| Author | Message | ||
     Crusty |
Brunch Stop I’m in Hutchinson, KS at my usual Breakfast stop. A Sausage McMuffin and a Senior Coffee. It cost me $1.73. It’s funny; the only time I go out for breakfast is when I’m on the road, and even then, I’m a cheap SOB. Most people think Kansas is boring to cross. That’s true if you only cross it on the Interstate, but it’s a lot more interesting if you take a US highway. I’ve crossed Kansas on US 36, and it wasn’t the boring ride the Interstate is. It takes a little longer, but it’s worth the extra time. There was a detour on US 50 that added about 40 miles or so to my route. I had to go north for 10 miles, west for a while, then south for 20 miles and east for more miles before I was back on US 50. I went through a Mennonite community that had their own well attended church, and the area was very pretty in a heartlandish way. I saw a couple of vultures sitting on top of a couple of utility poles They’re big birds. I’m also seeing dead Armadillos along the road. Not a lot of them, but they’re very distinguishable. To me, they look like medieval war machines. Their armor must be pretty tough; it’s usually intact, even though the animal is dead. Gas prices have come down a bit as I travel west. Even here in rural Kansas, Premium was only $3.04/gallon at my last fill up. I hope that trend continues, but I don’t expect it to. When I looked out the window at the Motel 6 this morning, I saw that someone had planted a small garden. I recognized a squash plant, but there was a tall plant that I didn’t recognize. When I looked closer, I realized that the buds on it were Okra! I took a couple of photos of it, and I’ll post them up when I get home. One of these days I’m going to have to try it. It’s such a controversial thing on Badweb, but I’ve never even tasted it. Well; I’ve dallied long enough. I have to get back out there. | ||
| 86129squids |
WHAAAATTT??? Never tried okra?! Then you never have had proper gumbo, jambalaya... good fried okra is hard to beat. We usually grow a plant or two every year, didn't plant any this year. Okra is a relative to hibiscus, it will throw blooms that look just like hibiscus. Then, before you know it, you'll have an okra pod, yum! It grows SO fast though, you have to watch it every day or the pods will get too big to eat. We grow a crimson variety that some old timers from Madisonville TN gave me. | ||
| Ourdee |
What squids said.  | ||
| Pwnzor |
I love driving across Kansas, even if it is on the interstate. My favorite part is getting off I-70 at Oakley, follow route 40 out to Kit Carson, CO. | ||
| Crusty |
Stalling For Time I’m sitting in a motel room in Pueblo, Colorado having a second cup of coffee and intentionally waiting before I head out for Montrose. I talked with Susan last night and she told me that she would be busy until early afternoon. If I get there too soon, I’ll have to wait until she gets home, so I’m having another cup of this delicious (urk) free motel coffee and I’ll head out in a little while. Yesterday was another mid 90s day. That’s two (maybe three) so far. Saturday was that hot and with the migraine, it made for a rough ride. Yesterday, once it hit 96 F, I was feeling it. Although I stopped and drank a lot of Gatorade often, I was sweating it out almost as fast as I was taking it in. On a good note, though, the humidity was down. My clothes didn’t stay damp from sweat very long. At one stop, I took off my helmet, and it was soaking wet inside. 20 minutes later, it was bone dry. I do like low humidity. I did a bit over 500 miles yesterday and it wore me out. By the time I reached La Junta, I had decided that a tent was just not going to cut it. So I stopped at a Macca’s and went online and found a cheap motel. The shower in the room was extremely welcome, as was the A/C. I can see the Front Range outside my window, and it’s a very welcome sight. I love Colorado. Every time I come back here, I wonder why I ever moved away. I don’t regret living in Cheviot and the choices I made along the way, but I do miss living here. If you’ve never ridden a motorcycle in the Rockies, you’re missing one of life’s great pleasures. I could take you on a weekend ride that would have you completely overwhelmed. Spectacular is a word that’s inadequate to describe the experience. If you’ve been here, you know what I’m saying. I’ve stalled enough. Monarch Pass and a whole lot more are calling. | ||
| Ourdee |
If you’ve been here, you know what I’m saying. True, It is amazing. Ride on brother. | ||
| 86129squids |
I'd love to have the time and $$$ to ride cross-country with you, John. At least I've got the Beemer- I'll keep working on the first two. Ride safe, Crusticle! Maybe I'll see you in Suches. | ||
| Tootal |
Now comes the fun part! Weeee!  | ||
| Court |
Crusty… Keep us up-to-date on your location. I left the East Coast, on a whim, and I’m headed west across the country. I’ll wave if I see you. | ||
| Damnut |
I'm guessing you didn't take the camel back that I gave you................. Listen you old fart, once you use it on a long ride you will wonder how you haven't use one yet. There is nothing better than reaching back and having a nice ICE COLD drink while riding on a very hot day. | ||
| Ourdee |
You mean I should actually carry mine with me on the bike? With water in it? | ||
| Ourdee |
Crusty, I don't know if you are interested. My next door neighbor has a black shiny 2010 Fatboy with 11,636 on the clock. He's asking $10,000 as a starting point. He takes real good care of his stuff. I figured I'd mention it, so I don't get one of those you should have told me talks. Keep on riding! | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Wrong number of cams! | ||
| Crusty |
OK Kids; I haven had Internet access until this morning, so here are a couple of Snippets that I wrote: Montrose 9/17 I hung out at the motel in Pueblo until 9:30 or so, then headed out. I was really amazed at how different the area is. It’s completely changed from what I remember. Granted, it’s been 40 years, but I didn’t recognize anything. It’s easily five times larger than it was, and probably even bigger. I’m kind of glad that I passed on camping there; the city extends past the area where the campground is. Once I was out of the city, the ride got better until I rode into Canyon City. I think I caught every red light. And it wasn’t just me, it was a pack of traffic. It seemed like the lights were timed to impede the flow of traffic. A light would turn green and everybody would go forward at a reasonable pace; then the next light would turn red as we all approached. I toyed with the idea of getting up to the front of the pack of traffic, then booting it to see if I could beat the next light. Then I figured that if I did, I’d probably get nabbed for Speeding or Driving to Endanger or some equally heinous crime that would have a very large fine attached to it. So I worked on developing Patience and Acceptance and just stayed in the middle of the pack. Just as I was getting to the west side of the city and almost away from the red lights, a club biker on a dresser pulled up beside me. I didn’t recognize his patch and couldn’t read the club name; but he pulled ahead of me when the light changed. He was running at a brisk pace and as we rode into the twisties, we were mostly alone. It was a wonderful ride. He was running at a pace that was fast enough to feed my itch to enjoy the turns. Anyone who thinks Dressers don’t handle has never ridden with one that had a good rider. We weren’t racing, but we were hauling the mail. The Roadster was more nimble into the turns, but he had a sh*tload more torque and could pull me out of the turns. While we occasionally came up on slower traffic, we were able to pass without doing anything stupid. Between the ride and the very scenic canyon, it was a joy to be alive and experiencing it. We rode together until we got to Salida, then he turned off. The rest of the ride was pretty nice. I went over Monarch Pass and got stuck behind a jackass pulling a three axle R/V trailer. I managed to finally get by all the cars stuck behind him, and then I got by him. After that, the ride was smooth sailing right into Gunnison. It’s funny how memory plays tricks on you. I had remembered CO Rt. 92 breaking off of Rt. 50 right outside of Gunnison, but It was a few miles further west. Rt. 92 runs alongside the Black Canyon and is another Biker’s Dream road with lots of turns and spectacular scenery. I was tempted to turn up it, but I stayed on 50 towards Montrose. A short while later, I stopped in Blue Mesa and took a couple of pictures of the roadster with the reservoir in the background. It was really noticeable how low the reservoir was. They haven’t gotten much rain here over the summer, and there wasn’t much snow last winter, either; so they’re having to deal with drought conditions. Hopefully, the rain will start soon. After Blue Mesa, I was just cruising along at about 10 over the limit and a guy on a FJ1300 blew past me. When he did, I audibly asked myself, “Do I really want to chase him? – Yes.” So I picked up the pace a bit. I was hanging with and closing on him through the turns, but he’d run it up to 100 or so on the straights. I decided that getting popped for 80 would be bad enough so that’s all I would do. He’d put distance on me on the straights, then I’d close it up through the turns. When we got into Montrose, I was right on his ass. Chasing him wasn’t fun like it had been with the Club Biker. This yahoo wasn’t as good a rider and was just using his bike’s horsepower in a straight line. The fact that I could close back up in the turns was proof of that. I was thinking that if I’d ever gotten to build my Red Lightning, I could have easily run away from him. Still, it was rewarding to be able to reel him in through the turns. I found my way to Susan’s house and pulled the bike into the garage. In a short while, we’re going out and she’s going to give me a “Tour” of the area what will include, among other things, a stop to buy some Olathe Sweet Corn at a farm stand and also a meal at a local BBQ joint. Tomorrow (Wednesday) I hope to get to the library and internet access, and the car wash to remove all the dead bugs and road phlegm from the Roadster. | ||
| Crusty |
An Incredible Tour (9/19) Today, I went on a remarkable tour. Sue took me to Gateway, Colorado, and I was on the edge of sensory burn out the whole time. We took US rt. 50 north from Montrose to Colorado State Rt. 141 west. On a map, it doesn’t look like anything special, but I can’t even begin to describe how incredible it is. It’s easy to run out of superlatives when describing Colorado. I saw monuments every bit as strikingly impressive as those in Monument Valley. Mountains, mesas, cliffs, canyons, valleys, boulders bigger than houses; the list goes on and my mind felt completely shell shocked. We basically did a circle of roughly 300 miles in length. It took all day, but it was especially worth it. One added bonus was that we saw very few vehicles going in either direction though, like on the Going-To-The-Sun road in Glacier National Park, it would have been worth the trip if it had been in slow moving bumper to bumper traffic. It was just In-freakin’-credible. The only down side (and it really isn’t a downside) was that we did it in Sue’s car. The next time I come out this way, I want to do it on a bike. And I want to bring my camera with me. I went and left it in the jacket and didn’t think of it until we were well into our trip. There’s a resort in Gateway that has an auto museum. We stopped there and had lunch and then went through the museum. They have a lot of immaculately restored cars that are worth checking out. I saw a 1938 Cord that alone was worth the admission price to me. But there were a lot of really interesting cars from the turn of the 20th century right on up to the present. The centerpiece car of the museum is the 1953 Oldsmobile 88 concept car. It was bought at auction by the owner of the Discovery Channel for 3.24 million dollars. Personally, I found it interesting, but there were several other cars that I found more interesting. The Museum had a few bikes, as well; three to be exact. An Indian 4 valve board track racer from the teens, a 1941 Indian four and a 1947 Indian Chief. The Chief was actually in the restaurant, and not in the museum. The place needs more motorcycles and a greater variety, in my opinion. After lunch and the museum, we continued on Rt. 141 winding through and up the sides of canyons mainly following the Dolores River. Along the side of the canyon wall, we could see the remains of a hanging Flume that was used to bring water to gold miners. It was very impressive and engineers of the day marveled at its ingenuity, but it was a wasted effort. The gold miners didn’t find any more gold with the extra water. We eventually found our way to Naturita and Norwood and we drove down the Norwood Hill which is a road that agoraphobics should definitely avoid, to the town of Ridgeway, and then north on US 550 back to Montrose. As I said earlier, Next time, on the bike and I will bring a camera. | ||
| Ourdee |
These two posts make me happy. I had forgot how magnificent Colorado was. | ||
| 86129squids |
 ... Years ago I was running Deal's Gap, ended up following an old timer with his old lady on an older model FLHTC... I was thoroughly impressed, watching him just flow through those turns. He knew the road well, and although you shouldn't do it in general, he knew how to use both lanes every now and then to just straighten a few turns gracefully. I just hung back and enjoyed watching him. Nothing like riding along with other skilled riders, no?  | ||
| Crusty |
Why Is It That… Why is it that whenever I put a spit shine on the Roadster, it’s probably going to rain? Yesterday morning, I went to the car wash and put a good cleaning on the bike. I even bought a microfiber cleaning towel to make all the bright work look spot free. I had checked the weather and while they were predicting showers, the possibility wasn’t supposed to be until 2:00 PM. I was supposed to meet Joe from Houston for lunch, so I arrived at the agreed on restaurant (Applebee’s) a little bit early, found a parking spot that was fairly conspicuous and waited. I could see that it was raining to the north of me and I hoped that Joe, who was riding down to Montrose from Grand Junction didn’t get too wet. I guess I should talk about Joe a little bit. He’s one of those folks that seldom post on a forum. However, he’s really taken a shine to my Snippets. He had sent me a PM saying that he was going to be in Colorado around the same time as me, and he really wanted to meet me for lunch and conversation. A few text messages and e-mails later and we had a time and location set. So, I stood there looking visible and watched for a Suzuki Burgman. Sure enough, he rode up wearing his wet weather gear, parked with the Roadster and we went in to eat. We were there for almost 2 hours. The burgers were decent (at least, mine was and I’m pretty sure his was, too) and we talked about all kinds of different things. It was one of those good conversations that make lunch meetings worthwhile. I had noticed that it was raining outside while we were eating, then it looked like it had stopped. When we finally got up to leave, it was raining again, but lightly. Once again, the forecast was a little bit off. We took photos of each other and our rides and went our separate ways. I’d never met him before, but now I have a new friend. That’s one of those bright parts of life that gets overlooked way too often. I write these Snippets because I enjoy writing them. It surprises me when somebody tells me how much they enjoy reading them. It seems that every time I start thinking that I should quit wasting space on a forum, somebody tells me to keep it up. I guess that as long as people enjoy them, I can keep hacking them out. They really help me to keep my head straight. Anyhow, I rode back to Sue’s house in the rain. I had planned to go to the Library to get internet access, but I didn’t want to get caught if the rain got heavy. I waited, but the rain continued, so I spent the afternoon kicking back. I don’t begrudge the rain; there’s a serious drought happening here and they need the water. Also, while we were touring around on Tuesday, we could see the smoke from a wildfire that’s been burning since July 29th. I hope the rain helped the efforts to contain it. Last night, I sat and listened to the band practice. There are two new members, Bob and Zack, who I got to meet. Steve (the Bass player) has been getting Chemotherapy and isn’t up for playing. I’m hoping I’ll get to see him while I’m here, but I guess the whole cancer ordeal is kicking his ass. I won’t push it; if he wants to see me, great; but if he’s not feeling too good, I’ll let him be. In the meantime, I’m looking forward to Saturday’s show. The band is sounding better than ever and I get a real kick out of being an honorary Roadie for them. Now, I have to start plotting my ride back towards Cheviot. From what Joe told me, the Million Dollar Highway is looking really spectacular. That will be a good way to start the trip home. | ||
| Oldfartnbuell |
Crusty, the million dollar hiway is a whoo Hoo! road on a cycle in the summer. Not so much fun in a fully loaded semi in the WINTER! It was part of my route for several years. Still loved it anyway. | ||
| Ourdee |
Ride, Write, Right On. | ||
| Tootal |
the Million Dollar Highway is looking really spectacular. A really great ride. I've done it on four wheels in the snow and two wheels both wet and dry. Great views and great twisty's! Stop in Silverton for a refreshment and/or lunch. Then enjoy the ride to Durango. I noticed that if you ride East from Durango, once you're back out on the range, you can go South a little and catch 60. I think that's what you mentioned before. It will take you all the way to Frankfort Kentucky where you can head up 127 to home. Whatever you decide enjoy the ride! | ||
| Pwnzor |
John. I look forward to your snippets in a way that a starving man in the desert would look forward to a steaming pile of Jim's Smokin' BBQ ribs. These last few posts temporarily transported me away from the stresses of my daily life, and I thank you for taking the time and effort to make my day better than it was. Really, thank you very much. See you in October. I'm telling you right now - your camping and all the firewood you can Jenga are compliments of me and Mrs. Anthony. You just get yourself here. (Message edited by pwnzor on September 20, 2018) | ||
| 86129squids |
, +1000. Given that I can't ride all over creation like I'd want to, it's a vicarious treat for me as well. For those of us tethered to a regular life, it's certainly a treat. Thanks, RoadCrust! I will say it'd be nice to see SnippetPics if you can manage though... I had a very nice day yesterday, we hosted a BBQ cookout here at my house. Smoked 3 full racks of baby back ribs with peach wood and a coffee rub, several chicken quarters with Cavender's seasoning, garlic and spices. Sides were my honey's legendary potato salad, I grilled some zucchini and squash, our guests brought green bean casserole, shoepeg corn casserole with jalapeno, and a spinach & artichoke dip. Oh, and my honey made tostones for the dip. I even made sure both my dawgies had Tomahawk ribeye bones for the party. Had some great friends and fellowship, lots of laughs, and overly full bellies. Then we stayed up too late with a bestie couple playing Rummikub. That said, I'm ready for a good MC ride. Weather's getting primo, and the itch is BAD lately. Hoping to make BTF, watching my moolah closely. Ride safe, John, hope to see you soon. | ||
| Crusty |
Perfect Weather I woke up at my usual time this morning. The sun wasn’t up yet, but it was light. I didn’t get up, however; I just laid there in bed and loved the feeling of warm covers with cool air. I had the windows open and the temp was right around the 50 degree mark. Cool, dry air; perfect for sleeping. Montrose is borderline High Desert and I love the climate. When I started thinking about buying a house somewhere, the Western Slope was at the top of my list of places. However, houses are a lot more affordable in Ohio. Plus, my brother lives there. The climate might be nicer here, but there are many other reasons why Cheviot is preferable. Anyhow; I’m sitting in a Starbucks drinking a four dollar Flat White coffee and trying to bang this Snippet out. For Lunch today, we’re going to Jimmer’s BBQ. It’s supposed to be the best around. The band members gave it a resoundingly positive endorsement last night when we were talking after Practice. As people who know me will attest, I do have an interest in good BBQ. If I can get to Internet access, I’ll report on my opinion, once I’ve eaten my fill. Well, I have to keep this short. I have to do an errand before lunch and I’m running short on time. | ||
| Ourdee |
I loved waking up in Colorado with a breeze coming through the windows. I'd make coffee every morning sit on the porch sipping it and drinking in the view. Color me green. | ||
| Crusty |
BBQ Just a quick note; If you like good BBQ and you’re passing through Montrose, CO on US Rt 50, then you should stop at Jimmer’s BBQ. The Baked Beans were some of the best I’ve ever eaten, and the Brisket was superb. I wish I could have tried the ribs, but it was only lunch time and I couldn’t have eaten ½ a rack. But the Brisket was among the best I’ve ever had. They have three sauces and all three are good. I liked the Original better than the Hickory, but the Hot & Spicy was the tastiest of the three for my tastes. Jimmer’s gets a hearty thumbs up from me. A Slight Change in Plans I was talking with Sue this morning and she asked me if I had any “Nicer” shirts with me. Since all I have with me are T-shirts and one sweatshirt, my answer was, “No.” I guess that tomorrow night’s concert is at a Country Club and my choice of clothing would be inappropriate, so I shouldn’t go. So, that leaves me thinking that maybe I should head out tomorrow. I’ve been getting itchy to do a little more real riding and not just this around town stuff, plus it’ll give me one more day to make Chez Crusty a bit more presentable for October 1st when I’m going to have house guests. To be honest, even though I love Colorado, Cheviot is home. I don’t have to go to Starbucks and spend four bucks plus for a decent cup of coffee and internet access. There’s an old proverb, After three days house guests and fish both begin to stink. The corollary is that after three days, being a house guest also begins to stink. This proverb doesn’t apply to people like Ron & Melia, who are more like family, but there really is more than a little truth in that little Ben Franklinism. Considering all the above, I think it would be best if I’m on the road tomorrow morning. Right now, my route will be US 550 south to US 64 east. I’ll refine or reroute it as I go. I’m rapidly falling back into my Tramping mode and I don’t want to over plan it. So long as I’m home by next Saturday, I’ll be OK. As usual, all this is subject to change. That’s one of the joys of just being a Tramp. | ||
| Ourdee |
 | ||
| Crusty |
Mountains and Valleys I left Montrose this morning about 9:30 and headed south on Rt.550. I think I stopped to take pictures half a dozen times. The problem with riding in this part of the country is that there are so many insanely beautiful things that just call for a photo. The beauty also distracting from a rider’s perspective. It’s hard to keep watching the road when there are so many magnificent things that want to draw your eyes away. In any event, I rode the Million Dollar Highway over Red Mountain Pass into Silverton. Then it was up and over Molas Pass and eventually down to Durango. I continued going south until I reached US Rt.64; then I turned east. I thought that US 64 was going to be boring, but it was far from that. The views of crumbled mountains, arroyos, canyons and such were mesmerizing. I stayed on US 64 until the town of Chama, New Mexico, they turned north on state Rt. 17. That took me back up into Colorado and I eventually made it to a small town called Antonito, where I got a motel room right by the Narrow Gauge Railroad. They run old steam locomotives on it pulling a few passenger cars for tourists. I saw a train on my way up the road, and it really is impressive watching the locomotive belching black smoke and steam as it moved along. The weather was perfect all day long. It was cold going over the two high passes, but with all the vents closed on my jacket, I had no problem and once I got down into the more desert areas, the temp only went up to about 85. I opened the vents and the air flow was sufficient. I never was too hot or too cold all day long. I could have easily made much less distance if I’d stopped for every spectacular scenic view, but I’ve only got a crappy little Point&Shoot camera that doesn’t take very good scenic photos. I wish Court or Mike R were with me to take photos that do the views justice. Anyway, to back track a little bit; the show last night was very enjoyable. The band has a following who are quite vocal in their enthusiasm. The band was playing outdoors behind the restaurant/bar and I wound up sitting at a table with six women who were all friends and who know Sue or the other members of the band. They were all around my (and the band members) age and they were pretty friendly. I saw one of them checking me out a couple of times from the corner of my eye, but when I turned to look at her, she’d look away. Maybe I should have pursued her, but I’m not really up for a long distance relationship. I really enjoyed the show. The band will never become famous, but they all are having enormous amounts of fun and their music has a very loyal following. Tomorrow, I don’t know which way I’m going to go. I could go south into Taos, New Mexico and then turn east on US 64, or I could go north to Alamosa, Colorado and go east on US 160. I’ve never been on either road, so they have equal appeal. I guess I’ll just see how I feel in the morning. Boy; I sure do love being a Tramp again; even if it’s only for a few more days. | ||
| Etennuly |
Nothing better than a road yet travelled! | ||
| Tootal |
Take 64 through Taos. Then stay on it, it's a beautiful ride. |
