4 Corner States Ride Revisited

6 Sep 2010

In August of last year, I started a ride through the four-corner states, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. After meeting my friend Rick from Texas in Durango, we began our four week trip by riding the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. The next day Sept 1st, we were riding to Chama NM to ride the Cumbres Toltec Scenic Railroad, when I had an accident riding my motorcycle. The previous night, I did not sleep well and while riding I got drowsy, drifted off the road, and crashed. This is called forgetting the “shiny side up” rule. Although the bike didn’t look it, it was significantly damaged and would need a lot of repair. It got towed to Durango Harley Davidson. Although I didn’t feel all that bad, since I was still walking, X-rays at the hospital in Pagosa Springs showed several broken bones. The ride was over though it had barely begun. Rick rented a car and drove me back to California, then drove back to Pagosa Springs, retrieved his bike and headed back to Texas.

After surgery, physical therapy, change of sleep medication, motorcycle repair and retrieval, and memorizing the “shiny-side up rule”, I began replanning the ride Rick and I started the summer of 2009. On his return trip last year, Rick had developed some problems with his XS-1100 Yamaha. After learning the fine arts of carb synchronization and electrical system troubleshooting, Rick completed repairs on his bike. We are both anticipating getting on the road again and finishing the trip we started a year ago.

We plan to meet in Chama NM, and ride the Cumbres Toltec Scenic Railroad http://www.cumbrestoltec.com/. Then spend the next few weeks riding through Colorado, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. We also plan to ride the Verde Canyon Railroad http://verdecanyonrr.com/, take several scenic routes and visit several national parks, monuments, and historical sites, including The Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Mesa Verde, Four Corners, Canyon de Chelly, Monument Valley, Natural Bridges, Canyonlands, Arches, Bryce, Cedar Breaks, Zion, The Grand Canyon, Montezuma’s Castle, Sunrise Crater, Meteor Crater and The Petrified Forest to name a few before ending our ride in Gallup, NM, September 19th, some 3200 miles later. In all, Rick and I will have each ridden roughly 4000 miles round trip for this 22 day ride. http://rideplanner.harley-davidson.com/rideplanner/share/208376

The ride starts August 29th for me, stopping in Flagstaff and continuing to Chama NM, where I will meet up with Rick. After riding the Cumbres Toltec Scenic Railroad the next day, we start our ride together on Sept 1st, riding up through Pagosa Springs which is where I forgot the “shiny-side up” rule, exactly one year ago to the day. We may stop by the hospital to see if any of the staff that treated me are still there.

The return trip for me will begin in Gallup, NM and end in Ridgecrest two days and 848 miles later, with stops in Page, AZ and St. George, UT. I’ll be heading west on 264 through the southern portions of the Navajo and Hopi Indian Reservations before stopping in Page, AZ. The next day, I’ll continue west across the southern end of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument before stopping in St George. From there, I’ll continue west through the Shivwits-Piute Indian Reservation to I-15 into Las Vegas, then head north west on I-95 through the eastern portion of the Mojave Desert, and Beatty, NV. Then I’ll head south west on 190 through Death Valley and turn south on 178 toward Ridgecrest. From here, I’ll continue this ride log with the actual events of the ride as they occur.

Aug 29 - Left Ridgecrest for Flagstaff, AZ and arrived at 4 PM.  Mileage was roughly 460 @ 37 MPG.  The weather was nice.  It started out in the 70s, but by Needles it was 94.  After Kingman it cooled down and there was some cloud cover.  After Williams I got a little rain and the wind started gusting a little.  I stopped at the Harley Shop in Belmont.  They call it the Harley Davidson at the Grand Canyon, I don't know why.  It's 70 miles to the Grand Canyon from there.  They should call it the closest HD shop to the Grand Canyon maybe.  I got the requisite t-shirt, dip dot and a siren for my security system.  The instructions were totally wrong for my model, but it ended up being an easy install.  Now when the alarm goes off I'll be able to hear it.  Of course, I won't be able to get to my bike until whoever is tampering with it has taken whatever he wants, but at least I'll know to expect it rather than be surprised when I find missing parts.  It was a nice day for a long ride.  More of the same tomorrow I hope.

Aug 30 - Made it to Chama, NM around 2:30 PM.  Still waiting on Rick however.  I'm here at the Chama Trails Inn.  Nice place.  Chester and Starla are gracious hosts.  Chester lets up park the bikes in the back on the covered patio. Got a little wet today.  Not so much that I needed my rain gear however,  Leathers were fine.  Chester provided some rags and a place where I could use his hose to clean the bike up.  Looks like new again.  Got better mileage today for some reason.  Mileage was 377 @ 42 MPG.  I guess yesterday was mostly uphill, and today was mostly down.  Took lots of pics along the way, some even turned out okay. The canyons west of Kayenta are very picturesque and most of the way along highway 64 into Chama is very pretty.  Tomorrow Rick and I will ride the Cumbres Toltec Scenic Railroad.  Chester said he'd give us a lift to the depot, so we could leave the bikes at the hotel.  Hope Rick gets here soon.  I'm hungry.  More tomorrow.
Aug 31 - Chester gave us a ride to the depot and we boarded the bus to Cumbres.  Seems someone torched the trestle outside Chama and the train no longer goes to Chama.  We boarded the Cumbres
Toltec Railroad in Cumbres and had an excellent trip all the way to Antonito.  This train ride is advertised as the most scenic narrow gauge railroad in the US and rightly so, the scenery is "absolutely spectacular" to steal a phrase from Huell Howser.  More spectacular than the Durango to Silverton Train in my opinion.  We stopped in Osier for lunch.  It was more like dinner.  We had a complete Thanksgiving-style turkey dinner and it was all-you-can eat.  After lunch we had some extra time, so I walked over to the Toltec Gorge and got some pictures. When the train from Antonito showed up we continued our trip.  The docents explained all the important points along the trip.  This railroad is the highest and longest narrow gauge train in the US (maybe the world).  The train follows the Rio de Los Pinos river and skirts the Toltec Gorge. Tanglefoot and Whiplash Curves were fun. They threw in some less important stuff as well.  It takes takes 1 gallon of water for the train to go 22 feet.  That's less than three turns of the wheels. So the train has to hold a lot of water.  After getting to Antonito, we took the bus back to Chama and Chester and his brother Ernie came to pick us up and return us to the hotel.  Later we had a light dinner at the High Country restaurant, still being pretty full from lunch and called it a night.  Tomorrow we head to Montrose.  Passing the spot near Pagosa Springs where I crashed exactly 1 year before.

Sep 1 - Rick and I left Chama and headed for Pagosa Springs where we had breakfast at the same place we did last year.  Although we looked some for the place where the accident occurred, but neither of us could identify it.  Needless to say, we passed it.  From Pagosa Springs we headed north over Wolf Creek Pass at 10,850 ft to South Fork.  We also crossed over Spring Creek Pass at 10, 900 ft and then headed into Lake City where we stopped for gas and some refreshment.  We continued on highway 149 along the picturesque Gunnison River and crossed Slumgullion Pass at 11,530 ft to US 50 where we crossed the Blue Mesa Reservoir a couple times.  This is Colorado's largest body of water.  From here we turned off highway 50 to check out the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.  This is an amazing gorge carved by the Gunnison River.  The gorge is so deep and narrow that the sun hardly shines down to the bottom.  We stopped at several overlooks and followed trails to the edge of the gorge. As the sun began to set, we got some amazing pictures and headed into Montrose CO.  We stopped at the Best Western and later had some great Chinese a the Panda Palace.  Excellent food and plenty of it for the price. Mileage was 322 @ 44.7 MPG.

Sep 2 - We left Montrose and headed south on highway 550 down into Ridgeway and then on to Ouray which is a small mountain city, tucked into the San Juan Mountains.  This is a beautiful little city with only highway 550 in or out. We continued on into Silverton for gas and stopped for a break wandering up and down the streets checking out the many historic shops.  While there we heard the arrival of the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad train. We continued south to Durango along the Million Dollar Highway.  In Durango, we stopped at the Harley Davidson shop and met with Trevor in the service department that managed the rebuilding of my bike last year.  Trevor was happy to see me in better shape than the last time he saw me.  Next to the Harley Shop is a Serious Texas Barbecue restaurant.  It's serious barbecue alright.  From Durango we headed to Cortez, CO.  Along the way a motorcyclist passed us like we were parked.  Later we saw him parked in front of a Colorado Ranger.  In Cortez, we checked in for a couple nights.

Sep 3 - We had breakfast and headed for Mesa Verde National Park.  This is the park that Rick briefly visited before one of his coils went out on his XS 1100 and limped home toward Ft Worth.  No such problem this time.  We had a great time in Mesa Verde.  We stopped at the visitor center and got tickets for a tour at Long House cliff dwelling. Our guide was Ellen.  She was very nice and well informed, plus she signed for some of the group that were hearing impaired.  Long House was a great place that we got to wander around in somewhat.  Each of the cliff dwellings have several kivas which were used primarily as places of religious worship.  We also saw other cliff dwellings and surface dwellings throughout Mesa Verde, including Cliff Palace which is the largest known cliff dwelling and Balcony House.  This place was unusual since we had to climb a tall ladder to enter it then climb out on our hands and knees with more ladders to climb before reaching the surface again. On the way back, we stopped at Shiloh restaurant for dinner in Cortez.  What a great place.  Ambiance could not have been better.   We sat next to a coy pond feeding them bits of bread crumbs.  The sirloin tips and three berry pie and ice cream were great.  Rick had an Elk steak which he said was excellent. Today was our first laundry day.  Mileage 93.5 @ 43.5 MPG.

Sep 4 - We left Cortez for Kayenta AZ.  First we made the requisite visit to Four Corners to validate this 4 Corner States trip.  Then we headed to Ship Rock and then to Canyon de Chelly National Monument (pronounced Shay).  The road there was an excellent motorcycle route through the pines with many twists and turns.  We stopped in the park at several overlooks into the canyon.  This place has amazing views.  The canyon is immense.  The ruins do not compare to those in Mesa Verde, but the canyon is strikingly different and beautiful.  This was a great adventure.  We gassed up in Chinle and had a late lunch, then headed to Kayenta.  Mileage was 261 @ 45.0 MPG.

Sep 5 - We ate breakfast in a little cafe in Kayenta and headed to Monument Valley.  We got some pictures along the way and checked out the visitor center.  We continued north on 163 to Mexican Hat, then headed west on 261 stopping at Goosenecks Overlook and then on to Moki Dugway.  Moki Dugway is a mining route on a narrow gravel road with steep grades up and down and tight turns for 3 miles.  We got some great shots of the road from the top.  From here we continued north to highway 95, then headed west to Natural Bridges National Park.  This park is rather small with several overlooks at several you guessed it, natural bridges.  From here we headed east to Blanding and then to Monticello.  We got gas and a late lunch here and headed for the hotel, where I spent half my time adding to this post.  Mileage was 120.8 @ 45.1.

Sep 6 - Today was a great day in many ways: weather was excellent, riding was exilerating, meals were scrumptious and scenery was again "absolutely spectacular".  We started out leaving Monticello heading west on Creek Road.  This road was a a short cut and a great bike riding road up into the mountains and down to the road leading into Canyonlands.  On the way, Rick passed a good size rattlesnake out sunning himself next to the road. There were several overlooks that we stopped at, took little walks to the view points and got several pictures.  We stopped at the Needles Outpost to top off @ $5 per gallon.  Rick's Yamaha took 2 and my Road King took 1.5 gallons.  Do the math. We then headed out of Canyonlands to highway 191 north and then west on the next road to the Needles Overlook.  This was a great road that we could take at high speed to the end where we stopped to browse Canyonlands vistas from several hundred feet up.  The view was, well you know.  We could see the Colorado River off in the distance.  We headed back to highway 191 north and then into Moab, got gas and a little oil for the Yamaha.  My digital readout indicates oil full still.  We decided to take in the La Sal Mountain scenic loop.  What a trip!  We climbed several hundred feet with continual twisties, cool mountain air and clear skies.  We stopped at a spot with a great overlook at Castle Rock.  Then headed down the other side toward Castle Valley and then turned west on highway 128 that follows along the Colorado River.  We arrived back in Moab in time for dinner.  Denny's has some great food when you're really hungry and the milkshakes are giant size.  Always check the dessert menu first, so you know whow much dinner to have.  We headed to the Best Western Canyonlands for the night.  What a nice hotel.  If ever you are in Moab for the night, stay here.  Milage 241.9 @ 44.8.

Bakersfield Harley Shop Ride

3 July 2010

It’s the 4th of July weekend. What better time to celebrate the long standing tradition of our Independence Day than with a nice energetic motorcycle ride trough Kern Canyon and back over the Greenhorns. Lots of nice scenery and windy roads to ride.


We planned to start out from Ridgecrest and take I-178 west to I-14 south then continue on I-178 west through Kern Valley and Kern River Canyon. We would then take the back way into our destination, which was the Harley Davidson shop in Bakersfield.


Our return trip was basically the same except we we’re going north from Bakersfield to Woody then west on I-155 to Glenville for lunch, then over Alta Sierra and down into Wofford Heights. We planned to stop in Lake Isabella for gas. From here the trip would be identical to the trip out.

We had an exceptional turnout for this ride. Except for a friend I brought and myself, no one else showed up. It was a great day fior a ride regardless of the numbers. In fact, two is perfect. We departed from the 76 station in Inyokern at about 0830 headed for the Bakersfield Harley shop. The weather was cool, but not cold and the ride over Walker Pass was very nice. The mountains have lost all traces of snow and the skies were clear with very little wind. We encountered quite a bit of traffic and had to follow it until the Kern River turn off. From there the road was fairly open and free of traffic.

Lake Isabella is as full as I’ve seen it for a long time. There were thousands of people all around, many still trying to find parking places, some camping, boating, jet skiing and cooking. The smell of bacon in the morning is enough to get everybody’s attention. From Isabella west, the road was wide open. Our group had no problem sticking together and several cars actually used the turnouts to let us by.

The Kern River was high and moving very fast, a dangerous place for anyone to play for sure. We made it through the twisties and sweepers of the canyon and turned on Comanche Rd headed north through Hart Park, and then traveled along the Kern River to China Grade Rd. Heading north on China Grade, we passed over the Kern River into the oil fields. Back in the 1850s, Gordon’s Ferry operated here to allow travelers and the Butterfield Overland Stage Coach to cross the river. Here’s some info on it. http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?MarkerID=25149.

Finally on Merle Haggard Drive heading west, we stopped to fill up at the Shell station just before the shop. The shop was not too busy and there was coffee and refreshment available. The Bakersfield shop is nicely laid out and everyone is quite friendly and willing to help customers find what they are looking for. I talked with Mark one of the salesmen for a while. As we were discussing ride destinations, he mentioned the Indian Wells Valley brewery had the best tasting beer on tap he’s had. Since I don’t drink I couldn’t share his enthusiasm, but felt good that something from my area was of notable interest to him. Mark also mentioned there are several unusual specials being offered at the shop currently. They’re offering credit toward a new set when an old seat is brought in for trade. They’re also offering with purchase of any new 96 CI model, of which they have several, a free engine modification to 103 CI. I thought that was a pretty nice deal.

When we decided we’d had enough, we mounted up and headed toward our lunch stop in Glenville, The Crazy Horse Saloon. From Merle Haggard Drive we headed north on Airport Drive, through more oil fields. This route goes along an old Butterfield Overland Stage Coach route and there is a marker along the road to Woody explaining the significance of this route. In Woody, we turned west onto I-155 toward Glenville. Along this route, there are several blind turns that tighten as you enter them making this a challenging road. Fun, but challenging. In Glenville, we stopped at the Crazy Horse Saloon for lunch and a nice rest stop after negotiating the entire twisting road leading here.

Also here in Glenville is the oldest known residence in Kern County. This adobe house dates back to 1857 when the town was named after James Madison Glenn. http://www.hmdb.org/Marker.asp?Marker=25032

After lunch, we continued along I-155 east toward Alta Sierra and Shirley Meadows (The Greenhorns). This area about 9 miles east of Glenville is about 6500 feet in altitude, so the temperature is cool and the scenery of shrubs and natural Oak trees we’d been traveling through so far turned to pines. There are some tight turns along this road that need extra caution. I headed into a left-hand turn a little too fast and ended up in the dirt before I could stop, dropping my bike. The crash bars took the only visible damage. Some buffing and chrome spray should take care of that nicely. No worse for wear, we hit the road again.

We continued down into Wofford Heights where we could get glimpses of Lake Isabella. When it’s as full as it is, it’s quite a sight to see. We turned south toward Isabella and again encountered lots of traffic. Next we headed west on I-178 toward Walker Pass. All this time the weather had been cool and comfortable, but heading down into Indian Wells Valley it warmed up considerably. Warm is not really the word to use. It was plain hot. We hadn’t needed to use our hydrator vests to this point, but I seriously considered breaking mine out just for the ride home. I decided to tough it out. As we got onto I-14 north from I-178, we hadn’t noticed how windy it was, but as soon as we started up I-14 the cross wind was really strong. Soon we were on I-178 heading east again with the wind at our backs and it became unnoticeable again all the way to Jacks Ranch.

In all, a great ride. A little wind and a little heat, but a great day for a ride on some of the best motorcycle roads around. Those that turned out for this ride had an enjoyable time. Until the next one, keep your eyes open and the shiny side up. It’s my experience that these two things increase the probability that your ride will be an enjoyable one.



Tom Lystrup

Yosemite, Kings and Sequoia National Park Almost Ride

25-28 June 2010

I had a great plan together for this ride to Yosemite, King’s Canyon and Sequoia National Parks this year. The ride would be spread over four days and encompass about 1000 miles round trip. As everyone knows, plans as a rule don’t always go according to Hoyle and this trip would be no exception.

There were several riders going together to Yosemite from our local Harley Owners Group, then we all would split up and go separate ways. Those that stayed together ended up riding back together for the most part. Along the way, John a friend from work, and I stopped at June Lake to pay another friend a visit. Soon after our visit, we were back on the road around the loop, heading to the Mobil station on I-120 (Tioga Pass road) where we caught up with the rest of the group for lunch. The pork tenderloin and carrot cake were fabulous. Next, we headed into Yosemite and stopped at Olmsted Point where we could view Half Dome from the back side and got the usual group photos.

After the brief stop, John and I left the group and headed over to see Hetch-Hetchy Reservoir and the O’Shaughnessy Dam. The rest of the group headed to Oakhurst, where we would catch up to them for dinner later.

The ride to Hetch-Hetchy was excellent and the dam and reservoir were amazing. There was a lot of water coming over the spillway which turned into a roaring torrent that shot out over the side of the gorge below in an amazing waterfall and spray that created rainbows and mists that coated the other side of the canyon and fell back into the gorge in a thousand trickling waterfalls. This side trip was well worth the extra time to see. After getting some great photos, John and I then headed toward Oakhurst, our destination.

We stopped at the tunnel overlook for some quick pictures of Yosemite Valley and immediately headed out. I entered the tunnel first and gunned it, creating a deafening roar that I later heard had startled the tourists. When I looked back to see if John was following, he wasn’t. I slowed down and he caught up soon thereafter. Later he confessed his delay, but that is his story. Feel free to imagine what might have delayed him. The road from the tunnel to the south park entrance/exit is under construction. Traffic was heavy and slow and there were several places where the pavement turned into gravel. I was happy my travel plans would not be taking me back over that road again. We arrived at the hotel in Oakhurst and met up with the rest of our group for some great Italian cuisine.

For Saturday, some of the group were going to take the tram around Mariposa Grove and see Glacier Point, but since I’d been there a couple times already, I decided to do something different. I planned to leave Oakhurst and head north on I-49 to I-4 (Ebbett’s Pass). Take that to Markleeville, then take I-89 north to I-88 (Kit Carson Pass) west and take that down to I-49, back to Oakhurst. Part of that worked right. Then things changed.

John went with me and we made it easy to Jamestown on I-49, near where I-4 and I-108 converge. We stopped for a late breakfast. The little café was full of people, but the food came fast and was very good. We finished up and began to leave. Pulling out of the parking lot was more of a challenge than I could manage in the gravel and I tipped my bike over. John quickly helped me get vertical again (seems I forgot the shiny side up rule). I suppose there are now some scratch marks on the bottom side of the crash bars, but I haven’t looked. Other than that, there was no damage and we continued on our way.

We next took I-4 east toward Markleeville. Nice road with lots of sweepers, minor traffic, beautiful scenery. The pines and mountains covered in snow were awesome. Toward the summit the sweepers turn into some tight twisties. We stopped at Bear Valley to gas up. This area is in the middle of a beautiful valley with several small lakes. After cresting Ebbett’s Pass, we stopped for some pictures at a beautiful lake where fisherman were catching quite a few trout. Then we continued on to Markleeville, where the first change to the plan occurred.

Looking at the remaining tread on my front tire, I thought I might be pushing it to expect to complete the trip with spare tread. Looking at the GPS, I figured it was only about 40 miles to the Harley shop in Carson City. John agreed to the plan change and off we went. This was just the first change of plans. We got to the shop about 1330 and they quickly got the bike into the service shop to have new tires installed. After having black side walls for a while, I decided to go back to the wide whitewall models. The shop gave me a good deal on a set of Dunlop 402s and they said they would be done in a couple hours. I figured that would give us enough time to get back to Oakhurst before dark, but my figures would turn out to be wrong. The mechanic told me that my front wheel was out of round and that I should come check it out. He showed me on the balancer that it was. It looked bad, so I asked him to fix it. He was able to get if back within spec in short work and we were back on the road at 1630. This was a little later than I expected, but it could not be helped.

We decided it would be best to head down I-395 to Sonora Pass (I-180) and take that back to I-49. Neither of us wanted to negotiate the road under construction through Yosemite again, especially if it would be in the dark. So we headed south on I-395 toward Topaz Lake and past Walker and took Sonora Pass. What a challenging route Sonora Pass is! Steep 26% grades on the way up, tight windy curves, traffic including a bus or two and a truck being pushed by a trailer, gave our bikes and us a real workout.

After cresting Sonora Pass, we came into some thick forested areas, mountains covered in snow, streams running by the side of the road and open meadows. There were plenty tight twisties and sweepers to enjoy. After all this, the road opened up and became very smooth, with gradual sweeping turns right and left that we could easily negotiate at 60 mph or so. We rode these sweepers for about an hour or so. It was amazingly fun and traffic was non-existent. About Coulterville on I-49 it got dark. We finally made it back to Oakhurst about 2130 and had a late dinner at a great little Chinese place. In all, an excellent day’s ride, the new tires made the ride effortless and the change of plans worked out as well as could be.

Sunday morning we got up, ate breakfast and headed for King’s Canyon. Not the straight shot you might imagine down I-41, we took some of the back roads. We went around Bass Lake then took Auberry down to I-180 and on to King’s Canyon. Arguing with the ranger about what the Annual Pass covers and doesn’t cover is a waste of time. John paid his share and later said my argument with the ranger was worth the admission price.

We stopped at Grant Grove and walked around some of the biggest trees in the world. The President Grant Tree is about 300 feet tall. There were many others that from my vantage point were all the same, huge. Next we entered the canyon and found lots of sweepers and twisties. We stopped at the King’s Canyon Lodge for some refreshment. Here they have the oldest still working gravity gas pumps in the World probably. They date back to 1929, six gallon minimum purchase, but they have regular and premium. Next we stopped at Grizzly Falls and took some more pictures. I got a few photos of the King’s River as we were riding next to it on our right. The King’s River is a thundering torrent of water racing through the canyon at amazing speed. Our next stop was Roaring Falls. Not a very high falls, but the amount of water coming down this falls is inestimable. To say it’s a lot does not begin to describe how much water comes over this little falls. We headed over to the Cedar Grove Lodge, our destination for the night. The presentation by the ranger on bears was entertaining, but geared toward kids. Still it was the only show in the canyon since there are no TVs in the rooms at the lodge. Also there is no cell phone coverage and WiFi is very limited.

Monday we headed out of the canyon for Sequoia and our return home. At Hume Lake we gassed up and had a snack for breakfast. They only had 87 octane gas, but the store sells octane booster. As we were climbing out of King’s Canyon I noticed John’s back tire flashing white with each revolution. At Hume Lake, I looked closer and pointed out to John that he had already worn through the first set of cord on his back tire. Although John thought his tires would last for the trip, his back tire had a different idea. It had had enough. It was time for plan change number two.

No matter, I’d seen all of Sequoia before so this change was no big deal. I reprogrammed the GPS for Visalia where I knew there was a Harley Shop. We made it to the shop okay, but it was closed. We found a cycle place that had a tire for John’s bike and a guy close by that could install it. Man was it hot in Visalia and the humidity was up as well. John and I walked to a nearby taco shop for lunch. When we got back the bike was done. With the tire installed we took off, when John noticed his back brake did not work. We returned to the guy that installed the tire. After working on it for some time, the determination was that his master cylinder had gone out and adjusting the caliper just a little to reinstall the brakes during the tire change, was enough to affect the operation of the back brake. Bleeding the brakes did not work. There was nothing for John to do but ride home with no back brake. I soaked and donned my hydro vest as did John. John had some trouble not being able to use his back brake, so we took it slow. John felt he was slowing me down and asked me to continue on without him. I wanted to make sure he made it back okay, so I stuck with him.

We got to Bakersfield where the Harley Shop was again closed. We gassed up and John insisted I go ahead alone. I did not want to leave him, but he insisted he did not want me to follow him and that he would be okay. It was time for plan change number three. I felt bad that John did not want me to ride with him, but I wasn’t going to follow him if he didn’t want me to. I headed off without him to I-178 east through the Kern River Canyon. There was hardly any traffic. The temperature got cooler with the altitude change and cloud cover. I took some more photos of the ride back through Kern River Valley and coming down from Walker Pass. I had a pleasant ride and made it back about 1730. It’s always a good idea to have a ride plan, but this trip I found out I need to be flexible for a number of reasons. The number in this case was three. In all I logged over 1300 miles.

Tom Lystrup

Breckenridge Rd

Either you’ve never heard of Breckenridge Rd, you’ve heard of it but never ridden it, or you’ve ridden it and probably cringe at the sound of it. Perhaps you’ve also heard the song by Merle Haggard called “I’ll Never Swim Kern River Again”. Had he been a biker and ridden Breckenridge Rd., perhaps he would have written a song “I’ll Never Ride Breckenridge Again”.


Breckenridge is a 35 mile paved, one-lane goat trail, with hundreds of blind corners, poor paving, steep hairpin turns, road hazards such as gravel, sand, boulders, water, potholes the size of bathtubs, as well as mild traffic, farm animals and the occasional steaming, slippery cow pie.

Nobody in their right mind would consider riding such a road. It’s not logical; it makes no sense to take such a road, when there are so many others that are better. Then again not all riders are in their right mind. Some of us “left-minders” like taking roads simply because they are there, simply for the adventure of it, or simply because it’s the road less traveled. I am an adventurist. I’ll try almost anything once, just to say I’ve done it.

I saw Breckenridge on the map years ago and wondered if it was paved. I took the trouble of tracing it with Google Earth and verified it was. I planned for quite a while to ride it some summer, since it’s closed in winter and early spring, because the snow is never removed. Then earlier this year some friends told me they rode Breckenridge last year and described the road just as I imagined,” the worse road they had ever ridden”. They said they would never think of taking such a terrible road again in their lifetime. I knew fate would catch up to me some day.

Earlier this year I tried taking Breckenridge with a friend but a few miles in we ran into a solid impassable ice sheet which covered the road. Breckenridge would have to wait until later.
Last weekend was my next attempt. I had ridden to Lone Pine for lunch with a group of riders. On the return trip, I decided to cross Sherman Pass for something to do, but the sign on Kennedy Meadows Rd said Sherman Pass was closed. I didn’t have a plan B until I thought of Breckenridge. Now was as good a time as any. The Breckenridge challenge was on.

NOTE: A word to the wise, do not attempt to ride this road unless you are well aware of your riding skills and are very confident in your abilities and do not attempt to ride this road alone, like I did.

I headed up I-178 west to Lake Isabella and Bodfish, then up the switchbacks to Havilah. I made it to the Breckenridge turn off in good time. There was plenty of daylight left. I began up the road and quickly encountered road hazards of sand and gravel as well as a couple of trucks loaded with firewood. The blind hairpin turns were next, but the scenery was great. There were lots of flowers and yuccas in bloom. Yeah the scenery was great, but the numerous road hazards forced me to concentrate on the road and forget the scenery. Before long, I was in the pines. The air was cool, but a jacket was unnecessary at this point. Turn after turn, I winded my way to the top and finally crossed over at around 8500 feet or so. From this vantage there is a view of Lake Isabella in the distant north that is breathtaking. The road then leveled out for several hundred yards, but the twisties and road hazards resumed almost immediately. I found myself not gauging the turns well enough and could not keep to the right as much as I tried. Debris and poor road conditions prevented me from enjoying the ride more than I was.

After a while I was out of the pines. Oaks and shrubs were now visible. The scenery south and west was opening up, but there was no time to take it in. Although I was getting lower in altitude, the road was still very twisty with blind curves everywhere. Occasionally the road straightened out and I could get up to 40 mph for a few seconds. I passed a couple farms with cow pens and a pretty nice ranch and then the road began to turn into sweepers now and then with a surprising blind hairpin turn thrown in to keep me on my toes. The sweepers got more frequent and the road began to straighten out pretty well to where I could finally get up to 50 mph for a while.

After a few more hairpin turns, I began to see oil wells and more cow pens, then a stop sign, I had reached Comanche Rd. Comanche connects I-58 to I-178 near Edison. Thirty-Five miles and nearly 2 hours later, I had finally reached the end (Breckenridge continues, but it’s straight into Edison from here). So, I could turn right to I-178 or left to I-58. I turned back. Nobody in their right mind would do such a thing, but a “left-minder” might. After making it back to the origin, I turned right on Caliente-Bodfish Rd and made my way over to I-58. I gassed up in Tehachapi and headed for home.

Some riders wear a patch for riding the Tail of the Dragon, Highway 129 at Deal’s Gap, North Carolina. That’s nothing compared to Breckenridge – The Tail of Godzilla. Those that have ridden Breckenridge don’t need no stinking patches. The fact that they have ridden it and are alive to tell the tail is all it takes. If someone asks you if you want to ride Breckenridge and you hesitate. Have them call me. I’ll go. This is a road for “left-minders” only.

Tom Lystrup Breckenridge Rd ride plan 19 July 2010

4 Corner States Ride

28 August 2009

My riding buddy Rick from Ft Worth, TX and I had been planning this ride for over a year. We planned to meet in Albuquerque, NM and ride for 15 days through New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona, seeing about every National Park and many points of interest along the way. Hotel reservations were made as well and reservations to ride the Durango to Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, and the Verde Canyon Railroad during our trip.

Back when I started planning this ride, I coaxed Rick into fixing up his vintage Yamaha XS 1100, which he hadn’t ridden for over 15 years. Rick began the tedious process of tearing it down and restoring his bike from the bottom up right away. A lot of effort went into getting it ready to run for the first time. I was there visiting him and his family when he has about ready to try it out. We finished putting the carbs back together, connected the gas tank, with 15 year old gas in it, hook up the boat battery to give it plenty of spark and gave it a shot. We tried the electric starter and kicked it over several times. Then we checked to see if the carbs were getting gas and tried it again. After a few more kicks and leaning on the electric starter a few more times the bike began to show signs of life. It was running but only on two cylinders. Over the course of several weeks, Rick got it running on all four. Several new (old stock) parts had to be located and ordered, and the day finally arrived when Rick felt it was ready to test ride. It didn’t idle very well, but ran strong at higher RPM. Rick was satisfied with the bikes performance, so it was beginning to look like the Four Corner States Ride would happen.

Mean while I was getting my 2008 Road King Classic fixed up. I had Earl Burley of Burley Performance upgrade the engine from 96cc to 103cc including cam and gearing changes. I also had it dyno-tuned, so now puts out 98 HP and 106 ft/lbs of torque, that’s about a 30% improvement over stock. Over the course of the next month, I road it frequently to break the engine in smoothly. By the end of August it would be ready to go.

We made some changes to the plan, to work in the Cumbres Toltec Rail Road ride. So now we would be meeting in Durango, CO instead of Albuquerque, NM. With all the details worked out, I was packed and ready to head out on Friday August 28. I’d be stopping in Kingsman, AZ and again in Tuba City AZ before meeting up with Rick in Durango, CO.

August 28, 2009

Weather was cooperative, but hot. The hydrator vest I’d brought came in handy as well as the camelback filled with cold water. I made it to Kingman with no problems, but tired and hot. I’d planned to check out the Grand Canyon Skywalk if there was time and there was.

The Skywalk is a glass walkway on Hualapai tribal grounds which extends out over the Grand Canyon sixty-six feet. I was looking forward to the experience. I headed north out of Kingman on I-95 toward Bolder City, NV and turned east to head toward the Skywalk. This road eventually turned into dirt, but was grated fairly well, so not much of a problem for a street bike. Closer to the Indian reservation where the Skywalk is located the road worsened, but I’d come along way and decided to stick it out. It got worse yet. For a couple miles the road turns into thick gravel. This was a challenge to ride through, but I made to the reservation without any problems. The cost to experience the skywalk itself is additional to entering the reservation and the tram that gets you there. Plan to spend $100 if you decide to eat there as well. Admission to the park is $50 and it costs an additional $30 just to walk out onto the walkway. You are not permitted to take cameras onto the skywalk, but photographers stationed there are happy to take your picture for an additional fee. In all, I felt the experience was not worth the effort or cost and I still had the ride back through the gravel and dirt road. I took a more direct route back to Kingman when I made it back to the blacktop. The road was pretty deserted. I passed maybe ten cars the whole way back into town.

Back at Kingman, I was ready to check out the pool and get cooled off, but it was closed for repair and my bike was filthy with road dirt. I got some rags from the hotel front desk and got to work. After an hour, it was presentable again. The ice bucket from the hotel room was now a muddy mess, but it cleaned up alright.

August 29, 2009

The road to Tuba City was uneventful, albeit hot. The bike was running smoothly and strong with the engine upgrades. Passing slower vehicles was simply a matter of a little more throttle, even in sixth gear.

August 30, 2009

I made it to Durango in the early afternoon. The weather had cooled off considerably and there were some rain clouds in the area. I made it to the hotel room and check in. I expected Rick at any time.

No sooner had I unpacked and cleaned up the bike a bit that Rick arrived. His Yamaha ran great from Ft Worth with no problems. After unloading his gear we went for lunch and then a ride up the Million Dollar Highway north out of Durango toward Silverton. We didn’t get far before the rain clouds opened up, and poured out more rain than we cared to deal with, so we headed back to the hotel.

August 31, 2009

The next day the weather had improved and there was no rain in the forecast. We headed toward downtown on foot and caught the trolley to the train station. The Durango to Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is a great train ride along the Animas River. The canyon route is narrow and very picturesque.

The train crosses the canyon half way up to Silverton and goes over an old trestle where the train releases extra steam to slow the train and stabilize the water in the boiler, before heading up the canyon on the eastern side. The effect of crossing the trestle and the train releasing steam is dramatic. The trip is pretty long since the train’s maximum speed is 13 mph, but we finally made it to Silverton. Silverton is a great little town that looks much the way it did a century ago. Most income in the town is based on based on tourism, but the town was started back in the mid-1800s for mining silver. We got several pictures had lunch at Sugar Bear’s café and hopped back on the train heading back to Durango.

Back in town we decided to head over to Mama Boy’s Italian Restaurant for dinner. Dinner was excellent and filling. After dinner we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the next day. We needed to get up early to make it to the Cumbres Toltec Train Ride in Chama NM. That night however, I took my sleep medication a little late and spent a restless night.

September 1, 2009

In the morning, I mentioned to Rick that I felt half asleep still, but we started out anyway. We had a train to catch. We made it to Pagosa Springs and stopped for breakfast. After breakfast, I still felt tired, but I’d ridden tired before. Maybe not quite this tired however.

I few miles out of Pagosa Springs I was following Rick and became drowsy. The next thing I knew, I was riding on the shoulder of the road. I began slowing down and tried a couple of times to carefully get back on the asphalt, but was not successful. After the second attempt failed, I continued to slow, when the right-side engine guard and right floor board contacted the ground. The bike slowed down very fast, but I didn’t. I was airborne for a few seconds and hit the ground pretty hard, rolling several times before coming to a stop. I had some aches and pains, but got up and removed my gloves and helmet with some difficulty. I made my way up to the bike to check on it. There was some obvious damage to the engine guard and the saddle bags, but other than that it did not look in too bad of shape. I did some additional assessment on myself and could tell I had a few broken bones. Rick arrived back at the scene wondering what happened. I didn’t have a good answer for him, but felt I must have dozed off for a moment. I decided to sit down. No position felt very comfortable standing, sitting or laying down. A few cars stopped to help. One guy with a radio called Pagosa Springs Hospital and requested an ambulance. The ambulance arrived quickly, assessed my condition and carted me off to the hospital. There was not much activity at the hospital accept for those helping me. X-rays indicated three broken ribs on the left side a broken clavicle and pinky finger. On the right side, a severely commutated fracture of the wrist. With this much broken stuff, the ride was over.

While laying there trying to figure out what to do, my cell phone rang. Rick answered it. My wife Shanna was on the line. Rick handed me the phone. She had a question about the computer, it seemed the internet at home did not work. I explained how to reset it as best I could. She sensed something in my voice and asked it everything was okay. I had to tell her the bad news.
There were a couple of options from this point, stick around Durango area until the doctors could operate on me (three day wait) or head for home and check in with my own doctor. We decided on the latter. Rick volunteered to leave his bike at the hospital, rent a car and drive me home to Ridgecrest, some 800+ miles one way. I explained our plans to my wife and we started making preparations.

The bike has hauled to Durango Harley Davidson awaiting insurance agent inspection and direction to begin repairs. Rick got the rental car packed and the hospital staff helped me into the car. The drive home was good and bad. It was not easy to remain comfortable in one position very long. Rick had to continually stop and help me get adjusted. When we stopped for the night, he had to help me out of the car plus carry in all the baggage from both our bikes. He also helped me in and out of bed, etc. That was the bad. The good was we had a lot of time to talk about things and get to even better acquainted with each other.

September 3 – 4, 2009

A couple days later, we arrived home. Shanna was happy we made it safely and we were both grateful for Rick’s help. Rick spent the night and left the next day for Pagosa Springs. He arrived a couple days later without any trouble and found his bike just as he left it.

I spent the next few days generally in pain despite the great meds provided by the hospital and pharmacy. I was happy that I could at least use my XBOX 360 hand controller. Shanna had made an appointment with the Southern California Orthopedic Institute (SCOI) in Bakersfield for Tuesday. Rick left on a Friday. So I had a few days to wait before seeing a doctor.

Rick decided to finish at least part of the ride we started and left Pagosa Springs to see Mesa Verde, but when he got there his Yamaha started running poorly. One of the coils quit functioning, so the motor was running on two of four cylinders. Finding a replacement coil would not easy in fact it turned out to be impossible. Rick headed back to Fort Worth TX on two cylinders, stopping at nearly every gas station along the way. Rick said of his experience, “It was like riding a 600 lb Moped at 50 mph, that gets 20 miles per gallon”. Rick did finally make it back safely to Ft Worth and is in the process of fixing up his bike again.

September 8, 2009

When we did finally get in to see the doctor, there was some good and bad news. X-rays showed that my left wrist was not that bad, but I also had broken my left ring finger. The doctor’s assistant for the broken ribs and clavicle said there was not much that could be done about them and that they would heal the way they were. That was not an acceptable answer to me, my clavicle simply had to be repaired. I could live with the broken ribs. The wrist doctor indicated he cold not fit me into his schedule for a few days, but that surgery needed to be performed sooner than that anyway. He recommended Dr. Shapiro. I asked him if Dr. Shapiro was as good as he was. He looked me in the eye and said he would let him work on himself. I decided that was good enough for me. Dr. Shapiro came in. He looked about in his mid twenties. I wondered how much experience he had. He introduced himself as a trauma surgeon and began to explain the situation to me. He began to draw on the paper sheet covering the examination bed what my situation was. He outlined my clavicle break and my wrist and finger breaks were. I could tell he knew what he was talking about I had already checkout the x-rays. His plans were to install an external fixator on my right wrist, a plate on the right ring finger and a plate on my clavicle after adjusting all the bones back into place. He indicated he was available tomorrow. I thought this was great news and was ready for him to get to work. After some initial hospital check-in procedures, we headed home and back again the next morning.

September 10, 2009

We got all checked in and the anesthesiologist came into see me. They hooked me up wheeled me into another room and that’s about all I remember. When I woke up a few hours later I felt great. The pain in my wrist was minimal and I was lying comfortable with the new plate holding my clavicle together. The ribs still hurt if I moved very much, but I felt much better. Dr. Shapiro had to leave right after he finished fixing me up for another accident injury. I found out later that he was called away to help another patient that had been admitted because he was not able to breathe very well due to several broken ribs and broken clavicle, another motorcyclist that had fallen asleep while riding his bike and wrecked. What a coincident I thought. With all the new hardware in place we headed for home.

Adjusting to the new hardware was relatively easy. I frequently changed the bandaging around the fixator to keep comfortable ad make sure it was healing properly. The healing process was going well. After a few days, the discomfort with my ribs subsided to where I could sleep on my right side. It is still difficult to sleep on the left side due to the pressure on the left clavicle and the plate that is in place there.

September 23, 2009

Today I went into see my personal physician. He was surprised to see my new hardware modifications. I told him the story and mentioned I needed to get off my current sleep medication and that I’d like to try something a little less intrusive a friend had told me about. This new medication called Clonazepam was supposed to calm down my brain activity allowing me to fall to sleep naturally. My doctor agreed to allow me to try if for a month and wrote me a prescription for the new medication. I began sleeping pretty well right away. After a few days, I was sleeping fine and waking up not feeling sleepy or half-drugged as I did on the previous medication. Hopefully this new medication will continue to allow me to sleep well with out the residual effects of the previous drug, if I happen to not get enough sleep the night before.

October 15, 1009

I went in to see the doctor at SCOI again today. Dr Shapiro was unavailable so I saw Dr Bowen instead. He was preparing to remove all the external fixator hardware, but all he had to work with was a pair of pliers. I thought I could have done the job more efficiently at home with my Dremmel kit, but in a few minutes the pliers did the job and all four posts and brackets were removed. I got to help a little and removed one of the pins by pulling it out with my fingers. The doctor removed the rest of the pins, five in all and applied several bandages to stop the bleeding from all nine separate punctures. The doctor gave me a wrist guard to wear and told me not to bend my wrist for the next couple of weeks. I wore it most of the time but took it off occasionally to exercise my hand and wrist a little. We scheduled therapy to begin Nov 2. I hoped Tracy Stoddard would still be there. She had worked with me on my left wrist when I broke it during another motorcycle accident two years ago.

November 2, 2009

Therapy commenced with Tracy as I hoped. She took some initial measurements of my current strength and range-of-motion and made some notes. Over the course of the next couple weeks she did a great job helping me increase my strength and range-of-motion.

November 12, 2009

Today I go back to see Dr Bowen for hopefully the last time. I have a report from Tracy on my initial measurements and current strength range-of-motion to give to him. Flexibility and strength are returning, but as with all things, it sill take some effort and some time to regain what I have lost.

Meanwhile, the motorcycle is still in Durango at the Harley Davidson shop waiting for a couple more specialized parts. I hope it will be completed soon after Thanksgiving so I can head back out there to retrieve it. I hope to do a little riding just to make sure everything is okay. There is a long list of parts that are being replaced. Thankfully the engine, transmission, frame, wheels and brakes are all in tact. A lot of superficial hardware was damaged even though when I looked it over months before, it did not look that bad. Evidently the HD shop in Durango found several things I had overlooked.

Another local riding buddy also named Tom has volunteered to ride back out to Durango with me to help trailer the bike back. I can’t wait to have it back.

November 24, 2009

I heard from the Harley Davidson Shop in Durango that my bike is finally ready to be picked up. Here’s the plan for retrieving it:
1. Another friend Wade volunteered his trailer. So I plan to pick it up Saturday.
2. Tom and I plan head out that afternoon
3. Stop in Williams the first night
4. Drive to Durango on Monday and stay the night there
5. Pick up the bike Tuesday from the shop and take it for a test ride.
6. Drive back to Williams that day
7. Return home Wednesday.

November 29, 2009 – December 1, 2009

We headed out as planned and made it to Durango with no problem. We picked up the bike Tuesday morning when the Durango Harley dealership opened up. We decided we wouldn’t use the trailer since the weather was so nice. Tom and I took turns riding it from Durango to Ridgecrest about 800+ miles.

We took a slight detour in Arizona and headed east off 89 onto 64 along the south rim of the Grand Canyon. This route was pretty cold and there was some snow and ice along the road in spots, but there were no problems navigating through any of it. The sun was beginning to go down when we got there and we got some great pictures from a few spots along the way. As we exited the park the sun was setting and we ended up driving in the dark for a little while getting into Williams. My electric jacket and gloves really came in handy on this part of the trip, but my dark visor didn’t help and I had to leave it up to be able to see. By the time we got back to the hotel my face was freezing.

December 2, 2009

The next day was warmer and the electric gear was not needed. We got back into Ridgecrest about sunset. The bike ran fine the entire trip. The exhaust is a bit louder than what was previously installed, but it sounds even more like a Harley in Tom’s words. I guess I’ll leave it that way.

Although my wife Shanna would like me to sell the bike, I’m not quite ready to give up. My passion for riding is still strong despite the accidents I’ve already had. The medication change and the lesson I learned the hard way to not ride tired should help prevent a similar accident in the future. Only time will tell. I’ll take it slow and easy to begin with and limit riding to back and forth to work and short trips on weekends. Maybe next year Rick and I can finish the ride we started without interruptions.

Ridgecrest CA to Gainesville TX and Back

March 2009

My name is Tom. This story is about a recent ride with a friend named Greg. The trip was Greg’s idea. There was some comfort knowing that, in case anything went wrong. Nothing did. Greg mentioned to me sometime ago, that he wanted to ride to Gainesville TX to visit his family. When I asked if he wanted some company he said yes. I’d recently gotten some new tires for my Road King (Dunlop Elite Series 3) and before placing too much confidence in a new tread pattern, I wanted to try them out on different riding conditions, roadway and weather. These tires would be fully tested before returning. Planned departure was Thursday Mar 18th from Ridgecrest, CA for Gainesville TX and return Saturday Mar 28th. This ten day trip would take all of four days at 400 miles per day to get to there and the same time but more miles per day on return. The total miles were 3273. Greg formed the ride plan and with some minor alterations we stuck to it.

Day 1: Ridgecrest, CA to Williams, AZ. Total miles: 452.7. Depart 0730

Greg and I left Ridgecrest for our first night stop in Williams AZ. We headed south on I-395 to I-58 east. The wild flowers at Kramer junction to Barstow were awesome and the smell was unbelievable. From Barstow we headed east on I-40 to Needles. This part of I-40 was particularly rough and bumpy. Across the border in Arizona, the road improved. We stopped for a burger at the In & Out in Kingman, AZ. As the altitude increased, the cooler air was a welcome refreshment to the warmer temperatures we’d come from.
We also stopped in Seligman AZ, birth place of Route 66. We topped off and headed out. We passed Williams to go to the Harley shop at Belleville (Grand Junction Harley). Not a big store, but they had just what we needed, t-shirts. We backtracked to Williams and stayed at the Days Inn, right next to Denny’s and a Shell station for convenience. The inconvenience part was our room was upstairs. Carting bike gear up and down, in and out is no way to spend time after a long ride. We were looking forward to a nice warm soak in the jacuzzi. As we headed to Denny’s for dinner, we found that the pool/jacuzzi at the hotel was indoors, heated, and full of noisy kids. We decided against the jacuzzi experience and looked forward to a warm soak at tomorrow night’s hotel.
After a rather lousy dinner, we headed back across the parking lot to the room, to complete our daily routine - bike cleaning, unpacking, ride debriefing, log entering, weather checking, ride planning, repacking, home phoning and eyes shutting.

Day 2: Williams, AZ To Socorro, NM. Total miles: 405. Depart 0620

The day started out at 18 degrees. That’s cold. Electric gear makes all the difference in such weather. Breakfast in Winslow, AZ (another Denny’s) was awful. Should we have expected different? I didn’t sleep very well in Williams, and spent the entire day groggy and tired. Not a good thing when riding several hours.
Going through the hills on the way down from Springerville we were behind a motor home going 45 in the curves. We followed for about 2 miles, when all of a sudden a New Mexico Highway Patrol car with lights passed us and stopped the motor home. I guess in New Mexico when motorcycles are slowed down behind motor homes, the motor home gets pulled over to let the motorcycles by. We then stopped in Reserve, NM for a break at a cool bar and had a chat with an older guy about motorcycle riding around the area. About 80 miles out of Socorro, NM the weather was threatening so we put on rain gear. It rained for 4 seconds. High winds from the south, gusting to 40 mph blew the storm out and us into Socorro, NM. The Days Inn at Socorro was okay (15 deer hunters partied till 1100 pm). The motel clerk recommended El Sombrero for dinner (excellent layered enchiladas with sopapias). Back to the hotel. Daily routine complete. Pool empty. No Jacuzzi.

Day 3: Socorro, NM. To Post, TX. Total miles: 351. Depart 0720

The ride from Lincoln to Picato road was awesome. A lot of tight turns and fun riding. The Roswell Harley shop was a cool place, but the help sucked. A 5 out of 10 rating from Greg. From 10 miles east of Roswell the horizon stretched out in front of us to infinity. It was here that Greg had a close encounter with a UFO. His face shield took a direct hit from a large bug, a real green, drippy, slimy mess, making a stop unavoidable. Next stop Post TX.
The Best Western clerk in Post recommended Georges for dinner, a Mexican restaurant that serves great BBQ, imagine that. The BBQ was awesome (get the sliced brisket rather than chopped). The clerk at the hotel also let us park our motorcycles right in front of the main entrance for security. Daily routine complete. The pool was open but freezing cold. No Jacuzzi.

Day 4: Post, TX To Gainesville, TX and Fort Worth, TX. Total miles: 279. Depart 0720

Departed at 0720 and it was not getting light yet because the sun was behind the clouds. We headed east for about 10 miles and then stopped to take pictures of the sun as it peaked through the clouds. Got a couple before the sun went back in the clouds. The road was nothing but long and straight for endless miles, with no scenery whatsoever. About the only entertainment to break the monotony was seeing an oil well that was not working. We were bored to tears and could not wait till there was a curve or hill. It was another windy day. When we arrived in Decatur, TX, we got gas/food and went to our separate destinations. Greg headed north on 51 to Gainesville, TX to visit his dad and I headed south to Weatherford, TX an on to Forth Worth, TX to stay with friends.

Day 5 Visit with family and friends

Day 6: Gainesville/Fort Worth to Vega, TX. Greg and Tom met at 1000 in Henrietta, TX off Highway 287. Total miles: 348.9. Depart 0815

Greg left Gainesville at 0820 and arrived in Henrietta, TX at 1000. I arrived at the same time, but had to look around to find the Shell station where Greg was waiting. The weather in Gainesville was cloudy and windy. Greg put on his raingear just in case, but did not need it. The clouds in Munster, TX were very unstable, warm below and cold above (perfect tornado weather). Although Greg got through the weather okay, he found out later that there were 2 tornados that touched down 30 minutes after he passed through Munster.
I departed Ft Worth expecting rain and hit it east of Weatherford just enough to appreciate that I’d worn my rain gear. After passing under the worst of the storm, the sky started to lighten up and pretty soon the clouds were gone, and the sky was clear. The wind picked up at this point and it was much colder than we’d been used to. We pressed to Vega, TX for the night stop. The long straight roads were the worst. One good point for the day was a stop at a BBQ place for a lunch break called LOVE’S Texas style BBQ restaurant. Although the restaurant was questionable-looking from the outside, we went in. There were no windows to see our bikes, but we weren’t too worried. I ordered the special, a prime rib sandwich and Greg got a brisket sandwich. The food was awesome, best food for the trip so far. Back on the road, we pressed on to Amarillo, TX to the Harley shop, where Greg traded his rain gear for a size larger. The Harley shop was very accommodating. I decided not to add to my already large collection of t-shirts but got a dip dot instead. Dip dots are coin size metal disks that each Harley dealer hands provides represent their shop. Some charge for them. The cool shops give them up for free. You need to ask at the counter for them. Greg and I would have a good collection of these before the trip was over.
On the way to Vega, TX we passed a few stockyards filled with cattle, unknowingly waiting their turn to become steaks. Vega is a small town that used to be more functional when Route 66 went through. All the gas stations are out of business except the Shell station just off the interstate. After filling up, we headed for the hotel. We asked the clerk about the best place to eat. She said there were only 2 choices, Dairy Queen or the Boot Hill Saloon and Grill. The decision was a no-brainer.
The saloon was awesome. We went in and a cute hostess (wearing typical 1800s saloon attire with black fishnet nylons, greeted us and told us to “find a table and relax”. She came back soon and asked us if we wanted drinks. Greg asked for a glass of Merlot and I asked for my usual O’Doul’s. The hostess replied that this is a private Saloon and if we wanted alcohol, we’d have to become members. She disappeared but soon returned with a form that Greg quickly filled out and paid the daily fee of $5.00. The yearly fee was a little more, but we couldn’t see the point.
Looking over the menu, we noticed an item called a Bucket O’ Crap. The description indicated it was fried whatever the cook decided to include. A group at a neighboring table ordered it. A large bucket of fried stuff was delivered. Enough to feed several people from the looks. We could only guess what was in the bucket but it smelled good.
Drinks soon arrived as well as dinner we ordered. I ordered nachos that came on a platter bigger than any I’d ever seen. Greg ordered a club something and salad with extra blue cheese. Greg’s order came in a big metal trough. The food was excellent, but way more than we could manage. We had a great time talking about the day and the ride. Our waitress brought the bill which arrived in a box and we joked with her for a while. We paid cash and arranged the bills in the box in such a way that it appeared overflowing. Our waitress was amused and thanked us.
We headed to the hotel. Daily routine complete, we were ready for next day’s ride to Chama, NM.

Day 7: Vega, TX to Chama, NM. Depart 0730. Total miles: 355.6

Morning came mighty early. I told Greg, “Senior, I can’t believe you’re making me load the bike in the dark”. Regardless of the time, we headed for Tucumcari, NM. There we stopped for gas and had breakfast. Then headed out on I-40 west with a thousand trucks. We saw numerous billboards for Clines Corner and stopped for gas and some trinkets. Whatever you might be looking for, it’s here. We then headed north on I-285 toward Santa Fe.
“Roadwork Ahead”, the sign read. The sign was not kidding. Only one lane was open, so we waited about 10 min for our turn. A slow truck escorted us for several miles on unpaved roadbed of dirt, gravel and scarified asphalt. We got through it okay but it was no fun. My Dunlop Elite Series tires worked great.
We headed for the location of the Santa Fe Harley Davidson shop. According to my new and improved Harley Davidson Garmin Zumo 5500 GPS, we were right on course for the previous address of the shop. Having found here the shop used to be, we looked it up the phone book and called for directions. The shop was really nice. Greg got yet another t-shirt and dip dots of copurse.
Time for lunch. While trying to find our way back onto the highway, I saw a strip mall that might be good to stop. Tucked into the corner of the mall was a Joe’s Diner. Greg loved this place, particularly because our very cute waitress carded him when he ordered up a beer. Totally made his day. Greg imagined she was hitting on him. Oh yeah, the food was excellent.
The ride to Chama was beautiful. There were lots of gentle high-speed twisties through the mountains, past a few lakes, along rivers and streams and lots of gorgeous country. We were continually climbing in altitude to about eight thousand feet. When we arrived in Chama the weather was looking like snow at anytime. Got gas and then checked into the Chama Trails Inn. Chester and his wife were very friendly, cordial and accommodating. They put us in the best room they had - a rustic mountain cottage room with an old-fashioned wall heater that heated the bathroom and bedroom area very nicely. Chester has a Harley Ultra Classic. He told us that during the summer he gives bike tours of the area to tourists from Europe. They come every year to rent Harley’s from Santa Fe and ride up to Chama, where Chester gives them tours all over north eastern New Mexico.
We were not sure how the weather was going to be over night, so Chester told us to bring our bikes around the back and park the on the covered patio. A friendly gesture. We went across the street to a steak house and had dinner. The place was empty when we got there. Then all of a sudden the entire town was there. With only 1 waitress, it got very busy. Greg ordered a rib eye, which was excellent. I had soup and a salad, followed by apple pie and ice cream. I always look at the dessert menu first, that way I’ll know how much room I have for dinner. My motto: “Life’s too short, eat dessert first”.
That night I slept pretty light. I imagined the room was much bigger than it was due to the rather large pile of freshly hewn logs I expected to see next to Greg’s bed. Morning came fast again. We were both anxious to see what the weather would be like.


Day 8: Chama, NM to Page, AZ. Depart 0720. Total miles: 400.5

I woke up early and heard Greg stirring. In a half-awake voice I said, “Senior, check the weather”. Greg announced, “Well, the good news is there’s no snow on the ground. The bad news is it is snowing”. I was immediately wide awake. We said our goodbyes to Chester and headed out at first light 0720. It snowed on us for about 1 hour. Snow was light and not sticking to the ground. It was cold, about 20 degrees. It cleared up when we arrived in Broomfield, NM for breakfast. Chicken fried steak and eggs (the best yet on this trip). Next we headed to Farmington, NM for the Harley dealership. Found it where the GPS said it would be this time. Greg got yet another t-shirt, a new smoke visor for his helmet and dip dots.
We gassed up and headed for the Four Corners monument. Slight rain, then heavy snow as we headed northwest. When we got to the monument we got a break from the weather, the rain and snow had stopped. After taking the usual obligatory pictures and were gearing up to take off , a kind-looking Indian wandered over to admire our bikes. “Pretty bikes” he said. Then he said, “You are not out of the bad weather yet”. We had no doubt he knew what he was talking about and expected more bad weather. We found it quickly and endured it nearly all the way to Page, AZ. Temps went from a low of 18 to a high of 50 degrees this day. Greg’s hands got very cold. I was wondering if my electric gloves were working, until I turned them off. Near Page the storm moved out, but the winds got even worse.

Freezing cold and wind beaten, we arrived at the Best Western in Page, to find they did not have us reserved. Wrong Best Western. The right one was just around the corner. Checked in rested from the long day then went to eat. We walked up the block a ways and found another awesome steak house. We got the special sandwich and a salad bar. Good stuff. Back at the hotel we completed our daily routine, less bike cleaning. We were too cold and too tired. You guesses it, the pool was inop and no jacuzzi.




Day 9: Page, AZ to Beatty, NV Depart 0720 Total miles: 436

Got up in the dark and cleaned bikes (best we could). They were pretty bad after the ride from the day before. We had the continental breakfast at BW which was adequate and headed out for Beatty. I suggested another route that looked more scenic than the planned route. We headed south 22 miles to 89 then went back to the north and crossed Marble Canyon. We also crossed the Navajo Bridge (nice pics) and headed to Jacob Lake. Awesome ride. No wind, blue sky, about 38 degrees. Near the summit, about 9000 feet, it got cold again (25 deg). When we headed back down it warmed up again. We continued to Kanab, got gas then stopped at Mt Carmel Junction for lunch. Great food.
With full bellies and gas tanks we headed to Zion National Park. Near the entrance, we encountered a large herd of deer. We slowed down since they were close to the road. In an instant, they easily jumped the tall fence near the road and bounded up the mountain right in front of us. We came into the park from the southwest entrance which was 43 miles of sheer beauty. Better than Yosemite in Greg’s opinion.



Took lots of pics. The two mile tunnel was so cool. The roads were made from red lava rock, the scenery was excellent. We took 50 mph curves at a comfortable 70 mph. Great day for a ride. No wind, no clouds, blue sky. You could not have ordered a more perfect day. We spent about 2 hours in Zion then headed to the Harley shop in Hurricane/Williams UT. Spent a little time there and headed south to Vegas. It was rather windy on I-15. Took the 215 loop to 95 and headed to Beatty, NV. Got to Beatty, about 1800 checked in, had dinner and called it a day. Today was an awesome day’s ride, the best of the trip. Daily routine completed. Believe it or not, there was a pool and a jacuzzi. Greg decided to check it out. I decided to turn in.

Day 10: Beatty, NV to R/C Depart 0730 Total miles: 139.2

Got up, loaded the bikes, had breakfast and headed for home through Death Valley. We expected more wild flowers but there were not very many. We took 95 to 190 and headed west through Stove Pipe Wells where we stopped briefly. From 190 we continued west to 178 and down to Trona, where we gassed up and headed home. We arrived in Ridgecrest at 1030. Trip complete! Awesome ride from start to finish.




Greg Vincent: writer, photographer

Tom Lystrup: editor



Note: During some of the more boring stretches of highway, we had a lot of fun inventing hand signals for passing and changing lanes. It was hard to come up with new ones, but we did and now have some favorites.

Note: Dunlop Elite Series 3 tires work great in all weather and especially for eliminating highway rain-groove vibration.

Note: Greg took great notes and completed the ride log each night. I’ve changed a few things and added some comments, but the story is Greg’s. Thanks Senior!

Patriot Guard Ride for Robert Clark Rhoades

Date: March 6, 2009 – 1 day
Departure: 0900 Return time: 1800 Miles: 250
Riders: Mike Cash, Greg Vincent and myself
Route: Ridgecrest - 14 - 178 - 99 - 58 - 14 - Ridgecrest


I first heard about the Patriot Guard Riders a couple months ago. They are a national organization that rides motorcycles to escort returning members of our military services from their tour of duty to their homes in the states or to their resting places for those killed in action.

The Patriot Guard Riders (PGR) organization was formed in 2005 to help protect returning members of the armed services from protestor interference. The organization started locally in Oklahoma, but spread throughout the United States rapidly. For more information, go here: http://www.patriotguard.org/AboutUs/OurHistory/tabid/145/Default.aspx

I went to the PGR website and joined as soon as I had heard about the group. I started receiving emails daily about rides in California to welcome home returning military and to escort home those that had sacrificed all for their country. Most of the emails I’d received were announcements for rides that were quite a distance from where I live and not convenient for me to attend. I anticipated something closer and was anxious to go on a ride to honor fellow military compatriots. Last week the email I’d been waiting for finally came.

There were three of us that met for breakfast the morning of my first Patriot Guard Ride. This was also the first PGR ride for one my friends, Greg Vincent. This ride was to honor the passing of Robert Clark Rhoads of Weldon, CA, a former Patriot Guard Rider and long time resident of Weldon.

A tribute to PGR member Robert Clark Rhoades can be found at:
http://www.patriotguard.org/ALLForums/tabid/61/view/topic/forumid/29/postid/1099976/Default.aspx

After breakfast, the leader of our little group, Mike Cash asked if we were fueled up. We nodded we were ready to ride. We departed Ridgecrest at 0900 for Lake Isabella to meet the other riders of the group. The morning was a cool 50 degrees, and we headed west on I-178 toward Inyokern. At I-14 we headed south to I-178 west again. Crossing Walker pass was freezing and wind chill was biting through all my ride gear. I wished I had some electric gear. I’d heard others in the Ridgecrest Activity Group praise electric gear in cold weather. I wished I could be one of them that had it at that moment. Clouds were forming to the west. We might get wet later. I was glad I at least had my rain gear along.

After arriving in Lake Isabella, we joined several other PGR riders, about 20 in all. All were very happy to see each other. Greetings, welcomes, latest stories and laughs were shared. Group Captain, Basil Mulkey introduced himself and called us all together to explain the plan. The chapel was close. We would ride there and stage our bikes at the ready to escort Brother Clark, when the time came. Captain Basil requested a road guard and my friend Greg volunteered. Kickstands up (KSU) at 1030. At 1029, we mounted and started, 1030-KSU and we were off. We arrived at the chapel and parked in rows. We dismounted awaiting the call to form the flag line. The call came in a little while and we lined up on both sides of the chapel doors forming a line to the hearse, protecting the path from the chapel to the hearse. When the casket carrying Brother Clark emerged from the chapel, Captain Basil called, “Attention”! We snapped too. “Hand salute!” Our flags held high, straight, eyes front. There was a strong wind and our flags ruffled and snapped in the breeze. The pallbearers carried Brother Clark with reverence and dignity to the hearse. Captain Basil called “Ready, Too” and “Dismissed”. We secured and stowed our flags and prepared to depart. Captain Basil explained that we were asked by the family to ride ahead and prepare another flag line at the cemetery in Wofford Heights. We mounted, started and headed out.

We held a steady place to Wofford Heights cemetery. I felt proud to ride with the PGR. Arriving at the cemetery, we quickly formed the flag line again awaiting Brother Clark and his family. Escorted by another motorcycle group, the hearse stopped and backed into the cemetery and the pallbearers again took their positions to escort Brother Clark to the gravesite. Again we were called to attention as the company went by. After the flag line was completed at the cemetery, the PGR was dismissed. We said our goodbyes until the next PGR ride and departed.

It was an honor to be part of this group and to ride in this event. I hope the next PGR ride I go on will be to welcome home another hero that is coming home to the waiting arms of his or her family. I’ll never forget this ride in honor of Robert Clark Rhoads.

Epilog – Greg and I suited up in rain gear and detoured to Bakersfield Harley down the canyon. No sooner than we got on the road, it started to rain. Harley rain gear is great. Wild flowers were beginning to show and some of the hills were covered in poppies. We stopped for lunch and made it to the shop at about 1400. As fast as I could I made my way to the electric gear. Jacket, gloves and credit card in hand I approached the counter. The young lady at the counter rang up my stuff and handed me the receipt. Then she asked if I wanted a barbecue. My puzzled look brought out the explanation that when someone spends more than $300 like I did, they get a free Harley barbecue. I carried out two armloads of stuff and asked Greg how I was going to get all this stuff home. He said, “Don’t look at me”. I got it all on and made it home. Do you know you need a thermostat to get this gear to work? I found that out when I got it all home. Good reason for another trip to the Harley shop. We logged 250 miles that memorable day.

Tom Lystrup