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3710 miles in 10 days on a Hawk
9 Attachment(s)
Day 1(6/26)
Well, for starters, I have to throw out a huge thanks to legman and dano(ts3.com guys) for helping me out with this, if it wasn't for those 2, it wouldn't have been possible. So let's get to the nitty gritty, here's the bike all loaded up and ready to roll out on Friday(6/26)... Attachment 29248 the mileage for the start of my journey Attachment 29249 only person I met up with on the east coast was good ol' windpipe crusher bobw. Not only did he take time out of his day to meet me, he bought me lunch, and gave me a tire repair kit which I didn't need until the last day, and didn't have with me(you'll see later) Thanks for lunch Bob, and just for putting in the effort of riding out and meeting up with me. Attachment 29250 Attachment 29251 other than that, not much went on my first day. Didn't leave 'til around noon anyway, but made some decent time after lunch with Bob. Only ran into one huge downpour my entire trip, and it was just east of Nashville where I met these cool cats on Harleys from St Louis Attachment 29252 They were returning from their week long trip. Had been to Deals Gap, down to the southern tip of FL, and came back thru the Gap. They had already done right at 3700 miles when I met them I believe. I was making good time, so good, I decided to give up a free place to stay in Crossville, TN that dano had gotten for me. But it was important for me to cut some miles out of the next day if I could. So I made it just to the outer parts of Nashville where I stayed my 1st night at my 2nd cheapest motel room, yet the nicest one other than the room in Vegas(see later) Attachment 29253 Attachment 29254 Attachment 29255 total mileage that day - 423 miles, not bad for a late start Attachment 29256 |
4 Attachment(s)
Day 2(6/27)
This day was pure hell. Well, the 1st half wasn't bad. I got started early in the morning, I was on the road by 6:30am. I knew it was gonna be a scorcher, so I decided to travel as much as I could in the cooler part of the morning. Well, come lunch time I had finally made it thru that long ass state of TN, and had made my way to some small town in AR. I'm pretty sure I had covered right at 400 miles by 12:30. ;D So I take a breather for lunch, get some food in me and back on that stretch of I-40 that's already been haunting me for hundreds of miles. Well, this is the part of the day that killed me, I was travelling at temps just over 100 deg, and even with the camelbak I had purchased, I was dying from the heat. My goal this day was Oklahoma City, but by the time I reached my original goal city, Henryetta, I had had enough. So I stop, find me a place to stay, grab some grub, and crash... literally. My head was killing me from the heat and sun glare on the highway, anymore miles this day in the heat, and I think I would've over done it. Sorry about the pics this day, time was limited, and I had to cover some ground, only snapped a few pics at the end of the day. Motel room was a dump, but so was the town, so I couldn't complain. Attachment 29244 I gave this place a thumbs down rating. ;D Attachment 29245 the hawk outside in the blazing sun in Henryetta, OK. Attachment 29246 total mileage that day was 627, could have done more if it wasn't for the heat. Attachment 29247 |
18 Attachment(s)
Day 3(6/28 )
Started bright and early again, I thought another scorcher of a day was ahead of me. Luckily, the skies were overcast and I ran in and out of rain the rest of the way thru OK. Never thought I'd be happy to ride in rain, but after the heat the day before, and since it wasn't a downpour of rain, I was jumping with joy over riding in the rain since it kept the temps down. This is about the coolest thing I saw in OK, so I stopped to get a pic. Attachment 29226 Attachment 29227 Attachment 29228 Finally made it to Texas... yeeeeeeeehaw! ;D Stopped at the famous place Dano had told me about, and had me a good ol' Texan steak. This place is located right in the heart of Amarillo. Attachment 29229 just a cool spot in TX I thought... Attachment 29230 Lunch took forever here, but I wasn't too worried as I had made great time again by lunch time, and the temps were nowhere near what they were the day before. So I took about a 2 hour lunch break, felt good and refreshed, jumped on the bike and was in New Mexico in no time. I stopped in Tucumcari for gas, and while I was talk'n to Dano on the phone, he found a different road for me to take to Las Vegas, NM. So finally, after 1500+ miles I'm leaving the interstate. Travelled the 104 all the way from Tucumcari to Las Vegas. So I got in about 120 miles of back road riding on that day. This was the best day yet, finally off the interstate, and starting to see some good scenery. Attachment 29231 Attachment 29232 look! a curve! Attachment 29233 Attachment 29234 this guy wouldn't take his eye off me! Attachment 29235 it was good to see sumt'n besides interstate. Attachment 29236 Attachment 29237 Attachment 29238 So I finally make it into Las Vegas, NM. Cool little town, not too much going on, just a cool place to sleep for the night. Attachment 29239 Attachment 29240 room wasn't great, but not horrible either, I believe it was my 3rd cheapest room. Attachment 29241 Attachment 29242 total miles this day - 571. Sweeeet, my days will be easy from here on out. Attachment 29243 |
27 Attachment(s)
Day 4(6/29)
Slept in a little this day, atleast compared to the others, I didn't get on the road until a few minutes after 8am. Took the 518 out of Las Vegas up to the 68/64 down into Taos. Attachment 29199 Attachment 29200 Attachment 29201 Attachment 29202 Attachment 29203 Took the 64 to Chama and had lunch at a cool little burger joint, then off on the 84 up to Pagosa Springs, CO. Wasn't far out of Chama where I crossed the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. Pics don't do this place justice, believe me, it was a long ways down! Attachment 29204 Attachment 29205 Attachment 29206 Attachment 29207 Attachment 29208 the Gorge is a beautiful area, but things just got more beautiful the closer I got to CO. Attachment 29209 Attachment 29210 Attachment 29211 I met this really cool guy, Jim Allen I believe his name was, from Arkansas, we talked motorcycles for about 30 minutes and places we've been. He showed me a few pics of the area I was hitting the next day, as he had just came from there, and told me there is nothing more beautiful in this world than the stretch of road I was hitting the next day! Here's Jim riding off on his Victory Vision! Attachment 29212 great views up here... Attachment 29213 Attachment 29214 Attachment 29215 Attachment 29216 Attachment 29217 Attachment 29218 Attachment 29219 made it into Pagosa Springs and hit the 160 over to Durango. Attachment 29220 Attachment 29221 Attachment 29222 now don't get me wrong, Durango was a cool little town, but they can take they overpriced tourist prices and shove it. Here, I paid $117 with tax for a freak'n Super 8 Motel Room. Yes, it was the cheapest I could find. The girl at the counter jokingly said, "atleast you got a complinetary bag of popcorn and a recliner in your room!" Oh yeah, well how about buy'n me a pepsi too then?!? Which she did. :D I give you my $117 recliner, popcorn, and pepsi... Attachment 29223 what a treat for that price. :rollseyes: Attachment 29224 Attachment 29225 So I decided to go check out this town a bit, and it was pretty cool, just not $117 cool. |
8 Attachment(s)
Attachment 29191
Attachment 29192 Attachment 29193 Attachment 29194 Attachment 29195 Attachment 29196 Attachment 29197 total miles this day was 290 miles. Attachment 29198 |
29 Attachment(s)
Day 5(6/30)
Best day yet, and prolly the best day of the entire trip. Perfect weather, perfect roads, and beyond perfect scenery. This is motorcycle heaven here boys and girls. I followed the 550(Million Dollar Highway) out of Durango on into Silverton. Let me warn ya, these pictures absolutely do no justice for this masterpiece God's painted. This was without a doubt, the most beautiful part of my trip. Let me say no more, and try to justify it with some pics. I ran into this hot spring following the 550 out of Durango Attachment 29162 Attachment 29163 Attachment 29164 then the mountains just started getting bigger, Attachment 29165 Attachment 29166 Attachment 29167 and bigger, Attachment 29168 Attachment 29169 Attachment 29170 Attachment 29171 and bigger! Attachment 29172 Attachment 29173 Attachment 29174 Attachment 29175 Attachment 29176 Attachment 29177 Attachment 29178 Attachment 29179 Attachment 29180 Attachment 29181 the view coming down into Silverton. Attachment 29182 Attachment 29183 from Silverton to Ouray(Little Switzerland) was prolly my absolute favorite. Only problem thru here is you must have your game face on, the tightest section of the 550 is thru here, and there are no guardrails, just huge drop offs directly off the road with no run off. 8) It's also considered the Red Mountain Pass as the views of Red Mountain are spectacular. Attachment 29184 Attachment 29185 Attachment 29186 Attachment 29187 Attachment 29188 Attachment 29189 Attachment 29190 |
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I told you it had some tight sections...
Attachment 29148 Attachment 29149 Attachment 29150 Attachment 29151 purdy good size waterfall directly beneath the road. Attachment 29152 Attachment 29153 Attachment 29154 Attachment 29155 Attachment 29156 look'n down on "Little Switzerland" Attachment 29157 Attachment 29158 Attachment 29159 from Ouray, I followed the 550 on into Ridgway where I stopped for lunch. Talk about a nice relaxin lunch with temps in the mid 70's and views like this... Attachment 29160 Attachment 29161 |
22 Attachment(s)
from there I hit the 62 over to the 145. These were some nice vacant roads with long sweepers and great views yet again.
Heading out on the 62... Attachment 29126 once you hit the 145, the views change, but still awesome! Attachment 29127 Attachment 29128 Attachment 29129 Attachment 29130 At some point thru here, around Naturita, the 145 changes to the 141, and the scenerey still never ceases to amaze me. :cheers2: Attachment 29131 Attachment 29132 Attachment 29133 Attachment 29134 Attachment 29135 Attachment 29136 Attachment 29137 so there's nothing for miles and miles out here, I mean nothing but a few stray cattle here and there. All of a sudden, I come up on this little community of Gateway just out in the middle of nowhere. Attachment 29138 Attachment 29139 Attachment 29140 almost to Grand Junction! Attachment 29141 Attachment 29142 Attachment 29143 I finally make it into Grand Junction for another dump of a motel that was priced rather high yet again. :blackeye: Attachment 29144 Attachment 29145 geez, I wonder what they do with all their money they make on this dump? :rollseyes: Attachment 29146 total miles this day was only 260 miles, but man, it took me just as long as much as I stopped for pics. lol Attachment 29147 |
25 Attachment(s)
Day 6(7/01)
This day I get to experience the great state of Utah. Attachment 29101 Holy smokes, does Utah have some great views to offer too. Some of the things you see are just undescribable. Again, it's hard to tell how big this stuff is from the pictures, but let's just say Utah is a beautiful state. I even enjoyed myself on the Interstate, as I travelled I-70 it actually has a few twists and turns and breath-taking views... yes, this is the interstate. 8) Attachment 29102 Attachment 29103 Attachment 29104 Attachment 29105 Attachment 29106 Attachment 29107 Attachment 29108 Attachment 29109 Attachment 29110 Attachment 29111 Attachment 29112 Attachment 29113 I followed I-70 for just over 100 miles to the 72 near Fremont Junction, UT. This was a great stretch of road. Let me tell ya though, if ya have a bike with not such a great fuel range out in Utah, ya better carry some spare fuel somewhere, there are some areas that are few and far between for fuel. Talk about having the road to yourself, I followed the 72 for quite a ways and could prolly count the other cars I saw on one hand. Attachment 29114 Attachment 29115 Attachment 29116 Attachment 29117 Attachment 29118 So I followed the 72 all the way into Loa where I stopped for a sugar break. :) Talked to Dano again, and he couldn't believe how good of time I had already made. I had already been about 200 miles by 10 am. ;D So I jump on the 24 over to Torrey where I hit the 12, and let me tell ya, this road was freak'n awesome. :cheers: The 12 is over 120 miles of twists and turns and more fantastic views along the way. Attachment 29119 Attachment 29120 Attachment 29121 Attachment 29122 Attachment 29123 Stopped in Boulder to take a small break, get me a drink and a snack, ya know I gots to eat. :D I found this nice shade tree for the hawk. Attachment 29124 Attachment 29125 |
21 Attachment(s)
alright, back on the road if I'm gonna make Cedar City tonight.
Attachment 29080 Attachment 29081 Attachment 29082 Attachment 29083 Attachment 29084 Attachment 29085 Attachment 29086 Attachment 29087 Attachment 29088 what rock? 8) Attachment 29089 Attachment 29090 Attachment 29091 Attachment 29092 Attachment 29093 Attachment 29094 Attachment 29095 Attachment 29096 Attachment 29097 Attachment 29098 Attachment 29099 Attachment 29100 |
26 Attachment(s)
So I finally make it to the end of the 12. The skies are really look'n dark westward, the direction I'm headed. So I stop right down the road on 89 and give ol' Dano a call. Come to find out, I'm less than 50 miles from Cedar City at this point, and Dano looks up the rain report and says everything looks fine. So I jump on the 14 which looks to be awesome just from the beginning.
Attachment 29054 oh yeah, good call on that weather dano. :rollseyes: Attachment 29055 if you look closely you can see the black lava rock across the road. This was a cool area to ride thru seeing that it used to be a volcano. Attachment 29056 Attachment 29057 Attachment 29058 Attachment 29059 Attachment 29060 Attachment 29061 Attachment 29062 Attachment 29063 Attachment 29064 Attachment 29065 :D Attachment 29066 and I finally made it to Cedar City! :wave3: my cheapest stay yet, and not that bad of a place. Attachment 29067 Attachment 29068 Attachment 29069 so I was kinda tired at the end of the day, so I walk to get me some dinner, about 3/4 mile down the road. And along comes the real rain while I'm eating. :blackeye: Attachment 29070 Attachment 29071 so even after killing time for a bit after I ate, the rain still didn't stop, so I had to run back to my room in the rain. Yeah, I got drenched. Oh well, bike is definitely look'n the part of a x-country bike at this point. Sorry leggy. lol Attachment 29072 Attachment 29073 Attachment 29074 Attachment 29075 Attachment 29076 Total miles this day was right at 429 miles. Attachment 29077 oh yeah, remember I said ya might wanna carry some extra gas? Well, luckily I didn't need mine, so I put my spare gas in at the motel, and got a few strange looks. :D Attachment 29078 Attachment 29079 |
26 Attachment(s)
Day 7(7/02)
The dreaded dano meetup day. :rollseyes: So yeah, dano tells me that him and nimec are gonna meet up with me outside of Las Vegas so we can hit the Valley of Fire on the way to the Hoover Dam. Well... let's just say this is what the meetup spot looked like for hours... :blackeye: Attachment 29028 Attachment 29029 Attachment 29030 well, finally, 4 hrs later, the ambiguously gay duo show up. No time for chit chat ladies, let's hit the road. :horse: the Hoover Dam pics didn't turn out good at all. The traffic was awful, and the temps and sun were ridiculous, especially after riding the Valley of Fire(dano's off road tour :rollseyes: ) Attachment 29031 Attachment 29032 Attachment 29033 Attachment 29034 alright, the original plan was to head back to dano's place this day, but since the dummy duo was 4 hrs late, we decided to stay in Vegas. Vegas baby! Yeah, I was happy with the $28 room that Dirt had texted me, but noooooo, that wasn't good enough for the Cali boys. So they talked me into splitting one of the most expensive places on the strip. We were rollin deep at the Venetian. :cheers: Attachment 29035 Attachment 29036 dano acted like he had a rough day. Attachment 29037 wait, nimec thinks he's tired too. Attachment 29038 this is what I think of both of 'em. Attachment 29039 the room was craaaaazy nice. Attachment 29040 Attachment 29041 Attachment 29042 well, it was nice until nimec decided to dry his boots out. :puke: Attachment 29043 I thought the drapes remote was cool. :D Attachment 29044 time to hit the strip, here's our place from the outside... Attachment 29045 Attachment 29046 Attachment 29047 Attachment 29048 Attachment 29049 Attachment 29050 Attachment 29051 Attachment 29052 Attachment 29053 so that purdy much sums up day 7, I didn't keep up with the miles that day because I spent more time waiting on dano than I did riding. :udown: |
5 Attachment(s)
Day 8(7/30)
I finally make it into Cali, and dano has gathered up a welcoming committee to meet up with us. ;D We had already done around 200 miles when we met up with Biff, GlennC, and Dirty Yamaha. Was nice meet'n ya Dirty, and of course, Biff and Glenn, good see'n you guys again. I don't recall all the roads we rode that day, maybe Biff can help me out since they are more 'round his area. I wanna say some of it was around the Lake Arrowhead area. At any rate, it was good to hit some serious twisties after being on a road trip, and good see'n some of the Cali crew again. Thanks Glenn for pick'n up lunch, I really 'preciate it. :cheers: The crew... Attachment 29023 Attachment 29024 Attachment 29025 Attachment 29026 and leeds, we were think'n about you that day. :D Attachment 29027 that's basically it, had a great day of riding that day, got to ride Nimec and Dirty's triples for a bit, and even rode that couch of a Sprint for a little while. And I was bad about keeping up with my daily mileage after I met up with the gang, so I didn't get a pic, but I believe we were somewhere in the 350-400 mile range that day. |
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Day 9(7/04)
What better way to celebrate the 4th of July than on the ACH(Angeles Crest Highway) in Cali? That's right, after being shut down for years because of an avalanche, they finally have re-opened the ACH just a few months before I got there. ;D GlennC met up with us that day for a nice cruise up the ACH. For those of you that have ridden the Cherohala Skyway, the ACH is similiar, except I'd say better. I loved this ride, it was a great ride, with fresh pavement, cool weather, and great views. :cheers: Attachment 29004 Attachment 29005 dano in his natural habitat Attachment 29006 GlennC in his natural habitat lol Attachment 29007 Attachment 29008 Attachment 29009 Attachment 29010 Attachment 29011 Attachment 29012 Attachment 29013 GlennC wanted to take this road, but I finally convinced him he wasn't on the CR500. :slap: Attachment 29014 So we stopped for lunch(late breakfast, whatever) at Newcomb's Ranch, what a wast of time and money. :curse: I think Glenn wanted to tip the waitress more than she even stole. lol Attachment 29015 Attachment 29016 Attachment 29017 After that, we headed the rest of the way down the ACH and we were plannin on doing Glendora's Ridge but it was shutdown. :*( We were guessing due to a fire or the possibility of and it being the 4th of July. So we went our separate ways with Glenn, headed back to Dano's place, and got our groove on for the 4th. Nimec and his girl came over to celebrate with us, along with Dano's girl. the chef Attachment 29018 mmmmmmmmmmmm :D Attachment 29019 I thought he was supposed to be cook'n, not eat'n?!? :slap: Attachment 29020 whachu goin for there nimec? :cheers: Attachment 29021 chillin' Attachment 29022 |
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time to climb the hill and watch some fireworks
Attachment 28985 Moreno Valley just after sunset Attachment 28986 Attachment 28987 Attachment 28988 and they say the NC hills are full of rednecks?!? 8) Attachment 28989 Attachment 28990 I thought the fireworks would've been bigger in Cali. :rollseyes: Attachment 28991 Attachment 28992 Attachment 28993 Attachment 28994 Attachment 28995 back down the hill Attachment 28996 and over the fence? Attachment 28997 or thru the fence? :blackeye: Attachment 28998 alright, let's make that over. lol Attachment 28999 let's try thru this next one. :surrender: Attachment 29000 showoff. :rollseyes: Attachment 29001 atleast I didn't spill my beer. :D Attachment 29002 Attachment 29003 after that, we hit the hot tub for a short while, then crashed out to meet up with the crew the next morning. Don't ask me 'bout no mileage, I have no idea. :D |
25 Attachment(s)
Day 10(7/05)
The Final Day So we had planned to meet up with a few of the guys up near Malibu. I missed the Rock Store on my last visit, and I wanted to check it out, along with the infamous roads in the area. I think Biff, Dirty, and Night Train were all on Dano's time from the other day, as here was the meeting spot about 15 minutes after the meeting time. :rollseyes: Attachment 28960 Oh wait a minute, dano calls and figures out that he's at the wrong place... dummy. :blackeye: So the boys tell us to hang tight and head our way. As we are waiting, this nice machine pulled up, this guy has some work in this thing. Attachment 28961 Attachment 28962 Attachment 28963 I catch the crew rollin in follow'n the head nigga. :fro: :D Attachment 28964 what's that biff? 8) Attachment 28965 It was nice to finally meet the Night Train. :fro: :D Attachment 28966 He's got one blingin triple. :fro: Attachment 28967 Attachment 28968 Attachment 28969 It was really great meeting NT, I don't see how he puts up with our crap, but he truly is a great guy. Thanks for lunch and a ride on the bling machine Ken. :cheers: The Rock Store, we met Sonnyboy here on his Valkryie(long story about the triple) Attachment 28970 Attachment 28971 Attachment 28972 Attachment 28973 Attachment 28974 So after NT picks up everyone's lunch, we start tear'n down one of the back roads out there. I notice the Hawk ain't handling worth a damn, but I ain't stop'n, I gotta show these Cali boys I can hang. :wak: When Biff and Dirty finally pull over, I get off the bike and immediately check the back tire, sure enogh, it's flat as hell. :yar: So I didn't have my tire repair kit with me, but luckily NT came to the rescue yet again and had one with him. Him and Dano go to work on the bike and find the culprit, a huge screw. Attachment 28975 Attachment 28976 Attachment 28977 And we found out while NT's tool may be much bigger, it was Sonnyboy's smaller tool that got the job done. :D Attachment 28978 But anyways, thanks for helping me plug her up guys, as you saw, she held up well. Sonnyboy on the beast. Attachment 28979 Attachment 28980 well, it was finally time to split ways, so we finally headed back to dano's place after a few action shots thru Decker Canyon Rd, I think. I'll get some of those pics up later, it was only me and NT and some of dano. So... total miles for the trip... Attachment 28981 3710 miles, and the tires don't look too shabby, even with a plugged rear. :D Attachment 28982 Attachment 28983 So until next time homies... peace out. :fro: :wave3: Attachment 28984 :workit: |
hope you guys enjoy, and no I'm not editing the code for the smilies. :lol:
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Great coverage of a fantastic trip. Better than reading a novel. Glad to see the only bike trouble was a flat tire.
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Much respect cheapo. I just did a 186 mile ride yesterday (all twisty) and I was shot! Great ride report. Thanks for sharing.
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Great Trip!! With all those pictures when did you have time to ride?
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Very nice, you rode through some really nice parts of Colorado.
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Awesome trip, great photos. So those pilot roads held up pretty well huh? How much tread life would you say is left on them after your crazy ass 3700 mile trip?
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Great report, and thanks for all the great pics! I probably would have seen you on Glendora Mountain Road (GMR) on the 4th had it not been closed. Twisty fun, technical road! Sorry you missed it.
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so after shelling out $117 a 'pepsi' is the best you can come up with ?
:D what a great trip, probably every motorcyclists dream. tim |
Originally Posted by Otto Man
(Post 226497)
Awesome trip, great photos. So those pilot roads held up pretty well huh? How much tread life would you say is left on them after your crazy ass 3700 mile trip?
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very nice ride report. beutifull pictures and looks like allot of fun.
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Great journal. I've seen one of the rocks in another picture. Coincidentally, the owner of that car lives in NC also. Havelock? I believe.
http://www.britishcarforum.com/bcfor...php?photo=3151 |
So how did your "seating accomodations" hold up during the trip?
I noticed you had a foam pad for the first day or 2, then went "padless" for most of the journey. |
Originally Posted by jbaxx
(Post 226523)
So how did your "seating accomodations" hold up during the trip?
I noticed you had a foam pad for the first day or 2, then went "padless" for most of the journey. |
Great idea for a seat pad...and inexpensive too - ya cheapbastard! ;)
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