Rally Bound from Oregon

[debron]

Well, you can't travel for 4-weeks anywhere in this country without running into rain somewhere, even in the summer. But on the first day??

After two weeks of wonderful late-spring, early-summer weather I left home today headed for Asheville. Well, Half Moon Bay, California first to meet up with other NorCal Voyagers for the coast-to-coast ride to North Carolina. It's a two-day ride for me to just get to the official "start" of the ride!

And right on schedule the first storm of summer rolls in. Maybe it's an omen. Or maybe the weather gods are just getting it out of the way! What I hate most about riding in the rain is visibility, or rather, lack of visibility. Fortunately I just got a new face shield for my helmet and I use "Rain Repellent Max" (from Cee Baileys) that works great on beading up and rolling off the rain. In spite of the rain, I did have an enjoyable first day. Wet on the outside, dry and reasonably comfortable on the inside. 376 miles. Only about 3,700 miles to go. . . . .

See that wonderful California blue sky in this photo? Neither do I!



Start odometer reading, just to keep me honest!

[Lucasind]

Riding in the rain, and still managing to crack a smile
(I think that's a smile I see under the face shield) Brad and I rode back from Detroit down I-75 the other day dodging raindrops and semi's, I agree, not much fun. I also hope all this rain lately, gets out of it's system before we leave for the rally too. Nothing, compared to what you guy's are doing ! Hats off to you west coast guys. ride safe............................tony

[debron]

Yes, Tony, that is a smile, but today's smile is much bigger! A better day today. Overcast, foggy, wet drizzle this morning but by noon the sun started peeking through:



Got nicer throughout the day, I think it even hit 80°! Until I got to San Francisco Bay. Cold and windy. And the Golden Gate Bridge decided to disappear!



Great riding! The Tail of the Dragon really has nothing over some of the roads I rode through the Redwoods National and State park, or highway 1 down to Fort Bragg, or highway 20 back to 101. Curves galore. Highway 1 was mostly 2nd gear, some 3rd gear.

Tomorrow is the official start of the NorCal Voyagers ride from the Pacific to the Atlantic in North Carolina. Saw the national weather reports this morning. I expect we will be using the rain gear a lot on this trip and maybe even in Asheville, unless the current storms coming up from the Gulf pass through quickly!

[Jim Loiselle]

Great pictures! We are all looking forward to your travel-log as we prepare for the ride to Asheville.
Keep up the good work and be safe!

Jim in Indy

[Lucasind]

Thanks for the reply ,and pics Ron. sooo you guys have been sippin on a cold brew ,and makin plans for the last day ? best of luck with the long ride east !.... I just went and got my trailer out of storage today ,and am making my pre-rally inspection on it... gettin ready to ................tony

[ekap1200]

Thanks for the reply ,and pics Ron. sooo you guys have been sippin on a cold brew ,and makin plans for the last day ? best of luck with the long ride east !.... I just went and got my trailer out of storage today ,and am making my pre-rally inspection on it... gettin ready to ................tony

Stay dry Ron, See ya soon. Wishing I was with you going thru the Redwoods park. It is one sight that is on my bucket list the day I can retire from my 8 to 5 job......

Hey Tony, cutting it a bit close on your pre-trip inspection ?

Your not the only one, so don't feel alone. I have not even looked at a map yet. I did however get things needed to be done to the bike done and over with a month ago. ( first year ever ) But I can remember a few vacations that this close to leaving I still had the voyager up in the air with no wheels installed. This year if it ain't done by tomorrow night it ain't gettin done. Cause whatever you do , things still can go wrong. Coming home last night the headlamp warning lamp came on, just a 29 dollar headlamp bulb. But you never know... My trailer will be loaded with the most weight I have ever loaded in it. Its road test loaded, will be the day we leave

[the2knights]

Keep the pics coming Ron. Looking forward to seeing you at the Rally.
As far as my bike goes, I do have both wheels back on it, but not one piece of plastic is attached to it. Going thru wiring, and just put an HID headlamp on the bike, Wow is that bright!

[Lucasind]

Hey GENE..... You know I've been a "road mechanic" for heavy equipment for longer than I care to think about ! anyway.... your thought of "cutting it kinda close" Well .... I prefer to fix things in the shop......but if I'm on the side of anywhere..... I'm well practiced at those tasks too .....tony

[debron]

The wifi was down at the cheap motel where I stayed last night so I couldn't do much of anything on the web. But hey, this was Austin, Nevada. Picture an old mining town in high desert mountains out in the middle of nowhere-and-not-much-else, whose glory days were over 60-70 years ago and you get the picture!

Anyway the last two days have been perfect - perfect weather and perfect riding! Friday morning was the official start of the NorCal Voyagers coast-to-coast trip. This is the "start" photo of us with our toes (well, heels actually) in the Pacific Ocean. Yes the water did roll up to our feet just after this photo was taken.



Friday we had sunshine and warm temps up into the 80s as we rode through the California Delta, up and over the Sierra Mountains (to 8,500') and into the Great Basin of the US which contains most of the entire state of Nevada and pieces of each of the bordering states. We ended up in Austin, Nevada where the aforementioned wifi wasn't working!

Today dawned beautiful and temps were in the 60s by the time we hit the road at 7:00 am. Austin, by the way, is at 6,500'. We rode up and over several mountain passes at the 7,500' - 8,000' level across the Great Basin into Utah. The Great Basin area has it's own kind of beauty, high desert, sage brush, bare mountains. (And great roads with no one on them!) In Utah we rode around several mountain ranges, up and over a couple equally high as Nevada, and finally through some amazing red, white, and black rock formations and canyons that would be at home in a John Ford western! If you went to the 2012 rally in Kanab, Utah then you know how beautiful southern Utah is!

The last hour today coming down into Green River, Utah (today's destination) got pretty warm, probably into the 90s. Still much better than the ride last year to Logan where the temps through Nevada, Utah were around 106°!

[debron]

Well, we lost one of our members today. Kirk decided it was too hot for him (highs mostly in 80s, though 90s by the end of the day) and that it was going to get hotter and then comes the humidity as we travel east. So this morning he turned around and went home. Funny thing is, he's the one from a hot place, Sacramento, where it's 100° all summer long! Oh well. . . .

Today was another absolutely beautiful sunny day. We rode out of Utah and into Colorado and headed for Aspen. Aspen is a happening place. . . for people with money! Artsy little town right at the base of the ski mountain. You can see the ski area in the background of this photo.



From Aspen we rode up to Independence which is just the remains of an old mining operation at about 10,000'.



After eating lunch at Independence we rode up to Independence Pass, elevation 12,095. At this elevation temps had cooled down from the mid 80s to 64°, cool but refreshing.



If you ever get the chance to ride this way, the Rockies in Colorado are not to be missed!

Our destination today was Salida, Colorado. Tomorrow Tucumcari, New Mexico. 2,016 miles down, another 2,000 plus to go! I guess that would mean we're half way there except my first 700 miles just took me to Half Moon Bay which isn't really any closer to Asheville than where I started!

By the way I've been getting 52 - 58 (yes, 58!) mpg on 85 octane! The 58 mpg was very definitely with the help of a strong tail wind.

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

Great pics, love the ride along you're providing us Ron!
You say you're running 85 octane, does that have any ethanol added or is it real gasoline? If it's E-10 then I would have to agree that you have one heck of a tail wind pushing you along the way!


Keep traveling safely folks, we'll see you in less than a week!

[debron]

Today was yet another gorgeous day though it got hot hot hot this afternoon. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

As we were riding out of Colorado we stopped at this funky little coffee shop for our daily coffee. Don says it's not an addiction, not even a habit, but we have to stop every day so he can get his double-espresso! Sometimes (most of the time) we even have to stop twice so he can stay awake for the whole ride! Anyway, this little coffee shop out in the middle of nowhere sells coffee (darn good coffee) and art:



After coffee we rode into the Great Sand Dunes National Park. You can't get a real feel for it, but that's one heck of a mountain (literally) of sand, enough to sastify all of the cats west of the Mississippi forever!



After leaving the Great Sand Dunes National Park we rode into New Mexico. Still a nice beautiful and comfortable day. After stopping in Taos for lunch, we rode over the mountains through some lovely pine forests, rock wall canyons, and by some lush green meadows. Then dropping down from the mountains to the next "bench" (finally got below 7,000') the temperature rose swiftly to 106° and still 50 miles to go!

About 10 miles out of Tucumcari (our destination) we passed a car by the side of the road with a flat tire. Two women were standing by the car studying their owners manual. Don, being the hero he is, couldn't resist so he and I turned around to go assist. Trisha and Joel continued to Tucumcari. It was good that we stopped because they didn't have a clue about how to change the tire and not one other car passed (in our direction, two went by in the opposite direction) the whole time we were there. And no cell phone reception. By this time we were under cloud cover (black clouds) and the temperature had dropped to a comfortable 95! So here's Good Samaritan Don doing his thing:




We did finally get to Tucumcari and checked into our motel. Tucumcari is a town of murals. They are painted on the sides of buildings by local artists. They are all around town. Here's one though it's been in better shape:



Still getting 52+ mpg though in Taos I had to get 86 octane. I don't know if it and the 85 were ethanol-free. I sort of looked at the first station for an indication but didn't see any, then forgot. I'm thinking it is ethanol-10 as ethanol-free 85 is usually more expensive than 87 E-10 and this 85 was less. I got 56.7 on one tank today. Joel got 58 on his '94 for the same stretch. Though we won't fill up until tomorrow morning, I know I got more than 52 on this last tank also.

Oklahoma City tomorrow. . . .

[Chris near Kansas City]

Enjoying reading about your travels thus far. Hope the rest is quick, cool and safe.

Looks like I need to pack an extra trip meter knob. Hope there's room in the trailer for it.



See you in about 5 days.

Chris

[debron]

It's too late and I'm really tired and have to get up at 5:30 (which is 3:30 at home) so will post today's report tomorrow. Yes, the knob for my odo reset disappeared the week before I left.

[debron]

[Tuesday, July 1st]

Goodbye tailwind, hello headwind!
Goodbye sun, hello clouds!
Goodnight moon. . . Oh, wait, that's a children's book!

Woke up this morning to overcast skies and a stiff easterly. Still the temperature was warm enough to sit outside to drink our morning coffee at the on-site Circa Espresso Bar. If you are in the area we heartily recommend the Historic Route 66 Motel and their coffee bar. Visit them and tell them the AVA sent you! They support the AVA by advertising in the Voyager's Voice!

After coffee we picked up Interstate 40 heading east out of New Mexico into the panhandle of Texas. (Why do they call it a "panhandle"? Doesn't Oklahoma actually have the "panhandle"?)

Our first stop was a little west of Amarillo, a place called the Cadillac Ranch (not to be confused with the Country song "The Cadillac Ranch" which tells of partying, music, dancing, beer drinking and generally having a great time [Hey, can we go there??]) Some years ago, someone buried a bunch of old Cadillacs nose first in the ground. I didn't count them but there are at least ten Cadillacs. The fad is to bring your cans of spray paint and paint whatever your heart desires on the cars. Don't worry, it won't last long because someone else will be right behind you to paint their heart's desires on top of yours!




After the ranch, we took a detour south then east to the Palo Duro Canyon. OK, it's not the Grand Canyon but impressive none the less:




Next we continued the detour/side trip south and east to Turkey, Texas. (Couldn't we have a little fun with that name!!) Turkey, Tx is the home of Bob Wills (1905-1975). Don't know Bob Wills? Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys? Bob is credited with being the King (and creator) of Western Swing. He sang and played a mean western swing fiddle - Songs of his you've heard include Deep in the Heart of Texas, Faded Love, and this one, San Antonio Rose:



After visiting the Bob Wills museum, we meandered our way back north and east to Oklahoma City, our destination for the day. About 85 miles from Oklahoma City we ran into some rain. Enough to be a nuisance but not enough to stop and put on the rain gear, though it would have been less of a nuisance if I had my face shield on my helmet! By the time we got to Oklahoma City though, it had cleared up and was warm again.


I expected those headwinds we had in the morning were going to eat into our mpg but that was not the case. The winds died down or changed direction or something because I still got 50+ and 51+ on the first two tanks today though the with the third I was down to 48. But that was when we were booking it at higher speeds to get to Oklahoma City and we did have some headwinds with the rain. It was a long day, 12 hours on the road plus we lost another hour crossing into the Central time zone.

[debron]

[Wednesday, July 2nd]

Today we planned a beeline to Memphis, Tennessee, home of Elvis, music (rock 'n roll and blues), Gibson (guitars) and world class Bar-B-Q! We expected to arrive around 3:00-3:30 to have some time for sightseeing. What do they say, if you want to see God laugh, tell him your plans! First we had a banking crisis, the second of the trip. Both Don and Trisha failed to tell their banks they would be traveling. Trisha's credit card (the only one she brought) was blocked the second day out - and the bank wouldn't un-block it. Today Don's debit card was canceled but after half an hour on the phone he got it worked out. Later there was another crisis that needed tending to. Another 45 minutes. Then on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River there was major road construction and delays. Another hour and a quarter. Bottom line we didn't get to Memphis until after 6:00. So no sightseeing. We did have dinner at The Bar-B-Q Shop. Thanks to Rick in Kansas City for that tip! Since I eat primarily a whole food, plant based diet I had the BBQ Spaghetti. Yes, you read that right, BBQ spaghetti! Actually just regular spaghetti with BBQ sauce. Darn good!



The good news is my gas mileage is still up, over 52 mpg, with a high of 56+ today. 3,401 miles. 10 states.

[debron]

[Friday, July 3rd]

A beautiful day today! The news was on the TV in the breakfast room of the motel this morning and they were giving the weather report. I didn't catch the temperature (comfortable) but saw that the humidity was 83%. A far cry from the 20% we had in Nevada, Utah, New Mexico!!

Leaving Memphis this morning we dipped down into Mississippi to see some places we hadn't been before. The ride across Ol' Miss was pleasant and scenic then we crossed into Alabama. There it was town after town after town with mostly no space (countryside) in between and lots and lots of traffic lights (mostly red) and traffic.

We stopped at a Kawasaki dealer in Florence, Alabama to introduce ourselves and the AVA and get our business cards for the key chain game. They were nice folks and they gave us T-Shirts with their store name and logo. We talked about bikes, looked at bikes and ultimately Joel ordered some Kuryakan foot pegs to be sent to him in Asheville. We must have shot an hour and a half there.

After leaving the dealership and driving miles and miles through endless traffic lights we finally got out into the open and were headed back to Tennessee when deja vu! Traffic jam with stop and crawl just outside Chattanooga. There was no construction today, just everyone trying to leave town for the holiday weekend! It wasn't as bad as yesterday's traffic, delayed us only 30 minutes. (I don't think I've ever ridden so far or so slowly in first gear as we did yesterday!)

We are in Kodak, Tennessee tonight, only about 100 miles from Asheville, though we won't be there until Sunday. Heading to Trisha's mom's place tomorrow in Colfax, North Carolina. Then to the Atlantic on Saturday. Hopefully the hurricane will have passed by then.

Another 12+ hour day plus we lost yet another hour crossing into the Eastern Time Zone. No photos today as we didn't do or see anything worthy of a photo.

[debron]

[Friday, July 4th]

Woke up to the coldest morning we’ve had since we left Half Moon Bay. Temps in the 50’s but clear sky. There were clouds over the Smokey Mountains but by the time we got there they had disappeared and it warmed up, turning into another very nice day.

Today was a short day, only 250 miles to Trisha’s mom’s place in Colfax, North Carolina. It was a great ride over the Smokey’s into North Carolina on I-40 and on to Greensboro. Colfax is a suburb south of Greensboro. We rode a more or less consistent 65 mph even when the speed limit was 70. Cars and even semis would pass us on the straights until the curves. We stayed at 65 but they would slow down and we would pass them until the next straight-away. But the North Carolina state police were out in saturation patrols this 4th of July and we ran through several speed traps with 3 or 4 patrol cars each. 3 out of 4 of the patrol cars always had people stopped but never bothered us ‘cause we were too slow, I guess. But the curves were perfect and it was great just cruising through them "at speed."

We stopped for the mandatory coffee stop at Starbucks in south Asheville! It's nice to know there is at least one Starbucks in Asheville. They were almost non-existent in Alabama!

We arrived at the retirement community where Trisha’s mom lives in time for their 4th of July bar-b-q. Because Don and Trisha are on the “future residents” list, the facility is putting us up for two nights in a very nice three bedroom apartment and feeding us! All free! They even had a welcome sign for us at the front desk in the main lobby:



Here’s a selfie photo Don took of us with Martha, the facility marketing person who showed us around:



Tomorrow we run out to Wilmington to dip our toes (or heels) into the Atlantic at Wrightsville Beach, then back to Colfax for dinner and to spend another night.

[ekap1200]

You's are having a great ride and fair weather, our trip begins tomorrow morning and we are hoping for a nice DRY ride. I have the voyager parking facing towards the door, packed , fueled and ready to roll. See ya's in Ashville. Gene and Marie Kap.

[debron]

Yet another excellent day! Cool but sunny this morning, warming up to low 80s this afternoon. Got an early start, left at 6:00 am so we would be back in plenty of time for our dinner reservations at 6:00 pm. About 500 miles round trip. We made a loop of it so as not to cover the same road for very many miles. Trisha’s brother, Bob, joined us for the ride and rode as a passenger on Trisha’s trike. He joined us last year in Tennessee for the trip home from the rally in Logan, Ohio. In his Honda Civic he got better gas mileage on that trip than his sister did on her Goldwing Trike!

Don said we would be stopping in about 50 miles for gas. Turned out to be over 100. The town wasn’t where he thought it was. But he did find one of only three Starbucks in Fayetteville so all is forgiven! I keep forgetting what coffee snobs west coasters are and that we shouldn’t expect a Starbucks (or equivalent) to be on every corner like back home!

Got to Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach but there was no place to park. A very popular beach on a 4th of July weekend Saturday. So we parked illegally on the side of the street, but out of the way and hurried down to the beach to take our picture at the Atlantic Ocean. Here we are, proof we made it!



4,370 miles from home, 11 days, 14 states. 3,497 miles sea-to-sea.

After leaving the beach, Don and Trisha took us by the house they own in Wilmington. They are currently renting it out but plan to move there next summer. Nice brick house in a very nice neighborhood.



We get one more free night at our luxury apartment then tomorrow Asheville and the 25th Annual American Voyager Association Rally! We had dinner tonight and Tom and his wife Peggy were our hosts. They eat like this every day, waited on hand and foot!



It will be hard to leave this place and have to get out the credit card to stay in lesser places all the way home! (Except the hotel in Asheville will be almost as nice)