The Errand - November 16-24, 2015

Monday – Here We Go

Odom Start - 2415

Odom End – 3055

Today – 640 miles

Total - 640 miles

This is going to be the first long ride on my new KTM 1290 SA. Honestly, I’m nervous. It is great to spend several days flying down highways, seeing the sights, knowing that you are truly away. But there is nothing worse than doing that while you are grossly uncomfortable, even worse when it is raining, even worse when it is cold.

Riding across the country in November can be a crapshoot. It can be beautiful, cool, and crisp. Or it can bite you badly.

Two of my sisters were at our house for a visit over the weekend so Monday morning began with saying our goodbyes and a trip to the airport.

I love my sisters. Meet Denise and Sue. Danelle and Melanie were on our minds

Then it was time to pack the bike. This is my first trip so I’m not exactly sure what needs to go where. I had given some thought to bringing camping stuff but then saw the forecast for rain and nixed that idea.

My goal is always one trip to the motel room. I have a new waterproof duffle bag to strap across the back and a tank bag. The things I’ll need along the way go in there. The muffler pannier holds tools, air compressor, tire repair kit, and chain maintenance stuff. The left pannier holds warm stuff, gloves, and my camera bag.

I doubt there will be many pictures taken on this trip. There isn’t much to say about I-10 west forever.

Ready to go!

I left at high noon. It was overcast and muggy. Eventually I started running through sporadic rain. This is also the first trip that I’ve taken wearing actual motorcycle protective gear. Everything worked well except for the wind that made its way into my jacket from the bottom. Later on that got cold.

I took the 1604 Loop around San Antonio, grateful to see that the construction is much farther along than the last time I was there.

The bike ran great. I love the torque, quick to pass and get out of trouble. It is quiet and a very different riding experience.  The downsides included being grossly uncomfortable. Today’s ride was really an exercise in pain management. I have a gel pad on the OEM seat but it hardly helps. I can’t wait for my Russell!

The cruise control is a bit funky. I expect it to work like those on my Harley or my truck but it doesn’t.  It is what it is and I’m glad I have it. If I don’t roll on a little throttle when I turn it off the bike dives like I hit something. And if I don’t help it resume to the set speed with a little throttle it drops 10 mph below the set speed before picking back up.  I’m learning.  The gas mileage is also a bit disappointing. For the first tank I was getting about 36 mpg. As I fought the winds in West Texas that dropped down to 30 mpg.

The West Texas winds are infamous. I’ve ridden through in cold, ice, rain, and really bad winds. But today had the worst winds I have ever ridden through. At one point I slowed down to 45 mph in 4^th gear just so it wouldn’t hurt as much when the wind blew me off the highway.

The only real excitement, other than hoping I didn’t get blown off the road, came after dark when I looked up to see the world’s largest tumbleweed heading right for me. It was weird, I hit it dead on but couldn’t feel it. I did pick a few branches out of the bike when I got to the motel.

I had been hoping to get to El Paso on the first day but the late start and the winds slowed me down. I rolled into a motel in Van Horn and called it a day about 10:00 PM.

Tuesday – Hear the Wind Blow

Odom Start - 3055

Odom End – 3675

Today – 620 miles

Total – 1260 miles

I left the motel this morning with the wind blowing so hard that I was leaning into it on the on-ramp. It is going to take some time for me to get used to the KTM. At 500 lbs, it is about half the weight of my Harley and I feel it in the wind. Reminds me of the old days on my Honda 750 – I braced myself every time I met a truck on a two lane road.

Riding in heavy winds is like playing bumper cars when all of the other cars are invisible. Mostly it was a side wind hitting me in the left shoulder. While riding the Harley feels like sitting in my easy chair at home, only better, the KTM felt like spending the day at the gym. Constant attention gets old after awhile.

What is there to say about heading west on I-10 most of the day? Riding across west Texas, when the weather is bad, is like a bad experience in your life. It sucks, you never think it will ever be over, but then it passes and it is hard to remember the details. I like the views and it is a glorious ride when the weather cooperates. No wonder not many people live there.

There is a little stretch of road when you are leaving New Mexico and coming into Arizona that looks like the set of the Flintstones. I was going to put the camera on and video it but the wind was still blowing and I didn’t want to stop. I think it is better going from the west to the east anyway.

I remember back in the day when a group of us rode out west and then to Sturgis. One guy could only go 90 miles before he needed gas. So I stopped at 75 miles for him to fill up and then at 150 miles for all of us to fill up. It drove me crazy but no one else minded. I guess normal people like to get off the bike every 75-100 miles but I’m not normal. I like riding tank to tank to tank. Maybe on the Harley but not on the KTM.

I did one tank to tank today, 248.9 miles, into Phoenix. The winds tamed down about Tucson and the road from there to Phoenix is really easy so I could concentrate on finding new ways to get comfortable. I really hope the Russell Day Long seat fixes that.

I headed out of Phoenix on US 60. There HAS to be a better way to get on US 60 then the milk run way I took. But I wanted to get to Wickenburg and I want to go to Vegas via Kingman so this is the road for me.

As I was oiling the chain outside of my room another guy on a Harley next door to me came out to talk. We talked about where we were heading and I told him my plans for getting from Mesquite to Redding. He talked me out of it. I don’t mind the cold but I don’t want to ride in snow. So I’m going to head south again rather than crossing Nevada. But that will wait for Thursday. For now it is early to bed and early to rise. I get to visit Aunt Judy and Uncle Tom again tomorrow!

Wednesday – Glorious!

Odom Start - 3675

Odom End - 4007

Today – 332 miles

Total – 1592 miles

Today the vacation started! It was perfect. Last night I stayed at the Rancho Rio Best Western right at the intersection of US 60 and US 93. I set an early alarm but due to the time change, I got up even earlier. Plenty of time to do all that I wanted to do to get ready for the day. I waited for first light and headed out about 7:00 AM.

The best days on the road are those that involve riding on roads that I have never ridden before. It doesn’t much matter where the roads are or what they pass through. As far as I’m concerned there is beauty everywhere…but some places are more beautiful than others. Today was a beautiful day.

US 93 cuts northwest toward Kingman and Vegas through the Joshua Forest Scenic Road. I had no idea. I had no idea what a Joshua Tree was. Now I know – it is the sort of crazy thing that you see in a desert and nowhere else. The road was perfect, the sky completely blue, the traffic relatively light, and I was in hog heaven.

It got better.

I got to I-40 to run over to Kingman to pick US 93 to Vegas. That road gave me two more surprises. If I was willing to stop, or if I was willing to turn around and go back (neither of which I am ever willing to go…which is why I ride by myself) I would have taken a video of a place in the road, maybe 20 miles or so before the Hoover Dam, where an amazing mountain/valley vista opens up before you and you start dropping toward the dam. I wasn’t ready for it so it was doubly breath-taking. Next time I’ll be ready for it.

Another surprise came when I got to the Hoover Dam. The last time I was through there you drove right across the dam. I can’t figure out how they did it but evidently the dam is now an exit and the highway no longer passes over the dam. That was disappointing but, as I just said, I don’t turn around. So I shot a video of what ought to have been coming up to the dam and then driving over it.

This morning as I was checking the atlas again for today’s ride I noticed that there is a back road from Henderson up to I-15 that bypasses Vegas and heads out into the country. That seemed like a good idea to me so I started looking for Hiway 564 once I got to Henderson.

It turns out that East Last Mead Parkway IS Hiway 564. It also turns out that the road ends at the ranger station where you pay $10 to pass through the Lake Mead Recreation Area. Best $10 I have spent in years. The road goes on and on, eventually through Overton and back to I-15.

Classic "prove you were there" pictur

The speed limit was only 50 mph but that was perfect for me. I set the cruise at 55 mph and enjoyed every minute. Just fast enough to make the 35 mph curves interesting and slow enough never to worry about some park ranger ruining my day. It was the perfect combination of two of my favorite roads – the River Road in south Texas and riding through the Badlands in South Dakota.

All good things come to an end and I got to I-15. I popped it up to 80 mph and still got passed a couple of times like I was standing still. I had Aunt Judy and Uncle Tom’s address set on the GPS and I rode right there. Judy opened the door with a hug, Tom had another one just around the corner, and I walked in to the smell of dinner cooking. Later that night I won $50 at the casino.

Long trips are best when they include visiting Uncle Tom and Aunt Judy

What a glorious day!

Tomorrow will be a long haul to Redding so I’m going to enjoy every moment here in Mesquite.

Thursday – Just Get There

Odom Start - 4007

Odom End - 4845

Today – 838 miles

Total – 2430 miles

The plan for today was simple. Get up, get dressed, get going. I set my alarm for 5:00 AM but woke up before that and I was on the road at 5:06 AM. Not a complicated day ahead – I-15 to Barstow, CA, CA 58 to Bakersfield, up 99 for awhile and then over to I-5 to Redding, CA. The only possible complication was the need to ride over 800 miles.

I had read somewhere that CHP isn’t terribly picky about speeding. While I normally ride very conservatively on long trips, the speed limit +4, today I sort of threw that out the window. For most of the day I had the cruise set at 82-85 mph while having fun passing people.

Riding the KTM is really a different experience than riding the Harley. The Harley is all about comfort. It isn’t that it is slow and ponderous; it just isn’t as quick as the KTM. Where I might get stuck behind that line of cars that insist on sitting in the fast lane with the Harley, with the KTM I just popped over a lane and ate them up. That part was fun.

The best parts of the ride were the mountain passes, especially the last part of CA 58 as you get closer to Barstow. The Beast was truly in its element. (Side note: I have never “named” a bike. I think it is a bit silly. But when I told my friend Murph about my new bike he said “You have to come over so I can see that beast.” So today I officially named my new bike, the Beast…but for the purposes of this blog, the KTM will also do.)

I gave some thought to heading all the way north on 99 but changed my mind with the prospect that I-5 might be a little faster. I was glad I did that when I got to Sacramento. It was so much better just heading alongside the edge of town rather than going through town to make it back to I-5. At least that is what I thought and I’m sticking to it.

The scenery finally changed north of Stockton. Up until then it was one long taste of North Dakota. Past Stockton I began seeing some trees.  As a matter of fact, the water tower in Sacramento stated that it was “The City of Trees.” Who knew?

I did stop for lunch today in Wasco, CA. At that point I had been on the bike for over 6 hours and I needed a break. I almost broke my rule (again) of only eating at interesting places, preferably breakfast at truck stop cafes or local diners in little towns, since it looked at first like Denny’s would be my only choice. I even pulled into the parking lot. But I just couldn’t do it.

Just down the road I found Pesko’s Café and Grill. I’m not sure what the definition of a “café” is but it seems to me that adding grill is piling on the obvious. I missed the breakfast cutoff so I settled with a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with fries. NO ONE makes a grilled cheese sandwich like Kelley so it was a bit disappointing but it was a nice break.

It gets dark early this time of year so I rode the last 1½ hours in the dark. My Cyclops auxiliary lights and LED headlight are good, not fantastic, but certainly helpful. I might need to aim them a bit differently and see how that works. It helped that I have no idea of the deer dangers on I-5 and I didn’t see any evidence on the side of the road so I just roared on down the street.

My last gas stop was 87 miles from the motel, per GPS. Long trips are amazing in how they change my perspective. When I got back on the bike for that last stretch all I could think about was how trivial 87 miles of riding was. Piece of cake. Nothing to it. The next thing I knew I was pulling up to the Best Western in Redding.

Word to wise regarding long distance riders: When you get to a Best Western that doesn’t have exterior doors to your room so you can park your bike right outside, ask for a handicapped room. They book those last so they are always available. Also tell them that you are willing to switch rooms at a moment’s notice if an actual handicapped person shows up. The bathroom is a bit funky but they are usually the first door on the hallway and the closest to the exit. It makes unloading the bike a breeze.

And I did unload the bike. I took everything off it. Tomorrow morning bright and early I plan to be at Russell Day Long at 8:00 AM for the Big Build.  I can’t wait!

Friday – The Build II

Odom Start - 4845

Odom End - 4958

Today – 113 miles

Total – 2543 miles

Today was the big day. I’m staying at a Best Western on Twin View Drive, on the north end of Redding. It is the perfect place to stay…other than the Fawndale Lodge. It is about 5 minutes from here to RDL. My appointment was at 8:00 AM – I was there waiting at 7:45 AM. Am I excited?

Welcome to the Russell Day Long Emipre!

When you get there Kim helps you at the front desk. She couldn’t possibly be a nicer person or more understanding with all the questions. I was easy. I want the same thing as I have on my Harley but this time in all vinyl rather than a leather top. It is a bit cheaper and I no longer have a garage. Vinyl gets hotter and retains the heat but it lasts a lot longer in the elements. Vinyl it is.

The BEFORE shot - notice the brutal knee angle on the stock seat.

Then it was time to talk to Mike, the seat builder. A very nice guy. Rides a bike. He gets it. They did the picture and measurement thing and then gave me a pad to use so that I could ride back to the motel. Funky but it works.

Funky seat pad...later this makes the new seat seem even better.

Now I have the day to waste away. I have plenty to do on my computer but I also have a couple of errands to do. First on the list is to go over to the KTM dealer. This is embarrassing to say so I shouldn’t even write it down but, for the sake of anyone else like me who happens to read this, what the heck. Here goes:

I haven’t had a bike with a chain since I was in college. Back then, adjusting my chain was a daily chore when I rode my Honda across the country. It wasn’t a big deal but I do distinctly remember swearing to myself that I would NEVER again buy a bike with spoked wheels or a chain. Enter the Beast. So last night as I cleaned and oiled the chain for the third time on this trip, it seemed a little loose to me. But here is the embarrassing part…I’m scared that I will mess it up. So I took it to a dealership this morning to get the chain adjusted, to watch the guy do it, so that I can do it next time. There it is in black and white. I paid $21.25 for five minutes of a guy’s time to do what I ought to have done myself. What I actually bought was peace of mind.

At 11:15 AM I went back for the sit test. OMG OMG OMG I must type acronyms as words fail me at this point.

the AFTER shot - Awww that feels SO GOOD!

What you get with a Russell Day Long is more than a better cushy for your tushy – you get a motorcycle that is fine tuned for your body. EVERYTHING that I hoped for on the ride here was delivered on my test ride. It is like a brand new custom built just for me motorcycle!

I went back to the motel to while away the hours waiting until 4:00 PM when I could go back and get the seat for real. Finally it was time. When I got there, Mike Bradford, the VP of RDL and my seat builder, put the seat on the bike. We took the required picture and then I asked Mike’s advice on a test ride. I did a loop from 299 East to Oak Run Road to Old 44 back to Redding. It was a great ride, the sort of thing that makes me want to live here.

Mike the Seat Builder is my hero; and VP of Russell Day Long

The nice thing is that the seat on this bike – like many bikes – has both a low and a high setting. I left RDL with the seat on the high setting. It was dreamy. The only slightly negative thing is that it put me so high that I was tip toeing the bike at a standstill. I know many guys have to do that all the time but it is a new thing for me. Beyond that, it was perfect.

When I got back to the hotel I tried it out on the lower setting. I might like that just as much. Tomorrow morning when I leave I’m going to leave on the lower setting and give that a try. Maybe later – like the ride back to Texas – I’ll put it on the higher one. I love having that option.

About tomorrow….when I planned this ride I was hoping to have a day or two to just ride around northern California. But then I heard about the Iron Butt Association guys getting together at Pink’s Hotdog Stand in Hollywood for an RTE (ride to eat). That happens tomorrow night at 10:00 PM. I could get there but it would mean barreling back down I-5. I don’t really want to do that.

So this afternoon I looked again at the map and changed my mind. I’m going to head south out of Redding and take CA 36 as far west as it goes, then 101 and then over to CA 1 along the coast. I’m going to ride that as long as I feel like it. I’ll just figure out San Francisco. Or else I won’t.  Maybe I’ll bypass San Francisco and go back out to I-5 and then back over to the coast….

The point is, I am going to embark tomorrow morning on the old fashioned kind of ride that I normally don’t do. I’m going to leave without a plan. I’m going to ride until I’m tired of riding and stop where I feel like stopping. I don’t have to be back to Houston until Wednesday so I have a couple of days to play. And I plan too.

On a GREAT new seat!

Saturday – WOW!

Odom Start - 4958

Odom End - 5392

Today – 434 miles

Total – 2977 miles

Sometimes you just run out of adjectives. I didn’t really know what to expect today when I left the motel in Redding. I knew that I was riding south on I-5 to pick up CA 36, that I would eventually ride down the coast, and that I would stop somewhere north of San Francisco.

The new seat was perfect as I headed south. My fuel gauge said that I should be able to make it to CA 36…actually it was my trip meter as my fuel gauge is, at best, fitful. Sure enough, I left I-5, saw the non-descript turn off to CA 36, and spotted a gas station up ahead. The normal gymnastics of getting off and then back on the bike and I was fueled up and ready to go.

Let’s just say that when you see a sign like this at the beginning of a new road, you have a pretty good sense that it is going to be a great day.

I didn’t have to wait long. The curves started immediately and just went on and on and on and on. Pretty much for the rest of the day. It wasn’t long before I was climbing and curving. The only slightly negative thing is that I would have done better to leave just a little bit later. When the road top is glistening and the temperature is in the 40’s, I’m not hitting the curves very hard. I spent the whole road in 3^rd and 4^th gear.

The higher it got, the colder it got. At one point I realized that stories need proof and a picture is worth a thousand words.

But when you get to see things like this, it doesn’t matter.

I chose to ride CA 36 because of an email list that I am on. The guys from the Iron Butt Association are always trading stories, questions, advice, etc. One time someone asked about the best riding roads in California. Someone answered “CA 36” and it just stuck in my mind. That is how my bucket list keeps expanding. I hear something, file it away, and hope the day comes that I can do it.

CA 36 is a perfect motorcycling road. I basically had the road to myself the whole time. A few times people caught up to me and I just let them by. I wasn’t in a hurry and I quickly learned that the capabilities of my bike far outstrip my riding skills. I kept in full control and “take it easy” mode all day.

At one point I crossed a bridge and caught a glance of a gravel driveway next to it. Normally I just fly by stuff like that but this time I turned around to give it a go. It was a steep, muddy, dirt road that ended up at a little opening down by the river. It was a nice break and I got a chance to stand on the pegs and work my way back uphill – doing the other stuff that the Beast was born to do.

Up and down the road went, the scenery changing all the time. From cowboy country to redwood forests.  On and on and on for well over 130 miles.

CA 36 ended at US 101. I have heard about that highway forever but this was my first time on this part of it. I rode the north end of it when I was doing my Six Corners ride. I was shocked by two things – how generally beautiful it is and how, when it came time for mountain passes, the four lane freeway became a two lane twisty. That was a lot of fun. I stopped somewhere for a cup of coffee but that was it. I just kept riding.

I jumped on to CA 1 at Leggett and the surprises kept coming. Curves, curves, curves, curves and then more curves. There was no one else on the road and I was having a blast. Several times I saw deer along the road, I even stopped twice, but they always pranced away before I could get a picture.

At one point I realized that I needed to remember this road so I pulled over to set up the video camera. I didn’t wash my windshield first so the picture might not be so good but here goes:

I got a hint that something good was coming when, still in the forest, I saw a sign that read “Shoreline Highway.” It wasn’t too long before I came around a corner and got my first glimpse of the ocean.

CA 1 is also nothing but hills and curves. It was hard to concentrate on my riding when I was trying to watch the road with my left eye and look out over the ocean with my right. All day long I got to practice seeing through the curves and trusting the bike to go where I wanted it to go. But I kept riding conservatively.

Then I came up behind a guy on a Harley. We pulled together at a place where road construction reduced it to a one lane road. I was well back in line when I pulled up and then I did the California thing and pulled around all the cars and trucks to the front of the line. That’s not my style but when in Rome…

I followed the Harley guy until he stopped in a coastal town. Let’s put it this way. When the speed limit said 45 MPH I was more than happy to stay under the speed limit but not this guy. 45 MPM meant 65 MPH so I just hung with him. I had to back off in the curves because I could take them faster than he could but I wouldn’t have known that had I not been following him. It was fun but once he pulled off I backed down to my usual pokey self.

I stopped for a couple of pieces of pizza and a cup of coffee at Frankie’s in Mendicino and then hit the road again. I was torn. Part of me wanted to ride down the coast as long as I could but part of me wanted to get as close as I could to San Francisco so I can cross the Golden Gate Bridge in the daylight. I could have hopped over to CA 128 at Albion but I wasn’t ready.

Then the fog started rolling in. It was one thing to ride hills and curves all day when I felt like I was always at the edge of my skill set but quite another to do it when I couldn’t see. I got to Elk and cut over on Philo-Greenwood Road. Little did I know what I was getting myself into there. It was only 17 miles but it was bumpy as all get out with the same curves/hills I had been riding all day. 17 miles in 2^nd and 3^rd gear seemed to take forever.

I got to CA 128 and breathed a sigh of relief as I got to use the cruise control for the first time since I-5 but that didn’t last long. I had clearly reached wine country and I thought about Kelley every time I passed a winery with tasting hours displayed. Kelley would have loved to have been with me down this road.

CA 128 met back up with US 101 at Cloverdale and the race was on. It was a speedway as night began to fall and I got closer and closer to San Francisco. I hit the GPS to look for a motel just north of Novato and followed it to America’s Best? Inn for a $70 room. I hope no one messes with my bike.

More to come tomorrow.

Sunday – California Dreamin’

Odom Start - 5392

Odom End - 5981

Today – 589 miles

Total – 3566 miles

Well last night at America’s Best? Moter Inn left quite a few things to be desired. Among other things, three times in the night someone knocked at my door.

The first time was about 3:00 AM. I JUMPED out of bed and dashed to the peephole. On the way I realized that the bad guys were going to get some kind of birthday suit surprise should they bash my door in. The only weapon I could think of was my motorcycle helmet – whether I would put it on and take my chances or swing it at them with all I am worth was a decision to be made later. Alas, no one was there but I could hear the drunken argument out in the concrete hallway. I have no explanation for the other two knocks. Since I had my self defense plan in place I just ignored them and fell back to not really sleeping.

It didn’t matter in the morning as this was to be the day when I would ride my bike across the Golden Gate Bridge!

When you grow up in Eastern North Dakota and spend most of your adult life in Houston, TX, curves, mountains, and the ocean are the stuff of legend. We read about them. I saw them on TV. But until you see them in person it is hard to imagine what they are really like. I got plenty of all three today.

Have I mentioned how much I love having a GPS on a motorcycle? I use it constantly as my real speedometer. The Beast is about 3 mph off at higher speeds, the Harley even more. When the bike says I’m going 85 the GPS says I’m going 82. I trust the GPS.

I also use the GPS to find motel rooms. When I get tired and am coming up to a town I just click Find Lodging and I take my pick of the litter. I often look up places between where I am and where I hope to be to gauge time and distance. And when I’m back at home, I go riding down whatever roads I want – when the time to get home gets close to the time I want to be there, I follow the arrow home. Love GPS.

Since the America’s Best? was right off US 101 it wasn’t hard to find my way. I was only about 12 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge when I started. As I got closer I caught a glance off to my left, across the water, and I saw the bridge for the first time. It was Sunday morning and the traffic wasn’t bad but it was still too busy to easily rubber neck so I reached up to turn on the video camera. Dead. I forgot to charge it last night. Idiot.

I came around the giant sweeps as I got to the bridge. The thought occurred to me that I might have to pay a toll so I looked for the “pay for it here line”. I picked a line with a green arrow and, just as I started to stop at the pay window, I saw the sign “Don’t Stop Here” so I just rode on. The bridge was everything I hoped it would be. No pictures but I will always remember Alcatraz and downtown San Fran off to my left, how high it was over the water, and the promise that they would bill me later by using my license plate.

Before I left that morning I decided that I would make the most of the coast so I would pick up CA 1 right in San Francisco. 19^th Ave. I guess it is. That gave me glimpse of life among those who can afford to live there. The uphill streets off to my left were crazy! My legs would be in much better shape if I lived there. The places to live were packed in like sardines. Other than that, just another city street that suddenly became a freeway.

Santa Cruz became my breakfast destination. I wasn’t in a hurry and it was slow going. But it wasn’t busy. For long stretches I had that “I have the road to myself” feeling, just drinking in the scenery. I stopped for gas in Santa Cruz and asked a person at the next pump for a breakfast place. “Your Place” was in a strip mall just down the road. Food was great, service was terrible, and it was fun to check in on Facebook from a cool place.

There are times along CA 1 when the road takes you away from the water. There is farmland and trees and little villages but you always know the ocean is just “over there.” You come around a few curves, over a hill, and there it is again. Wow.

I passed the signs for Pebble Beach and Carmel. I didn’t bring my clubs and I don’t know Clint’s number to check if he is free for lunch so I just rode on. I’ve already been on the CA 1 in southern California so I can tell you that it is NOTHING compared to the north. Yes, I felt stupid to be riding without my camera but it would get worse later. I’ll get to that.

I was heading now for Big Sur. I wanted to see that. I had heard about it. That it had the best surfing on the coast – I have no idea if that is true or just something that I made up in my head because I certainly did not find out when I got there. What I found instead was myself riding through a forest with some campgrounds and RV parks and not an ocean to be seen. I guess I should have gotten off CA 1 at that point and gone sniffing about but I’m from Texas and I was starting to feel a long way from home.

The next “must see” for me was the Hearst Castle. I’ll save my comments of the degree to which my blue color roots are offended at the idea of a rich guy building himself a “castle” in the United States but Citizen Kane is in my top five movie list and it was on the way.

I passed a sign that said something about a viewing vista for elephant seals but I had no idea what that meant. Until I passed a beach littered with big fat sleeping seals! I had never seen that before. So I did stop at the next viewing vista and I viewed some sleeping (and some galluphing) seals. I took a picture of that! Then on to the castle.

SEAL PICTURES COMING SOON

As was medievially (notice how the word “evil” feels at home there) appropriate, I saw the castle high up on the hill for quite awhile before I got to the parking lot. I didn’t know what to expect but I did expect the parking lot to be closer to the house. Enough with the castle. It is an ostentatious house. The parking lot was packed which meant a long line to do anything so I took the first u-turn I could and headed back to the highway.

That ended the trip for me. That was the last thing that I saw that filled me with a “if Kelley was with me we would have stopped” which meant it was time that I got back home. When missing Kelley overwhelms seeing new sights and riding new roads, it is time to get back home.

CA 46 is a yellow line in the Harley atlas so I took it over to the 101. Very nice road. Beautiful long distance views of the ocean from the top and several vineyards and tasting rooms on the east side. That certainly didn’t help my “I wish Kelley was with me blues” so I just kept on riding. I hit the 101 and the fun began. Then tragedy struck.

I pulled into Buellton to get gas. As I was pulling in another guy followed me on a Ducati. He pulled up to the pump right behind me so I started asking some local knowledge questions, the most important was “how do I get to I-10 as fast as possible and avoid the Sunday night traffic into Los Angeles?” His answer turned into that Saturday Night Live skit where people from LA argue about how to get there by talking “freeway” in cryptic numbers. He lost me at the “well, you can take the 246 back to the coast or you can take the…”

I decided to take the 101 and follow the GPS.

Then tragedy struck! Before I left the station I pulled over to the side to call Kelley. I had been missing her and I wanted to hear her voice. I pulled out my phone for the first time since breakfast to see a text that read “Your tracker is not following you today.” Loneliness was instantly replaced with rage. How could I be so stupid?

I KNOW I specifically checked it and turned if off last night just as I was sure I turned it back on this morning. But then again, I forgot to recharge my camera so evidently I just screwed up. For a few minutes, the tracker malfunction threatened to spoil my whole trip.

I carry that tracker for two reasons. Both vitally important. That Kelley knows exactly where I am at all times and so I can take a picture of the journey when I’m done. To forget to turn on the tracker means I miss out on that whole part of the trip. Here is where prayer is helpful. I just gave it to God and God helped me realize that it wasn’t such a big deal. It also helped me clarify just what these journeys are about for me. Lesson learned.

Back to the 101. It is a freeway but it is also interesting, pretty, and a bit of a racetrack. I was having fun until about 50 miles out of LA when I turned both dark and into a accordion traffic jam at the same time. 70 mph and THEN dead stop. Repeat repeatedly. Only once did I thank God for ABS brakes on the Beast.

I stayed left to get on the Ventura Freeway.  I saw the turn offs for Hollywood, Malibu Canyon, Laurel Canyon, and other interesting streets that I have heard about before. But mainly I was concentrating on how much trust I needed to have in the thousands of cars around me that the drivers would stay in their own lanes and signal their intentions. I was just hanging on for dear life.

Eventually that road became the 210 which was one option for me but I took the Santa Ana to the 10 instead. (California freeway speak.)

As I rode into the night down I-10 I saw a sign for the Calimesa Inn and thought that would be far cheaper than waiting to get to Palm Springs so I turned in. I should have known what I was getting into when I dealt with the clerk behind a window, sliding my credit card under it. $66 and worth $33 but they did let me park my bike under the roof. I called Kelley to check in but I didn’t mention the roach that came out from under the bed as I sat down to take my boots off. Who cares? There was a Taco Bell across the street and all I wanted to do was eat and sleep. I did both.

Another glorious day.

Monday – Let’s Git to Texas

Odom Start – 5981

Odom End – 6976

Today – 995 miles

Total - 4561 miles

Have I mentioned how challenging it is to climb on and off the Beast when it is fully loaded? I dread it every time. This morning I had the great idea to go get gas, ride a bit, and then do my chain maintenance BEFORE packing. Worked great and I felt good about attending to the chain as I knew this would be a long day.

When I bought the Beast it came with the dealer’s license plate backing. I took that off the next day and replaced it with one from the Iron Butt Association. I didn’t use the ones from the hardest rides that I have done – the BBG or the 50 CC – but still it is a bit of a breach of etiquette to put the backer on a bike that hasn’t been on an Iron Butt Ride. I decided to fix that today with a basic SS1000. That is 1000 miles in less than 24 hours. A piece of cake and something I do on just about all of my long rides.

It was a perfect day for riding. Not much wind, not too hot, not too cold. I will never forget crossing the Arizona and California deserts on I-8 last June, amazed at how anyone could live there. It was 116 degrees in Gila Bend! But today, it was perfect.

I just headed east on I-10, cruise set on 85, and wishing I had a radar detector. Only two cars passed me. I later saw both of them pulled over getting a speed award. There but for the grace of God go I.

I gassed up in Tonopah, just in time. More heading east. Phoenix was a piece of cake as I took the HOV lane all the way through town. I’m sure I made some locals swear since I was only willing to go 75 mph since the speed limit was 65 mph but who cares? For once I was the guy mindlessly biding my time while irking everyone behind me.

Tucson came and went. It is always a surprise to me how the time warp of rides like this means I see a sign that says “181 miles” and I say to myself, “Cool. Almost there.”

I patted myself on the back for passing the opportunity to see the “AMAZING THING” one more time and I chided myself for being too lazy to set up the camera to capture the area around Dragoon Road which is SO much better heading east than it is heading west. The highlights of I-10.

I finally stopped for breakfast in Wilcox, AZ. Since I had ridden about 500 miles I felt I was due. The Country Pride café at the truck stop was perfect. I walked in past the buffet and thoughts of mashed potatoes replaced bacon and eggs in a heart beat. None of which is very much good for my actual heart beating. Delicious.

Back on the road. It got dark about 5:30 PM and I watched the temperatures drop as fast as the sun. From the 60’s to the 40’s before I could count coup. I did a quick stop about 125 miles out to switch gloves and batten down the hatches. Then back out into the darkness.

I got gas in El Paso and then started wondering where I would stop for the night. The bike was running perfectly. Other than the cold, it was great night riding. If this was June I would have ridden all the way to Houston. But it is November and when the temps dropped into the 30’s my bike kept flashing ICE WARNING signs. I decided that Fort Stockton was good enough.

For those keeping score, I left at 9:30 AM Central time and arrived at 12:30 AM Central time. That is 15 hours to ride 995 miles. Since I set out to do a SS1000 for my own peace of mind, I didn’t get a beginning witness, keep gas receipts, or keep a written log. Technically that means that I didn’t achieve a SS1000. But I’m going to give myself a break on this one, trusting that I could have mustered up the courage to ride 5 more miles in the 9 hours I had left to do it. Screw the technicalities, The Beast has been baptized.

It was only possible due to the Russell Day Long seat. Which also meant that I am about broke. I pulled into Motel 6 for the rest of the night.

Tuesday – Waltz Across Texas

Odom Start – 6976

Odom End – 7485

Today – 509 miles

Total – 5070 miles

The easy thing to do today would be to hit I-10, set the cruise, take the 1604 around San Antonio, and go home the way I came. But today is the last day of a great trip so I want to ride at least some roads I have never ridden before.  The choices include picking up 190 on the other side of Bakersfield to Menard, pick up 29 and take it to Llano. Then I could just stay on 29 to Georgetown or pick up 71 all the way back to I-10.

Or I could take 285 down to Sanderson (which I’ve never ridden) and then 90 to I-10 to home (which I have done a ton.) So many choices.

Right now, since I plan on leaving in about 30 minutes, skirting San Antonio feels more attractive to me than Austin traffic. I’ll see what I end up doing pretty soon.

After getting gas I rode through Fort Stockton. That immediately ruled out the road to Sanderson. Boring. Once I got on I-10 I put the cruise on 88 and started passing trucks. By the time I got to the turn off to 190 it was a no-brainer. I headed toward Iran.

The Texas of popular imagination - a fun run down US 190.

I have been to Iraan (pronounced “ira-ann” for the sake of Californians) one other time, in search of gas this past June when I trailered the V-Strom to Big Bend. I remember thinking, “I would love to do this road on my bike.” So I did it on my bike.

There is a spot, less than 2 miles or so from I-10 (at least it seemed to come up pretty quickly) that is simply majestic. It is the high point that overlooks the massive bowl that is the oilfield that created Iraan. Surrounded by huge plateaus, it is the picture of Texas that is in everyone’s minds before they actually come here. Very Clint Eastwood spaghetti western. And the speed limit is 75. So I could ride as fast as I wanted without any traffic…I’m thinking I made the right choice.

When I got to Iraan I made the impromptu decision to eat lunch at the beginning of the day rather than earning it later down the line. I rode around town looking for a café. Once off the main drag, it struck how alike all small towns are. Unpretentious. Better days are now past. And home to the kids growing up there.

I was going to give up when I spotted Isabella’s on the way out of town. Bacon and eggs gave way to Texas Nacho’s. I joined a conversation with the two older guys at the next table – one a visitor from California, the other the rancher he came to visit. Mr. McMullen just turned 80 and has spent his life on a ranch just outside of town. He told me his parents homesteaded in 1926, showing up six months before someone discovered oil.

He told me that Iraan was God’s country. I don’t doubt that but I also noticed that it is also the land of God’s biggest competitors for the hearts and minds of Texans – cattle, oil, and deer.

Texas Nacho's at Isabella's in Iraan. Awesome.

190 starts off as a beautiful road. Great scenery. No traffic. Up and down it goes…and MAN does the wind blow! I would also call it “Roadkill Alley” as I saw constant evidence of God’s beautiful critters who lost their lives due to their simple failure to look both ways before crossing the street. What mystified me was how some resulted in huge smears on the road while others didn’t. Was it a function of the speed or size of the assailant or the particular angle that struck the assailed? Such are the thoughts that come when you ride without music.

On I rode through the forest of mesquite and live oak trees. I don’t know that I saw more than a couple of homes in the 100 miles it was to Eldorado.

At one point I came out up a hill and found myself in cotton country, several miles out of Eldorado. At that point the wind was simply laughable. Fierce and insistent. I had to be careful when leaning into it from the right because it could just as easily shift immediately to be coming from the left. Maybe that is why such a beautiful road doesn’t rate a yellow designation in the Harley atlas.

I got to Menard (which caused a childhood jingle about saving big money at Menard’s to play constantly in my mind) and turned on to RR 29. Another good Texas road. It looks like a highway but at any point can possibly reduce down to a country lane. I stopped briefly in Mason to put on more cold weather gear. It wasn’t just windy but was getting chilly. I should have gotten gas there but trusted the trip meter that said I could get to Llano.

When I left Mason I set the cruise on 80 mph, thinking that a respectable speed given that the speed limit was 70 mph. Until I looked in the mirror to see a Dodge dually pulling a horse trailer gaining on me. It was on. RR 29 became my own personal speedway as I pushed the Beast to the edge. I got to Llano in a hurry, without getting a ticket, counted my lucky stars, and determined to be conservative again for the rest of the trip.

Llano is a Texas classic. I got gas, was dying to stop for BBQ, but determined to get home. The plan was to ride new roads while it was light and finish up on old roads when it was dark. The plan worked perfectly. I got on TX 71 as I left Llano which became on old road to me once I passed 16 to Fredericksburg. I was on my way to Austin.

The first time I went to Austin was my first year in Texas. I was with a group of kids at our Bible camp outside of Kerrville when I learned that my presence was not required on a Wednesday. So I drove to Austin to find the Lutheran bookstore. I came into town on TX 71 before getting completely lost in downtown.

This time I came in on TX 71 with memories of riding through Los Angeles. As it got darker, the traffic got thicker. I kept passing these long lines of people in the turn left lanes and thought how glad I was that my daily commute looked much different than theirs. Then TX 71 became a freeway. Just like that. Very nice. And very brief. Because the other end of the freeway was a nightmare as it funneled everyone past the airport and out into the country.

Austin makes it easy to get there and hard to leave.

Eventually the traffic lessened and the speeds increased. A little hiccup of traffic lights in Bastrop and then it was free sailing all the way home. TX 71 runs into I-10 at Columbus.

Columbus has become my emotional “I’m back at home now” boundary. It is 60 miles from Houston but I never really feel like I’ve left until I get past Columbus. The reverse happens on the way home. I’m home once I get to Columbus, the rest are the details of getting to our house. We just happen to live at the terminal point of the HOV lane so I was looking forward to doing just that when I looked down at the gas situation.

The computer said I had 0 miles to go when I was still on the edge of town so I stopped at the station on Eldridge Parkway. I never stop there. But I knew it was easy on and easy off and still left me another option to get on the HOV lane and home. So that is exactly what I did. Kelley and Emma were waiting for me inside the door.

I love these girls!

Thus ends The Errand. 9 days, 5070 miles, all to get a new seat for the Beast. It was worth every moment, every mile, and every penny.