Day 16 - Delays and More Delays

So, got into Elk City at the end of Day 14.  Woke up yesterday and visited the National Historical Route 66 museum.  Interesting place.  Lots of history there.  Got rolling again late in the afternoon.  As I got towards Amarillo, TX, I noticed that my turn indicators weren't working.  It was about 9pm when I stopped at a motel since the local Harley shop had closed already.  This morning, I got Hailey over to the shop, and they found a blown fuse on the Accessory circuit.  Got it replaced under warranty and went on my way.  Grabbed some breakfast at the local Waffle House and got back on the road.  About a mile out of town I found that the turn indicators had stopped working again.  Turned around and went back to the shop.  Someone finally got looking at it, and found the real problem.  With all the luggage I've got Hailey carrying, she kept bottoming out on the big bumps on the Mother Road, and had scraped the jackets off of several wires, shorting them out.  About 2 hours and $112 lighter, the wire harness was replaced and I was rolling again.  Got to a gas station to fill up and found that Texas doesn't sell 91+ octane gas, which is what Hailey needs.  Back to the Harley shop to get some octane boost, filled up at the gas station and I was *finally* on my way; at almost 3pm.  Oh well.  Several hours of hard riding, fighting the wind, and I got to Albuquerque and found a motel room.

Day 14 - The Mother Road

Been following 66 as best I can, but the going is tough, sometimes, because the turns aren't always marked very well.  There have been times where I have had to resort to getting on I-40 because I haven't been able to follow 66.  There have also been times where I have had to guess as to whether I was supposed to turn or go straight.  Usually, I've been right, but on occasion, I've had to make a U-turn or use Google Maps to get me back to the right place.
The heat is starting to get to me.  I've been drinking fluids as best as I can, but there are times I'm probably not getting enough.

Day 12 - Starting Home

MyTracks is broken again, so no map for today, and I don't know when I'll be able to get it working again.  Anyway, I left Marshall, MO and headed south to Springfield, MO, then found my way to Historic Route 66.  Followed that all day and part of the night until I got to a Motel 6 in Tulsa, OK.

Day 12 - Waking Up

Just woke up.  Already packed up and will be leaving Buz's place here shortly.  I was going to leave yesterday, but due to a long late night conversation, I ended up sleeping in until 1:30PM (CST).  Between doing some stuff, finishing up some other stuff, packing and loading stuff onto Hailey, it was after 8PM before I was ready to go.  I figured I could either ride about 120 miles down to Springfield and pay for a motel room, or I could just stay for one mor night, since my hosts were happy to have company anyway.  I decided to take the second option.  I'm about to grab a bite of breakfast, and will be on my way shortly.

Day 8 - I'm Here!

Got to my primary destination in Missouri at 7:00 PM (CST)!

Day 5 - Old Faithful

Rocky mountains, Yellowstone, lots of rain, Old Faithful, more rain, more mountains, fog.  That pretty well sums it up.  Except for one little thing.  And, yes I know what I'm admitting to here... So, while trying to find a lodge so I could sleep for the night, I made a wrong turn. Pulled into a pullout so that I could turn around and go back to the highway. Halfway into the pullout, at about a half mile an hour, the bike slipped out from under me. Probably a smooth wet rock that I hit, who knows. Anywho, I used every ounch of my strength trying to keep it from going all the way over, but because of the gear on the back making it top heavy, I could barely manage even that.  So, I manage to get both legs on the low side, but I'm still barely able to keep the thing from tipping all the way over.  A few moments later, I see a car coming down the road.  I start waving one of my arms, screaming at the top of my lungs that I need help.  The car slowed, rolled about 20 ft past me and stopped.  It sat there for about 30 seconds, all the while I'm screaming at them to get back here and help me, then drove off.  Thankfully, a van pulled up right as the car left and a mother and some young boys helped me get it back upright.  I thanked them profusely, and they went on their way.  I sat for a minute to calm down and catch my breath when another car pulls up.  I waved it off, but it sat there for several seconds before a police officer stepped out and asked if I was alright.  I explained what happened, and she said that someone had (and I quote) "called in a motorcyclist in distress."  Gee, thanks whoever you are, cause no offense, but letting me stand there straining my back until help potentially arrives is sooo helpful.  I hope I never meet them, because I would be quite tempted to give them a little more than a piece of my mind.  Anyway, I finally made it to a lodge and got a room for the night.
Link to map.

Day 4 - Backtracking Galore

Woke up late because I forgot to set an alarm and the motel room bed was comfortable.  Rode north into Sun Valley to look at the scenery.  It is absolutely gorgeous out there.  If you are ever within 100 miles of it, it's worth the detour.  Went in about 10-15 miles before I turned around.  A lot of it is unmaintained road, so there were a lot of potholes I had to swerve around.  Coming back, I think I really confused a bicyclist.  Being as it was all downhill, and I had to go relatively slow (20-30 mph), I decided to save some gas and I turned off the engine and coasted down, but with the key still in the on position, my headlight was still on.  He gave me a really funny look as I passed him, being as I wasn't making any noise.  Also, it seems that the odometer doesn't tick if the engine isn't running.
Back through Ketchum, and Hailey, I continued back down 75, going all the way to 84 and headed East.  Stopped in Burley for a quick break.  Found a Kiwi Loco on accident, so I stopped and chowed down on a bit of frozen yogurt.
Out of Burley, I continued on 84 East past the 86 junction.  I got about 25 miles before I remembered that I wanted to go north, through Yellowstone.  Turned around and haded towards 86 East, but they were doing construction on the junction, and I was forced to take 84 Weat until I found a place to turn around (again), about 10 miles down the highway.  Back down 84 East to 86 East, I kept riding until I hit Idaho Falls and grabbed a hotel room for the night.

No map for today as my phone had a temper tantrum and lost it before I could upload it to Google Maps.

Day 3 - Uneventful

Got up and packed up.  (Some people had already left when picture was taken)  Rode over to Prarie City and gassed up.  Followed 26 into Ontario, grabbed a bite of lunch, headed up to 84 and followed that down until I hit Mountain Home.  Headed East on 20, then North on 75.  Friend had pointed out that there is a city called Hailey out that way, so I just had to take a picture of Hailey in Hailey.  It's actually a decent sized town.  You know, relative to the one's I've been passing through lately.  Rode through there and headed up to Ketchum where I stayed the night.  I had planned on taking a stroll through Sun Valley, but it was getting too late for that.

Link to map.

Day 2 - A Very Long Day

Woke up around 9. Dressed and finished breakfast by about 10. Aaaaand then it took me almost 40 minutes to pack. Pathetic, I know. Ended up having to strap a small chunk of 2x4 to the luggage rack, though, to support the rear bag because it was haning off the end and sagging horribly. Left by 11. Fueled up in Oakridge, then headed east.  Tailgated a semi and got great gas milage, but ended up following it onto 97 south. Realized that fairly quickly, and after maybe 500 ft, turned around. North through Bend to Redmond. Stopped at KFC for lunch. Headed east on 126, then onto 26. At Prarie City, I headed south towards Strawberry campground to take some pictures at a friend's request.  The gravel road leading there was extremely bumpy, made worse by the tractor tracks that made my bike bounce around like a mexican jumping bean.  Got to the camp, and there was still snow everywhere.  It was getting towards 8 at this point, and the sun soon set, thankfully after I snapped a couple pictures.  The ride out was just as bad, and I soon realized that I did not have enough gas to get to the next city, and all the gas stations in town were already closed.  I rode back to John Day upon the advice of a sheriff sitting on the side of the road to find the gas station he recommended no longer does call-outs at all.  Time to find a motel.  Nothing available.  Asked one of the motel clerks, and she said that there were several people camping out at the fairgrounds.  So I went over there, having to wiggle my bike through a pedestrian entrance, as the gates were closed, and set up camp.  Thus ended a very long day of riding.

Day 1 - Not a Complete Failure

So, today didn't quite get off to the right start.  I had slept on the couch at a friend's place last night, then ended up sleeping in until about 11:30.  Called Salem Harley to see if my replacement saddlebag yoke had arrived.  It hadn't.  Ran home to finish packing.  Got about 20 minutes into that when my friend reminds me that I need to help her run an errand before I go.  So I rush back over, and we get that taken care of.
Finally heading back home, I give the shop another call.  Yes, they got it, but since they didn't order it, they sent it back.  I cursed a little into the phone, then apologized, and clarified that I was just frustrated with the situation.  He told me that it had just come in, and to hold while he tried to stop it, which he just barely managed to.  I sped over to the shop to pick it up, and got it along with a short lecture about having parts delivered to them without notifying them.  Oops.  Lesson learned.
Rush back home.  Finished packing.  Left to the gas station in West Salem to fill up the tank with some more non-ethenol before I leave.  The gas station attendant started his usual annoying questioning about where I was going, how long I was going to be gone, where I was staying, etc.  Well, in answering a question about camping, as I started to point at the tent stored behind my windshield, I realized that there was no tent.  Oops, again.  Thankfully, I planned on going I-5 south anyways, so I just stopped by my place on my way to the freeway.  No big deal.
Arrived in Springfield about 9 and decided to get a bite of dinner, being as I hadn't gotten much else to eat today.  Found a Sheri's right off the path I was taking, but that ended up taking me almost 2 hours before I finally left.
So, here I am at my Grandpa's house, a little after Midnight.  Talked with Grandpa about some routes I could take, and headed to bed.  And here we are.  Good night.  Talk to y'all tomorrow.
Link to map.

Aaand We're Off

Finally got the replacement yoke for my saddle bags an hour ago.  Even the new one is not to the standard of quality I would have expected from them, but it'll get the job done for this trip, and I can give them an ear-ful on my way back up through California.  For now, we ride!

Delays, Phone Calls and Trip Plans

So... personal fail.  I've known for a long time that this trip is actually happening, but it's felt so surreal that I just realized Thursday evening that I still need to pack my bags, get a few last things around and make a few last minute modifications to Hailey.  On top of that, I finally confirmed a couple days ago that the yoke ifor the new, hand-made custom saddlebags is too short.  So, I called them up Wednesday during my lunch at work to see about getting a longer one.  Two days plus shipping, they told me.  Alright.  That'll set me back to Sunday before I can leave, but I can manage that.  Well, they didn't call me like they were supposed to this Friday afternoon to confirm they were made and shipping method and location.  So that's gonna set me back until Monday or Tuesday.  We'll see. :(
In better news, the primary destination of my trip, my old friend, finally RSVPd.  It took me a while to track him down, and never did find a phone number for him, but I did find a street address.  So, I mailed a letter asking him to call me.  Weeks go by.  No call.  Finally, this last Thursday night, I got a call from him, and we chatted for a half hour.  Yeah!  Missouri, here we come!