Reunion tour- Don’t ride in October

I-40 W> I-15 S> CA18 W> CA138 W> 14S> 126 W>101N. That’s what it was supposed to be at 525 miles. BUT IT WAS THIS INSTEAD. I-40 W> I-15 S> I-15N> I-15 S > then I lost track> 215 W> 134W> 170> 101 at 587 miles

Total miles= 2,044

Ever so sadly I had to say goodbye to my friend the SPOT GPS. Poor old fashioned GPS you were a steady friend— if not fussy. It died right as I was leaving Monticello UT. It sent one text and that was the end of it. I guess a shelf life of 10+ years isn’t too bad. Personally, I think the rain, sun, and cold did it in over all that time.

I left AZ early because I wanted to get home early. The first hour was cold but bearable. After about 1.5 hours I started fidgeting with my cramp buster. That is this amazing piece of plastic that you can rest your palm on so your wrist and arm doesn’t cramp but it twists the throttle. Of course the fidgeting caused it to ever so slowly fall from the grip and directly onto the I-40. I considered stopping and trying to find it but thought it would be futile and perhaps a tad dangerous. I wish now that I had risked it. My hand and forearm are achy. I purchased another one immediately once I unpacked.

After 2 hours the ride was much nicer but very boring. I did not plan this trip well at all! Once I arrived in California the wind was like a series of kangaroo kicks. Relentless.

Now on to how I got lost following the GPS. When I left in the morning I plugged in to my Tom Tom to take me to Santa Clarita so as I’m lazily driving along on the I-15 I first see the sign for the 18 to Palmdale. I think to myself as I fly by “Isn’t that my turn?” But I’m directionally illiterate and I trust the GPS and continue on the 15 until I see a sign that also makes me think I should be exiting. But at this point I am lane splitting and just trying to get through the snarl of traffic. Once I pop out and the lanes are clear I pull off and sure enough I have definitely missed my exits. Now this is where it gets really embarrassing. So I go into my Tom Tom history and click on my pre-entered home (surrounded by all the other pre-entered rides I had added). But I push the directions just above which leads me to Rick and Laura’s old home. Yup. And did I notice this? Nope.

Well I obviously did notice it but not quickly enough. Once I realize my stupid error I plug in my address, turn around, and spend a lot of time lane splitting until I arrived safely home. I did not plan this trip well.

I will not be entertaining questions on this topic. Don’t even ask Rickina!

After arriving home, tired, hungry, and a little worse for the wear I unpacked and looked at my souvenirs.

There you have it!

Lessons learned:

Don’t ride in October; remember the directions and don’t miss your exits; don’t fidget with important equipment while in motion; buy a new SPOT already; plan the ride and leave the open expanses to cars; a smooshed penny makes everything worthwhile

Reunion tour blah blah blah – Day 4

US 191 > US 160 W> I-40 W. 369 miles

The day was crisp to say the least. I headed out to the Hole N’ The Rock for my smooshed penny (which I did get) and a picture of my beloved Bernadette R and myself.

And that is just what it was. And a zoo and a house made of rock too

After leaving I had to backtrack 40 miles in the crisp air to head toward Flagstaff. Was it worth it? Hmmm. Not certain. But I did get a smooshed penny mind you.

The ride was uneventful. So much expanse. Enough with the expanse. What does a gal have to do to get a billboard. It never ends.

I did stop in Bluff UT at the aptly named Bluff Fort. It was really interesting. Rickina would have loved it if there was a train there. The guides were very informative and everyone is so nice in Utah. I could never live there. I couldn’t live up to the standards.

An original log cabin home. So sparse.

A re-creation of a teepee. So sparse.

The guides told me about the REAL Hole ‘N The Rock, which he was quick to tell me that the one I saw was simply a tourist destination. Apparently the early settlers crossed through a true hole in the rock after 6 weeks of traveling. I wanted to ask him “well sure, but did they get a smooshed penny?” But he didn’t seem like the joking kind.

The ride was uneventful. So much rain. Why more rain? Enough with the rain . I saw the skies close in and thought I had a chance of beating it. But no. I did not. Ten miles of torrential downpour. I know that may not sound like much. But step into your shower, fully clothed, then run at 70 MPH, and then let me know your thoughts.

Don’t ride in October. That should be the title of this blog.

I arrived in Flagstaff safe and sound. I cannot say as much for my SPOT GPS. It died. It will not connect to any GPS signal. Maybe it got fried in the downpour…ha ha. — time to buy a new one

Once in my severely overpriced hotel in a severely overcrowded city (when did that happen?) I met up with my high school friend. We had a lovely meal. Caught up on over 40 years of life experience. How the time flies!

Tomorrow time to go home and take a vacation from my vacation.

Reunion tour to mere visit tour – Day 3 (this title is way too long)

I-15 N> 20E> 89N> UT62> 24E> I-70 E> 191 S 370 miles

I started out later than usual but as Rickina kept reminding me it was going to be very cold. He loves to talk about weather (it scares him 😉 ) so it is pretty lucky, for him, that he didn’t come today because it poured. But more on that later…

I left at 9am and it WAS cold. However, I had literally put on every sweater I owned. So it wasn’t so bad. I went through numerous towns called: Circleville, Hanksville, blah blah ville. Everything was —-ville. I really wanted to see a sign for Hooterville. But, alas no such town. Now how did they ever get away with naming a show “Hooterville”? How did the censors miss that? These are the things I think about while riding alone. If Rick and Laura had been with me I would have had a big discussion about this very thing.

In time I came by Butch Cassidy’s childhood home (which Laura and Rick and I visited when we went to Yellowstone). I recalled how I rode around the home and it was 3 inches of gravel. I didn’t mean to do it but was impressed I made it. Well now the entire parking area is paved. Of course it is!

As I rode through Capitol Reef National Park it was so beautiful. They were doing construction and it was still amazing (this was before the rain)

Just before the real weather hit I had pulled over and figured I didn’t need so many sweaters (I would later regret that) so I stopped at a rest area (called Hog Springs or was it Hogville Springs?) and decided Bernadette Raquel deserved a picture

Now on to the weather: It was cold. It was rainy. It rained lightly. It poured and then the skies opened…

This was on my left and right

After wondering if it was truly raining and then remembering to watch for slick spots, for the oils, all I could think about is that Rick would have been livid. I would have had to listen to his chastisements, sarcasm, and 1,000 “told you so’s” for 40 minutes. Ugh 😩 Laura would be sneezing.

Eventually the weather cleared and blue skies appeared all the way into Monticello. Tomorrow off to Flagstaff AZ but first to the Hole N’ The Rock to get a smooshed penny. Got to have me a smooshed penny! My gypsies tell me Moab is fantastic.

Reunion tour to mere visit tour – Day 2

US 6 E> NV 375 S> 93 N> NV319 E> UT 56E 291 miles

The amazing part of this day is that I rode 195 miles on one tank of gas and had 12 miles left before empty. But lets start from the top….Before I left Tonopah I remembered that I forgot to take a picture of the property next to my motel for the evening

Maybe that’s why my nights sleep was awful?

I am not joking. It was a horrible nights sleep. Not because of the cemetery, mind you, but because the hotel room was horrible. I’m pretty certain there was mold and other unmentionables. Next time I would stay at the travel lodge down the road. BUT, I did get the best souvenirs 😉 Ever.

Now back to proper timeline chronology…I left earlier than I had intended as I knew the ride would be short and I wanted out of that joint. While daydreaming I came up with numerous hysterical blog posts. But, due to nearly running my tank dry, and the fear of pushing my motorcycle like in the Wild Hogs movie I can only recall 2 pithy quips. The first was the sheer boredom of the ride until a stream of cows came wandering across the road directly in front of me and then stood to stare at me as if I had somehow annoyed them. The second recollection is that even though the scenery was monotonous (see below)

It was a million times more beautiful than the Kansas landscape. Chew on that!

All of that- and so many more observations – fell out of my head as I saw the “next gas” signs in three digits. At mile number 160 things got dicey. At mile 185 I thought I may be pushing Bernadette into Caliente (which is one of the places I went on my very first motorcycle ride ten years ago). At mile 195 I made it with 12 miles to spare and literally couldn’t recall my zip code when finally gassing up. It took me 3 tries!

The rest of the ride into Utah and my visit with Rick and Laura was easy sailing. Seeing them and their new digs is always a treat. I just wish they could go with me as I travel east to all the kitschy stops I have planned. Next year!

Reunion Tour to mere visit Tour – Day 1

101>126E>14N>395N>6E. 426 miles

I need to start this post by saying that I have literally only ridden 10 miles since Rick, Laura and I rode to Cambria at the end of May. Additionally, that ride was a total of 455 miles- so I may have bitten off a bit much for today.

Luckily everything worked out well. The weather, the traffic, my nerves, my new Sena, and of course my fabulous motorcycle responded like a champ.

I did have a learning curve with my fancy new technology since my old Sena camera stopped working. But I love this one I can talk to it and tell it to turn things off and on (like the camera which is very convenient) as well as use my phone (I haven’t done that of course so that may just be theoretical). Who wants to talk to on the phone when riding? I just don’t understand.

Riding the 14 is such a ugly slog. I really have to figure out how to trailer to the start of future rides. I seem to always stop at the seedy gas stations. Every time. today was no exception. But I have to say everyone is so nice at those stations. I think they may be angels. Well except for those two guys in Cleveland they were drug dealers 😂 but the angels seem to come and go so quickly. When I was riding across country I met this guy who gave me a lovely presentation box of 7 wooden Buddhas. He said they would keep me safe. I turned to thank him and he was gone. Today a guy kept walking to and from his car. We struck up a conversation about my bike and he gave me a prayer card to keep me safe. As soon as he did that he was gone. Maybe I look unsafe. Does this happen to other people?

I pondered these interactions while I plunged forward into the taupe expanse that is the 14 and 395. Other than some cars and trucks who just had to pass and came into my lane like I was invisible the ride was uneventfully ugly. But Tonopah was within reach and this is what my ride was like in a nutshell

Beige

Technicolor

Yes, I’m staying at the Clown Motel. It is FANTASTIC

The lobby

LOL. Right up my alley

Tomorrow off to see and Rick and Laura’s retirement money pit 😁 I am told they DO NOT have an Evel Knieval jump ramp driveway. So excited to see them and their new mansion!