July 12, 2023
The story *before* the story...
June 19, 2023
'Humpty-Dumpty' was back together again in just a few short weeks. See the end of a previous blog entry A Moto Trip to the PNW for the initial details.
The original final drive unit was traded in for the replacement core charge. I've not really done a lot of riding (only a few thousand miles locally), but the gearing change makes a 200 mile comfortable range extend out to 220-230 miles without a lot of issues.
It might be time for a real test soon. Due to a few unexpected personnel issues at my wife's office, she's going to need to put in some extra hours of effort over the next few weeks. Being informed about this a couple of weeks ago, and watching things fall into place, I made a topic of Father's Day lunch conversation "gee, maybe I could go up and visit the PNW family, while you slug away at work."
My wife, my mom AND my dad were like "Great idea! When are you leaving?"
So...maybe I need to get reacclimated to hours in the saddle I've not done in months for a quick, solo trip up to the PNW.
The topic was mentioned during yesterday's phone call with the PNW, who also thought it would be a good idea. I guess that means - it's a go?!
No definite time frame yet, but mid-July is looking promising. The story of the ride prep, the ride, and the aftermath is all in this single blog entry.
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| I'm pretty sure that I won't have this problem. |
June 20, 2023
I spent a chunk of today reviewing routing from here to there. Realistically, there's about six unique ways to get there from here. I've already been on two of them. The longest two routes actually are the ones that have the largest percentage of Interstate highway, so this would be a good time to explore these other route opportunities.
There's one particular route that looks like fun; there's another route (the return trip) that would include a good stopping point for an Iron Butt ride. I'll get into that later.
I learned about those old-school 'distance matrices', destinations on the top and side, with mileages to each destination in a grid. They used to be a feature on some of the better maps from the olden days. They look kinda like this:
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| From: https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/maps-platform/how-use-distance-matrix-api |
Putting together the raw data, then figuring out the spreadsheet calculation that creates this took a quick visit to ChatGPT and it provided the answer I needed. I then decided that I needed to do this with all six of my routes, and between yesterday and this morning, I now have 12 matrices. Six for the south-to-north trips, and six for the return trips. This was also how I determined that the Interstate-exclusive routes were just so much further.
June 21, 2023
A quick look-over on the tires of the bike shows I have enough tread for this trek, but not a lot beyond that. The engine oil and filter...that's gonna need replacing. Seems like it's been in the bike since late April of last year, and nearly 10,000 miles of use. The final drive oil should also be replaced, as recommended by the supplier. I'll need to requisition those items soon with the goal of doing it early one morning.
Two day trip, but not yet certain on the departure date. I'll be rolling in the wee hours of the morning in order for the second day to finish at a reasonable time. The route up looks like:
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| The routing between 5 and 9 is new...sorta. |
There's still a bit of study for the return home. Right now, it looks like this:
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| The roads from 4 to 10 are pretty desolate. Data doesn't show final leg of route; I can get home from there. |
A bit of study for the return home happens here as well. It's simply a matter of timing.
Lodging opportunities are next on the agenda. At least a survey of likely stopping points and opportunities for a solid six hours of sleep.
June 22, 2023
Double-checking the preliminary stuff...
Me to my wife this morning "Are you okay with this?"
Her: "Yes, I think it's wonderful that you're able to run up there and do this."
Me: "Okay...just checking. 😗"
June 23, 2023
Thumb up from my daughter-in-law on the dates for this little adventure.
1500 miles of motorcycling, followed up by hanging around with the PNW clan for a long weekend, then a ride home.
Yep, this is fun!
June 25 - June 29, 2023
Multiple tasks accomplished getting things ready to go...
- Room reservation has been secured for the first night. My intent is to get out of the lower desert areas as quickly as I can. The ride back is going to be a bit more flexible, so making a same-day reservations might be doable.
- Routes confirmed, GPX files created and loaded into the bike's GPS. The ride up only has about 40% of the distance that will be new to me. I watched a couple of Youtube videos on one piece of it. Sure hope that I have it to myself; looks like fun!
- Engine oil & filter replaced, drained and refilled the final drive on the motorcycle with no issues. It needs the thick layer of bugs eliminated, but it's that time of year when it gets hot FAST. Maybe a bit of effort tomorrow morning?
June 29, 2023
Three hours of consciousness, and I'm already sweating.
330 hours from this moment...I'll be haulin' ass out of this state and heading for higher latitudes...and elevations. Can't wait.
July 3, 2023
New memory stick being loaded with tunes for my upcoming trek...thinking around 3500 or roughly 315 hours of music should be enough. Previous packing list discussion here: Mid-Atlantic Tour Prep April 2018 List updated for solo trip.
July 5, 2023
It's now at a point that I can start looking at various places along my route and have a quick look at expected weather conditions.
Based on what I'm looking at, I'm rigging up my external water jug on the pillion, using the bracket on my seat backrest to secure it.
Actually, I rigged this initially after my 48 State ride, where my initial configuration for this didn't work worth a crap - four years ago. More about that here: 48 State Ride Day 4
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| I stole this idea from another Iron Butt rider somewhere... |
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| The idea is it's secure, but it's able to be accessed for refilling easily. |
Yes, that's an inexpensive aluminum cake pan used to hold the base of the gallon jug. The strap hold the top close to the bracket, while the bracket is bolted onto the backrest.
The original tubing looked terrible, and I was certain I'd dried it, apparently I didn't and it could have been deteriorated. I'm not taking a chance. After confirming that I'd used the last of my decade-old tubing, I stopped by the hardware store this morning and picked fresh some up.
Bite valve and a piece of plastic straw on the ends of the tube, and it's ready.
July 6, 2023
Four hour, 190 mile ride this morning. I've got one little audio bug that I'm needing to look at, but not when it's 105°...yeah, probably the garage temp as well. The water jug holder works well. It needs to be stable, but it also needs to be easily accessible.
July 7, 2023
Audio bug squashed...I think. Basically, reset everything and re-pair all of my gadgets to the headset unit. Final routing on how I'm getting there completed and loaded to the bike's GPS. Routing on the way back is mostly completed. I'm gonna make that decision last-minute.
July 8, 2023
I think I've had my current helmet three years.
Finally broke down and took the liners out and gave 'em a good wash. I think I'd only washed the cheek pads once, but that was it.
I called the water "road grime brown" at the end of the washing process. Yech! No photos, sorry.
And that's where my helmet liner gets looking much the same after just a couple of days' of riding.
It's as clean as it's gonna be.
The packing list is printed, the 'putting all my crap I want to take in one pile' process begins. I'm thinking about *when* do I unleash this blog entry to the world...not quite yet.
July 9, 2023
Kinda ignored the process for the day...there's not much to do. Well, not exactly. Toiletry needs are packed up. One major section of the checklist complete.
July 10, 2023
Electronics bag has been kitted out. There are a few small surprises that are also being taken to some little guy at the destination. Now, I start really watching the weather..including the weather in the PNW, which looks like it'll be great. I'm glad I was smart enough to bring the water jug...might need a bit along the way.
July 11, 2023
The big jobs today: Clean the bike (which also serves as a good inspection for issues...nothing noted), get the Tool Bag contents verified, as well as getting my off-motorcycle clothing in a pile, then into the bag.
July 12, 2023
The final things for the day include completing the checklist. It's almost done. Slightly over 100 items on the list; the last three get added in the morning, just before departure. I'm done, and ready for bed.
July 12, 2023 6:30pm
So, the story *before* the story has been told. Now, we get a few hours of sleep, and hit the road. This story will continue, and it'll be added here.
July 13, 2023
First gas stop...Marana, AZ. The bike had 64500 miles on it when it was at the house...nice round (ish) number. Second gas stop begins the either/or process, and it depended upon what time I got near the first opportunity. I made good time, so I kept going to Wickenburg for that next fuel stop, since Costco wasn't open. From here, I can make it all the way to White Hills, between Boulder City and Kingman. The congestion in Kingman is bad, with the new alignment and interchange, it's best to just keep on rolling and not stopping there.
From White Hills, the next stop was Vegas. The heat was picking up, andI could really use another small bite to eat...and a bio-break. I knew that from here, the remainder of today's ride would be a bit cooler. Maybe mid-90°'s instead of 100°+ temperatures.
Alamo, NV was the next stop. From this point, my distances are known. I know I can get to Ely, and then the final stop of the day in Elko. The ten minutes waiting for the single-file traffic as NV-318 was being chip-sealed was NOT a fun time, nor was 30 MPH along fresh chip-sealed roads either. I suppose now is the time that roads get maintained around here, especially before one of the more interesting uses of this highway is used for the Silver State Classic Challenge road race held in mid-September.
I wasn't exactly sure how much water my jug had in it, but I really didn't want it to run out. The Ely stop got me a refill of water, a bottle of electrolyte drink, and some beef jerky. From here, the 180 miles to Elko (by way of the routing around the Ruby Mountains) would have a bit of new-to-me road.
No photos. Paying attention to the 832 miles in 13 hours was a bit more time consuming. I hadn't done a ride like that in a few years.
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| Day 1 - 832 miles in a bit over 13 hours. |
I made good time here yesterday, and suspect I can do almost as good tomorrow. Most of these roads are new-to-me, so there's scouting being done as well for future trips up this way - in either two-wheels or four.
My lodging choice didn't have breakfast. Part of the trip last night to the store was to alleviate that with *something* in my stomach to get the day going. I woke up too early, so my brain kicks into high gear, doing the estimations of when I can get there to the final destination. Figured out...I really need to leave as soon as it gets light out.
Goof-up happens here... The fuel stop was a block from the motel. I get there, do my normal five minute fuel stop, make sure everything is ready, and I'm gone. I really didn't notice that I had dropped out of cell-phone range only a couple of minutes after heading out of town on NV-225, the Mountain City Highway. There was very little traffic along these roads, so my pace picked up over time...until I got near the communities of Wild Horse, Mountain City and finally Owyhee.
This entire time...since I have no cell coverage, my Spot link still shows me at the motel. Oops! Shortly *after* I had crossed into Idaho, a voice message came in, asking if everything was okay. "Aw, crap!" I replied to the voice mail, and a few minutes later, she called and we chatted for a few minutes. Technology...sometimes, when it works, it's great. Other times....
Two quick stories to tell about the ride during the point in that time I was incommunicado.
The first one happened after passing the wild horse recreation area. The road parallels a creek and then the Owyhee River after passing the campground during this period . During this time there was nobody on the road so I could ride it at the pace that I felt comfortable. I went into one turn and the bike slightly stepped out. I didn't realize that there was a slime that was in the tire tracks along the paved road. At first my brain went and said looks ‘like some four-wheelers have been out here on the road, this is mud!’. After a bit of time, I really did figure out what it was. It turned out to be the remnants of the Mormon Cricket invasion! I’ll leave it to you to learn more about that. I ran across several areas along the road that had these stains on the road surface. In Owyhee, there were a couple of buildings coated with the swarming insects.
Second story? Sure…
There is a Native American reservation that straddles the state border of Nevada and Idaho. I may have seen this on the map, but didn’t really register this…until…
I’m much closer to the speed limit than I was previously, before entering civilization. As I’m nearing the cresting of this hill, my radar detector informs me there’s a radio signal that I should be interested in, just ahead of me. I’ve been following a white sedan for a few minutes now, probably a ⅓ of a mile in front of me. The officer has a pickup truck pulled over, but heading in the opposing direction.
In seconds, the cop lets that pickup go, gets into his patrol car, and flips a U-turn, now between the sedan and me.
Posted speed is 65 MPH, I’m doing 64 MPH, with my cruise control on. I didn’t know right away…does this patrol vehicle only have a single radar head (front only), or does he have a front/rear configuration.
After 20 seconds…he pulls to the side of the road, and lets me by! Obviously, the sedan is of no interest, but the motorcycle certainly could be a target of opportunity!
“Oh, well, let’s play a game, shall we?”
His radar is still on, so I decide I’m gonna mess with his display by constantly varying my speed. 58, 64, 60, 57…all the way until we reached the northern border of the reservation. As he turned around, I put up my arm and waved.
“Have fun!”
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| The Iron Butt Memorial - Gerlach, NV |
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| Iron Butt Memorial Circle of Honor - Gerlach, NV |
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| Selenite Peak, Black Rock Desert and the Iron Butt Memorial Circle of Honor - Gerlach, NV |
July 20, 2023
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| A week of motorcycling - fun trip! |
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