Tag: california

The day started out well. I’d taken a day off riding due to thunderstorms and hail and got on the road rested and ready to go.

There was just one nagging issue. I wanted to go to Mesa Verde National Park, but the forecast had said that if I go and stay a day I’ll have to head out in high winds and another front coming in from the Pacific. The other problem was dodging severe weather getting back into the Dallas area since Oklahoma and Texas had been pounded with severe storms.

I had time to think as I was riding east on I-70. The only down side to making a run for home was the probability of catching up with the back edge of the front currently moving through the mountains, but it would keep me ahead of the one forecast to not be far behind. This would get me past the areas that had high wind forecasts and I was pretty burned out on being thrown all over the road by high wind. Perfect weather wasn’t a reasonable expectation, so I decided to ride into the back edge of the front and get home.

I was lucky until I was about half way across Colorado – that’s when the rain showers started. I must admit that I am not a big fan of riding through rain, but it’s hard to avoid if you’re on an extended road trip. But even though it rained, it was tolerable because it was short lived and everyone was slowing down due to the winding mountain roads being wet.

Past Eagle, CO I rode into solid rain (not happy) and was looking up ahead to see if there was any break in the clouds. I mean looking up since we were steadily heading up and it caught my attention that the pine tress at high elevation had snow on them — what looked like fresh snow. Then I noticed that the sky looked different up there.

By mile marker 167 I was riding in snow. I thought not good, but the roads are just wet. I checked the temperature and it was 42 so I thought it would be okay. By Vail the snow was coming down much harder and the road was starting to get covered. I could no longer check the temperature since the thermometer was covered with snow.

As I headed up toward Vail Pass at around mile marker 185 it was snowing so hard that it was coating the outside of my visor. The inside of the visor was fogging badly — this could have been due to my hyperventilating since I don’t know what my visor would normally do in a snow storm (I’m being sarcastic here).

I’m having thoughts like “This is so not funny” that downgraded to “This is so not good” to seeing the first snow plow and no longer having clear tracks to follow and me thinking “I am so screwed”. It’s the first time I have ever seriously entertained the notion that I was quite likely to go down in the current conditions. Not a happy thought.

It was weird because I was operating on two levels. Part of me was scared to death (and I mean more frightened than I have EVER been on the motorcycle) and part of me was saying “Well, you were stupid enough to get yourself into this so now you have to get yourself out of it.”

Traffic for the most part had slowed down, although there were some people who had to blast by in the left lane. The lanes were no longer visible so I got behind someone who was going a reasonable speed and simply followed their tail lights. I did not feel stopping was an option because the snow was so deep on the sides of the road. Beside, stopping when people can’t see the lane lines didn’t seem like a wise choice.

I figured out that if I opened my visor a couple notches I was able to use my left hand to wipe both the inside and outside simultaneously clearing the snow off the outside and the fog off the inside. I was having to do both constantly.

I passed what I think from the size and shape was the sign for the top of Vail Pass — I don’t know because it was covered with snow. I have since found out Vail pass is at 10,666 feet.

I kept thinking that it HAS to get better, to turn back into rain. But as I descended a little and then started to climb again to Eisenhower Tunnel the snow and road conditions remained the same.

Just to make things even better there is a sign flashing outside the entrance to the tunnel that read “Icy conditions in tunnel”. Perfect. Eisenhower Tunnel is at 11,992 feet.

I ride through the tunnel and start to descend being very careful to not pick up too much speed due to the road conditions. Around Dumont (mile marker 230) the snow changes back to rain, and the roads are wet. At the same time I pass a sign that says “Road Damage” and ride over the worst pavement I have ever been on. And this is saying something considering I’ve been to Labrador where the roads aren’t the best. The pavement was so broken up in huge chunks I once again thought there was no way I was going to be able to navigate through it without going down, but somehow I did.

Fifty miles of sheer terror. I hope that is the longest 50 miles I ever ride. I also hope my motorcycle never sees another snow flake. Or snow plow for that matter. I simply have no idea how I got through since it certainly can’t be attributed to the skill of the rider. I know I have great guardian angels and they worked overtime that day. I am still amazed they could keep me safe.

As hard as it is to believe the skies cleared, the road dried, and I rode down into Denver under sunny skies. Right into 5:00 PM rush hour traffic. Perfect.

I have beaten myself up for getting into that situation, but in all fairness I had ridden over countless (and I do mean countless) passes in California, Nevada, and Utah with most of them being around 8,000 feet and never saw a snow flake. I guess the tail end of that front and the extra 3,000 feet must be what made the difference. I plan to make sure I never get in that situation again.

I got through Denver and was headed south on 25 and stopped for fuel. I don’t know if engines burn less fuel at altitude, but I should have been out of gas and still had a gallon left. I noted the mileage on the receipt and went back to my top case to stash the receipt.

I looked down and the motorcycle’s entire tail section (tail/brake light, license plate holder)  was hanging down sideways. When I checked the only thing keeping it attached to the motorcycle was the wires to the light.

My heart almost stopped when the question flashed through my brain “Was my tail light working when I was in the snow storm?” I have no idea.

(to be continued in next post)

Tried to be on the road by 6:30, but got delayed when fueling resulted in a declined credit card and I had to get on the phone to tell them that I am indeed traveling and they should release my card. I do appreciate them looking out for me, but I’m curious that after a week of being on the road and using the card in several different states they suddenly decided there was a problem on Monday. Bottom line to this story is call your credit card company prior to travel to avoid this problem — something I will do in the future.

“Loneliest Road” certainly lived up to its name all day. It was almost hard to believe that there could be a road with that little traffic and that few towns and services. I admire their marketing of the Loneliest Road and I hope it generates some income for people who do live on the route. The bright side of this is the people at the stops were incredibly friendly and helpful. This is what I was told to expect in Newfoundland last summer and didn’t. On the Loneliest Road any question asked met with warmth and friendliness. It made my stops very nice.

I was on the road by 7:00 and the wind didn’t get bad until around 10:00. The weather forecast said the wind would be very strong out of the west which would mean more or less a tail wind. To my great disappointment the forecast was wrong — the wind was straight out of the south and, of course, I was headed east. The ride alternated between valleys with gusting side winds and mountain passes where there was no predicting what direction the wind would gust from.

When I stopped for fuel in Austin, NV I asked about the road ahead and the people proudly enumerated how many passes they had on Route 50 that were higher than Donner Pass — there are six of them and everyone there could name all six. They also bragged that Nevada roads are in much better condition than California roads.

While there is virtually nothing along the way except great scenery and since 50 is a US highway the pavement was incredibly good condition. The only issue was the non-stop wind.

After a lunch stop in Ely, NV (and a wrong turn that cost me some time) I headed to Great Basin National Park. First thing I checked was the weather forecast which included a lot of rain the next 24 hours and possible snow. Scratch camping. Most of the park roads were still closed because of snow.

I did the tour of Lehman Caves and while smaller, had formations that equal Carlsbad. I would definitely recommend it if you’re in the area.

Best comment of the day: I walk out of the caves chatting with a lady. She holds up her tiny digital camera, looks at my DSLR and says “You remembered your camera, but forgot your vehicle. What’s up with that?” She went on to tell me how hard the wind had been for driving her car all day. They had even seen a flipped vehicle with camper –not what I wanted to hear.

It was 4:30 and I was pretty worn out from no sleep and fighting the wind all day and wanted to find a place to stay. Since I suspected I would want to sit out the next day due to the Pacific front headed my way I was kind of hoping for a semi-decent place. The two motels in tiny Baker, NV outside the park looked like hovels. The motel at the Utah border didn’t look much better.

I decided to make a run for interstate 15 that was maybe 140 miles away — still fighting the wind. I got to Filmore, UT — the first place to have decent looking lodging — only to find out there was a movie crew in town and all three motels were at full capacity.  The next available lodging was an hour away.

So I ended up riding in the dark to get to Beaver, UT a little after 9:00 pretty exhausted and starved. Would you believe the wind never let up even after dark?

But in Beaver I found a virtually new Super 8 for $44 a night and have a very nice room — internet service so I can catch up with what going on and laundry facilities to I can wash some clothes.  Also — a couple restaurants across the street. I

And while typing this I had it confirmed that stopping a day was a great decision — it’s been raining all day and  just hailed like hell here. So sorry I missed that while riding.

The forecast looks good for the next few days so I’m heading to Mesa Verde National Park with a stop at Arches National Park on the way. I will be happy if my routes are a little more heavily traveled — I think I’ve experienced enough of being all by myself in the middle of nowhere for a while… I definitely thanked my motorcycle for doing such a great job as I unpacked her last night.

The theme for this trip may possibly be nothing is going to go as planned — or more appropriately “as hoped”. But there have also been unexpected surprises.

I didn’t know when I made plans to go, but the the Treasures of Yosemite rally was a first time event. It was extremely well planned and everything seemed to click along flawlessly. The highlight was having David Hough, who wrote Proficient Motorcycling and other books, sit next to me at the banquet Saturday night. It was a lot of fun having an extended opportunity to talk to him. His seminars at the rally were also very good.

It must have been very well publicized the falls were running a full capacity since the day we rode into the park to see them it appeared half the population of California had come up with the same idea. It ended up being about a 25 minute wait in line just to get into the park — and the rangers were really making an effort to get people through since they didn’t even want to see my annual pass and asked me to go on through.

There were long lines to get into the parking area for Bridal Veil Falls but we were able to find a small enough space for the three motorcycles. Bridal Veil was running so good I didn’t go up to the main viewing area for fear of ruining my DSLR camera — people were coming down completely drenched. Oddly, Yosemite Falls was running so lightly we decided to not fight traffic to try to see it. I definitely would like to get back to the park when there is a nice compromise between falls flow and crowd flow. I think I am spoiled by all the parks I visited last summer where there were no crowds.
I left Tenaya Lodge around 10:30 on Sunday thinking I had a nice little six hour ride to Fallon, NV. The road north was  great at first with up and down sweepers but progressed to switch backs that kicked my butt since I was scared being in terrain like that alone and ended with congested traffic so it all took much longer than planned.

The road over the Sierras was also a little daunting to do alone. There were areas of pavement that were so bad I wasn’t sure where to ride and warnings of  “Avalanche Area — absolutely no stopping” — and unfortunately these two events coincided. I did like that the road had regular turnouts and passing areas and the view from the top was spectacular at around 7800 feet.

Once I was into Nevada I picked up US50 “American’s Loneliest Highway” and headed to Fallon, NV for the night. I had read the Overland Hotel was a quaint old time place to stay. Probably not my most intelligent lodging choice of the trip and quaint would not be the descriptive word of my choice. The hotel is over a saloon so it was noisy until very late. Then neighbors who were up and very noisy at 4:00 AM. About all I can say for the Overland is that it was economical.

So I started the day out really tired and made an early start to try to get some miles in before the forecasted high winds kick in. Maybe “windy” should be the theme for this trip…

I was up at 5:00AM and on the road by 6:30 hoping to get a few miles done before the wind cranked up to the forecasted 60 MPH today in New Mexico. First time I have ever had to brush piles of dirt off the motorcycle before I could load my gear on it. It was thoroughly covered including the inside and outside of the windshield.

It was such a calm lovely morning it was hard to believe it wasn’t going to be a great day to ride. Around 9:15 I road past a windmill farm where only a few were turning lazily in the light wind. It made me wonder how fast they were whirling yesterday. Do they control those blades so they can only turn so fast?  The terrain isn’t too exciting along I-40 so I guess the highlight of the ride was a herd of antelope not far off the road.

The wind wasn’t too bad when I stopped for fuel in Tucumcari (I love that name) but started picking up shortly there after. By Cline’s Corner it was once again so awful I wondered if I could make it to Albuquerque. I just heard on the news the gusts were particularly bad in that area.

I made it to Albuquerque and stopped to check weather on my computer. It was blowing 40 in Gallup, gusting tp 55 and expected to get stronger throughout the afternoon. I tried heading out of town but the wind was so bad I turned back and got a room. Only 400 miles today.  I better do a lot better than that the next two days.

It may not happen until I get home, but I will be doing a write up on the Sandia Peak Inn in Albuquerque. Nice place, incredibly clean, delightful owner, and great price. I helped the owner with some computer issues and had time to find out why my MP3 player and cell phone wouldn’t charge today so it was a good afternoon.

I’ll be on the road early again tomorrow. Supposed to get down to 45 here tonight and 25 in Gallup so it looks like I’ll have to bundle up. They are also saying the wind should be better, but who knows. This may sound silly but I’m not going to say how far I’d like to get tomorrow because I’m afraid I’ll jinx it…

No chance to get away yesterday after being at Brad’s for over 8 hours getting the shock situation improved.

I started out on my very tip toes. After he changed to a different spring the motorcycle dropped about 3/4 of an inch. After rebuilding the entire shock and adding shims internally it brought the height down another 1/2 inch. While the motorcycle is still taller than it was with the old shock (it should be since Brad thinks I was riding on the spring with no shock absorbing), I’m going to see if I can live with this height. After packing the motorcycle last night it seemed to settle down a little more.

I got up very early planning to leave at first light and headed for the computer to check the forecast. I was somewhat dumbfounded when I saw the latest forecast for Amarillo was for wind 45-50 and gusts to 65 with sand storms. There was no way I was going to ride into that and after checking all options determined I would have to stop before Amarillo so no need to rush out the door. Since the forecast was better for Tuesday I considered not leaving until the next morning — but what if the forecast changed again?

Got out of the house around 11:00 and found out how windy it was after leaving Denton on 380 headed straight west. It was a bad side wind and I wasn’t sure how long I’d hang in there. My jacket was catching enough wind that it was lifting me off the motorcycle seat even after I zipped everything up that I could.

When I got to Decatur and headed more northwest the wind became tolerable from the direction is was blowing. The wind speed was expected to build with the heat of the day — the temperature was in the 90’s by Wichita Falls where  I stopped to get fuel and a weather update. Wind in Wichita Falls was 28, 30 in Childress, and 39 in Amarillo so I decided to see if I could make it a while longer.

Fun things on the ride up 287 — I saw a herd of camels (no kidding) and a herd of buffalo with several babies.

The wind was steadily building and what I initially thought might be a dark sky due to rain turned out to be a dark sky due to dirt in the air. Being a hard contact lens wearer I was less than thrilled with approaching that.

After I rode into the blowing dirt and the wind got worse. My mouth was full of grit (lovely) but my eyes were doing okay. Even though it was in the 90’s I decided I better not drink any more water since it required opening my visor.

Several miles outside Childress the wind had gotten so bad it felt a couple times like it was going to smack me over — I was once again headed due west so the wind was no longer angled from behind me, but straight from the side. The air was the color of mud. I called it, found a room, and will watch the evening news to see what they say about the dry line that’s causing all the wind. If I try to look up and down Main St. here in Childress I can’t see very far because there’s so much dirt in the air. I talked to Mike Truel in OKC and he said the line was moving at 60 MPH so I hope it’s gone in the morning. If it is, I’ll be on the road very early to make up some miles.

After not getting the motorcycle back until Thursday and then changing to a shock that made the motorcycle way too tall I’ve adopted an “it is what it is” attitude. I’ll do the best I can and get out to the rally when  get out to the rally.

Good news — the motorcycle is now low enough I don’t think I have to get the side stand lengthened (I thought  did at the end of the day yesterday) — the bike sits at an acceptable angle when parked and I am able to boost it up when it’s fully loaded. Oh – and it rides a whole heck of a lot better. I’m looking forward to a calm day of riding when I can really focus on the change in the ride rather that holding on for wind gusts.

If the adventure doesn’t begin until the first thing goes wrong, then I’m already on an adventure 🙂 65 MPH gusts — that’s ridiculous.