Way out West June Trip...

[MAC_JD]

I am in Paducah, KY. The Law and Deer were getting a bit thick, time to stop for the night. I noticed the deer don't like the two tone of the STebel horn. An big rig behind me heard my horn and saw a deer run and asked me on the radio what kind of horn it was. I told him what it was and that a motorcycle needs every advantage it can get.

I spoke to BygDawg a few minutes ago, he is in Conway, TX. He did ride through Silverton to Durango, then programmed the GPA for home. Unfortunately his rear tire (the 021) is STarting to show metal. He is working on options for a replacement tomorrow. I checked my tires (I have a few more miles on them) and they are still good, definite flat spot on both. I will be keeping a close eye on them tommorrow and for the rest of my trip home. I dropped my camera and broke it this morning. I did some aggie engineering to it and got it working again this evening. I will take some photo's tomorrow and see how it works.

I STopped for a water and butt break at a Pilot Truck STop somewhere in Missouri. Come to find out almost all Pilot Truck STops have a Masseuse!!! Best $40 bucks I have spent in a while, I feel much better today than the last couple!!

Only 757 miles to go!!

JD

 

[Mark]

Glad to know you are both doing okay...

JD... 'masseuse'... ahhh.... TMI!!!! :lol:

Ride safe!
Mark

 

[MAC_JD]

Glad to know you are both doing okay...

JD... 'masseuse'... ahhh.... TMI!!!! :lol:

Ride safe!
Mark

Yea, Yea, Yea . . . There were no red lights and I never got undressed!!!

JD

 

[Putt]

Yea, Yea, Yea . . . There were no red lights and I never got undressed!!!

JD

Did you ask for you forty bucks back :crackup

Putt...

 

[Waldo]

Was there a FOAMY option?

 

[tommyboy]

I have been living your trip vicariously through all you pictures on Bygdawg's web link. WHAT A GREAT TRIP!! I ah hoping to ride to New Mexico in October to go to the Trinity Site. It is where Oppenheimer detonated the world's first atom bomb. They open up the place (white sands) twice a year for a day. Lots of doing out there. Also, the first day of the Albuquerque Balloon Festival (October 6, 2007)

 

[MAC_JD]

I made it home. Last word I got from BygDawg he was getting a new rear tire and was on his way home also. I have not heard if he has made it yet. I hit heavy rain and wind in Chatanooga, TN. The rest of the day was in the 90's. Downtown Atlanta in rush hour traffic was 95!!!, lovely. I-75 is under construction most of the way south from Macon, GA to the Florida border. Speed limits are most 60 with some 50!! The Law was heavy in this streach of road!! Don't go that way unless you have too.

 

[Mark]

Glad to hear you made it back.
And speaking of back... how did it do? (and how is it doing?)

Mark

 

[MAC_JD]

Lots of breaks and lots of Motrin!!!

 

[MAC_JD]

Here are some panoramic photos from the trip . . .

JD

 

[MAC_JD]

And a few more . . .

JD

 

[MAC_JD]

Ok last one . . . they are much better full resolution, but too big to post.

JD

 

[bygdawg]

Okay...I'm at home now, and the last leg of the pictures are up, including Colorado. I had around 8,900 miles for the trip as I pulled into the garage. Thanks to Mac, I now have a new signature. lol (I noted that you must have not caught it by now). Mark...The 021 was "TOAST" at 8,000 miles. I might could've limped home on it, but you decide. The pics. are up with the last three folders. If I had, I'm sure I would've been losing parts of tire as I approached MS. I met a real nice guy named Ray (last name like Jason from the movie). LOL We ran into each other at the dealer in Amarillo. The shop guy thought we must be riding together because he said, "We only have one of them there ST's in here, and he don't come by but once ever so often...And here we are with two in here on the same day." I must say they have some nice folks at Sharp's Honda in Amarillo. The new rear tire and install was only $159. It's a Maxxis or Maxis...I was taking whatever was available at this point. lol I'll gauge it to see how it does on mileage. Apparently, I'm rough on tires with high speeds and twisties. I seem to recall 115'ish near the lower Mohave area. I'm sure with a road heat of probably around 130 that contributed a good bit to eating the tire up. I'm surprised that Mac got better mileage out of the Z, but he did. I'm thinking it's because Silver is fastest. :crackup Anyway, back to Ray, he didn't know about the ST forum, so I filled him in, and he and I rode as far as Memphis together. He was headed to the Hoot from Northern California. Be sure to note his pics. and the black ST with graphics. Also, I encountered an odd bug (Goldwing) on my trip in New Mexico. Be sure to take a look at those photos as well. It will be the purple one with the rhino stuff. Oh...and it'll be the only GW photos in the last three folders. I don't want to give those things too much publicity. Lord knows everyone will want one then. lol I've done the family thing today, and am feeling pretty good. I'm glad to hear that Mac's back is doing better and he made it home okay. Man...what some guys will do for a massage from a nice Asian chick. :crackup Anywho...I did the Silverton to Durango thing and the Gunnison area...Great riding. I loved the Redwood area as well, and would say that some of that area would rival the gap. (Flame On) I said rival...not beat. Anyway, we hit some great roads and had a great time. It was a long haul though. I hope it wasn't too rough on Mac. I'd hate to think that I ruined him on really really really long rides. We have lots of pics. and lots of stories to tell the kids / grandkids someday. So...In that regard...Here's to good times, good friends, and good roads...:capwin: And don't even ask me to pic. my favorite spot of them all. I couldn't do it if I tried. I'd just end up giving you a list of favorite spots that would total, much like this post, more than you'd want to read. Everyone ride safe and have a great summer. A big thanks to everyone that participated in the rides, helped with information, helped with lodging, kept up with the trip/thread, etc...etc...so on and so forth...I'd say the hardest part of the trip for me was being away from the family for so long. Other than that, all went well. I did have a close encounter with a car that came across the median today after hydroplaning. Miraculously, the guy managed to keep it from coming into our lane. He stopped facing West just off the shoulder of the East bound lane. As I passed him, he appeared to have a death grip on the wheel, and you can be sure that thoughts of I-40 crossed my mind Mac. Although I did have one car in front of me, I was seriously eyeing my options in the soft grass off the other side of the hwy. I also had a bit of lightning, but none found it's way to my antenna. Apparently, the good Lord saw fit to keep me safe on yet another adventure. Thanks to the big guy for that one.

P.S. On a seperate note...I did not have to use the heated suit on this trip. Although, I thought I might a few times. lol

 

[George]

Dawg, catch ya again later this summer?

 

[Mellow]

Welcome back.. as long of a trip as it was it sure goes by fast.

 

[bygdawg]

It's funny how things start to run together on you. I found myself stopping by a P.O. to mail some clothes home. I was there at 4:00 and wondered why in the heck they were closed. Suddenly, I realized it was Saturday. Doh! :banghead: It's all a blur, but I've got pictures. lol

 

[Mellow]

It's a liberating feeling when the actual day of the week or time of day don't mean as much as they do sitting at work planning and scheduling work stuff...

Even though it's only temporary, it's nice to let all that go and not care about it for a while.

 

[bygdawg]

True...With the exception of the odd looks that you get from individuals when you're walking into their P.O. with a couple of boxes to mail out on a Saturday afternoon. :crackup We hit some great rodes, and covered a lot of ground in what would seem like a fairly short amount of time in comparo to the distance that we traveled. Everyone ride safe, and have a great summer. I'll see some of you at the Iron Horse in August.

 

[SupraSabre]

Glad to see you guys made it back home! It sure looks like you had a great ride...even if Mac had to cut it short. You guys deserve a big reward for it and all the pics! :1st:

 

[MAC_JD]

I sent the full resolution panoramic photos to BygDawg. He posted them with the rest of the photos. Here is a link:

http://pics.midsouthspyders.com/listpics.asp?dir=Jay_and_Jennifer\Motorcycle\Way_Out_West_2007_Panoramic_Shots.

JD