My Cross Country Log - Day 2

During most of my trip, I would end the day with a little time writing in my journal. Day number two was not one of those days. The day, in and of itself, was fantastic. The ride started with the stark beauty of the desert, moved into the wonderful splendor of the Rocky Mountains and ended with a wet, hypothermic thud. Day two was one of the most photogenic of the entire trip. Unfortunately my camera gremlin started to act up after getting into Colorado. But I am getting ahead of myself.

This entry was actually written the morning of Day 3.
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Cedar City, Utah to Eagle, Colorado
Camp - Horrid cold $30

Cat shit and chocolate smell while leaving Cedar City. Ate hotel breakfast & took bagel, apple & banana.

I knew this would be a long day - nearly 500 miles - well, I was close.

Everything put back on the bike, tracker checked out, I was off.

The run up I15 to I70 was fairly uneventful and traffic was quite light.

Getting on I70 was the same. Riding was fairly simple - cruise at about 70 MPH & follow the road.

There is a long stretch of road with no services just East of Green River, Utah. Just before the stretch is a small town with service stations. I pull over to gas up & a couple on a Kawasaki (some large cruiser) were having difficulty with their security fob. Couldn't even turn the switch. He walks into town to get a new battery for the fob & I chat with his wife for a bit. After a while I head into town to check on the husband. They are from LA (Los Angeles) and going to Mount Rushmore. He found a battery and I was on my way.I think I caught a gremlin from them.

I like the simplicity of my Rebel. No fob to break. No computer.
At first, Colorado was a simple ride. Then became hilly, mountainous and very twisty.

Held my own for a bit & started to become tired after about 400 miles.

I stop at a small town with hot spring spas and thought, "I should get off at the next campground." I should have.

Before this, the riding was a lot of curves & up and down slopes. Fun for a while but quickly tiring. As I saw the camp sign I thought, "just one more." I shouldn't have.

The next campground was roughly 40 miles away in Eagle, Colorado. As soon as I passed that first campground sign, the rode became worse. In and out of tunnells, up and down and curving to follow the river. Then, about 2o miles into this last leg, it became quite cold. The road was drenched from a previous rain I had to be very careful.

Then I saw the "Camp" sign in Eagle. I pull over, plop down $30 for a camping spot & in the dark with a flashlight in my mouth, a light, very cold misty rain falling, I put up the tent. That must have looked crazy.

Camp rules - No Fires... BLEK!

The night must have been 40F or so. I was so cold I slept in boots, two pants, three t-shirts, hoodie, riding jacket, two blankets and my emergency mylar blanket. I finaly fell into a fitful sleep at about two AM.

(Not sure when I wrote this... Grammar isn't wonderful so I think it was actually penned that night.)
Up. 1 AM went to bathroom. It was warm. I had to think long and hard about just sleeping there. For the first time in a long time I was scared. What the HELL am I doing here? What did I get myself into? I am in a tent in Colorado, it's 40 degrees out & I feel like I am freezing!!! WHAT!?

My Cross Country Log - Day 1

While cleaning up the living room, the notebook where I recorded my ride log was finally located. There is some bad grammar and strange thoughts throughout. Looking at it from the vantage point of today, much of it makes sense, whereas when it was penned, it seemed like only so much gibberish at times. 5,800 on a motorcycle trip does something to a person.

So, with pictures interspersed throughout, here is my ride log. Some grammar and spelling errors will be corrected but for the most part left as-is to keep my basic frame of mind intact. Italicized items are additions made to clarify something that may may not be clear, like dates and names.. Here we go...
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Day 1 - Vegas to Cedar City, UT (September 26, 2008)
Hotel - Nice, about $50
Didn't eat out, had trail mix from my ex-wife.

Ride was hectic, about 100 miles in Vegas doing errands.

• Went to DMV to renew my bike's registration. My number was nearly 100 more than the current number, so I attempted to use the automated kiosk. SHAZAM! Worked like a charm.
• Rode over to see Brianna (my daughter) before I left. There was an auto show going on in downtown Henderson and all streets were blocked off. I managed to get close to where she works and walked the rest. They were BUSY! She works at Lenny's Sub Shop. We exchanged goodbyes.
• I rode over to pay the rent which unfortunately is on the other side of town.
• Then, on the way out, stopped at the bank and got $200 in travelers checks and $100 in cash. That is all I could safely take without possibly causing issues with the account.

Traffic was horrible. Now I truly know the meaning of 'road warrior.' Even after Mesquite, traffic was nasty. Weaving in and out of mountain gorges with no shoulder to speak of, with vehicles ten times my bike's weight is not a lot of fun.

After passing through St. George (Utah), I passed the Walmart distribution center that Dave and Heidi (folks from where I work) mentioned. My goal was to make Parawan before nightfall. There was just no way.

Before Cedar City I stopped and put on my clear visor. It was getting dark rather quickly.

I was hesitant to do any guerrilla camping when I can't even see where I am going, so decided to hotel it the first night.

It was nothing spectacular. With all of my adrenalin, it was hard to sleep but got about six hours.

Thanks

A special thanks goes out to the little Red Winged Blackbirds that visited my little bird feeder this weekend. You see, there aren't many of these birds in the area. They prefer wet areas over the barren desert. Of nearly five years of having a bird feeder, this is a first.

And it came at an interesting, welcome time in my life.

Oh, as a motorcycle update, here is what I found when preparing to torque up the head and cylinder bolts on my Rebel... See all of those pretty stripped threads on the end? Those aren't from a nut that can be replaced. Rather, they are from the engine casing.

Here's the crux of the problem... This likely was caused before the warranty coverage had expired. The problem was that the only symptom was a little oil seepage, first discovereed in Kansas. So, not seeing a major problem, and with the agreement of a bike mechanic, I didn't worry about it until returning back to Vegas... AFTER the coverage period was over.

So, today she goes in. Hopefully the Ride Now dealership and the folks at Honda will agree to repair it within the warranty terms. I didn't mistreat her or ever touch that bolt. I didn't do it. Just feeling some 'motorcycle blues'.

Let the Insanity Begin!

Day one, for my trip to the east coast is planned! Ok, I know when some take off on a motorcycle trip, they just pack and head out with little more that a rough idea of where they are going. I am not completely like that. I need a more solid plan than that.

So, let's try these embedded google maps again:

View Larger Map

If this looks funny, you can also follow this google maps link. The goal of my first few days is to get out of the desert heat. That said, I will be heading North, up to Idaho, then east across Wyoming. Day one will start from the house here in Henderson and end in Ely, NV where I will probably stay in a nice cool hotel room. Stops will include Overton, Moapa, Alamo, Hiko, Sunny Side, Rues Place and Lund. As is typical in the desert, services will be sparse in places, so I will be relying on a Jerry Can with gas and plenty of water.

AND! I have my first donation in support of my trip! My immediate boss, Randy Holland donated a small, two person tent to my insane cause. Who knows... Maybe I will have the chance to share the tent with someone on the trip??? (LOL)