Well I?m not sure about the rest of you but I?m sort of a last minute kind of guy. I dislike making plans because it seems something usually will come up and make you cancel or change them. This last weekend was no exception, decisions pretty much on the fly. 
I knew Karen and Mike were going through Arizona and a RTE had been setup. Don had setup the meet and since it had been some time since I?d been to Arizona or seen Don and some of the other Arizona folks I figured it would be a good day ride. I kept it in the back of my mind but didn?t really think about it till maybe the Thursday before. I played with some routes on Friday while at work and even had one that went a bit over 1,000 miles. Now I?m not really an Iron Butt rider but I have thought about doing one someday. So when I got home I got a few things ready for the next days ride. Bike was tanked up at work so it only had about 23 miles on it. Figured it might be warm so I pulled out my cooling vest. Shucks, forgot to re-stitch a sleeve zipper that had pulled loose, so fix the vest first. Filled the CamelBak with ice and water and stowed in the saddlebag. Put the camera on the charger to charge while I slept. Got out my clear visor and cleaned and put it on the helmet for the early morning hours. It was 8 o?clock and time for bed as I was planning on getting up at 3:30 to be out the house by 4 o?clock and on the road. I set my alarm and hit the 4 poster.
No real problem falling asleep but like any other thing I can?t wait to begin I wake on my own at 3 o?clock in the morning. No sense trying to catch the last half hour of sleep so it was a quick show, no shave, and I was suited and on the road by a little after 3:30. My plan was just to slab it to Chuy?s as I hate to be late. If I decided to take a round about way of getting there I could run into unexpected delays. Don?t tell anyone but I do get myself momentarily lost from time to time and this was not a day for this to happen. The freeway was pretty clear and the cruise control was set as soon as I was up to speed.
I knew I was going to need at least one fuel stop before making Prescott and I also knew I needed to have breakfast. I couldn?t stop to early for the one or too late for the other so where to stop? A little over 3 hours and 228 + or - miles and I found myself at the Quartzsite Mobil and Burger King in Arizona. I took care of the important things first and filled up the tank on the bike before having something to eat at the Burger King. I light breakfast and then back on the road, next stop Chuy?s in Prescott.
A short time after leaving Quarzsite it was time to leave the super-slab and take 60 East. Pretty much two lanes the rest of the way. Small towns and communities dotted the route. Pretty much straight roads as well until the turn from 71 to 89. Winding our way up through the Prescott National Forest till arriving in Prescott. Thank heaven for the few passing lanes as my pace was slightly faster than the other traffic. Well because I couldn?t sleep and the clear roads with minimal hold-ups I rolled into Chuy?s at 10:00, an hour and a half early.
So with time to kill and gas in the tank I decided to see more of Prescott. I rode through town and ended up stopping at a Circle K on Willow Creek Road for something to drink. I turned around and found a road call Iron Springs Road that headed back into the hills. I saw a sign that said "Skull Valley 15 mi" and thought that might be a nice diversion so off I went. I enjoying the scenery when who did I spot coming the other direction, Dana "dteel" and Vickie headed for Chuy?s. I rode down as far as the Skull Valley Cemetery before heading back for lunch.
By the time I pulled into the parking lot there were already half-a-dozen bikes. A few minutes later a BMW GS pulls in followed by a couple of 1100's and a 1300. Sound like anyone we might know? For those that aren?t quite sure, it was Mike "Twilight Error", Karen, Mark and his wife. As everyone is meeting and greeting Petar "FlyingPig" comes outside and is wondering why he is the only one inside the restaurant and the rest of us are standing around in the parking lot, so we move the party inside. A short time later a KLR with sidecar pulls in, it?s Don "dond". Later that afternoon I learned that he was riding "Booger" the bike that had been stolen. 64 or 65 thousand on he OD and although it took a bit of welding to get it back on the road he says it?s running just fine and not burning any oil.
So after much talk and some lunch it?s time to hit the road again. Tom "BigTom" was there so I asked if it?s all right to follow him back to Yuma. I?ve got these little thoughts about maybe getting in my first 1,000 mile day. We gas up before leaving Prescott heading back down Hwy 89. That is a fun road if you can keep the traffic behind you. It was already a warm day and so we stopped in Peeples Valley to put on cooling vests. We made a second stop at the Kofa Caf?, 51/Vicksburg Road, for some refreshments. Tom enjoyed a piece of pie and I had a chocolate malt. The ride to Yuma hit 102 & 104 on and off but the roads were clear and the scenery was different for me so all was good.
Before parting ways in Fortuna Foothills East of Yuma, Tom pointed out the back of Bob?s house that was across the road from the station. I hopped on the 8 and headed West. I decided to top off the tank in El Centro instead of risking it. Past the lookout on In-Ko-Pah Road and winding through Ocatillo and the hills of the Cleveland National Forest. The wind kicked up a little which made it interesting when passing trucks going though some of the turns. I stopped briefly in El Cajon for dinner before heading North on the 15 and I was home by 11:30 PM.
It was a beautiful day for a ride, getting together with old friends and new. By the end of the day I was tired but not totally spent. Somehow I must have misread the numbers because I?d only covered about 906 miles instead of the 1,000 I was hoping for. So this is now my personal best. I wasn?t really trying for a SS1000 but it would have been nice to have covered that many miles so I guess that means I?ll have to give it another try. I did hit another milestone though. Unofficially my bike hit 100,000 miles. When I gassed up 1 mile from home the OD showed 96,292 miles. Now you?re thinking how does that equal 100,000 then? Here is the math: I bought the bike new out of the crate in March 2006. At 600 miles I put on a Speedo-Healer which corrected the speedo but throws off the OD by about 4%. So, 96,292 - 600 = 95,692 * 1.04 = 99,519 + 600 = 100,119 miles. Once the OD shows 100K it will be official.
I know I didn?t mention everyone that was there but my memory is simply too limited sometimes to recall all the names. I usually rely on others posting pictures with names to help refresh things. Guess we?ll just have to do it again so I can work on the memory.
MAP
I knew Karen and Mike were going through Arizona and a RTE had been setup. Don had setup the meet and since it had been some time since I?d been to Arizona or seen Don and some of the other Arizona folks I figured it would be a good day ride. I kept it in the back of my mind but didn?t really think about it till maybe the Thursday before. I played with some routes on Friday while at work and even had one that went a bit over 1,000 miles. Now I?m not really an Iron Butt rider but I have thought about doing one someday. So when I got home I got a few things ready for the next days ride. Bike was tanked up at work so it only had about 23 miles on it. Figured it might be warm so I pulled out my cooling vest. Shucks, forgot to re-stitch a sleeve zipper that had pulled loose, so fix the vest first. Filled the CamelBak with ice and water and stowed in the saddlebag. Put the camera on the charger to charge while I slept. Got out my clear visor and cleaned and put it on the helmet for the early morning hours. It was 8 o?clock and time for bed as I was planning on getting up at 3:30 to be out the house by 4 o?clock and on the road. I set my alarm and hit the 4 poster.
No real problem falling asleep but like any other thing I can?t wait to begin I wake on my own at 3 o?clock in the morning. No sense trying to catch the last half hour of sleep so it was a quick show, no shave, and I was suited and on the road by a little after 3:30. My plan was just to slab it to Chuy?s as I hate to be late. If I decided to take a round about way of getting there I could run into unexpected delays. Don?t tell anyone but I do get myself momentarily lost from time to time and this was not a day for this to happen. The freeway was pretty clear and the cruise control was set as soon as I was up to speed.
I knew I was going to need at least one fuel stop before making Prescott and I also knew I needed to have breakfast. I couldn?t stop to early for the one or too late for the other so where to stop? A little over 3 hours and 228 + or - miles and I found myself at the Quartzsite Mobil and Burger King in Arizona. I took care of the important things first and filled up the tank on the bike before having something to eat at the Burger King. I light breakfast and then back on the road, next stop Chuy?s in Prescott.
A short time after leaving Quarzsite it was time to leave the super-slab and take 60 East. Pretty much two lanes the rest of the way. Small towns and communities dotted the route. Pretty much straight roads as well until the turn from 71 to 89. Winding our way up through the Prescott National Forest till arriving in Prescott. Thank heaven for the few passing lanes as my pace was slightly faster than the other traffic. Well because I couldn?t sleep and the clear roads with minimal hold-ups I rolled into Chuy?s at 10:00, an hour and a half early.
So with time to kill and gas in the tank I decided to see more of Prescott. I rode through town and ended up stopping at a Circle K on Willow Creek Road for something to drink. I turned around and found a road call Iron Springs Road that headed back into the hills. I saw a sign that said "Skull Valley 15 mi" and thought that might be a nice diversion so off I went. I enjoying the scenery when who did I spot coming the other direction, Dana "dteel" and Vickie headed for Chuy?s. I rode down as far as the Skull Valley Cemetery before heading back for lunch.
By the time I pulled into the parking lot there were already half-a-dozen bikes. A few minutes later a BMW GS pulls in followed by a couple of 1100's and a 1300. Sound like anyone we might know? For those that aren?t quite sure, it was Mike "Twilight Error", Karen, Mark and his wife. As everyone is meeting and greeting Petar "FlyingPig" comes outside and is wondering why he is the only one inside the restaurant and the rest of us are standing around in the parking lot, so we move the party inside. A short time later a KLR with sidecar pulls in, it?s Don "dond". Later that afternoon I learned that he was riding "Booger" the bike that had been stolen. 64 or 65 thousand on he OD and although it took a bit of welding to get it back on the road he says it?s running just fine and not burning any oil.
So after much talk and some lunch it?s time to hit the road again. Tom "BigTom" was there so I asked if it?s all right to follow him back to Yuma. I?ve got these little thoughts about maybe getting in my first 1,000 mile day. We gas up before leaving Prescott heading back down Hwy 89. That is a fun road if you can keep the traffic behind you. It was already a warm day and so we stopped in Peeples Valley to put on cooling vests. We made a second stop at the Kofa Caf?, 51/Vicksburg Road, for some refreshments. Tom enjoyed a piece of pie and I had a chocolate malt. The ride to Yuma hit 102 & 104 on and off but the roads were clear and the scenery was different for me so all was good.
Before parting ways in Fortuna Foothills East of Yuma, Tom pointed out the back of Bob?s house that was across the road from the station. I hopped on the 8 and headed West. I decided to top off the tank in El Centro instead of risking it. Past the lookout on In-Ko-Pah Road and winding through Ocatillo and the hills of the Cleveland National Forest. The wind kicked up a little which made it interesting when passing trucks going though some of the turns. I stopped briefly in El Cajon for dinner before heading North on the 15 and I was home by 11:30 PM.
It was a beautiful day for a ride, getting together with old friends and new. By the end of the day I was tired but not totally spent. Somehow I must have misread the numbers because I?d only covered about 906 miles instead of the 1,000 I was hoping for. So this is now my personal best. I wasn?t really trying for a SS1000 but it would have been nice to have covered that many miles so I guess that means I?ll have to give it another try. I did hit another milestone though. Unofficially my bike hit 100,000 miles. When I gassed up 1 mile from home the OD showed 96,292 miles. Now you?re thinking how does that equal 100,000 then? Here is the math: I bought the bike new out of the crate in March 2006. At 600 miles I put on a Speedo-Healer which corrected the speedo but throws off the OD by about 4%. So, 96,292 - 600 = 95,692 * 1.04 = 99,519 + 600 = 100,119 miles. Once the OD shows 100K it will be official.
I know I didn?t mention everyone that was there but my memory is simply too limited sometimes to recall all the names. I usually rely on others posting pictures with names to help refresh things. Guess we?ll just have to do it again so I can work on the memory.
MAP
