Mellow
12-01-2004, 09:53 AM
9/11 - Day One – Carrollton, TX to Seligman, AZ (1,038 miles)
3AM to 7:30PM CST (temp:55 to 91 degrees)
The day started out cool and stayed that way for most of the ride.
My goal for the day was to do my first 1,000 mile in 24 hour ride. It was easier than I thought it would be in fact, at mile 900 I felt like I could just keep going all the way to the California border. I kept stopping every 200 miles just to stretch my feet and get some water or something to snack on and that kept the ride from becoming monotonous. I decided to stop at a KOA in Speligman, AZ and had some Pizza at the Motel next to the campground.
I met a guy on a Ducati ST and a new Harley, they were both from Minnesota. They were also heading to the coast and left over a week ago, apparently they ride from 10am to 2pm and just hang out the rest of the time. I told them it must be nice to start the trip out on a brand new bike. The Ducati owner told me the bike only had 400 miles on it as the first Harley broke down and the guy just decided to buy a new one 400 miles ago. I said…. ‘Cool’….
9/12 - Day Two – Speligman, AZ to Montana de Oro State Park (650 miles)
6AM to 7PM CST (temp:61 to 105 degrees)
Today I started for California. On the way, I hooked up with a couple BMW RT owners for a spirited ride out of AZ and into CA.
Once in California, I met up with STonyG from the site. We had breakfast then headed across the Angeles Crest Hwy.
After I left Tony, I headed for the coast. I got screwed up with some construction and ended up in a traffic jam in north Los Angeles, no fun. I eventually got my bearings again and hit he coast north of Ventura. I camped at Montana de Oro State Park in the Morro Bay area. It was my first Pacific Ocean sunset. I don’t know if it’s the fact that water covers so much of the earth or that you can feel the power of the ocean when it crashes against the rocks, but you just become mesmerized and inspired, all at once.
9/13 - Day Three – Montana de Oro State Park to Manchester State Park (400 miles)
8AM to 6PM CST (temp:54 to 74 degrees)
Today was the hardest day so far, even harder than 1k mark. Looking back, I think the straightest section I encountered was the Golden Gate Bridge, everything else was a long twisty memory of roads resembling a plate of spaghetti. Truly a Biker’s heaven.
It’s not easy to make 500 miles on those kind of roads so I stopped when I started to feel tired. I made it to a KOA in the Manchester State Park area, just a few miles south of Fort Bragg.
The coastline was incredible Montery, Big Sur, every part of it made it difficult to concentrate on the road as I kept thinking I was missing another breathtaking sight and wanted to soak it all up like a sponge.
9/14 - Day Four – Manchester State Park to Lake Tahoe (600 miles)
6AM to 5PM CST (temp:46 to 75 degrees)
The elk I saw this morning were amazing, I obviously had to take a slow pace because of them. As the morning arrived there was some fog in the area.
I made it to the Avenue of the Giants scenic area and the Redwoods were, well, wow! I felt like I was in some sci-fi movie and had been miniaturized by an alien reducing beam and I was now riding through a normal forest in the U.S. The size of these trees is hard to comprehend as you drive by them. I pulled off a couple times and just looked at them. Some of these suckers would cover my front yard. Not sure if that’s a testament to how big the trees are or how small my front yard is.
I rode Hwy 36 from the Avenue of the Giants area to north west of Lake Tahoe. The traffic around Lake Tahoe was not fun as they are resurfacing the roads and I arrived during rush hour.
I made it to the campsite at Zephyr Cove to find Mark and Chris Bellefeuille already set up and getting ready to head into Minden for the WeSTOC rider’s meeting. They waited for me to set up my tent and the three of us headed back to the Carson Valley Inn in Minden.
I’ve never seen so many STs in one location before and it was great to meet some people that I have been talking to from the ST1300riders.com and ST1300.us message boards. There were close to 200 STs registered on the official WeSTOC website and it looked like they all showed up with friends.
9/15 - Day Five – Lake Tahoe to Yosemite Nat’l Park (390 miles)
(temp:45 to 95 degrees)
I had major problems sleeping last night, I couldn’t get comfortable, I was nervous and my heart was pounding like I’d just finished running 100 yards. Then, I realized that I was at a slightly higher elevation than Dallas, 6,200 feet vs. 460 feet.
Larry ‘Tigger’ Littrell was so kind as to lead the ride through Yosemite Nat’l Park, Tioga, Ebbetts, and Monitor Pass. Our group consisted of Larry, Mark, Chris, Michael Schenck and myself. Ebbetts Pass, Hwy 4, was the best ride I’ve ever had in my life. You must be careful on this as parts of it are one lane roads which support two way traffic.
9/16 - Day Six – Lake Tahoe area (200 miles)
(temp:45 to 95 degrees)
This was an easy day and a day of badly needed rest. I rode with Mark and Chris around Lake Tahoe and took some picks before we separated and took different routes.
Tonight was the WeSTOC banquet and I was going to take advantage of the free bike wash at the hotel but then I figured it would just get dirty again on the way home so I waited. I hung around the parking lot talking to folks and meeting more friendly faces that were previously known only by screen names or email addresses.
Great buffet, the food was much better than I’d expected! Excellent presentations and I can’t believe how many door prizes were handed out. Kodos to all that were involved to make this a successful event. The location for WeSTOC X was announced to be in the San Luis Obispo area, I’m ready!
9/17 - Day Seven – Lake Tahoe to Moab, CO (780 miles)
(temp:36 to 90 degrees)
It was a chilly morning in Lake Tahoe at 45 degrees but when I came down off the hill to Minden it was 36 degrees, time to actually plug the Gerbing in.
I took Hwy 50 all the way through Nevada and Utah. There were sections where you could see for miles then all of a sudden you’d hit a very twisty section, then straight highway again.
I took 50 all the way to I-70 in Utah, wow! The scenery on I-70 was incredible and the colors of the landscape were brilliant, you wouldn’t think dirt and rock would be so stunning.
The parks near Arches was all full so I found a KOA in Moab but didn’t sleep well as people were in and out all night/morning long.
9/18 - Day Eight – Moab, CO to Clarendon, TX (780 miles)
(temp:35 to 95 degrees)
It was 77 when I started the day at 4AM CST but quickly dropped to 35 degrees once in Colorado.
This was the morning of the Shooting Stars and Suicidal Rabbits, sounds like a sci-fi movie. I kept seeing shooting stars the first couple hours of the early morning and I wasn’t even looking for them, they just happened to appear ahead of me. I also must have almost hit 40 or 50 rabbits that apparently saw a GEICO commercial but didn’t have the technique down. One, I could swear, actually made it between my front and rear tires.
I rode through the Montrose area on my way to my final sight seeing milestone of the trip, the Royal Gorge Bridge. The colors going through Monarch Pass were incredible.
Now, time to hit I-25 and head south towards Texas and home. I was tired and had been camping the entire time so I decided to treat myself to a hotel in Clarendon, TX for my last night. I forgot what it was like to sleep in a bed.
9/19 - Day Nine – Clarendon, TX to Carrollton, TX (320 miles)
Not much to say on the last day of a trip, just get home, rest and anticipate and plan the next trip before this one is over.
Total Miles – 5,158
Total Rain – 10 seconds in New Mexico
This was the best trip I've taken on the bike to date. Of course, now, I have to top it with another trip.... hmmmmm... (thinking...)
3AM to 7:30PM CST (temp:55 to 91 degrees)
The day started out cool and stayed that way for most of the ride.
My goal for the day was to do my first 1,000 mile in 24 hour ride. It was easier than I thought it would be in fact, at mile 900 I felt like I could just keep going all the way to the California border. I kept stopping every 200 miles just to stretch my feet and get some water or something to snack on and that kept the ride from becoming monotonous. I decided to stop at a KOA in Speligman, AZ and had some Pizza at the Motel next to the campground.
I met a guy on a Ducati ST and a new Harley, they were both from Minnesota. They were also heading to the coast and left over a week ago, apparently they ride from 10am to 2pm and just hang out the rest of the time. I told them it must be nice to start the trip out on a brand new bike. The Ducati owner told me the bike only had 400 miles on it as the first Harley broke down and the guy just decided to buy a new one 400 miles ago. I said…. ‘Cool’….
9/12 - Day Two – Speligman, AZ to Montana de Oro State Park (650 miles)
6AM to 7PM CST (temp:61 to 105 degrees)
Today I started for California. On the way, I hooked up with a couple BMW RT owners for a spirited ride out of AZ and into CA.
Once in California, I met up with STonyG from the site. We had breakfast then headed across the Angeles Crest Hwy.
After I left Tony, I headed for the coast. I got screwed up with some construction and ended up in a traffic jam in north Los Angeles, no fun. I eventually got my bearings again and hit he coast north of Ventura. I camped at Montana de Oro State Park in the Morro Bay area. It was my first Pacific Ocean sunset. I don’t know if it’s the fact that water covers so much of the earth or that you can feel the power of the ocean when it crashes against the rocks, but you just become mesmerized and inspired, all at once.
9/13 - Day Three – Montana de Oro State Park to Manchester State Park (400 miles)
8AM to 6PM CST (temp:54 to 74 degrees)
Today was the hardest day so far, even harder than 1k mark. Looking back, I think the straightest section I encountered was the Golden Gate Bridge, everything else was a long twisty memory of roads resembling a plate of spaghetti. Truly a Biker’s heaven.
It’s not easy to make 500 miles on those kind of roads so I stopped when I started to feel tired. I made it to a KOA in the Manchester State Park area, just a few miles south of Fort Bragg.
The coastline was incredible Montery, Big Sur, every part of it made it difficult to concentrate on the road as I kept thinking I was missing another breathtaking sight and wanted to soak it all up like a sponge.
9/14 - Day Four – Manchester State Park to Lake Tahoe (600 miles)
6AM to 5PM CST (temp:46 to 75 degrees)
The elk I saw this morning were amazing, I obviously had to take a slow pace because of them. As the morning arrived there was some fog in the area.
I made it to the Avenue of the Giants scenic area and the Redwoods were, well, wow! I felt like I was in some sci-fi movie and had been miniaturized by an alien reducing beam and I was now riding through a normal forest in the U.S. The size of these trees is hard to comprehend as you drive by them. I pulled off a couple times and just looked at them. Some of these suckers would cover my front yard. Not sure if that’s a testament to how big the trees are or how small my front yard is.
I rode Hwy 36 from the Avenue of the Giants area to north west of Lake Tahoe. The traffic around Lake Tahoe was not fun as they are resurfacing the roads and I arrived during rush hour.
I made it to the campsite at Zephyr Cove to find Mark and Chris Bellefeuille already set up and getting ready to head into Minden for the WeSTOC rider’s meeting. They waited for me to set up my tent and the three of us headed back to the Carson Valley Inn in Minden.
I’ve never seen so many STs in one location before and it was great to meet some people that I have been talking to from the ST1300riders.com and ST1300.us message boards. There were close to 200 STs registered on the official WeSTOC website and it looked like they all showed up with friends.
9/15 - Day Five – Lake Tahoe to Yosemite Nat’l Park (390 miles)
(temp:45 to 95 degrees)
I had major problems sleeping last night, I couldn’t get comfortable, I was nervous and my heart was pounding like I’d just finished running 100 yards. Then, I realized that I was at a slightly higher elevation than Dallas, 6,200 feet vs. 460 feet.
Larry ‘Tigger’ Littrell was so kind as to lead the ride through Yosemite Nat’l Park, Tioga, Ebbetts, and Monitor Pass. Our group consisted of Larry, Mark, Chris, Michael Schenck and myself. Ebbetts Pass, Hwy 4, was the best ride I’ve ever had in my life. You must be careful on this as parts of it are one lane roads which support two way traffic.
9/16 - Day Six – Lake Tahoe area (200 miles)
(temp:45 to 95 degrees)
This was an easy day and a day of badly needed rest. I rode with Mark and Chris around Lake Tahoe and took some picks before we separated and took different routes.
Tonight was the WeSTOC banquet and I was going to take advantage of the free bike wash at the hotel but then I figured it would just get dirty again on the way home so I waited. I hung around the parking lot talking to folks and meeting more friendly faces that were previously known only by screen names or email addresses.
Great buffet, the food was much better than I’d expected! Excellent presentations and I can’t believe how many door prizes were handed out. Kodos to all that were involved to make this a successful event. The location for WeSTOC X was announced to be in the San Luis Obispo area, I’m ready!
9/17 - Day Seven – Lake Tahoe to Moab, CO (780 miles)
(temp:36 to 90 degrees)
It was a chilly morning in Lake Tahoe at 45 degrees but when I came down off the hill to Minden it was 36 degrees, time to actually plug the Gerbing in.
I took Hwy 50 all the way through Nevada and Utah. There were sections where you could see for miles then all of a sudden you’d hit a very twisty section, then straight highway again.
I took 50 all the way to I-70 in Utah, wow! The scenery on I-70 was incredible and the colors of the landscape were brilliant, you wouldn’t think dirt and rock would be so stunning.
The parks near Arches was all full so I found a KOA in Moab but didn’t sleep well as people were in and out all night/morning long.
9/18 - Day Eight – Moab, CO to Clarendon, TX (780 miles)
(temp:35 to 95 degrees)
It was 77 when I started the day at 4AM CST but quickly dropped to 35 degrees once in Colorado.
This was the morning of the Shooting Stars and Suicidal Rabbits, sounds like a sci-fi movie. I kept seeing shooting stars the first couple hours of the early morning and I wasn’t even looking for them, they just happened to appear ahead of me. I also must have almost hit 40 or 50 rabbits that apparently saw a GEICO commercial but didn’t have the technique down. One, I could swear, actually made it between my front and rear tires.
I rode through the Montrose area on my way to my final sight seeing milestone of the trip, the Royal Gorge Bridge. The colors going through Monarch Pass were incredible.
Now, time to hit I-25 and head south towards Texas and home. I was tired and had been camping the entire time so I decided to treat myself to a hotel in Clarendon, TX for my last night. I forgot what it was like to sleep in a bed.
9/19 - Day Nine – Clarendon, TX to Carrollton, TX (320 miles)
Not much to say on the last day of a trip, just get home, rest and anticipate and plan the next trip before this one is over.
Total Miles – 5,158
Total Rain – 10 seconds in New Mexico
This was the best trip I've taken on the bike to date. Of course, now, I have to top it with another trip.... hmmmmm... (thinking...)