Motorcycle Journeys Trip Logs

Category: Trip Planning

Posts about planning and preparation for the upcoming motorcycle trip

  • Back on the road

    The part arrived at 9:30 and Dean started the install right away. A couple of test rides, another check on the computer, and they had the motorcycle ready for me by 11:30 so I was on the road at noon. They let me pay my part of the bill and were going to get the payment from the extended warranty company for the ABS ring after I left. My local dealer at home wouldn’t even order parts until they received payment from the extended warranty company.

    While I was back talking to Dean this morning another customer told me he things Louisville is the best BMW motorcycle dealer in the US. From everything I saw he may very well be right.

    Unfortunately leaving at noon put me into 102 temperatures.When I was heading into Cincinnati my thermometer was reading 104.6. I felt it get hotter and didn’t want to know so I didn’t look at the thermometer again until I felt it get a little cooler – back to 104

    On the north side of Cincinnati I stopped to rewet my cooling vest. Twenty miles later the temperature started dropping, the sky clouded over, and there appeared to be a serious storm up ahead.

    It started to sprinkle and since I was getting cold (do you believe it?) I decided to stop for gas early and get my rain liner in my jacket. The gas station had lost power when the storm went through with 60 MPH wind. I can’t believe I was lucky enough to miss that. Back on road I watched the storm move south, but I never hit any rain. It started warming up as I went through Columbus and was back in the 90’s as I went around Cleveland.

    I made it to the OH/PA border before dark and only have 460 miles to get to West Dover tomorrow. The forecast is for cooler temps and a 40% chance of scattered showers. The forecast for West Dover shows 39 for Saturday morning and 45 for Sunday morning. From cooking to freezing.

    Dean gave my motorcycle a thorough check up and corrected some things. I’m going to have to call and see what he did since my MPG was considerably better today than it’s been in a long time. Fully loaded with a 49T rear sprocket and I was getting 60 MPG today going 75-80 MPH most of the day.  Wow.

  • Escaping to Vermont

    After working on exterior home repairs for a month and a half I’m ready to get out of the heat for a while so I’m going north to Vermont to attend the Northeast Jailbreak for the Chain Gang F650 GS group in West Dover. The get together is from August 5-8 at the Gray Ghost Inn. The inn is owned by a couple and the wife is an F650 rider — they are offering rooms at a great rate  to the Chain Gang members. West Dover is on the edge of Green Mountain National Forest so there should be some great riding in the area. I’m looking forward to meeting some other F650 owners.

    Vermont Routes
    Vermont Routes

    Since it’s only 170 miles to Quebec I plan to ride north on Hwy 100 from West Dover to do a little sight seeing in the Eastern Townships — I loved Lake Memphremagog last summer and want to ride around it this year. It’s a large lake with about 75% of it in Quebec and the other 25% in Vermont. Magog is on the north shore of Lake Mempremagog — a very cool little city with one of my favorite espresso bars/restaurants Caffuccino. I don’t care what time of day I get to Magog — I’m stopping to eat.

    Then I’ll turn south to check out West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and a little of South Carolina once I get out of New England. I was in these same states last year on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but that was so insulated (stunningly beautiful, but pretty well insulated from the rest of the world) I didn’t really get to see the surrounding area except for fuel stops. I plan to ride south more or less parallel to the Parkway. I have a variety of routes mapped and I’m not sure at this point which one I’ll be taking. The plan right now is to spend a couple days in the Asheville/Brevard area and then head southwest toward Dallas and back to the heat.

    I hope I’m not being too optimistic, but I’m fairly confident I won’t be seeing any SNOW on this trip. One experience with that was more than enough… But I also hope there are no heat waves up north since I would really like to experience some cooler temperatures for a while.

    Mountains, lots of green, cooler temps. That’s what I’m looking for.

  • Snow storms and other problems, part 2

    After looking at the tail section I called a friend to see if he had any experience with it. He told me about another woman with an F650 who rode around for a while with no tail light and license plate because she didn’t know it had fallen off. Great. His suggestion was to use cable ties, duct tape, whatever, to get it attached well enough to make it home. That was not my favorite option.

    I spent over an hour at the gas station trying to figure out how to reattach the thing with no success.  Four open slots have to fit into clips and then screws that go through the clips need to be tightened from under the top case. The wires to the light are so short the tail assembly can’t be turned sideways to get a good look at the back of it. The wires to the light connect somewhere inside it. I couldn’t see any way to get all four slots in four clips at the same time.I tried taking the tail light off so see if I could disassemble it further and then attach it. That showed me nothing.

    I gave up and got cable ties out to fasten the tail section on. One after another they snapped in two when I tried to use them. They had deteriorated and were brittle. The last two I had didn’t break so I put the motorcycle back together, tested to make sure the brake light was working, and decided to stop at the first motel I saw.

    I registered at motel just a few miles down 25 and the lady behind the desk said I could park right in front of the office windows so they could keep an eye on the motorcycle all night. I pulled the bike around and tested the brake lights again. Nothing. I walked back and checked — no tail light either. My first order of business had to be getting more cable ties and taking the assembly off so I could find out why the lights weren’t working.

    A bunch of men from BNSF railroad were coming back to the hotel. I asked about cable ties and one of them dug through a truck and came up with a hand full of them and gave them to me.

    I started taking the motorcycle apart (the top case and some other parts had to be removed) parked right by the entrance to the motel so, of course, everyone was asking what I was doing. I told them what happened and a couple of the men checked it out while others went for tool boxes and stayed around to chat and see if they could help.

    Everyone was amazed that I had 42,000 miles on my motorcycle, that I was riding alone, that I had been dumb enough to go over Vail Pass in May… Most the guys had motorcycles and one said he didn’t think he’d put 42,000 miles on all his motorcycles combined. Another man asked how many miles I had ridden and when I said 550 he asked in how many days. When I told him today he was shocked. Another man chirped up that he’d ridden 200 miles in one day once and it was awful. He wasn’t joking — he was dead serious. Perhaps a salient point here is that they were all Harley owners?

    I told them that I’d never been on a motorcycle until 2006 and that I’m still a newbie — the general consensus was that 42,000 miles kind of eliminated the newbie status. Especially after they saw my stickers from Mexico and Canada. I still think I’m a newbie.

    You want to hear a funny thing? A lot of BMW riders see the stickers on my cases and ask if I’ve been to all those places. Harley riders see the stickers and never question if I’ve been to the places or not. What’s with that?

    Dan and Hillbilly (I never heard his real name) did all the work attaching the tail piece. Over two hours of trying over and over again. I don’t know who designed that tail section, but I suspect it was the Marquis de Sade. I still don’t know how it was installed at the factory, but then that may be why it fell off.

    I kept telling everyone it was taking too much of their time, but they were determined to get it on and didn’t stop until it was attached and the lights were working. They were only able to get two of the four slots secured so they backed up the install with cable ties.

    They truly were just a great bunch of guys — fun to talk to, so nice about helping — one guy even brought me food from the restaurant next door. Once it was fixed I barely had a chance to thank everyone before they disappeared. Maybe that’s because it was after 10:00 PM.

    One heck of a day and I didn’t get to bed until midnight. But all in all a good day since I survived and my motorcycle was ready for the sprint home.  Besides, you don’t usually get to find out how truly heart warming people can be until something goes wrong.

  • RSS Feed and Email Subscription

    For anyone who may be interested in being annoyed, oh I’m sorry — I meant updated, whenever I add a new post, I have added an RSS feed and email subscription through Feedburner. You can see it over in the right hand column.

    Don’t worry — both are reversible, so you aren’t stuck with it forever.

    I’ll be updating during the trip when I have internet access. If weather allows on the way out to California I will be camping for the first several days, so I may not be able to post anything until I get to Tenaya Lodge in Yosemite.

    Of course, this all hinges on whether I have a motorcycle. Sigh… And yes, I will be calling today to see if the parts came in.

  • Itinerary for TOY Ride

    My wish list…

    Day 1 – Visit Capulin Volcano National Monument and stop for the night at Sugarite Canyon State Park outside Raton, NM

    Day 2 – Mesa Verde National Park near Cortez, CO

    Highway of Legends out of Trinidad http://www.motorcycleroads.us/roads/co12.html “The Scenic Highway of Legends is a national scenic by-way. Beautiful, and relatively un-discovered part of Colorado. Start in Walsenburg at I-25 and Hwy 160. Modern hotels, the Mining Museum, Art Museum. You’re in Spanish Peaks Country. The Peaks dominate the landscape, and the Culebra Range of the Rockies frame the western view. Take Hwy 12 to La Veta…art museums, Francisco Fort, quaint and friendly town. Head south on Hwy 12, through the village of Cuchara, have to stop at the Dog Bar, head south on 12 over Cuchara Pass into Las Animas County, follow Hwy 12 into Trinidad for great food, shopping, modern hotels. Hwy 12 is designated as a Scenic Byway. The route from Walsenburg to Trinidad is about 80 miles, plan on a day as you’ll be whipping your camera out every 10 minutes!!! Enjoy the ride, it’s one of the most scenic rides and convenient to the Front Range.”

    US 160 through Colorado http://www.motorcycleroads.us/roads/co_us160.html “I rode this in July starting just east of Durango. Going over the Wolf Creek Pass is breathtaking. Going up the west side, it’s mostly 4 lane, so it’s easy to pass. Going down the east side was mostly 2 lane after you got about halfway down, but it wasn’t a problem as people were going fast enough. Pagosa Springs is a great place to spend the night and spend some time soaking in the hot springs. Then everyone can wonder why you smell like sulpher the next day.”

    Day 3 – full day touring the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park

    Day 4 – Ride through Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Zion National Park (both in Utah) and stay at Great Basin National Park in Nevada

    Leaving Mesa Verde from http://www.motorcycleroads.us/roads/co_us160sw.html “Excellent 2 lane paved highway through barren and lonely high desert area. Very little traffic. Route is through the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation. The highway passes the Four Corners Monument and Navajo Tribal Park. The only geographical location in the USA where four states intersect. New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Colorado. The monument is on Navajo Tribal Park land and costs $3.00 to enter. Booths are set up around the monument and sell Indian handicrafts. Good riding highway for all skill levels with curves, twists, long sweeps and elevation changes. Fascinating scenery. Full amenities in Kayenta. Gas and snacks available at Red Mesa and Mexican Water.”

    Road through Zion http://www.motorcycleroads.us/roads/ut9.html “I highly recommend this scenic drive to anyone interested in a leisurely ride through unique scenery. Don’t plan to travel quickly along this road, though. Even if the traffic is flowing, the speed limit is slow (through the towns and especially Zion Nat’l Park). Once in Zion you’ll want to go slow to enjoy the unique scenery and wildlife, and take the occasional short hike; spotting wild rams and other animals is not unusual. You could spend days enjoying the park if you can stay there, but it’s winding roads with steep sides, lots of tourist traffic, and eager park rangers with ticket-books make this a leisurely ride, not a canyon knee-dragger. I make a habit of hitting this road twice a year: once in early spring and once in late fall. Traffic though Zion requires a fee of $25 (2008 prices) or an annual pass, even if you don’t stop along the way. It’s worth it!”

    Day 5 – Overland Hotel & Saloon in Fallon, NV on Highway 50 “The Loneliest Road in America” (had to change route when I found out the road I planned to take to Yosemite is still closed for the winter)

    http://www.motorcycleroads.us/roads/nv_us50.html “US 50, the ‘Loneliest Road in America’, is a great ride. We started in Delta, UT @7:30 MDT 6/16/06 and stopped for coffee and a snack at the Border Inn near Baker NV. Nice folks, nice place, food looked good. Passed through Ely, a unique western town as our route paralleled the Pony Express in spots. There is an old way station along the route which is in the process of being restored. Mountain passes and huge flat stretches with marvelous vistas the entire way. Stopped for lunch in Eureka at the Owl Casino/Cafe. Very good. Cruised through Austin, another unique western town (actually they all are on this stretch), and stopped at Cold Spring for a beer. Great little place, a true oasis in the desert. Cruised in to Fallon and stayed for the night before visiting Virginia City and Reno. We stayed at the Stockman Hotel and Casino, very nice acommodations and we had a terrific steak dinner at the casino restaurant.”

    Day 6 – Tenaya Lodge in Yosemite National Park for the Treasures of Yosemite Rally

    Taking US 88 because 4 and 108 are closed for winter. http://www.motorcycleroads.us/roads/ca88.html “I rode this road from Plymouth to junction with 89. I loved this ride, the scenery was great, with plenty of elevation changes and twists. There is a few blind corners that had a wild turkey or a deer around them, but as long as you’re awake you will be just fine. I didn’t have to much trouble with other traffic, but I was out in the morning on a Saturday. Had a lot of fun and am ready to go again.”

    From 88 to Yosemite http://www.motorcycleroads.us/roads/ca49.html “CA 49 is one of my favorite local routes. It stretches from Loyalton all the way south to Oakhurst, near Yosemite. From tip to tip, it’s one of the most beautiful and relaxing rides there is. There are spots of annoying congestion (Auburn and Placerville are the two biggest offenders) as it winds through many towns (mostly very small), but it doesn’t take long to get back to the beauty of the natural area. As the ’49’ suggests, this highway visits many of the old Gold Rush towns, each with their own personality. You get a little bit of everything from a ride perspective on this route (twisties, sweepers, flat open ground) and there are very few sections of this highway that don’t offer at least pleasant scenery. 49 ties in with almost all of the passes that take you over the Sierras (towards 395) and they are all pretty special as well. There is ample opportunity for fuel, food and rest stops along 49. I travel portions of this route every year (I’ve done every mile of it on differnt trips) and look forward to it every time. The route could be done tip to tip all in one day if so desired without trying too hard.”

    Route 41 to Tenaya http://www.motorcycleroads.us/roads/ca41.html “Very scenic and great sweepers!”

    Day 7 – Yosemite National Park

    Day 8 – Yosemite National Park

    Day 9 – Visit Kings Canyon National Park and Sequoia National Park and stay at undetermined stop

    Day 10 – Visit Death Valley National Park and stay at Grand Canyon Hotel (hostel rooms) in Williams, AZ

    Route 190 through Death Valley http://www.motorcycleroads.us/roads/ca190.html “Gorgeous, vast nothingness. This is a beautiful route across one of the most infamous areas of California. We went through it on the way back from Vegas to the Coast in late October. It was in the 40’s in Las Vegas, 90’s at the floor of Death Valley. Unlimited visibility. Keep in mind that it is a National Park and there are Park Rangers that patrol with radar. Generally, you can see their green and white SUV’s at quite a distance. The road is super smooth with awesome sweepers. It was an incredible experience that I will not soon forget.”

    Historic Route 66 http://www.motorcycleroads.us/roads/az66.html “Road is in fair shape with patchwork and an occasional pothole here and there. Very scenic with mountains to the north and the cool northern Arizona air. Area is great if there is a storm on the horizon. Seligman has a place to gas up and get a snack before heading on to Kingman, also one can get on Route 66 from I-40 here.”

    Day 11 – Visit Grand Canyon National Park and stop at Route 66 Hostel in Albuquerque, NV

    After Grand Canyon http://www.motorcycleroads.us/roads/az_us89.html  “Remarkably scenic route if you like the unlimited variations of volcanic rock formations in all colors. Straight and ‘boring’ ride in motorcylist’s terms, which allows you alot of time to enjoy the scenery. Gas at every opportunity – civilization (besides the occasional ‘Indian Blanket’ stand) is non existent from about 50 miles north of Flagstaff all the way to Page. Obviously a bit hot in the summer (carry plenty of water), but a must travel road.”

    Day 12 – It’s over 650 miles to get home from here so I’m not sure if I’ll want to do it in one day or stop somewhere along the way.