On the road again....

[Groo]

I'm out of here, and on my way to Park City. Making stops in Austin, Las Vegas (New Mexico), Pagosa Springs, and Torrey. Should be there early afternoon on Thursday. Will post along the road from my PDA if I've got cell coverage.

Look out Utah, here we come!

 

[Bearly Flying]

Ride Safe Groo,

We're heading down Weds, be there Thurs noon. See Ya there.

 

[turbodave_98]

Ride Safe Groo,
We're heading down Weds, be there Thurs noon. See Ya there.

Ride safely and beers on me on Thursday, eh??

 

[FJRay]

Leaving central Oregon early tues. going north and east to somewhere in Idaho and then south east to somewhere else and PC midday on Thurs. Everybody be safe.

 

[odot]

Going to work on monday and working till thursday. Somewhere in there I've got jury duty.....wish me luck. All you lucky bastards.

 

[rogdeb]

Got my jury duty postponed, otherwise I couldn't be there. Sucks you have to work also Odot.

 

[RenoJohn]

Possible BlueStreak siting

Yesterday (Saturday) 2:30PM'ish a bit west of Battle Mountain on I-80 heading east. (Kathy and I were heading west on our way home)

-A shiny blue FJR two up with rider and pillion in matching blue riding gear. Gotta say it looked like Bluestreak, and I know he planned to leave Marysville early Saturday AM two-up ......hmnmmmm.

??????me wonders??????

 

[Groo]

So far so good... made it to Austin safe and sound... a couple of interesting items/thoughts...

1) When the only rain you encounter is a five minute downpour 5 miles from home, and you are under a canopy getting gas at the time, somebody upstairs likes you.

2) Austin Texas has got some incredibly fun, curvy roads inside the city limits...

3) GPS is next to useless in a big downtown area with lots of new construction.

Leaving at dawn tomorrow for the slog across Texas, and into New Mexico...

Groo

 

[fjrchik]

oh man. try not to fall asleep! :lazy: :laughingsmiley:

 

[escapefjrtist]

Leaving early Wednesday morning to beat the heat that looks to be coming in. And Groo, stay off those dirt roads this time will ya?

Ride safe, see ya in PC.

--G

 

[Groo]

Another good day in the books! Absolutely awesome weather. Probably one of three 600+ mile days I'll do on the trip... 10 hours to go from Austin to Las Vegas, NM. Passing thoughts...

1) As on my WFO excursion last year, I've probably saved my license a dozen times already, thanks to my V1. Never hit the road without it...

2) As a lifelong engineer, the high tech windmill farms in west Texas and Eastern NM, are just frickin' cool...

3) Little black bugs that love to die on my faceshield live about a tenth of a mile on both sides of running water. I can always tell I'm about to cross a creek, when I get 3 or 4 new splats in quick succession... and there is usually a matching swarm on the other side.

4) I hate having to trade good airflow from having my windshield low and the Bug protection from having it high.

5) If the one exposed part of your body for a large bug to hit is your neck, they'll hit you there an amazingly high number of times.

6) Who said late July is hot in Texas and New Mexico??

7) Skyway's hydration system Rocks! Especially once you can make the blind magnetic connection to your tailbag while concentrating on the apex of the curve you are in...

Pagosa Springs tomorrow... and possibly a lunchtime ride up Wolf creek pass to Lake City.

Groo

 

[odot]

..............WHAT?..............no nails yet? It ain't no fun cruisin' miles if ya ain't got a plug in that thang yet.

 

[FJRMGM]

Ride Groo Ride!!

How come you never asked if I wanted to go with you?

 

[Groo]

Odot... I shit you not, I get into Pagosa Springs around lunch, and stop to get gas before I head to Lake City with Jerry and Barb Bolus... and think back to last year, and the screw in my tire. So I put the bike on the centerstand and rotate the rear wheel for kicks. F@ck me if there isn't a big piece of silver staring at me on the right side of the tread!

After a few choice words I'd been saving for just such an occasion, I looked a bit closer, and it was about 2 inches long, and 1/8 inch wide. Gave it a tug, and it came out... it looked like a nail that got into the tire on an angle, then got ground down... it didn't penetrate the core, but was lodged in the outer rubber. Think it'll be ok, but I've got Smartire to keep an eye on it..

Mike,

Didn't think I made a secret of my plans, but it would have been a slow trip with you on the 10 speed. ;-)

Day 3 of the trip to WFO, was better than the first 2... Las Vegas to Pagosa Springs included some SWEET roads..., then a trip up Wolf Creek pass and a lunch ride to Lake City. Passing thoughts..

1) It's amazing how mild the weather is, given the time of the year.

2) Calzones at Poker Alice's in Lake City rock!

3) Getting caught in a brief rainshower makes a mesh jacket work just like an evapoative vest.

Pagosa Springs to Torrey, Utah tomorrow!

 

[Groo]

Well, made it to Torrey in one piece... wish I could say as much for Bambi....

A few miles outside Durango... had just left a stop light, and noticed a 2 foot high field of tan grass to my right... and looky there... a doe head sticking up by the side of the road. She was eyeing the other side of the street, so I started scrubbing speed. 100 yards from her, she makes her break across the road, and runs smack dab into the front left corner of a lady's Suzuki automobile. I'm now about 25 feet from the impact, and the deer starts pinwheeling towards yours truly... luckily, I had slowed down enough, and veered to the right far enough, that by the time I rolled over the legs, I was able to keep it under control. Got some deer crap on my saddle bag (yes, I checked, and it wasn't mine)... and some on my front tire tread. The lady's Suzuki lost her front bumper, but was drivable. I've got pictures of the late Bambi on the side of the road.

Oddly enough, had a 8 point buck with velvet on his antlers run across the road in front of me on the way to Ouray.... and saw tons of fresh bodies on the side of the road in Southern Utah. But the bike is still running, and I'm still here...

Passing thoughts...

1) Playing the bumper to a deer's billiard ball isn't my idea of fun.

2) This time of year, this part of the country, morning riding is where it's at. Cool, clear, and awesome conditions. The only sucky thing is the forest rats.

3) When it's getting hot, and there's a thunder cell next to the road, but not raining on the road, it's God's way of giving you air conditioning.

4) The roads through Capitol Reef and Durango to Silverton rock.

5) I much prefer the road in Colorado that I was SUPPOSED to be on, and which I road today, versus that shelf road (Ophir Pass) that I took last year.

Tomorrow we arrive at Park City... hope it's as good a day as the first 4.

 

[odot]

Get there safe, dude.....you fricken magnet of nails/metalshavings/and deer. I may just have to stay away from you......