The bike will be in a barn out of the weather, the fridge and cupboards are full, the generator is ready, New York city's low-lying areas are being evacuated this arvo...but otherwise you'd not know there's a major storm brewing just a few hundred miles South out over the Atlantic. Here it's a grey, mostly cloudy Sunday morning with a swirling breeze dropping what's left of the yellowy orange foliage that remained clinging to the now-bare trees.

http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/at201218_radar.html
drag down and watch the storm's progress up the East coast...

I'd have left sooner if I'd a direction to go in. To the North it's Winter already, to the West there's that little old front moving cold and snow this way, to the South, the inevitable. Once it's over in two, three days time, and it's time to hit the road, there's the issue of closed motels, debris on the roads, downed power lines, you know; storm damage. So I wait. It's kinda sorta fun.

stay safe mate ...looks as though the intensity is decreasing but sure is a huge event .

Well, the 'storm' has mainly passed us by here in north central Massachusetts. A few limbs came down onto power lines nearby, a load of debris is strewn around, the creeks and rivers are quite high but not flooding. But it was only a relatively mild event here. It looks as though the states of New York and New Jersey and possibly Pennsylvania got hit far harder, and they are South and West of the New England states. This region I am in survived fairly unscathed. I feel sorry for those who were impacted where it came ashore. The power and lights in this 250 year-old town with ancient lines, did not so much as flicker.

One thing I noticed, and grew weary of, was just how much the tele and radio media (both standard news stations and the weather channels) flogged the storm to the point of near-hysteria. If I don't have to watch another minute of "eye-in-the-sky-24-hour-storm-tracker-radar-weather-watch-we'll-keep-you-informed-with-up-to-the-minute-news-and over-exagerations", I won't miss a thing...

Better safe than sorry does not apply here. They have to keep themselves in business, so they eagerly jump at the chance.

Now for the remaining rain to pass, a bit of a clear up, and southward we go in a coupla more days.

Should make for an interesting journey as you head south TWB. I know what you mean about the weather reporters. I had to switch off last night - I simply couldn't watch another report from a guy/gal up to their knees in water

Hopefully you will find sufficient supply of accommodation to get you to sunnier southern states.

88

Yeah we got the same here "We will now leave this long string of adds to give you sad story #7 for the day...... this poor disabled kids cat got fried when the hot fries van got blown over and the sadest thing of all is the fries were not cooked properly and had to be discarded".
We will now cut from this sad story for an important announcement about voting for <insert appropiate dork here>.

timely reminder of the media hysteria here in brisbane durring the last flood event ...just a couple of years ago now

good that it passed you by dazza ....

i agree that there will be accomodation issues on all the south eastern states for some time to come

safe trip for when you get started

These are some of the reasons I do not have a TV hooked up!

G

(Who needs a TV when you have the forum!)

gmcq wrote:These are some of the reasons I do not have a TV hooked up!

G

(Who needs a TV when you have the forum!)

I've reckoned that it's called TV "programming" for a far more sinister reason...
:suspect:

+1 TWB and be safe. Keep the pics coming, feel like i have toured america!

Great writing as always and really lovely pictures. Looking forward to the next installment.
Regards,
K-BIKE

Thanks all. Today was an easy 400 miler, but what a day!

We departed Western Mass early and in cold, grey weather. The air temp was hovering round about 8 degrees celcius, the sky a low-hanging ceiling of cloud. A cuppa tea and a handful of almonds my only breakfast as we wanted to get a move on. The weather reports all suggested the real cold of early Winter was descending, and the rain and snow would fly at some time next week and after the havoc played upon our schedule by Hurricane Sandy (a tempest in a teacup, overall, in New England, but not NY & NJ and elsewhere) we wanted to get away to the southland.

The ride out of Massatucky was easy, all interstate highway through Springfield where I spent my first two years of five at uni from '78 through '80, home to the basketball hall of fame, and what is generally a pleasant, medium-sized burg along the Connecticut River. Entering Connecticut the rain drizzled lightly but swirled round us as we cut a clean wedge of air behind the well-designed RT fairing. Raising or lowering the electrically operated windscreen accordingly lets the rider almost entirely eliminate the rush of air around the helmet, in spite of an Arai RX7 Corsair helmet and always wearing earplugs (my new favourites are the slim, rubbery 'Super Hearos').

Hartford was a blur but I remembered that one of my fave authors, Samuel Clemens of Mark Twain fame, once resided there in a sturdy, wood shingled mansion and had one of the first telephones in all of America. Waterbury and Danbury blazed past my visor, with New York state looming imminent. "Stop for gas" I recalled telling myself earlier as there are recent news reports of long queues and of fistfights breaking out when drivers' patience runs thin.

I soldiered on thinking I could get it right off the highway at a conveniently placed servo with a Macca's and a Starbucks to fuel my own personal vehicle as well. No such dumb bloody luck. When the yellow low-fuel light came on at last I had nearly 250 miles showing on the trip odo, and there was no sign of power at traffic lights along the edge of the main highway and evidence of a large and powerful wind event. Trees were uprooted, rooves caved in, fences buckled, and power lines still dangling. Long lines of power company trucks with full crews aboard rolled in a convoy up the highway, like borrowed mercenary soldiers needed for the current conflict.

At Armonk NY I located a BP after twenty minutes of riding between small towns. Nearly all of them were out of 'gas' but this one had some and an accompanying queue being directed by the police, which was a half a kilometre long. I had no choice, so cap in hand I entered at the back of the line. Paying $4.79 per gallon for premium I squirted 6.4 US gallons into the 6.6 gallon tank. The usual price is around $4.29 per gallon so no wonder 'Mr Patel' in the turban was smiling as I paid him. No worries, the market bears it and so do we when in need.

Back on the road we rolled South along the west of the Hudson River on the Garden State Parkway and onto the NJ Turnpike. These are toll roads and four bucks for a bike and four bucks for a car doesn't add up. Some polly's not doing their math sums right. My bike doesn't wear out the road as much as a car...but pay I must.

I wondered how our old mate RJTrucker has held up as I recall he lives in the thick of it all. In no time we were crossing into Delaware (del a where?) and I was thinking that I couldn't remember the name of a single town or city in that fly-through state. Over the river and into Maryland we go, stoppping for the night in Aberdeen, but there ain't no highlands other than a sweet view of Chesapeake Bay, and our Scots brethren would be disappointed. There's no sign of tartan adorning shops or restaurants or the 'welcome to' sign, so they aren't marketing the concept at least.

Did I mention that the average NY and NJ driver is an absent-minded, insensitive, cell-phone using, no signal using, lane-changing prick? I had to ride faster than them all just to stay alert...and alive. Truth be told I rather like that sort of cut and thrust in traffic. It sharpens one's riding skills.

Time for some grub and a drink, well-earnt.

Tomorrow, into the nation's capital to have a squiz at the lofty monuments to freedom and democracy as an example to the rest of us rabble, and then more along my lines of appreciation, the slithering black tarmac of the fabled Blue Ridge Parkway if there's no snow up there along the ridgeline. "Watch out for the deer, they're everywhere!" I'll also keep my eyes open for 'grey nomads' (Australian for traveling retirees) in oversized RVs crossing the double yellow into my lane...

Cheers.

Close to being a war zone? Once south or current locale you should do much better. Be aware there is a threat of a nor'easter in the forcast. High winds, cold and rain again along the coastal roads. May I recommend a ride you may enjoy, if you go this far, North Carolina Lake Fontana, will get you to Georgia and major interstates. The lake will be down as it is a dammed lake, but the road is excellant for biking. Hills, dales and turns. In a car you can get vertigo. Be careful sir, stay upright and dry.

Thanks, I rode from Albuquerque to the '97(?) BMWRA rally at Fontana Dam when the cops flew overhead back and forth at low altitude in a helicopter blaring the theme from Cops, "Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gunna do when they come for you...?", stopped and illegally searched every BMW rider (but no car driver in the same line) and later on we heard that the county sheriff was arrested and charged for diddling little girls, and possibly boys. Didn't we also hear he later hung himself in shame?

The Cherahola road had just opened, what a stretch of bitumen that was! Also the Tail of the Dragon.

It is already cold here in Maryland with a stiff breeze and the temp plummeting
'muy rapido'. No fear, for we have heated grips, heated gear and windstopper Klim underlayers.

Had a great 400 miler from Maryland, DC and Virginia, down into North Carolina to an old mate's house....actually a boss of mine from the brighter days of 1984 - 1987.

Stopped in Maryland at Bob's BMW and spied the newly-released BMW scooters, both the C600 and the 650GT. Them's some fine looking and well-built twist-n-go machines, but with the weight of an R1200RT...Along the way we idled through Washington DC having a squiz at the gubmint buildings and monuments but with the election a few days away and stacks of tourists, no easy place to park, after a few quick requisite piccies it was back out onto the road and away.

The air was cold and crisp with heavy cloud cover, traffic was fast and heavy and with more of the dicing, cut and thrust of a crowded interstate highway. I managed 43 mpg and rode steady at 75 mph for most of the way. The RT still hasn't used much oil....not bad for having 101,000 miles on the odo. This arvo the sun came out after we crossed the VA/NC state border and stayed glowing until we pulled into the Raleigh-Durham area.

I noted a lotta churches in the area, ramshackle, unpainted farmhouses amongst the newer McMansion-sized estates, foliage just turning to orange, dense pine forests and relatively straight roads that run under the arcs of trees as if in a tunnel. But again, drivers are rolling at 80 mph-plus in 70 mph zones and with very few cops to intrude it looks likely to continue. Still, as much as I enjoy the pace I don't wanna havta meet up with a bored Bubba the sheriff.

Tomorrow is a day off the road as some cool rain is coming in, then it's off on state highways and select backroads through South Carolina and Georgia to Florida when the sun shows its welcome face on Monday.

Good riding.

Bob's BMW, a dealership in Jessup, Maryland, have this exquisite K1, and a whole lot of other gems, in their museum.


If you ever feel that BMW have 'lost it' recently in terms of design in the current generation of motorbikes, keep in mind that they've always pushed the envelope of style and function. This example from the '30s and the previous K1 make that clear, like 'em or not.


The business end of this missile looks the goods.


The Jefferson Monument in DC.


Out the front of a local, authentique BBQ joint in South Carolina where I had lunch. Yummo.

Currently in Augusta, Georgia. Florida in a day or two after some rain passes by tomorrow. It's getting warm again...

Some more pics from the road...


An MV Agusta Mono-cycle at Bob's BMW, Jessup, Maryland.




One of BMW's new scooters, the fully optioned C650GT....family resemblance?


Happiness is a warb gub...this is in a sporting goods shop in a mall in Anywhere, USA.


This is the scene of my last few minutes of a twenty five minute wait for petrol in Armonk, New York. They'd raised the price from about $4.09 to $4.79 per gallon...still far cheaper than in OZ...tempers flared even as people unloaded jerry cans from their car boots presumably for the generator back home as most homes and some businesses were out of power.

good bit of a trip dazza ...thanks for the images and glad to hear you made it past the disaster area ... or is there more as you travel south ?

good luck and good riding

Crossed into Florida from Georgia this arvo under cloudy skies after riding across all of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia without needing or wanting to get onto the interstate highways. The plantations of pine trees, cotton fields, peanut farms and pecan orchards go on for miles. A lot of the towns are tidy and neat with great old brick or timber houses and municipal buildings, along with plenty of weathered shacks for contrast.


The plastic-wrapped bales of cotton are massive, some round and some packed into long rectangles.

Made it to Em-Eye-Ess-Ess-Eye-Ess-Ess-Eye-Pee-Pee-Eye.

That's where we be now. Today was a blustery day crossing various wide bays on long, smooth bridges from Florida through Alabama and into ol' Miss. At dawn it was about 20c degrees. By darkness it had dropped down to about 10c. A large front, stretching from into the Gulf of Mexico up to the far North around the Great Lakes, was moving rapidly (40 mph according to the Weather Channel) from West to East. We passed through it by early arvo, arriving in Biloxi (say Bil-ux-ee) by nightfall, staying on secondary roads with only a short blast on I-10 as the sun dropped behind heavy grey cloud. It's clear and bright again.


71 mph (113 kp/h) at 3500 rpm is crawling, the R1150RT's engine is almost lugging. It's a far cry from my 8V K100RS's 120 kp/h at 5,000 rpm!

Florida was excellent! We spent four days exploring mainly in the North. I've been right to the keys in the South and through the Everglades, Daytona and etc over the past twenty five years and we didn't have the time for going further South on this trip. St Augustine and the area around Gainesville, the Panhandle near Apalachicola, Tallahassee and Panama City, were some pretty sweet places to have a good squiz at. They like their long bridges here and with the wide bays and holiday resorts out on slim sand spits it makes sense to have a bridge rather than a rusty ferry. One of them we crossed was just under five miles long!


The five mile bridge!

Tomorrow, New Orleans' French Quarter then on into 'Tejas'.

Texas is trying to sussede from the union so make sure you have a visa ready.

Rick G wrote:Texas is trying to sussede from the union so make sure you have a visa ready.

They managed 25000 signatures towards it but that don't hardly count toward no secession...even if Texas, the Lonestar State, thinks of itself as "A Whole 'Nother Country". The big news is that residents in 30 states in total have filed petitions to secede from the Union. I wish 'em luck. The US constitution doesn't allow it anyway. But imagine the payback costs if they did succeed.

I'm reminded of Monty Python's The Life of Brian..."Besides schools, roads, sanitation, hospitals and sport, what have the Romans done for us?"

They should just sip a cold Shiner Bock and chill.

When I get to the border, Rick, should I use my Aussie passport or my American passport? Back in '08 when George Bush (Shrub) was visiting Australia, he and then PM Kevin Rudd were discussing cattle, ranches, the size of various places, etc, and it's reported he was disappointed to learn that Queensland, KRudd's home state, as you know, is three times the size of Texas!

Glad you made it to warmer climes Dazza! Dang that bridge looks good.

88

Stopping in Las Vegas?? Wow, what a journey - stop by if you are in this part of the country...

Yep, we'll be passing through 'Loss Wages' after Turkey Gobbler Fest Day sometime on the way back to Seattle.

Heading to Austin, Texas tomorrow. It's a pity Austin's famous musicfest, South by Southwest, isn't on right now.


"Vieux Carre" - The French Quarter of New Orleans.


Loves me some bridges...this one is 23 miles long and goes (straight as) over Lake Ponchartrain, out of N'awlins. 80+ mph on smooth two-lane with no bends and a coupla high points to let the boats pass under. Felt like being out on the ocean.

Great stuff TWB, looks like your having a wonderful trip. Great pics and words as usual. Nothing like some good armchair travel.

Your missing out on CO? I guess the fun roads here do ice up a little in the winter.

KlaustheK wrote:Your (you're) missing out on CO? I guess the fun roads here do ice up a little in the winter.

Back in the '90s I criss-crossed Colorado on my Airhead. I lived in Albuquerque in those days and CO was a beaut moto playground a mere three hours away.

This is the past coupla days, waltzing from Louisiana, across Texas and into New Mexico on a fine motorbike. I rode from Sour Lake, Texas (birthplace of Texaco) to Big Spring, Texas ("Wind Turbine Captial (sic) of the United States") in three day's time. The slowly spinning blades were like young trees in a newly-planted forest, and there were so many of them. Literally hundreds for as far as the eye could see. The transition from one technology to the next was not lost on me. The cattle are still there but today's cowboy drives a Dodge Ram with a big diesel under the bonnet, a distended gut from too many sessions at the greasy buffet table, and a cell phone on his hip. The roads are empty and straight, with rolling hills and few turns, not unlike out beyond Woop Woop in many parts of Australia. The RT has me won too. A bloke could feel special on any such like.




In 'Tejas' I was regularly being overtaken by oil or gas company pickups, even at this high average pace. 85 mph equals 136 km/h. It's boomtime out there on those flat, grassy plains, the oil wells are pumping overtime, don't let anyone tell you different. One oversized sign in a crusty, dusty town read, "We believe in God, Country and Free Enterprise!"




San Saba Peak, Texas. The only bump around.




Worth a second look. Last time I was there was back in '96.








The creator has a sense of humour (and is obviously male, and still juvenile)

Tomorrow, I'm "taking a wrong turn at Albuquerque..."

Have made it to sunny Albuquerque (and only took one wrong turn like Bugs!) The weather has cleared and it's cool at night, down to just 3c degrees last night. Staying with friends I know here since I lived here for five years in the mid to late '90s.

Today was a hunt for a back tyre but being Monday the motorbike shops aren't open - typical in America for bike shops, especially 'off season'. So instead it was an explore and have a squiz at my old haunts sort of day. Albuquerque still has that slightly dusty, grimy feel to it, which I liked when I lived here. It's like an Old West town that still thinks it's a small town, doesn't realise that it's got over a million people in it. It sprawls from one end to the other, right up against the Sandia Mountains to the East and the Petroglyphs to the West. Old Route 66 runs straight through town but many of the colourful old art-deco motels which lined Central Avenue have been pulled down, replaced by modern and anonymous Motel 6 and Holiday Inn Express. There's a sanitised feel to the place now because of it. It's lost something special. Still, I'm enjoying the place and seeing my old friends again. Twelve years it's been...

Some scenery:

Eastern New Mexico's high plains desert - about 6000 feet of altitude. The only things out there are strong sidewinds, grazing cattle and the occasional pinyon bush, where pine nuts come from.


Stopped in Roswell New Mexico - not an alien abduction - and had to have a squiz at the UFO museum. Give it a miss if ever in the area.


The Sandia Mountains loom large over Albuquerque in the East at about 10,800 feet (3300 metres). Albuquerque in the Rio Grande valley is at about 5200 feet.

You're really covering the ground TWB. Thanks for the update....as ever, stay safe!

88

marvelous .....good riding you guys .!

Thanks you mob.

I have located a back tyre and will be fitting it with an old mate who has the requisite gear to spoon it off the rim and to balance it as well....ain't it great to have moto-minded friends!?

It's a Michelin Pilot Road 3...am using Bridgestone BT023s...so I might just buy the front and give 'em a go. I'm heading to the rain and they're reported to be good wet weather tyres so we'll see first hand.

After a bit of brekky at the famous Frontier Restaurant in front of the University of New Mexico (the breakfast burrito - potato, egg & cheese - with Hatch green chili stew spooned over it is the best!) I'll take a spin up the back side of the Sandia Mountains to the overlook. It'll be mighty frigid up there but well worth the look at the distant desert, the Rio Grande Valley and sprawling city below.

Departing after Turkey Gobbler Day which is Thursday here in the land of Thanksgiving. The Grand Canyon, more of Old Route 66, the Las Vegas strip (for a quick look-see, not my thing but), dropping down into Death Valley, around the Sierra Nevadas, and then with luck from the Weather Gods and the Weather Channel, over the high pass into California's North Central Valley from the Reno/Lake Tahoe area through Truckee, California near where the stranded Donner Party ate one another back in that cold and snowy winter of 1846/7...

So much to look forward to. It's an amazing country.

Nice to put a face to a bike TWB. Making good time, do be careful. Not so sure about the pass in CA. me thinks you will have to wait to midday to cross. Ride it like it was meant to be.

kfilipow wrote:Nice to put a face to a bike TWB. Making good time, do be careful. Not so sure about the pass in CA. me thinks you will have to wait to midday to cross. Ride it like it was meant to be.

I'll be sure to not venture up there if it's iffy at all. I rather enjoy staying upright.
The trick is to keep an eye on the weather over the next several days and not trust a word of what the 'weather liars' on the tele say. A mate says to just get up and look out the window.

These have been spooned onto the rims, front and rear...Michelin Pilot Road 3...so far, after two hunnerd miles of riding, they feel pretty good over the road.




Spending Thanksgiving Day in Albuturkey (actually in Corrales) with old friends. It dropped to minus 5c last night and has risen to 10 just before noon. At least it's sunny in Sunny Albuquerque.

Some pix of yesterday's ride...

Mary's Bar in old Cerrillos, New Mexico, where the movies 'Young Guns' and 'The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca' were filmed.


Looking South from atop Sandia Peak, part of a 3200 metre high range (10,200') behind Albuquerque, a mile below.


The 'Kickin Ass Ranch' in old Madrid, New Mexico.


Maggie's Diner from the movie, Wild Hogs. Madrid, New Mexico. It's merely a T-shirt/gift shop movie prop. The dusty old town of Madrid must have got some solid coin from Hollywood to stop traffic when they filmed that pitiable 'motorcycle' movie.


An old, renovated adobe church in Golden, New Mexico along the Turquoise Trail.


Love the adobe of the desert South West. This is the Sandia (Indian) Pueblo's church highlighted in the arvo sun against the Sandia mountains.

After a good feed this evening the road will beckon tomorrow morning. Gunna try to get to Flagstaff (at 8500 feet altitude), then the South Rim of the Grand Canyon before rolling further West. If it all goes pear-shaped, weather-wise, then Tucson and the more southerly route will do...

Departed sunny Rio Rancho, New Mexico after brekky, a coupla hours later than expected under brilliantly blue skies (as only New Mexico has) and temps near 10c degrees and slowly climbing. The late start didn't matter as I-40 Westbound was fast and smooth to Grants where the turn off to the Malpais (Badlands) National Monument is.


Malpais National Monument.

The RT veritably hummed along at between 140 & 150 km/h over the two-lane highway through the Malpais and Westward towards the New Mexico/Arizona state line just past the Zuni reservation. There was very little traffic, all easily overtaken, and cars and pickups coming the other way often gave a quick four-finger salute off the steering wheel, which was returned.

The day was an easy 6-1/2 hour, 400 miler with about half of it off the interstate highway. I still managed 45-46 mpg at those speeds on 90 & 91 AKI octane 'Supreme', the 6,000' to 7,000' (2000-2100 metres) of altitude meaning less octane is required compared to closer to sea level. 91 AKI would be about 95 RON in Australia (and other countries using the Research Octane Number instead of the USA & Canada's Anti-Knock Index).

Some more pix:

La Ventana (The Window). Malpais, New Mexico.


My old mate Tom is a restorer/rebuilder par excellence and this '59 Isetta 300cc (BMW R single cylinder power) is testament to his skill and passion. We retrieved it from a barn back in '99 in a rusted out condition and after a full resto it won best car under 750cc the next year and recently took home the third place prize in an Arizona concours d'elegance. Here are a few of some other vehicles he's done...


'66 E-Type Jaguar


'52 GMC half ton pickup, 270ci six, 4 speed.


'49 Vincent Black Shadow (with a '49 Rapide on the way as well). That's a Chinese-made BMW /2 copy with a 750cc motor and sidecar behind it.


The Shadow's petrol tank.

He has a Messerschmitt 'bubble car', a FIAT Multipla, an early '70s Honda CL175, a '37 Bentley, a '59 BMW R26, an R69S, and other two, three and four-wheeled vehicular oddities to his credit as well. His work is excellent.


For kicks he rides this red thing (and the blue thing behind it) about too.

In short, he is 'one of us'!

Spent Thanksgiving with his lovely wife, their two fine boys and some new friends.

Now moteling it in Flagstaff at 7,000 feet altitude (2100 metres), heading West tomorrow. To follow, the Grand Canyon, then old Route 66, breezing thru Las Vegas, descending into Death Valley and beyond...

Ain't life grand!?

"San Saba Peak, Texas. The only bump around." Quote.

Isint that ONE TREE HILL just off Picnic point in Toowoomba QLD???

Gees he's done a good resto on the Ducati.

Rick G wrote:Gees he's done a good resto on the Ducati.

He bought that new. It's his therapy ride.

Two Wheels Better wrote:

Rick G wrote:Gees he's done a good resto on the Ducati.

He bought that new. It's his therapy ride.

We all need one of those

When I did the tyres the other day I noticed the back pads were worn a bit thin....good thing I brought a complete set of three along....so I threw a set of EBC sintereds into the rear caliper. They have bedded in nicely and are progressive and solid. Though that cursed iABS servo removes any subtle finesse one might have when using a brake. It clomps the brakes hard front and rear when using the back pedal only. You have to go easy on it, especially in a gravel lot or at the roadside.

The Michelins are great! I have yet to use them in the rain, although as I'm heading back to the Pacific North Wet I will be able to test them thoroughly, but they are fantastic in the dry. They track well, don't seem to skim and squirm over the surface like the Bridgestone BT023s did, and are obviously balanced better too - they took hardly any weights - and are serene over a smooth road surface. I noted the PO used a lighter carcass back tyre - these Michies are the correct load rating for a heavy RT. I've got about 600 miles on them now. Let's see if I can get an honest 10,000 miles (16,000 kms) out of the back tyre like I did the Bridgies...the front would have gone another two thou or so...but best to change 'em in pairs, especially since I don't like to mix brands/profiles/compounds.

Since buying the bike back in September with 94,660 miles on the odo, I have now got 104,982 on the odo. I covered about 1,400 miles before leaving Seattle. That leaves 8,922 miles as the total so far covered on this seven week trip. There's another 2,000-odd to go. That will be just under 18,000 kms all up for this tour. It only gets better.

good one dazza ...loving the scenery along the way .

charlie99 wrote:good one dazza ...loving the scenery along the way .

Yesterday was actually "standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona"...like in the Jackson Browne song that the Eagles made a hit out of...."Take It Easy". Took in the Grand Canyon today. Awesome, as expected by me and by those who had not seen it yet. Because of it we didn't get very far. Took old Route 66 through Seligman, Sweet Pea and other dead and dying towns - full of tacky kitsch - and took heaps of piccies which I'll post up later on. The poor buggers long ago got bypassed by I-40 and other than some locals and a few German or Japanese tourists, there's not much going on out there. The sun was setting as the motor wound down in Kingman, Arizona, and turned into the first clean-looking motel along the strip. Have had a good, local Mexican meal at Mi Sarita; enchiladas con pollo (with chicken), chile rellenos (stuffed green chilis) and crispy tacos, also con pollo.


Railings? We don't need no stinkin' railings..."watch this, hold my beer."

By now you know me and my love of spelling and grammar correctness...In Australia and the UK, and in many parts of the world where English is spoken and written, however poorly or expertly, we write the word "chilli" with two letter L when we are talking about those little green or red thingies that are often hot. But in Spanish if the word has a double L in it it's called an "elle" and it's a whole 'nother letter in their alphabet, seperate from just the one L. That's why tortilla in Spanish is pronounced "tor-tee-ya", not as "tor-till-a". So chilli is actually spelt chili or otherwise it would be pronounced "chi-yee", and "pollo" for chicken is pronounced, "po-yo". Confused? Goodonya.

Them chilis and tortillas was perty dern good. Yummo in my tummo.

Tomorrow, Las Vegas, but do I care...gambling and the lotto are for people who are bad at maths.

Time for una mas cerveza! (one more beer)...

When I was in that area a few years back we used to eat Jalapeno Poppers from McDonalds of all places, they were great.
Regards,
K-BIKE

Well, the most excellent and relaxing 2012 Ride Right Round US Tour has sadly drawn to a close. It was a 54 day, 17,622 kilometre (10,951 mile), 32 states and one territory (DC) roadtrip. One half of the party has returned to OZ and warm sunshine, and the other has decided to stay and embark upon a Winter in Seattle working for the sister shop of the BMW shop he spent last Summer in. It's only until September next year, I keep telling myself, as it's a whopping 8c and raining outside. It'll be dark by a quarter past four and there's still nearly three weeks until Solstice (20th of December) and the shortest daylight day of the year. I've had an hour-long ride out there today just for fun, and grocery gathering - I'm not a car lover. The RT and its copious fairing panels, driving lights, heated gear power ports, flashing LED brake/taillight and adjustable windscreen is the bike to have in Winter in this big, dark and slippery city.

We left Kingman Arizona early and headed for the Hoover Dam/Lake Mead complex, which harnesses the mighty Colorado River, reducing it to a fickle trickle downstream, and gives electrical power and provides a large body of recreational water for fishing and boating to the region round about Las Vegas. The desert would still be one without that shimmering blue water siltily backed up against that massive wall of concrete from the '30s. The swaying palm trees planted by man's hand along the boulevards impart a sense of promise and possibility to an otherwise arid place. Here's a pic or two.



It is immense and awesome and these sorts of things always amaze me and what humans can and do do to harness nature, even with the major problems that they often cause to wildlife and the overall health of the river's ecosystem. But, we gots to be able to read by 'lectric light and have water to drink and grow our food with...


Lake Mead's marina


A view of the awesome new road from the old road in front of Hoover Dam.

Next stop, the City of Las Vegas. I have to say straight up that I am not a fan of these kinds of amusement parks/cities masquerading as vacation destinations. It's a non-stop, in yer face, massively outsized theme park, an aggresive assertation and projection of wealth and celebrity. I'm no prude or God Botherer but, like spending five minutes in a smoky strip club, it leaves me cold. It's been nearly a decade and a half since I last rolled through so kept my eyes and mind open and was not disappointed. I did, however, do the safety squint to protect myself from the evil karmic rays of Lost Wages' Sodom to LA's Gomorrah. Gambling and the lotto are for people who are bad at maths. I can take it or leave it now. At the end of the day the city and neighbourhoods surrounding the gawdawful strip are reminiscent of any large, tidy American city in or near the desert, with decent parks, shops and other facilities, and a spectacular view of the rugged mountains around it makes a quick look worth the visit. I did leave with my wallet intact.


The MGM Grand, complete with roller coast right smack along Dean Martin Boulevard.


The Caesar's Palace complex

Next up, Pahrump Nevada and Death Valley beckoned. Now that's my kinda weighty bookends: The mighty Grand Canyon and the naturally stark and harsh Death Valley, to the paperback thin veneer of Las Vegas.


Heading into Death Valley


Racing past some distant dunes...


You go from -150 feet below sea level to over 5,000 foot passes several times in the Death Valley region. I flashed past the 'minus' sign and had to keep moving...


That first line of low hills is over ten miles away. The background range would be fifty-plus miles in the distance. I almost crashed from snapping my neck round to look back at where we'd come from. The road was designed by someone who "gets" motorbikes, me thinks.


It was sad to have to leave, but we had two more hours of riding and about an hour of daylight left behind the Sierra Nevadas, and the temp was dropping fast. Also, the deer and the antelope were playing...


Just on sunset near Bishop, California. That thar's snow on them thar hills...Mt Morgan is all of 12,992' high (3,900+ metres) and is a part of the Sherwin Range of the Sierra Nevadas.


Only one way of three southern routes across the Sierra Nevadas...we took 89 and it turned out to be a blast of several 8500 foot passes under snow...but not on the road surface.




Looking back to where we'd just ridden from. Carson Spur, 7990 feet


Won't find no Lost City of Gold up here...freezing cold though.

That second to the last traveling day saw us cover a lot of ground with the pressure of having to return to the Pacific North West quickly. The last day was a slog under mostly grey skies, heavy fog in Oregon and a fair bit of rain as well. It was the longest day under our wheels and we got in late at night. The hot shower, quick bit of dinner and soft bed felt good.


Mt Shasta, from the town of Weed California.

What's the next interesting North American destination? I dunno, I try to do a longish roadtrip every year and a bigger trip every two years or so. I reckon at the end of my work stint in September next year I'm good for a month or so into the American desert southwest and further into Chihuahua state of Mexico, perhaps Baja California to Los Cabos - the last time was a solo ride during the entire month of November, 2005. I rode down there on my K1200S. I'm looking at the map....

Cheers.

More pics up, prior to this last post. Thanks for reading.

So TWB....

1) What was the BEST part of the trip? The one thing you would want to remember?

2) Conversely, what was the WORST part of the trip? The one thing you would NEVER want to do again?

I tend not to have favourites in anything from music to films to food to people to motorbikes, well, not motorbikes, there I clearly have favourites. I can take or leave a lot of things and just roll with it as it comes. I can't answer your question as asked in that light.

What I loved: rolling over the mountains, the plains, and the open range, dicing through city traffic at peak hour, watching the rain blow sideways during Hurricane Sandy, struggling to find fuel in New York after Hurricane Sandy, digging deep to find yet another warm layer in Montana, letting my younger brother Jo, who currently lives in Massachusetts, take his first R1150RT ride (he's a long-time Airhead rider...the bugger was gone for ninety miles!), seeing the smile on my riding partner's face at the end of each day (or maybe she was just happy to unhinge), finding the cheapest motel in town and realising that it wasn't the worst, eating all of that glorious food (who says there's no good food in America!?), St Augustine Florida is a beaut place to visit, again, remembering how friendly and curious the average American from big towns and small alike, are, meeting new people, catching up with old old friends, riding through the American southwest desert (everyone should do that once or twice in their life), and being able to record it all for you lot here, with pictures. Ta for that.

stunning pics mate ....cheers !

saw "miss" activities arriving home on the fb page . what a holiday !

Hope you're enjoying a rest after a super and successful trip. Thanks for the reports and the pics to keep us entertained TWB

88

Good on you, great ride reports and photos.
Regards,
K-BIKE

Sorry I missed meeting you this time around, here in the Sacramento-Chico area of CA. The weather was nasty when you were in this area... we had a 2 day power failure here at the house.

Next time. Great pics. Safe journey home.

BadjerJim wrote:Sorry I missed meeting you this time around, here in the Sacramento-Chico area of CA. The weather was nasty when you were in this area... we had a 2 day power failure here at the house.

Next time. Great pics. Safe journey home.

We were there in your 'neck of the woods' a day before California's central and northern valleys got slammed by the rain and then snow in the mountains. Going over Siskiyou Pass into Ashland, Oregon was the only really treacherous part at the end of the ride. The red gravel they spread to increase four wheel traction does wonders for two wheels, as you know. It's like riding on tiny ball bearings.