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Buellnick
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - 03:10 pm: | 
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Ghostrider... I was running the exact same route. Definitely an "all day" kind of trip but it would be fun. |
Ghostrider
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - 05:53 pm: |
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Well, Nick, if I get the day off, that's my route. |
Ghostrider
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - 06:48 pm: |
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OK, so I thought I'd share a few details of my adventure last week in case anyone cares:
My brother is in the Air Force and was to be commissioned at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, AL on July 19th. Flights were a bit pricey and so I opted instead to make a roadtrip out of it. I have friends along the way and nearby there, so I set up some stays with them and also prepared to do an Iron Butt along the way.
In preparing for my journey, I was trying to decide what to pack. When not on the bike, it's summer and hot & humid down there, so shorts and tee shirts are the preferred relaxing gear. However, the Air Force has very specific plans for these commissioning ceremonies. First, during the family tour day, the dress is "casual." So, I figured I don't want to rock the boat, I'll pack some khaki pants and a polo shirt. (Need shoes to go with that.) They also had a "formal dining out" event where the required dress is "mess dress uniform" for military and "tuxedo recommended or suit at a minimum." Ladies have to wear ball gowns or at a minimum a cocktail dress. So, pack a suit (in soft luggage that fits in my saddlebag). (Need shoes to go with that.)
I also planned to continue running and so packed running gear. (Need shoes for that.) And to round out the wardrobe, just sandals to go with my shorts, etc. For those of you who are counting, that's four pair of shoes. PLUS the riding boots I'd be wearing.
I managed to get all my clothing, etc, including suit, khaki's, etc, into my two side bags. The top case held tools, rain gear, hat, and extra water. The shoes, all four pair, I put into a yellow roll top dry bag that I bungee netted to the backseat/triple-tail. I also run a bungee through the handles of the side cases back to the bike to prevent any unintended side case opening. (I've heard a few have broken.)
I'd also been toying with the idea of getting a sheepskin seat cover, which is supposed to add to my long range comfort. I didn't have time to get the one I wanted, from Alaska Leathers, so I skipped it. Instead, I was in Wal-Mart and found a seat cover made of those beads that you find in taxi cabs. After minor surgery to get it to fit the Uly, it installed pretty quick and easy.
The night before I left, I ran some errands, packed, loaded the bike, etc. All that wrapped by 2200 or so and I went to bed. I was due to meet a cop buddy of mine at the gas station near my house at 0500 so he could be my starting witness for the Iron Butt. And then... I lay there. Awake. Forever. My mind would not stop. I was thinking about things I may have been forgetting, things I might need, things to watch for, etc. It was after midnight before I fell asleep and the alarm went off promptly at 0425.
So, I got up, showered to wake myself up, geared up, and got on board ready to roll. 15 minutes late. I got to the gas station by 0520 or so. My buddy was there, signed my paperwork, bid me well, and bugged out. I gassed up, noted mileage, got my receipt, aired up the tires, and was off. It was like 0540 or somewhere thereabouts.
The western US being what it is, you need to really map out where you are going to stop for fuel so that you don't get stuck out in the middle of nowhere without any. That being the case, and me estimating my fuel mileage conservatively at 40mpg, I decided to stop at Moriarty first even though that's only 50+ miles away. That way, I could get to Tucumcari, then Amarillo, etc. Once you get into mid-Oklahoma, there start to be many more options for fuel since there are towns every 20 miles or so and you can go that far on reserve.
So, the first few stops went without incident. By mid-day, I was in Elk City, OK and stopped for lunch. It was unbearably hot. Stopped an extra time between OKC and Sallisaw, OK just because I was tired and hot and needed more cold drink than my camelback would provide. After dinner in Sallisaw, I rolled into Arkansas around sunset. The only excitement in Arkansas was the deer by the side of the road. They didn't venture out, but it was a bit nerve wracking.
About 50 miles west of Memphis, I hit a thousand miles. And for about a minute, right at that mileage, it rained. Then, when I entered Memphis, it was a bit crazy. It was after 0100 local time (just after midnight here), and apparently all the drunks were making their way home from the bars. There was one really horrific crash on the other side of the freeway and cops were everywhere pulling all kinds of cars over.
Finally made it to the gas station nearby my hotel at 0130 and the attendant wouldn't sign my witness form. The gas station was packed and she couldn't be bothered. So, I went to my hotel where the night clerk happily did it. I hope they accept it.
Next day, Saturday the 16th, I set out for Newnan, GA, about 400 miles away. Had a relatively uneventful drive through Mississippi and Alabama. Stopped for gas at a town in Alabama where the sign proclaimed it to be the home of Barber Motorsports Park. Too bad I didn't have more time. Once getting into GA, I got a bit confused where there were two US27's. That doesn't happen often, does it? Anyway, I made it to my buddy Steve's house in time for steak dinner, so that was a plus.
On Sunday, I rode to Maxwell AFB. After some hassle at the gate (one of the OT's forgot to provide the gate a list of attendees), I got in and settled in the "hotel" they have there. Had a nice visit with my parents and brother & sister.
On Monday, all AF activity, nice tour, Dining Out, etc. All fun and interesting.
Tuesday, after the official pinning on of ranks and a graduation parade, we were done at 1045. Then I headed back to GA and visited with my buddy Steve and his family for two more nights. Wednesday was zero miles, as was Monday.
Thursday, I rode from Newnan, GA to New Orleans, LA. As I was going down through Alabama, I noticed that Florida was right there, so I cut down to Pensacola just to say I'd ridden there, too. Then, a quick stop in Mobile Bay to see the USS Alabama (from the outside, I didn't pay to get in). As I approached NOLA, the clouds were menacingly dark. I stopped on the side of the highway to suit up into rain gear. Other bikes were flying by with no helmet, no gear. When I resumed, it immediately started raining. Hard. I quickly found those other bikes huddled beneath an overpass. I got into the city with enough time to explore around a bit. Found Hard Rock and bought Anthony a tee shirt. Went to our new hotel there and got the grand tour from my old boss. It's an impressive hotel. I'm going to go open it in October. Stayed the night at his house and had dinner with his family.
Friday, I set out from NOLA to San Antonio, TX, about 500+ miles. I got rained on before Baton Rouge, and twice between Lafayette and the state line. I got dumped on lightly in Beaumont, and quite heavily in Houston. In Houston, the visibility was like 100 meters and all the traffic were slowing to less than 30mph. There was a foot of water in the underpasses. Thank goodness for rain gear and waterproof boots. I was dry everywhere except my hands. After Houston, it was smooth sailing to San Antonio.
Saturday, I got up and ran, explored the Hyatt resort there, lunched with a buddy, and after lunch set out for Austin. That's only 100 miles or so away so it was quick. In Austin, I stayed at the Hyatt resort there and got the grand tour by the GM in his golf cart. They have a lot of cool things, including two saddle-broke longhorn steers. They had a nice prime-rib buffet going, so I got that.
Sunday, I set out early to come home. Woke at six, on the bike by seven or so. Down the road from the resort, I stopped to gas up and get an egg mcmuffin. Then I went to get air in the tires and found the air nozzle broken. The station across the street was also broken. A few miles down the road another station was there, paid my $0.75 and got nothing. Broken. Next station, same thing. Finally, at the fifth station, I got air. I was really pissed. It was after 0830 before I really got going.
I drove up through central Texas, stopping in Brady, Sweetwater and Lubbock before coming in through Clovis, Ft. Sumner, and Santa Rosa. This was a 750 mile day. Upon reaching Albuquerque, there were huge dark clouds looming overhead. I raced through town and made it home before any rain hit.
Total was a little over 3,800 miles. I was a bit sore, but had a great time. I'm already planning my next trip. |
Buellnick
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - 07:12 pm: |
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The Iron Butt crowd would be proud...
On a Uly no less. |
Bartimus
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - 07:43 pm: |
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CJ. That link only showed me about half of your route.
I'm thinking about briders route but also thinking of taking 14 up to Santa fe then the high road to Taos then across the TP to TA route. Chama to pagosa springs to meet Jody.
Kind of ambitious but I'm off that day and I like riding curves. Still undecided which bike to take. I may ride the S2. It needs the exercise.  |
J2blue
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - 08:01 pm: |
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Cool trip CJ. I followed you on Facebook some, too. I think I mentioned that Montgomery is where my parents are from and where I spent many summer days growing up, including trips out to Maxwell where my step-grandfather was a mechanic. Most of my cousins still live in that area, and only a few of the old timers are left.
Bart, if you need to delay getting to Pagosa Springs to accommodate other riders just let me know. I can adjust my route accordingly!  |
Agfish18
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - 08:53 pm: |
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Bart, Here are some pics of the bags... like I said , I still need to make a few adjustments (shorten straps so they arent all over the place, and figure out a good place to strap under the seat). I loosened the rear signals for now. Still need to figure out that whole issue too...
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Agfish18
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - 08:54 pm: |
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and Ghostrider, nice trip. The whole air thing would have pissed me off a bit too... oh well, sounds like it was at least fun. |
Bartimus
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - 09:58 pm: |
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Ah, I thought they were hard bags you were adapting to the bike. Are you carrying a passenger? If not drop them down on the rear passenger pegs, they will clear the turnsignals and the peg brackets will help keep them from rubbing the tire. |
Buellnick
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - 10:11 pm: |
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Any ideas yet regarding routes while up in CO?? |
Agfish18
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - 10:20 pm: |
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yes, I will be having a passenger, hence their position.I wanted to keep them from rubbing the tires and out of the way of the rear pegs. I wanted soft bags because I really dont take the bike overnight very often, and wanted to temporarily have the extra storage for the weekend as opposed to installing mounting brackets for the hard bags. I need to get a sport tourer that I can use for overnight trips, and am not willing to convert the 1125 to one. |
Ghostrider
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - 10:52 pm: |
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Bart, to see the route, go to google maps and put in:
Bernalillo to Cuba to Coyote to El Rito to Tres Piedras to Tierra Amarilla to Chama to Pagosa to Durango.
Adam, I can still take a bag up for you if you need it.
Nick, route would be Durango to Mancos to Dolores to Teluride. Lunch in Telluride. Return is: Telluride to Placerville to Ridgeway to Ouray to Silverton to Durango.
Not a lot of miles, but a lot of nice scenery and opportunities for stops, photos, etc. Also time to break away if you like to explore or find more curves. |
Brider505
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - 10:59 pm: |
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That sounds like an sick adventure Ghostrider! Reminds me that I need to get out of here for a bit.
If you want an all day route, the one I mentioned may not work. This route will get you to Pagosa in 3.5 hours depending on stops and then its only an hour to Durango. Of course there are some nice stops along the way and you could draw it out. (I will be Stopping in at Kipp's for some fish taco's and a beer).
Question: is the rally being held at the resort or is that just where most people are staying? I have a friend that lives in Durango and was going to see about crashing at his place, provided hes back from Machu Picchu by then. |
Ghostrider
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - 11:12 pm: |
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The rally is really just the ride. The hotel is just where we're staying. We need to find a restaurant for the dinner on Saturday. And really on Friday, too. |
Buellnick
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2011 - 12:19 am: |
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Hey Agfish... where did your lights go? Your passenger will have to use hand signals. |
Buellnick
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2011 - 12:29 am: |
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Looks Good...Here is the route on Bing Maps:
http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=37.71397300777131 5~-108.08550775051117&lvl=9&dir=0&sty=r&rtp=pos.37 .273674_-107.879302_Durango%2C%20CO___e_~pos.37.34 7461_-108.291129_Mancos%2C%20CO___e_~pos.37.474400 000000045_-108.49646399999997_Dolores%2C%20CO___e_ ~pos.37.938086_-107.810901_Telluride%2C%20CO___e_~ pos.38.01320200000003_-108.0513269999999_Placervil le%2C%20CO___e_~pos.38.151435_-107.758209_Ridgway% 2C%20CO___e_~pos.38.02442899999999_-107.6714650000 001_Ouray%2C%20CO___e_~pos.37.805188_-107.670996_S ilverton%2C%20CO___e_~pos.37.27367400000002_-107.8 7930199999995_Durango%2C%20CO___e_&mode=D&rtop=0~0 ~0~&form=LMLTSN |
Bartimus
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2011 - 07:07 am: |
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Agfish, I have the passenger touring seat for the 1125. If you would like to borrow it, you are welcome to it. It definitely increases passenger comfort. |
Agfish18
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2011 - 09:34 am: |
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Nick, The signals were temporarily relocated for the fitment. I am trying to figure that whole thing out still. Thoughts so far are integrated signals, flush mounts, or maybe re-adjusting the bags a bit to fit with the stock signals. I still have a few weeks yet, so only time will tell.
Bart, I will ask the fiancee if she would like a more comfy seat. will anyone be riding 2 up, or just me?
CJ, Thanks for the offer, However I am pretty confident I can fit everything in my bags.
I know a nice place to eat in durango if you are interested... it is a brewery/ restaurant... but good food.
(Message edited by agfish18 on July 28, 2011) |
Ghostrider
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2011 - 10:43 am: |
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Yes, we're interested. And we need to know if they can accommodate a large party. We will probably need to make a reservation and we won't know our true head count until a couple of days out. |
Agfish18
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2011 - 12:02 pm: |
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I am fairly certain that they can... I forgot the name of it, but my in-laws know it. It is a fairly large place...
edit: Steamworks Brewing Co. is the name of the place. looked it up. the site is www.steamworksbrewing.com
(Message edited by agfish18 on July 28, 2011) |
J2blue
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2011 - 01:38 pm: |
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Folks, I've posted my 2003 XB9s for parts on the badweb:
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/21/ 644847.html?1311874144 |
Ghostrider
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2011 - 05:54 pm: |
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That's a shame, Jody. I shoulda bought that thing whole. |
J2blue
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2011 - 06:03 pm: |
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Well, you can still buy it mostly whole for a lot less than what we were talking about 2 years ago. It is kind of a shame and I will always remember her. Oh if I were a rich man... |
Ghostrider
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2011 - 09:04 pm: |
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Why are you parting it out? Did you break it? |
J2blue
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2011 - 11:56 pm: |
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I started to change out the front forks, one of which was slightly bent. There were several fasteners that were either missing, the wrong kind, or stripped on the front fairing assembly and I first thought I would painstakingly restore everything to original fasteners. The more I thought about it the more I realized I needed to spend money to restore the bike as best as I possibly could, or part it out. My interests of late has changed and I am really getting into the drag racing scene. Parting out the bike will make it possible to get a race-only 2008 1125R.
The good thing about parting her out is she will live on in spirit in many other bikes. |
Buellnick
| | Posted on Friday, July 29, 2011 - 04:15 pm: |
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Just in... Erik Buell Racing 1190RS Superbike of the year!
http://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle_roadtest/ten_ best_bikes_2011/best_superbike_ebr_1190rs |
Agfish18
| | Posted on Friday, July 29, 2011 - 04:15 pm: |
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Hey Syonyk, did you get your clutch weep fixed yet? I have an appointment to finally get mine repaired on the 13th (my second one too). Somehow I dont think that the 2nd one will be the last one. does anyone know what it costs to repair the weep out of warranty? |
Reiver
| | Posted on Friday, July 29, 2011 - 05:19 pm: |
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I need to know who is taking the Bernalillo,Cuba,El-rito,Chama,Pagosa route.I want to tag along. |
Daschunk
| | Posted on Friday, July 29, 2011 - 06:46 pm: |
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I have not decided yet. |
Ghostrider
| | Posted on Friday, July 29, 2011 - 07:06 pm: |
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Doug, I'm really really really working to do that one. It's 350 miles or so. Since we don't have to be there until after 4pm or so, we really don't have to leave Bernalillo too crazy early. (That's Ed's problem. He doesn't want to wake up early, even to ride.)
Are you still planning to bunk at my place on Thursday night? |
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