Home again, home again

On Sunday the 24th --our 16th day on the road--we made it back to Nashville. At first I wasn't sure we would. We awoke in Calhoun GA to storms and a check of the Weather Channel showed a large band from southern Texas up to PA. It was bright red on the TV screen indicating severe weather. We donned our banana suits (jackets only) and walked to breakfast. I missed Cvstar - she would have enjoyed the yellow parade. We actually had someone ask if they could have our rain jackets --we thought, "can we trade for your car?". We took our time packing up and it was still raining, sometimes very hard. We studied the maps --okay, the bits and pieces of maps that we had. You see, I had been less than confident we would make it all the way coast to coast so I had left all the Georgia and TN maps at home, figuring we didn't need them to return home via the Trace. After some study we determined that we should abandon the Cleveland TN route as it rode up along the storm line. Instead we opted to ride horizontally through the storm to get to the backside, which meant we were headed for Huntsville. It was a wet and cold ride. We stopped for lunch in Fayetteville TN after a beautiful trip through northern Alabama, and the atsy community of Mentone, AL. The Sunday-dressed crowd stared as we came in wearing banana suits, carrying helmets. An older gentleman inquired as to whether we were from outerspace. I was reminded of the morning we drove into UFO City -Roswell NM, we had been wearing our banana suits and had felt like aliens. After lunch, eventually, the sun danced in and out of overcast skies. I was just right if there was sun; cold if there wasn't. And although Cvstar wishes she had been there to record it, it wasn't long after lunch that BeamerPop and I pulled over for a little sidewalk snooze. (The Citgo sidewalk worked just as well as the DQ sidewalk!) After almost an hour, and a large cup of coffee, we headed towards the Natchez Trace. With BurgMa in the lead so she didn't have to see all the extra friendly handwaving from BeamerPop, the sunny Trace led us easily back to Nashville. We saw lots of deer on the Trace with two bounding across the road almost immediately when we got onto the road. And there were also lots of wild turkey. It was early evening when we pulled into our driveway. We were happy to be home, and eager to hear from Cvstar about the rest of her trip.

Over a light supper we discussed the next adventure...perhaps a north/south trip. We could go down to New Orleans and follow it up to the head, then eastward through Canada, and down through Maine. Hmmm...we have time to plan.

Through the lower Smokies

On Saturday morning the 23rd, we all hugged and parted ways, Cvstar headed north on Rt 17 towards Charleston; we,BeamerPop and BurgMa, headed northwest towards Augusta on Rt 321. We had a very nice journey on tree shaded two lane roads and passed through the limited access area of the Savannah River. We lunched in Augusta with Nana and Tom, enjoying a wonderful spread of fresh corn, boiled shrimp, crab cakes and baked potatoes. It was finalized with cool watermelon and wonderful peach pie. We had to decline Nana's gift of white peaches (our air-conditioning system wouldn't be able to keep them cool). A quick call to a BullDog enthusiast confirmed a home game in Athens. We headed out with hopes of making it to Cleveland TN before nightfall. The trip from Augusta to Athens GA was fine and we made it into Athens just as the football game was ending. Lots of red and black dressed fans were on the sidewalks and in cars; there wasn't alot of car-honking so we assumed it was a loss for the home team. We wove our way with the fans in a northeasterly direction before stopping in a large parking lot to let the hoopla subside. After a 30 minute break, the traffic diminished and we were ready to get some coffee and return to the road. Our friendly bulldog enthusiast is also an Athens native so a quick call to her for directions led us easily out of town on rt 129 which joined with rt53. It was a beautiful drive on the bikes and I would have enjoyed it more had nightfall not descended. We decided to make it to Calhoun before we called it a day.

The Atlantic Coast

Well, we made it. We are in Savannah GA. Last Friday we were in San Diego and here we are a week later looking at the Atlantic coast. It's a big country and my butt knows it. We have:
*driven through the birthplace of Elvis, B. B. King, and Buddy Holly
*drank the original Dr. Pepper
*experience one flat tire
*been blown off the road by the southern California winds
*passed through border patrol check points and
*taken naps on various sidewalks
All in all I would say it was a success!

Tomorrow we depart in separate directions. Burgma and Beamerpop are headed back to Nashville and I to Greensboro.

BurgMa adds:
Yes, we have ridden from one coast to the other. Now comes the hard part - dragging these sorry bodies home to Nashville and Greensboro.

I miss the lonely roads of out west. Even the back roads across Louisiana, Mississippi and Georgia have been filled with cars and a lot of trucks. I think that there is not an Interstate that traverses Georgia in a straight line east-west, and therefore a lot of traffic uses the back roads. Today we were on the Interstate a lot and in some ways it felt better than the backroads. Sure, everybody is going faster, but you don't worry as much about having someone cross traffic in front of you or pass you with oncoming traffic. Frankly, trucks are just trucks and don't scare me as much after the California winds experience.
Have we mentioned how friendly bikers are? It is a different culture (I'm not sure we are accepted - the orange-vested nonHarley people). But I'm sure you have noticed how bikers wave to each other. Our trio is very big on the wave (some much more enthusiastically than others at times.) Cvstar gives the traditional low peace sign. It is commonly seen from cruisers and Harley folks. BeamerPop points with his index finger at the other biker. I think that is kind of intimidating --black beamer, white helmet, orange vest--looks like a cop to me. But bikers wave back at him whether out of intimidation or ? BurgMa just gives a thumbs up. Normally I think that most bikers would not wave at a scooter. I like to imagine that I have tricked them into waving and that they don't realize they have waved at a scooter until it's too late and I have passed. I'm sure they are red-faced as they drive away and hope no one saw them do it. Of course since we are a trio, they can always claim that they were just waving at Cvstar or BeamerPop.

It has been a wonderful trip and we have seen so much more than we have shared with you on these pages. Thanks for coming along!!

Working our way across

This morning we woke up in Winnfield LA. Hopping on the bikes we headed out this morning and believe it or not no one needed a nap! We even didn't stop riding until 10pm this evening. It's amazing what happens when you keep Burgma caffeinated. "We're here! Time to be someplace else." We went right through Mississippi, part of which was back on the trace...gotta love the trace, and parked it here in Montgomery AL. That's a total of 470 some odd miles. Talk about tired. Looks like we will make it to the coast tomorrow since it's only a mere 350 miles. Compared to today it will feel like we are there by lunch time. All for now need to get some sleep or I'll be the one napping tomorrow.

BurgMa adds:
It was chilly again as we headed out. We saw alot of cotton fields today. It must be harvest time as we saw machinery working its way across many of the fields and we saw large bales of cotton, about the size of a truck trailer. Cotton lined the roadways like snow drifts. We also saw a few catfish ponds but not as many as we say on our earlier section headed west. We crossed the Mississippi again and ended on the Kudzu covered side in Natchez MS where we caught the The Trace again. The Trace is really pretty but after speeding our way on backroads for the past few days it seems slow and too luxurious for folks trying to make it to the Atlantic and back to Nashville by Monday am. We drove the historic Selma March Parkway in the dark , sharing the road with trucks. Our days of having the road to ourselves is over.

Napping Through Texas

9/20/06
We had so much momentum when we started out this morning. We managed to get up at 5:30 am, make it out of the motel room, and headed toward breakfast in record time. We ate, got gas, and hit the road. It was a little chilly but the idea of making huge mileage today kept us going. At our first fill-up the crowd still seemed fired up and caffeinated! Another 30 miles down the road, the momentum sank. Burgma gave me the signal to pullover as we got to a town. We pull off at a traditional TX stop sign (Dairy Queen) and park the bikes. Burgma was looking grim and said she needed a nap. At first I thought she was kidding, but after 10 minutes had passed and the woman was still face down on the sidewalk, I decided to get comfortable. Beamerpop and I read the paper for a while until he decided to join Burgma for a little mid-morning cat nap. So there I was sitting on the curb, reading the paper, listening to both of them snore, and trying to avoid eye contact with confused pedestrians. We do have to make a scene everywhere we go (as if the orange vests that we are all still wearing at this point don’t do enough). By the time the geezers awoke from their sidewalk slumber, the DQ was open. So, of course, we had to get ice cream and coffee. This gave us just enough kick to make it to lunch.
After lunch, Burgma yet again gave the pullover signal. I tell ya, middle-aged people these days just can’t keep up. This time we were not able to find a DQ so we pulled up next to a small town Texas public library and had another sidewalk snoozer, at least Burgma did. Beamerpop and I entertained ourselves with Palm Pilots and phones until sleeping sidewalk beauty had finished her dream. Finally, we were able to get out of TX and get about half way through LA. Here we landed in Winnfield LA after 440 some odd miles!
At dinner tonight we looked over our maps and decided to make the long haul to Savannah GA. We are going to have to take a few interstates here and there but it looks like it’s doable in just a few days, allowing Burgma and Beamerpop to make it back to Nashville by Monday. I’m hoping to take a short ride up the coast from Savannah and then head back to Greensboro. This is the plan as long as we can all stay awake!

Here’s a mystery…well at least it is to me. Issy keeps backfiring. She usually does it when I start (not all the time but most of the time) and when I just let the throttle go and start to coast. She was doing it both before and after I got my oil changed. I have continuously used the premium gas since I got her and that hasn’t changed on the trip. Any of you handy people out there or motorcycle people want to clue me in?

BurgMa adds:
Okay. It's true. I did sleep next to the DQ and on a sidewalk in a little Texas town (in front of an empty building, mind you, so as not to scare off the clientel.) But, I want you to think about how tired you have to be to lay down in a strange place and fall asleep. That's all I'm going to say on the subject, except that I am now addicted to coffee again. And that is not a good thing.

Texas AGAIN

Cvstar writes:
We left Carlsbad this morning after staying in the Ocotillo Motel (named after a kind of cactus). As we pulled up to the motel last night we saw a bunch of motorcycles on the sidewalk out front. Turns out there is a lounge in the motel as well. It must be the town's biker hangout because in the morning the bikes were all gone. It was rather cool this morning as we headed out and thankfully warmed up to a nice comfortable temperature in the afternoon.
Miles and miles of Texas...AGAIN! We are taking a different route so the scenery is different than coming in. We saw a heck of a lot of cows and get this, even a zebra. I know, I know, you think the highway winds have damaged our brains, but seriously there were zebras. It must have been some exotic farm or something. Along with the zebras we saw lots of other animals today like bison, sheep, goats, antelopes, a dead armadillo, and birds that apparently don't see the orange vests. We have had at least one actually physical encounter with a bird (Beamerpop) and several close calls.
We landed in Brownwood TX for the night!
As requested here is a good picture of the Burgman. This was taken near the Carlsbad Caverns.

Again this is Cvstar...don't know what's wrong with the blogger.

BurgMa adds:
360 miles today. It was amazing to have the roads to ourselves again. And we continue to have wonderful weather; I guess we will need to start watching the Weather Channel again as we get closer to the eastern border of Texas. Today it was cool in the morning but by afternoon we were in T-shirts and our Mesh jackets. The sky was a beautiful cloudless blue. As we got out of southern New Mexico (filled with the oil pumps) we crossed a hilly section of Texas -quite pretty - and the pear cactus became more prolific. There were plenty of Mexican sunflowers again and also a blue phlox alongside the road. This part of Texas is quite green and filled with mesquite. I need to learn more about cattle; I can identify black angus but that's it. It is amazing to see some of the cattle stop chewing and raise their heads to watch us pass.

I had mentioned the hand sign for deer in an earlier post. We also have a sign for cattle --the Texas longhorn sign with thumb towards the temple. Cvstar came up with the sign for horse after day 2 --two fingers pointing upwards next to the temple - resembles horse ears! And the sign for elk is the deer sign moving back & forth from the head - we needed that in Arizona. We need more signals for goats and sheep as we see alot of them. Hopefully we won't see anymore zebra for the rest of the trip....

Batastic

Post for Monday:
Our goal today was to make it to Carlsbad Caverns, not an ambitious goal mileage wise but exciting none the less. We left El Paso and headed out towards the Guadalupe Mountains. It was surprisingly cool. After 2 days of interstate riding it was nice to get on a backroad again, and we enjoyed being one of the few travelers on the road. That is until we discovered there is no premium gas between El Paso and Carlsbad!! We stopped at the one station on the route which had only regular. It was a curious place, with turkeys running about and quail in cages; the owner, I presume, sat on a chair in front of the blue cement block building observing us. Cvstar and Burgma changed into warmer clothes for the mountain pass (approx. 4000 ft) which was in our view. However we could not believe that this was our only opportunity to get gas (the map showed a few ‘towns’ and intersections with other roads). We continued our speedy pace set by Cvstar in the lead until Cvstar had to switch to her reserve tank and then we slowed down drastically to get as many mpgs as we could. At every turn or intersection we expected there to be gas but instead there would be an abandoned station or boarded up building –no gas. We coasted into White’s City outside of the National Park with little to spare. The Guadalupe Mountains we passed through were probably the prettiest mountains so far. They were upright bare buttes with rolling green mountains surrounding them. And as we approached them we saw cattle, horses, deer, a lizard, and another Border Patrol station. This time instead of saluting us through, the officer asked each of us if we were citizens, and then let us pass when we responded affirmatively. Just before the mountains were the Salt Flats that looked like white sand marshes.
We arrived at Carlsbad Caverns in time to tour the Big Room. An elevator took us down 750 ft underground at a pace of 9mph. The Big Room can hold 6 football fields and contains some large and impressive formations. The big highlight however was the ‘bat show’. We sat in an outdoor amphitheater and watched cave swallows swooping over the enormous natural entrance to the caves which was below us. Eventually the cave swallows all went in the cave. Then, a puff of bats emerged from the cave followed by a steady stream of bats that circled counterclockwise for 1 or 2 rotations as they rose out of the cave entrance and then flew off into the sunset. They just kept coming; the ranger said they estimate over 300,000 bats live in the cave. It was an amazing site. The cave was discovered by settlers who saw the bats. They then proceeded to ‘harvest’ the guano and sell it to farmers in S. Calif as fertilizer. At some point, touring folks through the cave became more lucrative. They used to lower the tourists into the cave using the large buckets that used to carry the guano out of the cave. I was happy to have the elevator!
The GPS failed us on finding our hotel tonight. It led us many miles out of our way before we gave up on it. It was way too cold to be lost in Carlsbad. It’s back into Texas in the morning.

El Paso TX

In Casa Grande this morning it was cooler than normal. The bikes got to spend the night under the porch of the motel next to the pool. Before we got started we did our normal routine of cleaning the bugs off of our windshields and face shields. Because of our brief night ride through the desert last night, it took extra effort to scrape them off. I also spotted one of the caterpillars we (or at least I) had dodged yesterday. Here's a photo.
Well I got to lead all day today. Which meant that we made really good time! Beamerpop was having a little trouble keeping up, but we didn't loose him. He describes following me on a bike like riding with me on a rollercoaster. When I was little, Beamerpop was the only one who would ride with me on rollercoasters. He didn't like it, but he would do it. When we would get off the ride, he would think to himself "Thank God that's over." Nearly immediately I would turn to him and ask "Can we go again?" On the bikes today, when we were getting ready to get back on the road after a break, I would say "I'm leading."
We have offically found the smelliest road in the United States. On our way from Las Cruces to El Paso we passed a ton of cattle lots (feed lots). For miles all we could smell was cow dung. I can't imagine if it smelled that bad on the interstate what it smells like IN the feeds. The poor cows had nowhere to go and were sticking their heads through the fence to eat the small amounts of grass on the outside of the fence. It was enough to make you a vegetarian. Needless to say, tonight in beef country, none of us ate beef.
Tomorrow Carlsbad!

by the way this is Cvstar...forgot to sign in as me!

Leaving CA

9/16/06

This morning we left Julian on some really fun back roads. They were really curvy through the mountains. Beamerpop and I stayed right together cornering the turns. The road eventually flattened out, the temperature warmed up, and we ended up in Imperial Valley. This is where they make the sugar for the original Dr. Pepper (by the way we had some in Texas…you can only get it in certain parts of Texas). Here in Imperial, Burgma and I got our oil changed since we had been traveling for about 2500 miles already (more for me coming from NC). Beamerpop can only get his changed at a BMW dealership so he’ll have to wait.
Issy (that's my bike) rolled over 10000 miles toady! When I bought her she had 4000. I have put the most miles on her out of any of her owners, and I still have to make it back to NC.
We left Imperial and headed back through the white mountains on I 8. This time the wind wasn’t bad at all and we could ride without leaning into the wind or without feeling like you were in a sand storm. There were some AVT vehicles on the dunes riding around. Looked like fun…but no time, gotta keep riding. As it became dusk all these little caterpillars came out and started to cross the road in both directions. Beamerpop was in front of me and Burgma was behind me. I was desperately trying to dodge as many caterpillars as I could weaving all over the lane. I noticed that neither Beamerpop nor Burgma were doing this. Did they see the hundreds of caterpillars on the road? Yes…yes in fact they did. They just had a different perspective on population control than I did.
I’m starting to really get over the whole dessert scene. It’s flat, it’s dry, it’s hot…can’t believe I’m saying this but can’t wait to get to Texas. At least it’s a little greener there. We made it into Casa Grande for the night. Tomorrow…more dessert!

This is Cvstar reporting...

Our new names and sun tea

As we have headed west, Cvstar has given us Native American names. Cvstar is Li'l Tank because we always have to stop for gas for her. Her tank is the same size as the Burgman but Issy doesn't get quite as good mpg.
Beamer Pop is now Chief Squid. If you know Beamer Pop, you know he doesn't travel without multiple gadgets, all which need to be recharged each night. Often motels do not have enough outlets to accomodate all this recharging so for this trip we brought BeamerPop's "squid" -- a multi-outlet plug which resembles a squid.
BurgMa's new name is Powder Foot. It is because she is religious about putting foot powder in her boots, and consequently leaves white powder footprints in all the motels we have stayed in. It also may apply to the fact that BurgMa tends to take the mountain curves a little slower than Cvstar and BeamerPop.

And Cvstar likes to kid BurgMa about her sun tea. Every morning BurgMa fills up 2 bottles with water and a tea bag. She straps the bottles to the outside of her drybag and in an hour or so, we have fresh sun tea...or as Cvstar says...Texas Sun Tea, New Mexico Sun Tea, Arizona Sun Tea...well, you get the idea.

In and out of San Diego - We made it!!

(We've been w/o internet service for a few days so we need to catch you all up. The post below is for Friday.)


We did it. We have made it from Nashville TN to the Pacific Ocean in 7 days. For the most part, the trip has been awesome and enjoyable. Today was both the worst and the best. We headed out of El Centro CA this morning on I-8 with full expectations (and full water bottles) of taking it all the way into San Diego. About 15 minutes into the journey we are being beaten up by winds; winds are coming at us from in front, behind, and each side. Some gusts are so hard that we are leaning as far as we can into the wind to maintain our lane position, always fearing we will be pushed into the next lane and the path of an approaching truck. I am truly white-knuckled and hoping that the winds will end soon. Much to my horror, I then see a huge yellow sign saying CAUTION: High Winds for the next 52 miles. I am thinking they have got to be kidding. There is no way it can be worse than what I have just ridden through. I read somewhere a rule for motorcycling: “when in doubt, power it out.” I applied this rule to the high wind situation and increased my speed. So now I am going 70 mph in gale winds that are blowing me all over the lane, complicated by the usual truck drafts. In addition we are winding our way through the California mountains (sharp curves, no shoulder, and exits are few). The wind shifts direction so suddenly that you are leaning almost 45 degrees to compensate one second and then you have to recover and lean the other way.

After about 40 miles of this, a second High Winds caution sign appears (next 47 miles) and we pull over to get gas. Cvstar and I are looking at each other and shaking our heads. There is no way we are going back on that interstate. I am ready to call for a U-Haul truck to pick up my bike and I’ll fly home. I just can’t do it anymore. If I could find someone to give my bike to, I would. There is an alternative, a 2-lane road that runs next to the Mexican border. We had avoided it as we were worried about safety, the availability of gas, etc. Knowing that I am not going to be rescued by U-Haul (but still really hoping), I go into the convenience store to ask about RT 94. I find a Frito-Lay (F-L) delivery man and figure he must drive the roads in the area, so I ask him. He is eager to help and assures us that RT 94 will be less windy and we will enjoy it. Relieved, we walk back to our bikes but are having a hard time getting geared up to continue the trip (PTSD). The F-L man approaches us in the parking lot and advises us on the San Diego part of the trip and getting to Coronado Island by way of Otay Lakes road. Five more minutes pass and the F-L man returns again with more advise on how to get out of San Diego through a northern route which coincidentally will go right near his house in Poway.

We had a great ride on RT 94. It was full of Border Patrol vehicles, was meandering with great scenery of little towns, stables and, yes, it was still windy but not like I-8. At a fork in the road when we stopped to make a decision about the correct way to turn, a local resident came out of her “house/shed” and advised against RT 94 as there were too many accidents on that road and too many DUIs. But RT 94 saved the day. During lunch at a rustic log cabin place on the side of the road in Dulzura, we met two retired Border Patrolman who suggested we go to Border Field State Park, the southwest corner of the USA. They said we could see the border fencing extending out into the ocean. When we arrived in San Diego we followed their suggestion and drove down this very narrow winding 2 lane road lined with horse and mule stables; we ended up at a locked gate that prohibited our journey to the ocean. To our left was a fence and Mexico, and up on the cliffs overlooking us were the ever watchful Border Patrol.

We backtracked and found our way up to Coronado Island, riding between the Pacific waves on one side and the Bay on the other. Lots of kites were flying in the strong winds. To continue on the journey required crossing the Bay via the very high and long Coronado Bridge. I feared it would be very windy, but it was only scary as all bridges are to me. With a feeling of accomplishment we left San Diego and headed North on I-15 towards Poway. We exited near Poway to get gas and to decide where to lodge for the night. With our destination chosen (Julian CA) we headed out to find RT 67 and start our eastward journey. Guess who pulls up next to us? Yep – the Frito-Lay man driving home from work in his car. He chats with us at the red light and then we lose him when the light turns green. How strange was that?

Southern California Winds

We left AZ this morning a little later than we usually get started. It was so HOT. Mom and I wore wet bandannas around our necks and in about 20 minutes they were completely dry and stiff. We were stopping every 30-40 minutes to drink water considering how much we were sweating.
Our route into California was altered a bit after talking with knowledgeable people about the traffic of San Diego. Interstate 8 is far less traveled than any other interstate into San Diego and goes through the white sand dunes in southern CA. So this was the route we decided to take both into CA and out of CA. Running right next to the Mexican border, we saw a lot of border patrol trucks riding around and a check point of some kind. Not to mention the hundreds of RV parks that just lined the interstate.
Going only 280 miles today may seem like we were wimping out, but let me tell you I'm exhausted. I feel like I have been beaten into a worthless wet noodle. The wind in southern California was ridiculous. There were times were I was leaning the bike into the wind just to stay in my lane. Turning with the wind, you just straightened out and let the wind push you. Turning into the wind was much more difficult and took a lot more throttle. There were times when I couldn't give the bike any more power and was afraid I might drift out of my lane. My neck is sore from trying to keep my head still against the gusts across the highway.
The worst was when we got to the sand dunes. The wind was just as strong but now there was sand blowing across the interstate as well. It was a little tense, not to mention painful. I feel like my whole body has been exfoliated. I found sand everywhere when we finally landed in El Centro, CA. It was in my helmet, my hair, my mouth, my gloves, my shorts, my tank top...everywhere! Felt real good to take a shower (I know some of you are shocked that I'm saying this...but let me tell you it was EVERYWHERE). It's really too bad that we couldn't enjoy the white sand dunes. I hear they are so gorgeous and you feel like you are on another planet. The only real glimpse I got in between wind gusts and winces from the exfoliating process, were huge rolling white hills on either side of us. They were scary more than anything else thinking that all of a sudden there was going to be a dune in the middle of the interstate with all the sand blowing across.
Tomorrow we head into San Diego. Dad wants to dip a tire in the Pacific Ocean. Mom's not to keen on it and someone suggested we just see the ocean then spit on our tires. Honestly, I like the spitting idea considering today's encounter with southern CA sand.

Moving on to AZ

Too tired to blog last night so here is yesterday's account.

9/13/06

The 380 miles that we traveled today started out in the very COLD mountains of NM. At one point I was so cold we had to pull over on the shoulder and try to get circulation back into my extremities. My hands and feet were totally numb. I had my banana suit (rain gear) on for warmth more so than rain. It really helps break the wind. After having my hands in dad's arm pits for a few minutes, mom broke out the instant heating pads. I put one in each shoe and one in each glove, then put latex gloves over my leather gloves. It all helped but it was still really cold.
After we got into AZ though things changed. Boy did it heat up. Slowly through AZ we started to de-layer. The most amazing part of AZ was the this canyon that we went through in the white mountains. It was truly unbelievable. Dad was riding along in front of me and he looked so small compared to this giant canyon behind him. It was as if someone cut him out of a magazine and placed him in a postcard. It was a little scary though. A lot of sharp turns on a road that had just recently been oiled! There were even puddles of oil on the road. It made doing the switch backs a little more terrifying than fun.
The heat was really intense by the end of the day. I was down to bicycle shorts and sports bra under my padded pants and jacket (to think I started the day out with heat pads in my gloves and shoes). The heat from the bike and the pavement just added to the scolding AZ sun. The only thing to take my mind off of the heat was that there was a cool house and a wonderful meal waiting for me. Thanks to the inlaws for all there hospitality. It was so nice to not stay in a motel for a night.
Tomorrow we are on to CA! The last leg of the first half of the trip.

New Mexico Adventures

Well they say that with every new life experience you learn, change, and grow. I have learned a lot about motorcycles, I have changed my opinion on solitude, and I have grown...a lump on my forehead. My helmet is a tiny bit too small. It compresses my head and gives me a severe headache. I have attempted to adjust the helmet through out our rides, up and down and up and down. It still was giving me problems. The first solution was to pad the helmet in the front using a maxi pad (many ways to use a maxi aren't there Betsy?). This actually made it worse creating a tighter fit around my head and causing me to grow an impressive knot in the middle of my forehead. The second solution was to pad both sides of this massive knot to create a space for it to breath in the helmet. This only caused the helmet to fit tighter just not on my bruised lump and I still had headaches. Finally, we decided to just shave the forehead hard foam in the helmet by an eighth of an inch. This helped tremendously. No headaches! My antenna (or lump) is going away, much to dad's disappointment. We could have at least gotten cell service everywhere we went, maybe not internet but at least cell service.
Today started out with a little rain. So we threw on our banana suits (yellow rain gear) and our oranges vests over top. Needless to say we looked like three crossing guards trying to find a school zone. We were dry though and when we arrived in Roswell I felt like we fit in with the whole alien theme (especially with my lump). In Roswell we took a brief tour of the UFO museum and stopped in at the gift shop. From there we headed toward the mountains.
Our next stop was in Capitan, NM. The home of Smokey the Bear! Beamerpop was excited considering he used to be in the Smokey the Bear Club as a kid. We had lunch (Mexican food...finally) and took pictures with Smokey. On our way out of town we stopped at the gas station to fill up. I had heard something knocking in the front of my bike so I looked to see what it was. Some sort of cooling devices (we think oil cooling or the STAT cooler) had broken off and was dangling. What is it with things breaking off and dangling off my bike? Anyway there happened to be a welding shop not even 100 feet away (better to be luck than smart). There we met David, my new best friend, who dropped what he was doing and welded whatever it was back on. The only thing was that he welded it so it's parallel to the road and I think originally it was perpendicular to the road. Not a real big deal considering it's on the bike securly and the bike is working fine. I might have the shop look at it when I get back.
After David fixed my bike and I resisted giving him a big ole Smokey Bear hug, we went back to the gas station to fill up. We pulled up to a pump and I noticed that the women's car on the other side was over flowing with gas. The automatic shut off wasn't working. Gas had spilled all over her car and onto the concrete. I drew her attention to it and she handled it. It was definitely a weird change of events.
The hills of New Mexico are AWESOME. I wish I could have taken a picture while I was driving but couldn't. The road we took when right down in between these incredicle hills. The scenery of NM is none like I have seen before, and of course the only true way to see it is on a bike!
On to AZ tomorrow!

Finally out of TX

Didn't have internet last night so here is yesterday's blog:

9/11/06
Yes we made it out of TX. Don’t get me wrong it was beautiful but there’s more to see and I’m glad we are moving on. TX had some great scenery but I’m ready for more of the red rock desert.
I have noticed some trends moving across TX. First, the towns get smaller, fewer, and farther between (at least on Highway 82). Some of these towns really aren’t towns at all except for a welcome sign and maybe a gas station if you’re lucky. They make some of the small towns in NC with at least one stop light look huge (MARIA).
Another trend are the bugs! They have gotten progressively smaller. On the Trace I had bug guts splattered all over the windshield from only three bugs. They were colorful and full of umph when they hit. You instantly knew you nailed one. Well as we proceeded through TX I found the bugs got smaller and all of a sudden appeared as little specs on your windshield. Not to mention the pain when they hit your shins. I thought my legs were in bee hives. Burgma and Beamerpop have nice fairrings that protect their legs. I, however, had to tough it out and now have a great collection of TX bugs on my mesh pants. Maybe I can start a new species of bug in NC if some survive the journey.
Honestly I think that the only way to travel the country is on a motorcycle. You see the terrain, and foliage change right before your eyes. Everything has gotten shorter and flatter. The trees are now just bushes and the hills are small. You can smell everything from the road kill, to the restaurants, to the laundry mats, to the summer rain on the asphalt. You have no choice but pay attention to these things in your environment. There’s no sleeping in the back while someone else drives, there are no car games, there is no music. It’s just you absorbing your environment truly paying attention to everything as you pass.
Looking forward to tomorrow’s treck through New Mexico!

BurgMa adds:
We left the sprawling, white fenced horse farms of Gainesville this morning with overcast skies. We were dressed for hot weather but it was surprisingly cool. We were just short of Henrietta TX with Cvstar in the lead and BeamerPop pulling up the rear when we lost BeamerPop. A turn around on the highway found him on the side of the road with his bike on the center stand. A flat tire. The hardest part was trying to find the hole. Two very nice ranchers (shout out to Don Riddles of Henrietta) stopped their truck to assist. With their kind help, BeamerPop found the hole and plugged it (their plug – ours didn’t work), filled it with air (yeah! - the compressor worked) ad we were on our way again. The ranchers filled us in on the original “Dr. Pepper” made in Dublin TX, south of Wichita. Apparently it is made from pure Imperial brand cane sugar, not corn syrup like the widely distributed Dr. Pepper, and can only be purchased within a small radius of Dublin. Our rest stop before not long after proved to carry it and we tried it – very sweet!!
Highway 82 did not disappoint again today. It was as varied as before and as lonely. I cannot believe that we were the only ones on the road for so many long stretches. I am not complaining; we made good speed. However the map is misleading about the towns along the way. What you might pick off the map and say we can lunch here proves to have nothing on the town except a few empty buildings and maybe a gas station. Other places not even shown on the map have grocery stores, Dairy Queens, schools, etc. We did find a place for lunch and Beamer Pop and Cvstar enjoyed beef burgers, made from cousins of those great beasts we saw along side the road… So many amusing sites today: the cattle that lift their heads and watch us go by, the giant bull statue, the giant star statue, the large unique ranch signs, and the cowboys in their black jeans with black cowboy hats strutting around their trucks and horse trailers.

We saw lots of horse today, not in ‘horse farms’ like Gainesville, but out on the ranch. They tend to group together, enjoying each other’s company. We also saw an Alpaca farm, and several raccoons and coyotes (road kill, I’m sorry to say). We also saw many more oil wells than we saw yesterday.

The terrain changed to low hills as we rode along, and the earth is now red and gouged out from heavy rains. Many parts of the highway had water standing on either side, with signs to beware of roads covered in water --a warning to take seriously. I was also surprised to see a directional sign for a tornado shelter as we drove along; that provided some food for thought as to what would we do if one came up. There is nothing out there except some cattle, mesquite, and us.

As we pulled over the line into New Mexico this evening, we noticed the plants had changed alongside the road. There were low cactus, Mexican sunflowers, a bluish-grey heather and another plant I need to identify. We are in Tatum NM after 408 miles, and ready to see some UFOs tomorrow as we continue our journey through Roswell.