Uncategorized – 2013 X-Country

Day 1

PatrickLY — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 18:14:02 +0000

Nice Ride yesterday. Started out a little cool but was actually very nice by the time we got to Arizona. That’s right, I said “we” – Robin said she would like to come along for the first leg of the journey and spend some time with our family in Phoenix.

Resting a little before leaving California via Parker, AZ (62/95 junction)

Day 3

PatrickLY — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:49:31 +0000

The Pink Towel will be staying in Phoenix this time. As you may remember I had to haul that rag all around the countryside with me on last year’s ride – but not this year. Both our matches came down to the last putt on the last hole but I was the lucky one. Several shots were lost and thrown away but a good time was had by all. Many tequilas bere enjoyed over the past few days, both in celebration and in sorrow. Tomorrow it will be time to get back on the road. Mom’s home made mac & cheese was a great last supper.

Day 4 – Silver City, New Mexico

PatrickLY — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 18:19:09 +0000

Yeti cooler addition to the tent trailer. Works GREAT!! Chelada (picante), Diet Mt. Dew, Mom’s Mac & Cheese, apple slices, & Fritos. Ready for anything…

Started a little later than normal this morning but that was by design. Had a nice breakfast and visit with Mom & Dad before heading out. First stop was at Circle K to fill up the gas tank and load my new ice chest for the first time.

Last night while watching the Diamond Backs beat the Yankies, I saw a commercial for Culver’s and immediately went to the computer to see where along my route I could get one of their Colby Jack Pub Burgers. I was in Mesa, standing at the door waiting for them to open at 10:30 for “second breakfast.”

From there I headed up to Globe and after a couple stops for things that I needed for the camping portion of the trip, I was on the road for Silver City, New Mexico. Much of the ride was “at altitude” and my sea level tuned bike is complaining about the lack of air up here. She’s still getting the job done but you really have to put the spurs to her once in a while.

Camping at the KOA here in Silver City. When I checked in they said it was going to be freezing tonight & they offered me a special deal on one of the Kozy Kabins so I took it; the heater alone will be worth it. Tomorrow – somewhere in Texas.

Kozy Kabin – Koa Kampgrounds are so Kewl….

Day 5 – Van Horn, TX

PatrickLY — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 19:09:06 +0000

It was COLD this morning so I took my time getting started. It warmed up quickly though and I was out of my jacket and winter gloves within an hour.

This little red bottle turned out to be a real problem when it leaked all over the saddle bag & everything in it. I didn’t notice it until it was way too late to do anything but toss the bottle & hope the smell would eventually go away – it never did….

Since I had to get on the slab out of Deming to get around the White Sands missile range, I decided to stop in El Paso, TX at the largest Harley dealer – Barnett Harley Davidson; my lucky day – free burgers. I bought a little refrigerator magnet and had a burger then got back on the road. You may remember, I took this same route last year and I ran out of gas. To make sure that didn’t happen again, I bought one of these little one gallon gas cans custom made to fit in the bottom of your saddle bag. About 10 miles outside of town, she started to sputter. With a huge smile on my face for having such foresight this time around, I unloaded the saddle bag and pulled out my spare gallon of fuel. Should have made sure I knew “the combination” to this thing before trying to use it on the side of the road. I had to break it but I got the gas out & made it into Van Horn without AAA’s assistance.

It was a long and windy day, and it’s a bit windy here in Van Horn as well but it’s nice to be clean and the KOA here has a Kitchen – dinner was excellent.

Home Sweet Home (on the range). Van Horn, Texas – KOA.

Enjoying the West Texas sunset with an ice cold beer and a cigar.

Day 6 – Wichita Falls, TX

PatrickLY — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 19:25:53 +0000

My wake up call this morning was a rooster that I was confident was informing me that the sun was on the rise. I was fooled however because there is enough ambient light from the lights of the campground that it was kinda light inside the tent. After dressing and deflating my air mattress I went outside. DARK. Ugh – walked to the bathroom then got back in the sleeping bag (clothes and all) for an hour while all the rest of the local flighted flautists were tuning up.

I started out on the slab this morning. No good way to get where I’m going without doing a little slab time I guess. Besides, at 0745 on Sunday morning, I-10 and I-20 are virtually empty. AND – the plains of West Texas are somewhat less than scenic. It was cold again last night and I know it was colder in Silver Springs so I am very happy I decided to go with that Kozy Kabin. The ride on the Interstate was – eh… After I turned off I-20 though, I went through some farms and ranches that made everything right again. I didn’t take any pictures but should have at least stopped so you could see the blue bonnets in bloom on the side of the road. Instead I’ll leave you tonight with this shot of my office. If the birds here are any kin to the ones in Van Horn – I won’t be needing to set an alarm tonight….

iPad Mini, Logitech Solar Powered bluetooth keyboard, Bose bluetooth speaker (playing music from my iPhone that’s charging in the tent)

Day 7 – Hot Springs, Arkansas

PatrickLY — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 23:58:30 +0000

Out of Texas, through Oklahoma & settled in at the KOA in Hot Springs, Arkansas. I was outside at my ice chest desk but the bugs here are SERIOUSLY HUNGRY and I was on the menu. Sitting here in the tent I’ve probably got 20 caterpillars on the outside. I was knocking them off as they dropped on but I’ll just do it in the morning. Wow, a bird just came and ate one of them off the top of the tent, maybe I won’t have that much work to do in the morning after all… I’m really glad I have such a nice tent trailer and that there is room for my chair in here.

Very nice night last night in Van Horn, cool but not too cold. I was on the road by 0830 and stopped 80 miles down the road for breakfast at McDonald’s in Ardmore, OK. On the way out I had an interesting conversation with a nice old man that really liked my cane. He said, “With a good sized walkin stick like that, you could whup a whole room full of smart asses.” He was very nice and would have loved to stand there and talk, but I told him I needed to get down the road – he tipped his had and walked away. Next time I’m going to sit down and have a nice long chat.

The ride out of Texas and most of the way through Oklahoma was pretty flat & straight but by the time I got into Arkansas everything got better. Very nice riding on US 70 so far. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow and I don’t know exactly what I’m going to do but I’ll most likely be doing it from inside a hotel room – hopefully before I get too wet. I have rain gear but would rather not break it out & I really don’t want to be tent camping in the rain.

Here’s my funny story for the day. At the Harley dealer in Los Cruises, New Mexico I bought a little short brimmed baseball cap that I was going to try to wear when riding. The sun shines down through the top of my sun glasses and I wanted to see if I could remedy that situation. The cap worked wonderfully but I had trouble keeping it on, especially above 60 mph and if there was a crosswind. I could feel it slipping off and grabbed it every time but once. Luckily, I was on a back road and there was little to no traffic so I went back and got it. I made myself a safety strap with a paper clip and some fishing line so I wouldn’t lose it again; and it’s a good thing I did. When it came off I was on a busy road (almost freeway) and there would have been no going back. I think the people behind me must have had a good laugh. It’s flapping in the wind back there and I’m reaching back trying to reel it in with one hand and can’t get it done. So, I put the cruise control on and used both hands. The line was long enough that I just stuffed the whole thing inside my vest until I could stop and put it back on. I guess I could have let it flap back there – that would have been interesting for the folks behind me too. I’ve got a couple pictures but I’m having trouble getting them out of my phone – tomorrow…..

Day 8 – Lebanon, Tennessee

PatrickLY — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:28:31 +0000

My goal today was to keep from putting my rain suit on – and not get too wet in the process. I’ve been told by the locals that rain is coming and I dedicated today to get out in front of it. As you know, I don’t like to do too much time on the slab, but when you’re running – you gotta RUN. I will tell you, if you’re not comfortable mixing it up with the big rigs – better not get on Interstate 40 out of Little Rock. Same speed limit for everyone, trailer or not, and in many places – “It’s a Free For All.” I was good with it, and played the game for a long time; but by the time I got to Nashville (about 350 miles) I was DONE. I got off I-40 and took the loop around the city. Got back on my old friend since Texas – US 70 East. It was 55 mph on the loop and US 70 was a surface street for 15 miles but it was a welcome change from the 75 or 80 mph (pulling a trailer) just to stay alive on I-40. I didn’t get far though; stopped in Lebanon and decided to spend the night. Rain tonight so I’m in a hotel room & hope it is gone in the morning. I will ride in the rain but I’m happy to wait it out if I have the time. The thing I really try to avoid on these camping trips is putting the tent away wet; nothing good comes from that…..

When I was getting all the stuff off the bike and into the room, a couple of the locals invited me to the bar behind the hotel here so I think I’ll go check that out.

Okay – that was a bust; I actually think I was set up. The “locals” that invited me and said they would be there – weren’t. The people that were there were NOT interested in someone just walking in to THEIR bar and expecting to be included in all the reindeer games – and that included the bar tender. I had one beer, left $5 on the bar and got the hell out of there before anything got out of hand. What was it that Shakespeare said, “Discretion is the better part of valor.”

Hat Keeper – the paper clip attaches to the back on the hat

Day 9 – Johnson City, Tennessee

PatrickLY — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:40:39 +0000

This morning I started out just south of Lebanon, TN on my US 70 eastbound. Smooth road, no traffic, wide sweeping turns, speed limit of 45. You could go faster but you might miss some of the beautiful countryside so 45 was plenty fast enough. What a great way to wake up!!

I was hoping that the rain would go through over night and be gone this AM. What I think happened, is that yesterday’s rain went through just north of where I was and missed me altogether. Today’s rain was going to be a different story. I was definitely in front of the rain when I started out this AM. I was sure I could easily outrun it if I took I-40 but I’d had my fill of that yesterday and would rather be wet than spend another day on the Interstate. You know the wind change that comes right before it starts raining? I was riding in that turbulent wind for over two hours. Then it was spitting rain but just a little and certainly not enough to make me stop to put on the rain gear. I was having fun staying just in front of the rain, riding toward the lighter sky, and daring the rain to just try to catch me. Then – – it started getting dark. I was getting wet and decided to stop and get the rain gear (most of it) on. I have spare everything – except boots, and boots take a LONG time to dry out and it’s no fun at all wearing wet boots – so I took care of them first. I wasn’t going to put the rain suit on but figured the jacket would at least keep my leather vest dry. The pants are a PAIN to put on, so I didn’t. Later, I regretted that decision. What I should have done is follow the advise of a “good ole boy” at one of my gas stops. He said, “Better hunt you a dry spot.” If I had done just that, it would have taken 45 minutes to an hour for it to blow over but I had no way of knowing.

It rained moderately for 20 of my last 30 miles, and POURED for the last 10. But that wasn’t a big problem because I never got over 35 mph. As most of you know, riding in the rain isn’t a big deal for me but I’m going to need some different glasses or maybe a scuba mask for these situations – getting water on the outside AND the inside of your glasses makes things, “interesting…..”

Oh yea, someone got themselves a nice souvenir last night. I guess they must have needed a California license plate for their collection. Luckily, the one on the bike is difficult to get to – they took the one off the trailer. Some people’s kids…….

Day 10 – Roanoke, Virginia

PatrickLY — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:05:27 +0000

Late start and a short day. No slab time today and it was very nice. It takes a while on the side roads but it’s a much nicer ride. I actually took the time to take some pictures today. I’m using my iPhone & iPad almost exclusively for my photography. They do a good job and are always close.

I spent most of the day today in the Blue Ridge mountains, part of the Appalachian chain. It was awesome but I won’t bore you with all the “great ride” stuff, just one story to tell. I was following a guy for a while that thought the yellow recommended speed in the turns was the new speed limit. It took me awhile to figure this out and I was a little frustrated at the arbitrary speed changes, etc. After I figured it out – I just laughed. They turned off after while and even though I was able to speed up – I actually kinda missed them. Here are a couple panorama shots I took from the road.

One of the meadows at the top of the Appalachians.

When I left California, the packing list included my chaps – but I couldn’t find them & I fear that they are lost. So, I did some checking and found a place in Independence, VA that makes their own (in the USA) chaps, jackets, & some western stuff. Additionally, their reputation for a quality product is very good & their stuff is covered by a lifetime guarantee. I had to check them out – off the beaten path to say the least, but worth the trip if you’re in the area. I won’t waste everyone’s time telling you about the chaps I got but if you wanna know – ask. If you’re looking for quality and made in the USA – check these folks out (in person or on line).

Sporting my new chaps from www.foxcreekleather.com

The descent from the Blue Ridge mountains down into Roanoke, VA is not gradual. It was difficult to stop since it’s pretty steep and what little shoulder there is has gravel all over it, but I managed & got this shot just before what was to be the end of my day on the bike. I’m holed up in a flea bag here in Roanoke because the KOA’s weren’t convenient. On the positive side there is a Mexican restaurant across the parking lot. Think I’ll go over there and see if I can’t teach them how to make a margarita. Norfolk, VA tomorrow.

Coming out of the Blue Ridge Mountains into Roanoke, Virginia

Day 11 – Yorktown, Virginia

PatrickLY — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:23:20 +0000

Killing time a little time. Slainte’

My ride today was a slab ride. When you get closer to the big cities you just have to be on the slab or you’re going to be fighting traffic on surface streets. I might have been able to figure out a route that would mostly keep me out of the cities but I was really just over it and wanted to get to Yorktown (near Norfolk) and see my friends. Additionally, taking the freeway allowed me to start later in the day – which was important because it was an electric clothes day even when I left at 10:00. When I got here I stopped at Buffalo Wild Wings and bought myself a reward while I waited for my buddy to get off work. It’s been a long time since I had one of these & it sure tasted good; the second one was even better.

I left Buffalo Wild Wings after a nice visit with Don & Judy and headed for Kim’s house. Spaghetti dinner with Kim, her son Lowell, grandson Ryan, and son-in-law, Bill. Fresh strawberries, home made shortcake, and cream for desert – good friends, great food.