Bike History

Day 2 – Santa Fe, NM to Gallup, NM: 252 miles

The first few days of a long trip always involve a bit of re-packing and stacking as you figure out the optimum stowage and loading. Today was no different, though I was pretty quick about it. Maybe I am learning something from all these years of experience on the road.

Anyway – I did the loading and stuff this morning, and set off just after 7am. The day was already gorgeous, with blue skies and warm sun touching everything. After the past 6 weeks of rain in Colorado, I am very ready for sunshine. I took the highway to start with, as the old 66 ran along where it is now, but left after about 15 miles and joined the old road. It was a joy, for nostalgia sake. I have dreamed of driving Route 66 since I heard Chuck Berry do his take on Nat King Coles song (Cole didn’t write it, but he was the first to record it). Now I was on the fabled road, and feeling good about it, too.

I appreciated the olde time road signs and markers identifying Route 66 everywhere. You certainly can’t miss the fact that you are on it. The towns I went through were small and sleepy (who isn’t at this time on a Saturday morning?), and I enjoyed the quiet roads.

My first destination was Bernalillo, about 40 miles from Santa Fe. I was visiting a Casino – of which there are far too many in this part of the world. Those of you who know me would immediately ask “Brad, you don’t like casinos, why did you go to one for breakfast?”. Well, let me tell you – our good friends Younes and Abby were staying there for the weekend, and I couldn’t ride right past without stopping to say hi. We have a nice get-together and a mediocre breakfast (confirming – as if I needed it – my suspicion about casinos).

Back on the road, I soon rejoined the main motorway (I25) towards Albuquerque (I absolutely love the name and spelling). I dropped off the big road into the old town, and visited a few 66 highlights. The first was a 66 diner, which was fabulous.

I stopped at a memorial statue to “The Pioneer Mother” of America – the countless thousands of women who crossed the wild west in covered wagons looking after the families so that the men could hunt for food and shoot native people for fun. All in a pioneers job description.

I realized that I had lost my goggles somewhere between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. I think the were on my helmet and flew off somewhere. Anyway, doing the Route 66 roads where you pootle along at a sensible speed is fine without goggles, but if you have to do any motorway mileage, where speeds reach up to 1,000 miles per hour, then goggles are a must to keep the eyes from drying out or filling with dust and specks of spattered insect. So I rode back from whence I had come for 15 minutes to the nearest Harley store, in order to replace the eye protection.

New goggles – all the better to see you with!

It was a very busy summer Saturday morning at the Harley shop, and there were all kinds of fun and festivities underway. Lots of sales people swooping in on you as soon as you walked in, but they are generally a good natured bunch, and like a good chat. I browsed for a bit, bought the goggles, and returned to the road.

A good hour or so of non-motorway riding followed. It got pretty hot, and there were some long stretches of pretty much, well, nothing. Sand, stone and scrub abound, along with the odd horse, abandoned motel or vehicle workshop/graveyard. Why are there so many scruffy looking places, with 1980’s advertising outside, playing host to so many dead cars and trucks? I now know where America sends it dead cars. I also saw a lot of (unrelated, I think) trains. More than one would usually expect to see.

I stopped in Grants – a small town which was pretty around the centre, but full of sadly abandoned or empty businesses, motels and gas stations on the outside. There is a famous Route 66 photo opportunity there, so I stopped to take advantage. In the 5 minutes that I was there after taking my picture, two more cars came through and did the same.

Gallup, New Mexico, is mentioned in the famous song, so I chose it for tonights accommodation. The motel room is a little nicer than yesterdays, but the pool here is broken or lost or something, so sadly I could not take a dip. The afternoon is a warm 25 Centigrade (not sure what the conversion rate from Roubles to Euros is to help you with the American temperature). I unpacked and did a bit of admin in my hotel room, then hopped back on the bike and rode a mile down the road to Grandpa’s Grill. Small and rustic, but great spare ribs. No alcohol, but I didn’t need the margarita like I did last night to compensate for the bad food service. Now back in the hotel room to blog like a good ‘un, and then plan to route and some stops for tomorrow. See you in Seligman, Arizona.

Day 1 – Bailey, CO to Santa Fe, NM: 340 miles

Yay. I am on the road and underway. Currently sat in a restaurant in Santa Fe, having some kinda ‘rita and waiting for my food. I skipped lunch, so I am very ready for all the things. It has been a long day mile-wise, but easy enough on the travel.

Yesterday did not go that well. If you read the previous blog entry, you will know that I had a long wait for my bike to be serviced and readied for travel. In the end, I waited 5 hours past the time it was supposed to be ready. I am a patient person, but this was quite a lot to ask. Then, it was raining hard on the ride home (about 40 minutes), and I got totally soaked AND battered by hail to boot. Not fun in the dark.

Then, when I got home, I realised I had lost the bike key along the way – sad face indeed. It had fallen out of my pocket when I fueled up, so a quick call to the gas station confirmed that they had found it, so my wonderful Lena went off to the gas station (about 20 miles away) to get my keys while I packed. The bike starts if the fob is in the proximity of it, so obviously the key had fallen next to the bike so I could get it started, but then the bike would not respond once I got home.

Anyway, it all felt a bit much, but I got everything sorted and ready-ish, and we went to bed quite late. I was up early with excitement. I tried to sleep a bit more, but it wasn’t happening, so I finally got up, let the dogs out (now we know who!!), then showered and loaded up.

Moments before departure

I did have a cup of coffee before starting out, but my tradition is to breakfast on the road. About 80 miles from home, after riding through a bit of rain and a fair amount of cold (it was about 6 or 7 degrees C, which is about 90 million in fahrenheit I think – who understands these things?), I stopped in Buena Vista for a great bagel and a good cup of coffee at a lovely little spot. We have rafted in Buena a few times, and it is a cute little mountain town. The day was warming up a bit, but rain still threatened, so I kept my wet gear on.

The ride to Santa Fe is kinda boring. At least it is the way I went. I followed the highway that we live right next – US 285 – for most of the day. Aside from the odd detour dictated by Google maps, the 285 took me pretty much door to door.

Poncha Pass was quite pretty, and I have not been through much of the terrain that I crossed today, but large tracts of it were unremarkable. I transited into New Mexico around the middle of the day, by which time the scenery was pretty uniform: scrub and dry sand and rock. It was wonderfully warm though. I stopped for a comfort break somewhere about 90 minutes from Santa Fe, and the temperature was 28 degrees (again, about 90 something million in fahrenheit). I de-layered to suit, and changed my gloves to the lightest pair.

Crossing the state line

I always travel with multiple pairs of motorcycle gloves. If one gets wet, you can switch to another pair while the first dries. Some are suited to wet or cold, and some are light and breathe nicely. I have three pairs with me on this trip, a heavy, medium and light pair for maximum flexibility. My medium pair did not age well, but Lena did an emergency sewing job yesterday, so hopefully they will hold up for the trip.

Anyway, after a lot of highway miles and a couple of wee/fuel stops, I arrived in Santa Fe mid afternoon. I went first to the local Harley Dealer – I found that my handlebars needed a slight adjustment to make my riding position more comfortable. The local dealer was very near my motel, so I stopped there, and one of the service people was very helpful and tweaked the angle of the bars in a quick minute. I browsed through the store but didn’t buy any paraphernalia (I have almost no space on the bike). Then, on to the motel, which was about 4 minutes away.

The lodge is fine – I worry about cheaper accommodation, even if I rely on ratings on booking.com for my guide. There was a small pool, so I unloaded the bike and took a dip. I am currently about 10 minutes walk from the motel at a little plaza with a few restaurants and a cinema, enjoying my second margarita and overcoming the disappointment I felt when they brought my starter and main course within 3 minutes of each other. Tequila is a wonderful thing.

I am going to head back to my sumptuous accommodations shortly, where I plan to try review the hours of footage my GoPro captured today, and see if there is anything worth keeping.

Tomorrow morning I get onto Route 66 almost directly from the motel, the route which will accompany me (or, I think more fittingly, I will accompany the famous roadway) and follow it for 1000 miles to the Pacific Ocean. Do come back for more episodes each day. TTFN

The night before

I am cutting things fine. Which I am not comfortable with. By this stage of any bike trip, I have been planning for weeks, and all is ready to rock n roll. But not this one.

About 2 weeks ago I decided to trade in the bike I have been riding for the past 2 years. I loved it, and it is the most comfortable bike I have ever ridden – with all the mod cons; CarPlay, luggage and the rest. However, it was a monster, weighing over 900 lbs dry. It was really tough to maneuver and handle at parking speeds, and I was always afraid I’d drop it. I never did, but it is too much for anyone to pick up, so I would be screwed if I was anywhere vaguely remote (which I often am on my trips).

Anyway, it was time to go back to a ride that was easier for me, and the decision of which bike to trade it in for was a no-brainer. I have always loved the Softail Heritage Classic, and so I swapped the beast for a smaller (but still substantial) piece of beauty. This is my 3rd Heritage Classic, which tells you how much I love them. Of the 10 bikes I have owned in my long life, 30% of them are Harley Davidsons own Heritage Classics.

Anyway, digression over with. I got the bike, but needed a bunch of add-ons before I could undertake a serious tour. Also, the bike needs a full service before I head out on such a ride, so I booked it in for all the things – today was the day. It wasn’t possible any earlier, so a 90th minute service and fitting it was to be.

I brought the bike to the dealer yesterday, so they could start work first thing today, and they said it would be ready for collection at 3 pm today. Due to Lena’s work schedule, She could only drop me at the dealers around 1pm, so I turned up, prepared to wait patiently for a couple of hours. However, I was politely informed that “he hasn’t started on your bike quite yet – we are rather busy”, and that it would still be a few hours before it was ready.

Fortunately, I had brought my maps and laptop with me, in case of just such delay – so I have spent the last 4 hours patiently waiting for my iron horse to be groomed and fettled in readiness for my odyssey. I am not sure how much longer I will have to patiently wait (or impatiently – the waiting is the same) until it is ready – but it may be a bit longer yet. I will update.

Meanwhile, I have been poring over maps, doing some housekeeping emails etc, and soaking up the rocking beats that the Harley shop have been playing full blast all afternoon. Tonight happens to be a bikes, music and competition night, so the greasy biker public are starting to turn up. I assume things that are probably along the lines of free drink, burgers or hot dogs, lots of leather and loud music, and plenty of talk about replacing gaskets, how many horsepowers per square mile and other such aficionado talk that has always been beyond me. I love riding comfortable bikes, and admiring pretty bikes, but I have never been a geek about them (or pretty much anything else). Still – a lot of folk are, so more power to them.

Tomorrow is a very easy day navigationally. I leave home, and within a couple of miles arrive on highway 285. I follow it south for the best part of 320 miles, and turn up in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Long ride and will be tiring but I love love love being on the road with my bike, so bring it on.

Too much to do, too little time

I never leave things so late. I love the planning element of trips – but this trip was going to be improvised, until I changed my mind and decided on a plan just a few short days ago. So I am plotting and planning and booking motels like it is going out of fashion. Come what may, I will be heading out Friday morning (which is in about 35 hours time).

My rough itinerary and mileage look like this:

Day 4 – Glenwood Springs, CO to Bailey, CO: 163 miles

Not much of an exciting today. The last leg took us from the hot springs at Glenwood back home. We had breakfast at our hotel – the session was early and the pools were not yet open. The weather also looked pretty crap, so we decided not to hang around, but to get back on the road.

We loaded up and set off, planning to follow the I-70 motorway for about half the journey, then head off onto the “interesting” roads. However, we were riding through motorway passes covered in snow on both sides of the road (though fortunately not actually on the roads), and some fair amount of rain, so we decided that we would stick to the highway. A couple of stops to warm up with hot drinks along the way helped, and we got back to the warm hearth of home around lunchtime.

Another wonderful road trip with Mr B, we made some great memories and enjoyed the company.

Come back soon for my next adventure.

Meanwhile, stay safe out there……

Day 3 – Moab, UT to Glenwood Springs, CO: 259 miles

On our usual road trips, two nights in the same hotel is luxury – it means we get a ‘free’ morning due to not having to pack, load the bike, plan the route etc. Today, we were back on the road. The boy worked out in the hotel gym, then we did the whole packing/loading routine, checked out the hotel, and hopped on the bike. We rode all of 2 blocks to the Moab Diner, where we promptly halted and went in for breakfast.

Lena and I ate here a few years ago on one of our trips, and the diner was excellent, so Ben and I retuned to the scene of the crime. We were not disappointed.

Duly fueled for the day, we saddled up (for real, this time), and hit the open road. We left Moab on a southbound trajectory, following the highway for about 20 miles, where we turned left towards Naturita. We were heading towards the La Sal mountains for a bit, and they are still snow-covered. It got quite chilly, and we stopped by the roadside to add layers and change to the warmer gloves.

The road itself was pretty, and we dropped into a lovely canyon, with some tight, twisty bends keeping things exciting. The canyon was lush and very green. We crossed the state line back into Colorado, and were happy to be back in our home state.

The Canyon opened up into a very broad, flat valley – called Paradox Valley. Paradoxically, I couldn’t remember why it was called that! I just googled, and the paradox is that the local river (called Dolores), bisects the valley instead of running along the floor for the length of it. The valley is 3-5 miles wide, and about 25 miles long. After the pretty descent, traveling the length of the valley is boring.

At the end of the valley, one intersects State Highway 141, and we joined this thoroughfare, heading north towards Gateway. The road follows the river (East and West Creek) through the Tabeguache canyon, another beautiful and breathtaking natural feature of this wondrous land. There is an almost imperceptible divide in the canyon, with the east creek flowing one way, and the west the other. Apparently it is unique in the world for this feature of one single canyon with 2 opposing outflows.

Anyway, science aside, the beauty and road were both incredible, and we ate up the morning miles in relative warmth and suitable awe. We reached the far northern end of the canyon at Gateway, where we stopped at a gas station cum country store to a rest, to gas up the bike, and to have some of dads famous homemade biltong for a lunchtime snack. We passed a pleasant hour, then took off again. We rode for an hour or so til we got to Grand Junction once more. Here, we rejoined Interstate 70, this time eastbound.

An hour and a bit of motorway travel brought us to Glenwood Springs, our destination and final night of our brief tour. There is a huge spring pool next to our hotel, so we dutifully went and lowered ourselves into the waters. The temperature of the water was about 104f/40c, and was just the thing for our bodies that had spent 3 days on the road. We soaked for an hour, and once cooked we showered, donned our best evening wear, and headed into town.

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We crossed the pedestrian bridge over the Colorado river, and landed at a cute street full of restaurants on both sides. We chose wise – the Colorado Ranch House, and were treated to an excellent meal. A shared stater of grilled asparagus and caprese salad, followed by a smoked half chicken each, and we finally forced ourselves to have a pudding. I had apple crumble pie, and B had the raspberry and white chocolate cheesecake. Both of these were divine.

We staggered around the lovely little town to try and walk off the meal, then headed back across the rolling river to our hotel, where we caught up on emails, blogged, and went to sleep.

Tomorrow is the final leg, and while this has been a wonderful journey – and a privilege as always to spend some time on the road with Mr B – I am looking forward to being back home with my cats and dogs and (mostly) lovely wife. We are planning a slow start – likely we will boil ourselves in the hot spring one more before we mount up for the final ride of this series. Anyway – thanks for riding along with us. I will provide a final report once we get home.

Day 2 – Moab and surrounds: 59 miles

Mr B and I have done some wonderful, exciting activities in our 26 years together. We had a great bikers trip up to Scotland when Ben was 14 or so, and we stayed at an estate where we did archery, shotgun shooting, quad-biking and more. We enjoy doing this kind of thing, and so for today I had booked an off-road 4×4 self-driving trip, with a guide, doing a trail called “Hells Revenge”.

Satan himself could not have devised a more challenging and fun activity. The tour company provided a lovely guide – Jesse Rainbow – and a fleet of off-road vehicles. These were Kawasaki Teryx S4s (in case you wanted to know), and each party got to drive their own. Aside from Jesse in his lead vehicle, there were 3 other couples driving their own 4×4. Ben does not have a license, so I drove ours for the full tour.

We started with a minimal safety brief, then hopped into our vehicles, and drove through town, and up to the trail head – about 10 minutes. The vehicles are automatic, and have a high, ow, reverse and 2wd or 4wd options. These things are incredible. We drove up, down, around and across rock so steep I would hesitate to walk them – but somehow these machines just drove the route with ease.

We were on the trail about 3 hours. The trail consisted of some sandy, rocky road – but mostly of large sheer rock formations that we drove on. We were never quite vertical – though it often felt like that – but we drove in places that mountains goats would think twice about

We stopped a few times to look at the scenery, or to learn something interesting about the trail from our guide. There were one or two features/obstacles that we did not attempt, but did stop to check out. The escalator, the devils hot-tub, the washing machine were a few of these – it is hard to imagine that a vehicle of any sort could negotiate these. But they do.

We got back in to town around 11am. We walked back to the hotel, saddled up the bike and road south for a few miles to a restaurant called Hidden Cuisine. Run by a wonderful South African lady from Cape Town, we had visited last year when my parents were with us, and Zinzi – the owner – had generously given us some of her time. We talked about lots of things with her, including my biltong recipe.

Anyway, after we ordered out lunch, I asked if Zinzi had a couple of minute to come say hi. She turned up as we were finishing our meal. She fully remember meeting us, which is amazing. If you think of any restaurant, and how many patrons come through daily, then remember we were only ever there once, you would not expect a host to remember you. But she totally did, pointing to the table where we had sat with mom and dad.

I had brought Zinzi a piece of my biltong, and she was very thrilled. I don;t imagine Moab is filled with many South Africans, or biltong – hopefully she enjoyed it.

After lunch, it was time to go to Arches National Park. My 3rd or 4th visit, it was just as exciting as the first time. Sharing the experience with B was lovely – he really appreciates the experience and beauty of nature. A major park dotted with incredible rock formations, including a number of arches that have formed over the millennia from the weathering effect. We drive through the park, stopping here and there to marvel at he scenery, or to hike to a viewpoint or particular arch or other formation.

Day 1 – Bailey, CO to Moab, UT: 372 miles

The day arrived – and the first part of it was spent doing the usual arrangements, trying to find all the necessary bits and pieces, and attempting not to forget anything. We decided on taking the bike, so we also needed to make sure we had enough warm clothing layers to get us over the Rockies.

The dogs were a great help in getting us ready to roll.

We set off some time after 0800, to much fanfare and a brass band playing us off. We headed south west, and were treated to the beautiful vistas that open up once you get over Kenosha pass. There was a fair amount of snow, but not near the roads.

At Fairplay (which is where the mythical town of South Park is set) we turned north on Road 9, and wound our way over some pretty sharp hairpin bends and high forest roads towards Breckenridge. Again, weather was cool but our layes were adequate. We passed Breckenridge, and rode another half hour or so to Frisco, where we stopped at a lovely bakery for brunch.

Suitably fed and caffeinated, within 5 minutes of leaving we were on the main east-west Interstate that cuts through the whole of Colorado and beyond. Now traveling at motorway speeds, we ate up the miles heading west. The motorway is among the more pretty of it’s ilk, and passes through mountainous regions for 100 miles or so.

Down the western slopes of the Rockies, we got warm – quickly. We dropped of the I70 at Grand Junction, and quickly stopped to peel off the various layers, change our thick gloves for summer ones, and drink a lot of cold water. Now off the motorway, we rode through Grand Junction and out the other side – about 10 miles in all – to the entrance to the Colorado National Monument.

I rode through the monument last summer -about 20 miles of road that climbs rapidly, and hugs the rim of a few significant canyons. The sights are amazing, the corners very sharp, and the sheer drops down into the canyons are magnificent. We did a lot of ooh-ing and aah-ing, and stopped at various vantage points for some pictures.

After leaving the Monument (it is not a specific thing – the whole area is designated as the monument), we re-joined the highway and rode another 40-50 miles, crossing the State line into Utah in the process. Somewhere near Frisco, we left the Interstate once more, and meandered in a south-westerly direction.

After driving about 30 miles or so through pretty desolate scenery, we intersected with the Colorado river. The river quickly runs in to a broad canyon, and the road runs alongside it for miles. It is breathtakingly beautiful, the sides are high, and composed largely of the massive red rock that gave Colorado its name.

At one point, about 20 miles or so before Moab, the river makes a sarp right turn, and the landscape opens up into a vista befitting a cinematographically perfect Western. Large mesa’s, buttes, opening plains and odd shaped rocks patterned the landscape. It was a warm day, an in teh background, the La Sal mountains hovered behind the spectacular rocks. The La Sal range is still snow-covered, and added anther dimension to the scenery.

We got to Moab around 6pm. We checked in to our hotel, and made a beeline for the swimming pool where we cooled off. A nice walk to the Broken Oar eatery was followed by a decent meal, and we then returned to the hotel and turned in – both of us very tired from the lovely day

The day before

Ben is in the air, en-route from Manchester via Frankfurt to Denver, and I will be collecting him from the airport in about 5 hours. I have been agonising over the trip and choice of vehicle – the mornings are still really cold in this part of the world. However we travel, to get to Moab we have to cross the Rockies. We live on the eastern slopes, and we need to climb over the hill and down the other side, to get to Utah and the amazing landscapes there.

We live at 8400 feet altitude, and need to travel about 160 miles before we come down to a reasonable altitude of around 5000 feet, where we can expect better temperatures. The early part of the day at home has temperatures around 2-5 degrees C (35-40 f), which is pretty cold for a few hours of motorbike travel. Once we get down to the lower climes, the days should be really warm – but I will need to consult with the boy as to whether we want to brave the cold and pack a bunch of extra layers for the mountain legs. The alternative is to take the Jeep – which is fun to ride, too – but not as much fun as the HarleyArmchair Davidson. We’ll see what he thinks once he lands.

Meanwhile, here is the route I am thinking of taking us on:

  • Day 1 – Home to Moab via the Colorado National Monument
  • Day 2 – Local around Moab
  • Day 3 – Moab to Glenwood Springs via Naturita and Gateway
  • Day 4 – Glenwood Springs to home.

B&B on the road again

Interesting times make for interesting opportunities. I am coming to the end of my current job, and have taken some time off. At the same time, the boy has just accepted a new role starting mid-June, and his current company put him on garden leave til then – so both of us find ourselves with some time on our hands.

Having realised we both have some extended time off, we quickly made a plan to get together, and the decision was that he would come to the US of A for a visit. This was only organised a week ago. While discussing the options, we decided that a road trip, which is one of our things, would be desirable.

Ben and I like to spend time on the bike together. Since he was at primary school has has liked to sit on the back of the bike (or maybe secretly he just liked wearing the leather jackets), but whatever the reason, we have done many many, miles together. Whether it was a day riding to the coast, or a week exploring the castles and battlefields of Scotland, time on the road has been good for us both.

When we first moved to the US, Ben came to Seattle for a month, and during that time we took a week out and rode the Pacific coast down to California and back. Like many a biker, he likes to ride exciting roads with good scenery – and the Rockies and surrounding states offers these in abundance.

Anyways – Ben lands in Denver tomorrow, and we are heading off Tuesday morning for a 4-day trip to Moab in Utah. The plan is to spend a couple of nights in Moab, so we can explore the wonders of the desert, and then head home with an overnight in Glenwood Springs, which is home to a huge hot springs complex, so we can soak our bones in the warm waters and recover from 3 days on the roads.

I plan to provide my usual daily updates, so follow along from the comfort of your armchairs.