Sept 21 - North Coast

After leaving Santa Rosa we traveled on Hwy 101 to Ukiah, CA.

I met Loren in Ukiah and completed some grocery shopping before continuing home.

Larry & Mike rode up to Willits and rode to Fort Bragg on Hwy 20. From Fort Bragg they rode Hwy 1 to Leggett and then south to the Avenue of the Giants.

They then rode to Kelseyville.

An awesome ride of a little over 5,700 miles.

This morning Mike continued his ride home.

Sept 20 - Hwy 1

We departed Pas Robles bright and early - not much bright because of the marine layer.

As we continued on Hwy 46 over to the coast the marine layer lifted and provided an awesome display of the surrounding area.

In Cambria we stopped at the American Legion for a pancake breakfast.

We left Cambria at 9 a.m. under fair skies and no wind. The ride north was made even more special because the traffic was light until we reached Carmel.

We lunched at Phil's Fish Market at Moss Landing....yummy as usual.

We continued north on Hwy. 1 to the San Francisco area. Lots of ohs and ahs and very few "Oh, what a stupid driver!

We skirted San Francisco on 19th Street, making good time to the Golden Gate Bridge park. We hit the gift shop, found my mother's memorial brick at the Presidio and also checked out Chrissy Field.

While we were parked at the Golden Gate Bridge area the trike attracted lots of attention (I also found an awesome parking spot right near a bus stop). Mike says I should start charging a fee for people to photograph the trike & trailer. One woman was so intent on having her photo taken WITH the trike she was walking beside the trike as I was leaving the parking spot.

After the Golden Gate Bridge we proceeded to Santa Rosa for the evening. We stayed at the Sandman Motel - and we gave this facility high marks. We paid just as much as we had in Paso Robles and it is a much better facility.

Sept 19 Paso Robles

Once again Larry led us on a ride that kept us off of major highways from Needles, CA over to Paso Robles (near the Pacific coast of CA).

Another lovely day for a ride. We rode on Hwy 58 until we reached CR 223...and then continued on to Hwy 46.

I had never been to this area of CA - lots of oil wells, sand, power poles and more dirt. Best of all....little to no traffic!

On reaching Pas Robles we stayed at the Travelodge on Spring St. Okay - but way too much money.

Sept 18 Needles, CA

What can on say about Needles? Hot, can't imagine why anyone would choose to live here.

We rode from NM to Needles with mostly great riding weather. That is except for the 5 minute heavy down pour west of Flagstaff, AZ.

Only funny thing on the ride was 40 miles east of the AZ line. I passed a white semi truck and trailer. Made a clean pass and changed back into the slow lane. I kind of noticed the driver had his face plastered to the driver's side window, so I just waved as I passed. Not 2 minutes later this truck was plastered to my rear end. Scared the crap out of me! I thought - wow, did I screw up and ticked this guy off? Did I slow down? So I sped up....he sped up. I slowed down....he changed lanes and stayed right next to me. Finally I shrugged provided a Gaelic shrugg - like what do want? He slowed down and backed off (also Mike pulled up behind me to block this guy).

Well, from then on the driver stayed back at a safe distance. We pulled off at the Hwy 95 junction in AZ because that is the last cheap gas before Needles. The truck also made the change (by this time I'm feeling stalked or maybe in an episode of the Twilight Zone). I noticed the truck had stopped and parked on the side of Hwy 95 and did not gas up.

I forgot about him as we began filling up. Suddenly this guy about as tall as I talks up and says, "I was the one following you." I said - you scared me! Then he proceeds to tell me he has a Silver Goldwing Trike and he was really interested in the trailer and the trailer hitch!

Whew! Mystery solved. I gave him the information he needed.

So if you see a silver Goldwing trike in the Chicago area - wave. He is a nice guy. A little too focused, but a nice guy!

Sept 17 Albuquerque, NM

Wow! Clark looks great. Thanks to Cathy we had awesome accomodations at their motel in Los Lunas....highly recommend their Western Skies motel.

We had a lovely visit with Mike, Dottie, Kathy & Clark.

Truly, Clark looks wonderful. Improving all the time.

New Mexico 9/14, 9/15, 16 & 17

On the way to Alamogordo we stopped over night in Carlsbad, NM. Of course, we had to stop in at Carlsbad Caverns first! Some idiot with Nevada license plates was reversing on the road INTO the caverns, but other than that no one else tried to kill us!

We had a nice ride to Alamogordo....a little more rain.

We checked out our house, took care of getting the roofing job started and generally checked out the town.

Since we purchased the house 3 years ago there has been quite a bit of construction in town - but still not another grocery store or improved clothing shopping.

Today we had a mild weather ride to Los Lunas - we are currently staying at the Western Skies motel owned by Kathy & Clark Flynn. I can highly recommend it if you are every in the Albuquerque area.

Not sure how long we will be staying - we could be leaving as early as tomorrow or waiting until Friday morning. I'm hoping to ride to Archs National Park in Utah - we've passed by, but never stopped in the past.

Spring Branch, Texas 9/11

We rode form Gilmer to Spring Branch on roads that kept us from having to drive through Austin.

The GPS and Larry had us riding on one road that was a single lane....but it was paved!

We arrived at Harvey & Judy Paris' home around 2 p.m. - lovely riding weather. Harvey turned 81 on the 11th.

We stayed with Harvey & Judy until Sunday morning.

On Friday Judy drove us to the Alamo - our first visit. Fortunately the weather was mild.

On Saturday there was a gathering of family to celebrate Harvey's birthday. We had a great time.

All during our visit there was the threat of bad weather because of hurricane Ike. Well, Spring Branch was dry and clear, not a drop of rain!

When we left on Sunday it was around 75 degrees and sunny. As we rode west we had cloudy skies and a little bit of rain (none of which had anything to do with the hurricane). A very fast ride. Love the speed limits on roads in Texas!

Gilmer, Texas

From Branson we rode secondary roads to Gilmer, Texas....and managed to ride into Louisiana for the first time.

This day's ride was much wetter than any so far. All the roads were good, people were nice and the driver's stayed on their side of the road!

Love Texas speed limits - even on back roads!

Branson, MO

We rode from Saint Louis to Branson in a little bit of rain.

We arrived in Branson early enough to have a visit with Gary & Marg Covert.

Not only did we go on the Ride the Duck, we went to a show, down to the water front for a trolly ride and to see the water and light show, and dinner at Famous Dave's.

After dinner we followed Gary & Marg out to their home for a great night's sleep.

A big thank you to Gary & Marg.

Saint Louis, MO

We stayed in Saint Louis until Tuesday, September 8th. Had a lovely time at Linda's home. An awesome retirement party both at her home and at the A/B soccer facility.

While in Saint Louis we experienced yet another tornado warning. I could live without these displays of severe weather.

More Troy Photos

(Gary Covert walking away from the pickup)

Troy, Illinois

We rode from Stover, MO to Troy, Illinois (with a stop in St. Louis to drop one bike at our friend Linda's home).

Here are some photos of the Torches Across America, Troy event:

Stover, Missouri

We had a great visit with Maryann and Sonny Amos in Stover, Missouri.

Thanks so much!

Stover, Missouri

From Alliance we rode to Nebraska City, Nebraska - stayed at the Economy Inn. The motel was old but spotless and comfortable.

We departed Nebraska City at 10 a.m. - rode through the rain to Stover, Missouri and my cousin's place.

Having a very nice visit with Maryann and Sonny Amos.

The rain finally stopped this afternoon....on to Saint Louis tomorrow.

Green River, Wy to Alliance, NE

A very nice ride from Green River to Alliance...wonder of wonders, very little wind. The temperatures were under 80 and the skies were clear.

We rode via I-80 to Cheyenne and then headed north on I-25 for a few miles and then headed east to Hwy 88. Country roads all the way to Alliance. We stopped for lunch in La Grange, WY - combination grocery store and cafe. La Grange is the only place between Cheyenne and Bridgeport, NE for fuel on the roads we used.

Impressions from this ride so far. There weren't many autos on the highways. Lots of trucks, and some motorcycles. Just wasn't the traffic we expected for the days before the last big summer weekend. Drivers in Nevada actually slow down for the construction areas....not so in Utah.

Fuel prices in Nevada, Utah and Wyoming were actually HIGHER than at the truck stop in Dunnigan and as much as Lakeport. Go figure!

Wyoming has a law that says you have to move over and slow down for emergency vehicles on the side of the road. Seems like everyone has received the message and acts accordingly.

There are just as many in a hurry, angry, distracted, and cell phone using drivers in Nevada, Utah and Wyoming as in California.

We met some very nice people at our fuel stops and on the road.

In Alliance we had a nice visit with family. Great-niece Megan Uhley turned 12 years old while we were there!

Two days of riding

We have travelled from Kelseyville, CA to Green River, WY.

Yesterday's ride was moderately hot. We expected to have lots of wind across Nevada, but there was more wind in California. We stopped at Boomtown for fuel and Cabela's for lunch....if you get the chance, try one of their steak sandwich special.

Last evening we stayed in Battle Mountain, NV - we've stayed at the Super 8 many times. I think the motel is one of the nicest we've stayed in and the price is right!

The only downside to staying at the Super 8 is the location doesn't afford much in the way of eating establishments within walking distance. The McDonald's is next door, but on a scale of 1 to 10 this particular McD's rates a 1....dirty, poor quality food, mediocre service.

This morning we departed around 7:30 to 48 degrees. A tad bit chilly. We anticipated the temps rising quickly...not so. We were in Utah before the temps got over 70.

We opted to ride north toward Ogden to avoid the Salt Lake City area. Made for a nice ride to Wyoming with few construction backups. Of course, riding in Wyoming we found the wind missing in Nevada! Other than boring, the ride was fine and again none too hot.

We are staying at the Western Inn in Green River. (We checked with the Super 8 in Rock Springs....some how I just can't pay $105 plus tax for a lousy Super 8 when we paid under $90 for a stellar Super 8 last night.) This motel is old, but remodeled. Everything we need for the evening...plus breakfast.

Tomorrow we will be in Alliance. Larry has chosen a new road so it won't be as boring!

August 2008

Preparation for this ride entailed tearing down both rides to change out the air filters. Poor babies looked like Borg waiting to assimilate someone - lots of tubes, hoses and wires. In the middle of all this tearing down we discovered that my trike needed a bearing replaced. Thanks to our friends Fred and Bob for all their support, loan of tools and elbow grease!

This ride has many facets and very little schedule. We have planned to visit Larry's family in Nebraska, my cousin in Missouri, attend a friend's retirement party in St. Louis, attend the Troy, Illinois Torches Across America rally, eat catfish and hush puppies in Mississippi, visit Louisiana, see family in Texas, check our house in New Mexico and, last but not least, stop by Albuquerque to see Clark and Mike.

Larry's riding his Goldwing and I am riding my trike. Keep us in your prayers - and include good weather!