Westward Ho! Trip

[BobFV1]

Well, that's what I'm naming my trip - I leave this Saturday May 20. My plan always changes on the fly, but as of now, I intend to ride to Hot Springs, NC the first day and spend Saturday Night there with the FF's from ADVRIDER. That will put me a bit behind sked because I will only be riding about 530 miles that day and I will be deviating a bit to the South of the quickest route. From Hot Springs, it's a slab run all the way to Arizona, which I can do in three days of averaging about 640 miles a day, which should be a piece of cake. We'll see. I may cut out Hot Springs and do a three day hard run in to AZ, or a four day run with a lot of off-slab thrown in.

Well, I just wanted to open the thread. I'm packing up the bike tomorrow and heading out early on Saturday, so my time may start to be at a premium. I will try to post photos from the road in this thread, and keep you up to date on my progress. And who knows, maybe I'll see some of you out along the road.

The purpose of this trip is to ferry my bike back to AZ for a little Rocky Mountain vacation with my wife next month. I will ride to AZ, rest for a day or two, teach a weekend BRC, then fly back here to DC memorial day. After about a week in the office, I will fly to AZ, position the bike in Durango, CO, fly my wife up after she finishes teaching on Friday afternoon, and we will spend two days riding around the rockies. She will fly home and I will head East, ferrying the bike out here to the DC area once more.

So - stay tuned - everybody ride safe.

[STexFJR]

Have a great trip Bob. Should be a lot of fun. Post pics, write stuff, etc.

[jamming]

Be cool, Brother Bob.
We'll all be with you in spirit.

Roger

[Deans BMW]

Good grief Bob, do you ever just sit down and relax?

[1MPH]

Have a great trip Bob, but tell me are the westward Ho's better than the eastward Ho's?????? :) :)

[BobFV1]

Have a great trip Bob, but tell me are the westward Ho's better than the eastward Ho's?????? :) :)

Yup - because you end up in the West!

[Acacia]

Ride well Bob - hope the 'wind' is behind you, your navigation is true, and the clutch remains happy, Will Wills deer remain in the woods and you have enough time to take pics for DJ.

:eusa_clap:

[Deans BMW]

Ride well Bob - hope the 'wind' is behind you, your navigation is true, and the clutch remains happy, Will Wills deer remain in the woods and you have enough time to take pics for DJ.


Our resident philosopher, er, or at least one of them, has hit my thoughts squarely on the head.

[BobFV1]

Got up early and rolled out of McLean, Virginia at 0700 EDT this morning:

http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/70593917-M.jpg

The bike wasn't too loaded down - I had some clothes in a Helen2Wheels bag on the rear rack, a bike cover bungeed to the rear seat, my GS tank bag, and of course, the Jesses.

http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/70593928-M.jpg

It was pretty cool and cloudy headed out of the DC Metro area, West on I-66. Then I caught I-81 South and it was fairly clear in the Shenandoah Valley, all the way down to Bristol, Tennessee. At the Tennessee border, it started to get cold, and the skies were pretty cloudy and it looked like they were full of rain. I pulled in to the Tennessee welcome center just past Bristol, chatted with a couple on a Kawi Concours and a guy on a GW.

http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/70593939-M.jpg

I decided not to turn South to Hot Springs, NC, where the ADVRIDER rally was happening - the weather just did not look good. I carried on West and when I got to Knoxville, the sky was really dark. Driving through the city, I started to see spectacular lightning strikes on both sides of the road. As I carried on, there was no moisture so I figured if it started to rain, I would hit an exit, as I was in the city and there were a lot of exits. Suddenly, as the traffic got heavier, the thunder became very loud, and just to the right of the Interstate, as I rode by, I saw one of the most spectacular things I have ever seen - a lightning strike directly on a huge tree right next to the highway as I passed - there was a huge flame from the top of the tree and a giant, large puff of smoke - it looked like a white phosphorous artillery round!

Right about then, the sky opened up and without warning it started absolutely pouring. I was immediately soaked - I got over into the right lane and exited I-40, rode through a small river of drain water as I turned in to a gas station to take cover. I waited it out under the cover at the gas station, trying to dry myself out as best I could. Here is a photo from right after it stopped raining about 10 minutes later:

http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/70593960-M.jpg

As I put the camera away and geared up, I did my best to dry off my 2610 and Roady2, both of which had been soaked in the downpour. The 2610 continued to work, but the Roady2 was out of commission - the soaking was too much for it. While I was gearing up, I could hear lots of sirens out on the Interstate.

Well, I jumped on I-40, went West a few miles, and about due South of Oak Ridge, TN, the Interstate completely stopped. I mean completely. I was at a dead stop for about 50 minutes while tow truck after tow truck after ambulance raced past me up the shoulders. I got off the bike and walked around - everyone else was out of their cars too - a couple of heavy showers came and went and I had to just sit there in the rain, but for the most part the weather had moved past to the East, and I was headed West. Here is my bike, parked in the middle of the Interstate - you can see other folks walking around the highway in one of the pics:

http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/70593972-M.jpg

http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/70593892-M.jpg

When we finally got moving, I passed the wreck scene - man, what a bunch of debris on the highway! Off to the right, I counted eight mangled cars in the process of being hooked up - there may have been more, but I just counted eight. I wondered if, had I not pulled off the road, I would have been wedged underneath one of the cars - timing was about right.

Well, not too much more exciting. The slab is the slab. The bike is running great. Put a little bit, about 200cc, of oil into the bike after I stopped tonight here in Dickson, Tennessee, which is a little bit West of Nashville and 700 miles from where I started back in McLean, just outside DC.

Two ergo adjustments have really helped - I did these in the past month since arriving in the DC area - I replaced the 25mm risers with a new set of Verholen bar-backs which go about 1 inch up and 2 inches back. Also, I added a throttle lock from Bob's BMW. Both work just GREAT! I am especially pleased with the throttle lock - I use it sparingly, but on a long day, it really helps to be able to shake out my right wrist, which unusually gives me trouble on long rides.

Well, that's about it. I hear thunder outside the room not but I am hoping for blue skies heading West. I hope to make it to OKC tomorrow - another day of slab. But hey - every day is a new adventure and you meet the most interesting people in the rest stops on the Interstate!

Oh - PS - the Xm radio "came back to kife" about a hundred miles down the road past the accident site - must have dried out - glad I don't have to go without Deep Tracks!

[GPM]

Helluva start buddy!! Hope the rest of your trip is a bit less eventful. Good luck with the weather, and keep the reports coming. Its down to 100 degrees at 7:30, and as you know, rain is not in the forecast. Have a safe trip home.

[Promethean]

Bob...nice report. Just checked the weather in the vicinity of the town you're holed up. Scattered thunderstorms tomorrow. Yikes.

If you have the time and inclination, I would be very interested in reading your tips on doing long distance rides as the ones to which you're accustomed.

[Bones]

Gotta just love a guy with ADHD.
Resting is for after you're dead, so hey, might as well fit in as much of life as you can in the meantime.

Have a good run.
Great posts and great pics!

Jeff

[arkline]

BobNTGM,

Great stuff. Keep it coming.

By the way, I've only got one word for you regarding riding and inclement weather:

Aerostich

Don't leave home without it.

[BobFV1]

Flash -

Back in Arizona at the end of the third day. Having problems about 3 hours from home. Heavy winds are beating me down. So far on the trip - 2100 miles in 3 days, 6700 miles on the bike's odometer.

Will post details later - got to deal with some trip/weather problems now. Still on the road - may not make it home tonight....

[Promethean]

Take it easy Bobster! Be safe.

[jamming]

Be cool Brother, We want you home safe and sound. Welome home to AZ, Let's meet for some joe when you can.
Roger

[BobFV1]

So I'll pick up where I left off Saturday night - as I recall I was in Dickson, Tennessee at the Super 8 Motel drying out from my thunderstorm adventure.

Well, Sunday morning I left Tennessee early - out of the lot at 0700. Sunday morning is a nice time on the Interstate. Got to Memphis about breakfast time, crossed the mighty Mississippi, then I finally gave in to the Cracker Barrel signs and stopped for breakfast in West Memphis. Note to self: Sunday morning, EVERYBODY in Memphis eats at the Cracker Barrel! The bike did get a lot of attention in the parking lot, and rightfully so:

http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/71029182-S.jpg

Uneventful - made good time across Arkansas. Lots of trucks as usual, but less so on Sunday. Little Rock was a disaster in terms of road work, but since it was Sunday I breezed through.

Then on in to Oklahoma. My "goal" for the day was OKC, but I rolled in there with lots of daylight and great weather left, so I just continued West. Kept going and going. As evening fell on Western Oklahoma on Sunday eve, the Interstate was empty - it was blissful - quiet highway, great weather, Deep Tracks playing on the XM. Motorcycling doesn't get any better.

Pulled in to the quaint and run down little Route 66 whistle stop of Shamrock, Texas, and stopped for the night. Yes, Texas - the first city in the Panhandle and it is where I stopped. Got a room at the Econo-Lodge and picked up a sandwich at Subway, took it back to the hotel rooms to watch the penultimate episode of The Sopranos. Found out that Shamrock, TX, is in a "dry county" - no beer! That sucked. Total mileage for Sunday - 800.

Up early and out before first light this morning, Monday, from Shamrock. The day started out great - nice weather and an empty, early-morning Interstate west across the Panhandle of Texas, through Amarillo, and out to the border of New Mexico. My first stop of the day was the New Mexico welcome center on I-40, which I almost missed because in the last segment of Texas I had the bike up to about 120, then I had to get 'er stopped and rolled in to the welcome center. Picked up a map, had a granola bar and some free coffee - talked to a few folks gawking over the bike:

http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/71029141-S.jpg

West on to I40 in New Mexico, the construction went on for miles and miles and miles - 45 and 55 mph in work zones for miles - glad the traffic was very light. Caught a little shower heading down the hill in to Albuquerque, nothing major. Decided to proceed on to Grant's, New Mexico, and then head South on a couple of small roads to US 60, which I could then take West all the way to Phoenix.

Well, that was the idea. I decided to head South off the Interstate on New Mexico route 117, through the El Malpais National Monument and on South to the little town of Quemado at route 60. In theory, that would have been about 4 1/2 hours from home.

Well, the best laid plans... First into El Malpais, I stopped and shot the bike next to the Ventana Natural Bridge. A very stiff wind was just starting up. Here's the last shot in the calm, with the Natural Bridge in the background:

http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/71029157-M.jpg

Well, from there I headed South on little, deserted NM 117. The fist couple of miles were on federal property, in the calm lee of a small mountain range. Then I hit the wide open desert and the wind was way up. It was gusty and I had to lean in to the wind. It was very strong, so much so that I was worried about stopping the bike for fear it would be blown over. As I have mentioned - even on a good day, this bike is not good in the wind, and I was in heavy winds now.

Also, just as suddenly, I came up behind a US Forest Service pickup truck. It was a firefighter transiting the area and I got behind him. He waved at me and I followed him for an hour across the lonely and windy road - parts of it had complete dust-storm brown-out conditions, but the truck just led me through at 60 mph.

I think that the truck was not driven by a human, I think it was driven by my Guardian Angel. He just quietly lead me through the intense wind. He could see that I was leaned over into the wind to stay upright. At one point he pointed off into the distance at a beautiful Antelope off to the side of the road, but mostly I just had to follow him and concentrate on not going down. I knew that if anything happened to me, at least he could call help, I wouldn't be left out there alone for hours and hours. It was remote.

We got down to US 60 at Quemado and the wind had died down an bit and seemed relatively calm. I turned West, passed the fire ranger and left him with a wave. For a few miles the winds were calm, then they started up again. Intense, intense winds, gusty and blowing me all over the road. The plains of Western Central New Mexico had nothing to break the wind - no trees, just dust and tumbleweeds. Two or three times I thought tumbleweeds were going to get in to my front spoked wheel and take me down - with one of them I even had to brake and the tumbleweed just cleared the front of the bike.

There was nothing I could do. It was so windy, later I found out there were gusts up to 57 mph in this location, that I correctly assumed that if I stopped, the bike would be blown over and I would have no shelter or protection. So I carried on, telling myself "just don't go down". There were no other cars on the road, just me, the bike, and the wind. I got down into 4th gear to maximize the torque in the power band and went along at about 50 mph. In a few places, the winds were more sustained - this was really scary - rather than feeling like I was going to be blown over from the top, the sustained winds made me feel like the tires were going to be blown out from under me.

Through sheer will, I made it to the little town of Sperryville, just over the Arizona border. I got the bike up on the center stand and filled the massive tank up, hoping the extra ballast would help me in the heavy wind. I was about 45 miles East of Show Low, AZ. I have been to Show Low many times and never experienced heavy wind there. I asked the gas station attendant if the wind was normal there and she said not really, but it would probably be less windy in Show Low.

Well, I had a Red Bull, geared up, and although the wind was gusting at about 50 mph, I decided to try to get to Show Low, which would be only 2 1/2 to 3 hours from home. As I mounted the bike I had a lot of apprehension - I had almost eaten it several times on the way in to Sperryville. Then, out of nowhere, the forest service truck pulls up next to me at the gas station. The firefighter got out and came over to me and said "looked like you were having fun back there. I ride too so I wanted to me sure you would be safe. Our spotters in the towers were reporting gusts up to 100mph this morning, but it seems to have actually died off a little".

As he said it had died off a little, I looked up at a flag and saw that it was just about to tear off the pole due to the wind, which my retrospective weather analysis said was sustained at 35 mph and gusting to 57 mph the hour that I was through there. Anyway, my Guardian Angel firefighter gave me a tip to take the slightly longer but well wooded route to Show Low to avoid more high winds. I did, and the ride was really not too bad except for a couple of treeless stretches which almost blew me off the bike again. When I got to Show Low, the wind didn't seem too bad again, so I decided to head home, South to Phoenix.

Just a few miles South of Show Low the wind had almost gotten the best of me two or three more times. I pulled in to a little Western Village development called "Bison" something. The wind was so bad I had to sit on the bike with the side stand down to keep it from blowing violently and possibly tipping. I also remembered so many other warm afternoons that I stopped on rides in this very spot to enjoy the weather and the trees - today it was like a hurricane.

I called my sweet wife on the phone and told her that I would be home for dinner, but the wind was up. She told me they had had a wind storm that morning down in the Phoenix area but it had passed. She looked on the computer for weather up the road in Payson, halfway home, and it showed calm weather there. So I figured I would gut it out down the hill and spend the night at home. I got on to the road, went about two miles. and a gust came up and very nearly pushed me in to the path of an oncoming 18 wheeler. That was it. I turned around and came back here to the Best Western Sawmill Inn, got a room and parked the bike. Still gusting out there. The freak storm is supposed to blow through by about midnight and tomorrow it is supposed to be back to normal - calm and hot.

Well, some stats. Left DC Saturday AM and Monday night was stopped just short of Phoenix by the inclement weather. About 2100 miles total on the trip and the bike has just gone over 6700 miles on the odometer. The rear Bridgestone is very flat in the middle, despite being kept at 42psi - that's what lots of slabbing with a heavy load will do to stock tires. The bike is running great, but man, is it a bear in winds over about 20 mph - really does not handle well at all in those circumstances.

Hope to make it down the hill and back home tomorrow. God Willing.

Oh - by the way - translation of "El Malpais" - "The Badlands". Well named.

[Acacia]

Enjoying your report, Bob!

What you have not mentioned is how exhausting it is riding in wind like that.

Last year riding through northern NM I also encountered strong winds from the south - enought to make me slow down and also because, had it not been for my helmet strap, the wind would have taken my helmet off my head several times. At times I thought that the HANS device should be sold to bike riders too!


Ride safe

[1MPH]

Great read Bob, Thanks. Guardian Angels are good to have around. Glad you are safe and sound. Welcome home.

[GPM]

Great write up Bob. You're absolutely right about these GS's in the wind, they suck. If you read Dean's recap of his ride yesterday you'll see how much better the ST seems to handle the wind. I know for a fact that my KRS was much more stable, even with all the plastic.

Weather looks beautiful this morning. Have a safe ride home, and I'll stop by this afternoon.

[arkline]

Bob,

That wind stuff sucks...I mean blows...

That will be a trip for the memory books. Good that you had a companion for some of the worst. Out on the horizon alone in crap conditions brings the best and craziest out of us all...Glad you made it.

When I was a kid living in Roswell, we had a friend who went driving her Olds to Albuquerque in a sandstorm. When she finally quit driving, there was hardly any paint left on the windward side of the car and her windshield was almost frosted.

Best.

[BobFV1]

This too shall pass. Well, it has. The "Westward Ho!" trip is one for the record books. Over, done.

I awoke this morning to a calm, cool and beautiful day. Left Show Low at 0700, rode down the hill to Payson, turned South and rode highway 87 on in to Phoenix, about 150 miles total. Rode straight to Al Jesse's shop and showed off the bike with his bags on it an 7K miles on the odometer (it's NOT a CLOCK!). They had their web designer photograph the bike for their web site and it will soon be featured there, as it is on Bill Mayer's web site. Al also showed me a couple of really cool, cool things which are in the prototype stage and I am sworn to secrecy on them - but when they come out they will be very cool. He is also making me a very unique, one-off plate for my bike so I can mount my Givi V-46 to it - will go back to his shop tomorrow morning and he will finish the fabrication and install it for me.

What a great trip - despite the thunderstorms in Tennessee, the lack of beer in Texas, and "Mother Nature's Blow Job" in New Mexico/Arizona (I hope my Mom doesn't read this, if so, sorry Mom - and don't look at "Page Three").

I got a screen shot of the Garmin when I pulled in to my home sweet home here a couple of hours ago. I have this hard wired, and at the beginning of the day I turn it on, and I turn it off when I stop for the day at the hotel/destination - so what you see represents stats for the entire actual ride, less "night rest":

http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/71203621-S.jpg

I like to keep my "overall average" at or above 60, but with the wind storms and the 90 minutes sitting on the Interstate last Saturday, the average came way down for the trip. Anyway - "Job1" is the Westward Ho! trip, departed DC last Saturday AM - arrived here in Tempe AZ a little while ago.

I have my 6K service scheduled on Tuesday, and will also be changing to Metzeler Tourances, in preparation for my Colorado trip next month:

http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/71195903-S.jpg

Major impressions from my long journeys on the ne ADV:


Transmission - super smooth.
Power, power, and more power.
Electrical system quirky.
Jesse gear outstanding!
Ergonomics require a fair amount of tweaking.
This is not a light little dirt bike - it's a major road touring machine and trying to get too fancy off road could result in disaster.
Front end twitchy in cross winds - might want to try a 21 inch front or something to give it more rotating mass up there.
For almost all normal conditions and circumstances, a very capable, world-class long distance touring machine.

[Tipstall]

..."Mother Nature's Blow Job" in New Mexico/Arizona (I hope my Mom doesn't read this, if so, sorry Mom - and don't look at "Page Three")....

Bob,

You are a classic. :eusa_clap: :eusa_clap: :eusa_clap:

Ken

[Deans BMW]

Bob, you passed within 6 miles of my house, about 4 miles as the crow flies, I was having fun in the wind between Flagstaff and Page however. That was Springerville, not Sperryville. Glad you made it home safe and sound.

[BobFV1]

Bob, you passed within 6 miles of my house, about 4 miles as the crow flies, I was having fun in the wind between Flagstaff and Page however. That was Springerville, not Sperryville. Glad you made it home safe and sound.

Dean-O, I thought about you, but knew youhad already departed. That darn wind was coming right up from 180 and blasting my port beam - hopefully it wasn't as bad on your 180 - the bike's tail end, that is!

Wish I had the time to ride up to NorCal and catch up with you, Dean. Have a great trip!

Oh - and PS - my double life is getting to me! Sperryville is a little town coming out of the Shenandoah mountains, from Skyline drive to I-66, which goes in to DC. Springerville, as you mention, is up in the high country of AZ - I stand corrected....

Bob

[BobFV1]

http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/71203621-S.jpg

Shit - I just realized this is an SS2000, but I didn't do the paperwork :(

[Bill]

Bob, I enjoyed your report and pictures. The winds reminded me of my ride home from Chandler. AZ was beautiful then from Lordsburg – Deming and on into El Paso the winds were so strong it was hard just to keep the bike on the pavement. I was riding my new to me R1100RS and thought it acted like a giant sail. I know the cars that passed thought I was a real Pussy traveling at 35-50 mph while leaning 15-20 degree into the wind. I am a pilot and in my 182 I would just stay on the ground-no need in screwing up the landing gear trying to land when the cross wind component was so high. I should have parked the bike but stupid me I kept on going.