his military service.  They both commented on the previous evening…seems that numbnuts went to them and nicely asked them to reposition their bikes.  They laughed when I told them about my encounter…..they assumed he had been drinking.  Bottom line? He moved his car from one side of the gravel entry driveway to the other side by his room window…big deal.

JB and Yoda left for Browning and I finished a cup of java then sauntered out to the bike.  Once out of town I opened the throttle to 70-75 because of speed limit and also because of the cold wind.  And it was certainly blowing.  It had to have been around 25 with gusts to 35!  Cold blasts coming from the northwest, tearing across the low hills and prairie of MT.  Many a bike was coming the opposite direction and they were leaned into the wind about 20 degrees….gave me an indication of what I looked like to them.  I passed two windsocks….one next to two helicopters of an unknown make, possibly European.  The windsocks were straight out which means the winds were 28 mph or more…probably more because the gusts had no impact on the sock.  And did I mention it was cold??  I stopped at a small town…possibly Bynum, and switched to my leather jacket and donned the glove liners.  It helped, but by the time I reached Browning I was frozen.

Choteau Door Thumper

August 23, 2012
Choteau MT

Despite getting to bed late last night and eating a very late burger I still slept well and awoke at a decent hour to partake in the EconoLodge continental breakfast.

While loading Sophia I met a husband and wife that were suited up to continue their ride on their BMW’s (at least I think they were BMW’s…I gotta learn what these bikes look like!).  They were Hal and Jeannette Bishop…and of course, I failed to note where they were from, arrrggghhh!

And then a few minutes later a Canadian couple stopped by to admire (secretly laugh) the rack Sophia has J.  They were Kevin Cooper and Katherine Sabine from Alberta Canada. 

Heading out of Billings on I-90 the road presented some strong headwinds…sure made the ride interesting.  I pushed the speed to 85 mph for the leg to exit 256 to catch the MT-69.  Yes it would have been a little shorter probably if I had taken the exit for US-287….but that seemed so lacking in variation J. 

Chief Joseph/Beartooth Highways

August 22, 2012
Billings MT
(Containing many pics of Beartooth/Chief Joseph)

 

I am writing this well after the ride.  Seems that my notes were not properly saved when I wrote them the night or two after this ride.  So there are a few observations that I had written about that I do not recollect, but hopefully the main ones will be recorded.

The ride out of Buffalo was along the US-16, a scenic highway, through Ten Sleep and into Worland.  Before reaching Ten Sleep there is this really nice ride through the Bighorn National Forest.  It’s a good climbing ride through the mountains and before I knew it I was at the Powder Pass at 9666 feet.  While trying to set up the camera for a self photo, battling the cold wind, I noticed a gentleman coming down of the hill and asked him to take the photo of me.  I believe his name was Hal and he was from traveling from a nearby state wanting to view the Bighorn.

Blog Catch Up Time

September 16, 2012
Tigard OR

OK, I am way behind in my blogs. 

Actually I had been recording them on my notebook computer and when I was going to post them I saw that I had omitted about 6 days worth of blogs between Ellsworth AFB and US-191 in AZ.

So, please bear with the delays while I hunker down, here in OR, and try to get caught up on the writing and then get them all posted.

Meanwhile, I'm visiting with extended family and relaxing....getting my energy level restored from it being depleted during the Three Flags Classic run of 2000 miles in 4 days from El Paso TX to Nelson BC, Canada.

C ya mañana,

Gonzo

Twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA

Email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com

Cell: 949-433-0761